Atlantic Beach Greenlights Budget

Atlantic Beach will have a projected 1 percent tax increase in the coming fiscal year, and according to Mayor Stephen Mahler, the community should be very pleased in comparison to how some neighboring villages have fared.

“We may be getting a lot less income because of the economic times, however, other villages are doing 12 percent increases from what I’ve heard,” Mahler said at the board's meeting last Monday.

The Village of Atlantic Beach has generated $749,000 in revenue and $90,000 in capital cash surplus over the last year, totaling a general funds budget of $2,798,519.

Although there were few significant changes presented at the public hearing for the 2011–12 tentative budget, there were some changes that required clarification at last week’s meeting.

The board is currently cutting the sewage tax assessments by $25,000 after it was discovered the village may have been paying unnecessary taxes on property that could possibly be proven unfit for sewage.

Last year, the board set aside $85,000, a figure that Mahler said he felt was unwarranted, considering the recent research of assessed taxable property throughout village.

“I don’t think it’s a valid tax,” Mahler said. “It’s going to be very interesting to see what they say about this thing.”

If it’s shown that the village has been taxed for vacant lots or property that cannot be proven fit for sewage, Atlantic Beach could be eligible for six years of rebates.

“This is only a problem for smaller villages because they don’t have their own sewage district,” Mahler explained. "Worst case is we have to separate beach houses from the beach district."

Parking Restrictions

It was agreed that households will now be limited to three additional daily parking requests each year, with a limit of 30 permits per request.

This will only be waived on Memorial Day, the first two days of Passover, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, July 4 and Labor Day.

“It will eliminate people using the passes every weekend,” Mahler said.

Preparing for Hurricane Season

Neil Metz, of the Atlantic Beach Rescue Squad, briefed the board and village members on safety and evacuation procedures for the upcoming hurricane season.

“The boys are out there swimming every night getting ready for the big waves,” Metz said.

In case of a hurricane, the ABRS will move their equipment to Malverne to prevent injury to rescue squad personnel and damage to equipment.

Mahler explained he holds a mayoral right to request a full village evacuation if it were ever necessary.

“It’s not easy, but it depends on how many people don’t want to leave,” Mahler said. “We are taking the worst possible scenario into consideration here.”

Police Activity Report

There were 49 moving violations for commuters in the Village of Atlantic Beach last month, according to Sgt. Kevin Burke of the .

Mahler raised some concern while considering the significant variance of moving violations from month to month in the village, especially after providing the precinct with a radar detector.

“I never understood why there can’t be a traffic patroller on the road during morning and evening rush hour,” Mahler said.

Burke assured there will be a closer watch on speeders for the months ahead.