MALONE -- Taxes would go up more than 17 percent if the tentative Malone village budget for 2008-09 were passed as is.

But village trustees and Mayor Brent Stewart held their first work session Tuesday to start paring down the spending plan, which has increased 8.27 percent from this year, according to Village Treasurer Dorothy Maguire.

TAX LEVY UP

The overall tentative budget for 2008-09 is $6,995,565, which is $534,399 more than the budget adopted for 2007-08.

The amount to be raised by taxes is up 17.58 percent from $2,915,555 this year to $3,428,031 in 2009.

The tentative tax rate per $1,000 of assessed-property value stands at $22.60, compared to $19.22 per $1,000 in this year's budget.

A homeowner with property valued at $100,000 would see a $337.79 tax increase.

These are the raw numbers calculated from requests made by the village's department heads, Maguire said, and the figures will decrease as more budget sessions are held.

FUEL, HEALTH COSTS

The largest increases are blamed on fuel costs for heating the village's buildings and for operating heavy equipment and its fleet of vehicles.

Health insurance also went up, Maguire said, and a request for the second phase of upgrades to recreation equipment is also in the budget.

The figures released this week do not include any changes to the sewer and water rates, but they may be a topic as work sessions continue, she said.

BUDGET SESSIONS

Tuesday's meeting was with representatives from the Department of Public Works.

Three more budget sessions are scheduled, including one beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, where Police Chief Steve Stone will meet with the Village Board about his financial picture. He will be followed by Justice Court officials, code-enforcement officers and Village Clerk Tammy LaValley.