While the Massapequa community has been caught up with school budget and board of education elections, the village's board of trustees recently approved a 2008-09 budget.

The budget, according to village officials, stands at $6,579,917, representing a 5.4 percent expenditure increase over last year's budget. Anticipated revenues will see a minuscule 1.77 percent increase from $2,136,286 to $2,174,115. Overall, the tax rate will see a small increase, from 8.37 percent to 8.54 percent. With an average residential assessed valuation of 7,000, this tax rate will result in an approximate $11.90 increase to each village homeowner.

In his report on the budget, Mayor James Altadonna said that the small increase in revenue was due to declining interest rates and a "downward spiral" in the village's mortgage tax revenue. The balance of revenues to be raised by the tax levy, the mayor added, is $3,289,305, an increase of $76,915 from last year.

Mayor Altadonna noted that certain budget items are outside the BOT's control, including medical insurance, Medicare rates, contractual union wages, plus "ever increasing" fuel and energy costs.

Also in his report, the mayor listed several programs that he claims are beneficial to the village's overall health. The road improvement program, he said, has "moved steadily along with the completion of six more miles of roads that were reconstructed and resurfaced."

Other renovation projects have taken place at Colleran Park and the basketball courts and stage at Brady Park. The mayor also noted the special speed signs erected near the high school and the installation of a Weather Bug station.

In the upcoming budget year, which begins on June 1 and ends on May 31, 2009, the village intends to establish a Veterans Memorial Highway on Sunrise Highway across from the Fireman's Memorial. There will also be a Fireworks display for Independence Day weekend celebrations, a senior call-in program at Brady Park Senior Center and more work on the village's beautification program.

In the budget itself, there are slight spending increases in such departments as the Accounting Division, the Clerk-Treasurer, the Engineer budget, Records Retention, Buildings, Central Garage, Streets Maintenance, Garage Annex, Parks, Playgrounds & Recreation Centers, Celebrations, Programs For The Aging, and Street Cleaning.

In keeping with the budget's overall conservative approach, numerous departments will see spending decreases, among them the Board of Trustees, Purchasing, Assessment, Elections, Unallocated Insurance, Traffic Control, Safety Inspection, Streets Administration, and Street Lighting.

On the revenue side, real estate taxes account for $3,289,305 of the budget, while revenues other than real estate total $2,174,115. From the latter number, State Aid Per Capita totals $370,760 and State Aid from a Mortgage Tax is $275,000. It is hoped that revenues from Franchises reach $200,000, while Transfer For Debt Services is set to add $230,000 to village coffers. The village's Appropriated Cash Surplus is $1,116,497, up from $890,634,000 in last year's budget.