HEUVELTON – The village will hold a public meeting to discuss a measure allowing the trustees to override the state’s 2 percent property tax cap.

The hearing regarding Local Law 1 of 2013 will be held at 6 p.m. March 13 at the Oswegatchie Town Hall.

The same law was passed last year, said Village Clerk Anna M. Hurst.

“We did pass the law last year,” Ms. Hurst said. “We did not have to override [the cap].”

The current year’s budget totals $1.013 million with a tax rate of $11.05 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The levy of $231,599 represented a 1.98 percent increase over the 2011-2012 levy.

The salaries of the four village trustees were kept at $1,680 in this year’s budget, and Mayor Barbara A. Lashua kept her salary at $4,440.

Ms. Hurst and Treasurer Joyce Bickel both received 2 percent raises.

The property tax cap was enacted in 2011 by the state Legislature, and limits the ability of local governments to raise their tax levy by more than 2 percent.

While passing the law only takes the approval of the village trustees, the public hearing gives residents a chance to voice their opinions.

“It’s a precaution in case we have to [override the cap],” Ms. Hurst said of the law the trustees hope to pass for a second year in a row.

Ms. Hurst said last year’s hearing was not well attended, but the public is encouraged to attend.

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