ELDRED, NY — Last winter’s unusual snow and cold paid another visit on October 14 as the town board approved a 10.19% tax rate increase that would fund its preliminary $2.2 million budget for 2015.

There will be a series of public hearings on November 4, relocated to the senior citizens’ center, due to the conflict with Election Day at the town hall.

The preliminary budget’s tax levy of $1.803 million and overall spending may only be reduced after the upcoming hearings.

The final budget vote is scheduled for a Thursday, November 13 town board meeting at the town hall. It was rescheduled from its normal second Tuesday because of the Veterans’ Day holiday falling on that Tuesday.

Despite the tax increase, general fund spending would increase only 0.82% in the preliminary budget, Supervisor Andrew Boyar said.

He said the rate increase was the result of unusually high winter road maintenance costs: materials and overtime and heating costs, combined with a $553,000 reduction in the overall value of the town’s tax base, which customarily grows by 2% annually.

Boyar said additional costs include a scheduled 3% contract pay increase for highway workers, a 4% increase in insurance costs (due to increased coverage levels) and requests for increased funding by the town’s emergency services.

Boyar explained that winter highway costs were the biggest hit because a year-end surplus, the unexpended balance of which usually goes to reduce new taxes, was “diminished.”

Last fall, a $315,000 unexpended balance reduced new taxes. This year the town has only $150,000 for that surplus, Boyar said.

The town highway department usually contributes to the surplus, but this year there is no highway surplus anticipated. Boyar said he hoped savings in the year’s last three months might reduce the tax increase before a final budget is approved next month.

The unusual tax increase will also require the town to bypass New York’s mandated 2% property tax cap.

Public hearings related to Highland’s 2015 budget at the town senior citizens’ center will begin at 6:30 p.m. Among the budget requests are the those for the Yulan ($138,300, up $4,000) and Highland Lake ($65,150, up $2,050) fire departments, American Legion Ambulance Service ($25,000 no change) and Sunshine Hall Library ($11,000 up $500).

The town budget hearing will begin at 7 p.m.

At 8 p.m. a hearing is scheduled on the local law that would allow a tax-rate increase above 2% in the budget. Three of the five board members must vote approval for that local law to pass.