Public Hearing to discuss ‘piercing’ tax cap for 2020-2021

Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy announced during the Nov. 25 Board of Trustees’ meeting that the board will host a public hearing on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss considering “piercing the tax cap” for fiscal year 2020-2021 due to the new criminal justice reforms set to take effect in January 2020.

Earlier this month, Kennedy told the Herald he was concerned about the financial impact that the expanded discovery process would have on the Freeport Police Department. Because of the unfunded mandate, the village is forced to review the tax cap. According to Kennedy the cost to comply with the new reforms will cost the village approximately $2.3 million.

“This is another unfunded mandate that we have received from Albany,” he said. “We are currently fighting this, but we have to prepare for the worse case scenario to be able to cover cost for all of these requirements.”

The village will also hold a public hearing to discuss changing section 210 titled zoning on Dec. 16 at 7:15 p.m. that will address flooding in the region. According to Kennedy, the project was something the village had been working on for sometime. More information on that project is available by contacting the village of Freeport.