According to a press release issued by the town Tuesday, Mr. Foley directed all town department heads to submit two separate budget requests; one that holds the line on spending to 2008 levels and another that cuts spending by 5 percent.

Mr. Foley, a Democrat, said those spending cuts would not lead to personnel cuts or cuts in programs.

"For families struggling to get by, every dollar counts," Mr. Foley said in the release. "I want to give residents the peace of mind today, that there will not be a general fund property tax increase for 2009."

The current rate is $4.47 per $100 of assessed valuation. The average taxpayer in town whose home is assessed at $3,000 will continue to pay $134 in general-fund taxes under Tuesday's proposal.

The 2003 and 2004 general-fund tax rate was $4.50 per $100 of assessed valuation, before the previous administration, under former supervisor John Jay LaValle, eliminated the general-fund tax in 2005 and 2006.

While the town is still working on putting the budget together, Mr. Foley vowed that the 2009 general fund spending plan would not exceed $168 million.

When questioned Wednesday, majority Republicans wondered how Mr. Foley intends to keep spending down.

Councilwoman Kathy Walsh said that in light of tough economic times she would like to see more of an outline of Mr. Foley's plans and not just a promise to not raise taxes.

"I'm a little concerned with our decline in mortgage tax revenues," Ms. Walsh said. "I'd really like to see how the supervisor plans to make this happen without cutting services."

Councilwoman Jane Bonner took it a step further saying the timing of Mr. Foley's announcement is motivated by Mr. Foley's current bid for a State Senate seat.

"This is all spin and no substance," Ms. Bonner said. "He says there is going to be a tax freeze at a time when he has no idea how to get it done."

Deputy Town Supervisor Jon Schneider said the supervisor is confident the town will be able to work together to "hold the line if not cut it."

"We're going to ask everyone to submit a proposal with 5 percent worth of cuts," Mr. Schneider said. "Some may not be able to do it, but the supervisor will make certain choices and figure out how to get it done."

"We collected $21 million in property taxes last year," Mr. Schneider continued. "A lot of Republicans were saying last year that we could have gotten by without collecting property taxes. We would have been $21 million worse off had we taken them up on that." Following last year's unveiling of the tentative budget, several Republican hopefuls, including then-supervisor candidate Robert DiCarlo, then-highway superintendent candidate Martin Haley and then-Fourth District nominee Roberta Owens, staged a budget protest, which featured a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party, outside Town Hall. Several men dressed as Native Americans stood in a float designed to look like a boat that was being pulled by a truck covered in "Stop High Tax Foley signs." The men threw empty cardboard boxes off the float that read "No Taxes."

Mr. Foley will present a proposed tentative budget to the Town Board in September.

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