At a tentative total of $5,379,258, the proposed budget for 2025 is considered a work in progress and is expected to be finalized and approved in November.

 

The tax levy for the General Fund presently stands at $1,787,913, up by 38.39 percent from the current 2024 levy of $1,291,915, and the Highway levy is at $1,584,214, up by 2.99 percent from $1,538,182.

 

Supervisor Dean DePew said the overall tentative budget for 2025 is up by 16.70 percent, from a levy of $4,609,513 in 2024 to $5,379,258 in 2025. He said besides the General and Highway, the town has control to an extent over the Lighting and Drainage districts but has no say in the Library budget, which stands at $504,769, up by three percent; as well as the Modena fire district at $378,670 up by 2.39 percent; Clintondale at $299,713 up by 1.30%; and Plattekill at $776,822 up by 34.75 percent.

 

DePew stressed that these are tentative numbers.

 

“There are a lot of moving parts to this proposed budget. The numbers scare the heck out of us when you first look at them and even when we finish looking at them; everything is high, high, high...and when you go to the grocery store $100 doesn’t even fill the bag. That’s the world we’re living in today and it’s tough...We’re trying to keep as much money as we can in everybody’s pocket so they can live in this town. We’re trying to do our best and give the most services that we can, but the reality is all over the map, prices are going up.”

 

DePew said there will be a lot of meetings on the 2025 budget, “to talk back and forth, a lot of pencil sharpening and perhaps erasures and additions. It’s going to be a lot of work but that’s what we do.”

 

DePew said the cost of the Police Department is a contributing factor in the 38.39 percent increase in the General side of the budget ledger. Adding up the increases in Personal Services along with Equipment and Contractual expenses brings the budget for the department to $1,191,007, up by $479,019 from 2024.

 

‘I believe much of that has to do with mandates that haven’t been met in the past as far as trainings and other items. We have to look at that realistically and see what that looks like,” he said.

 

DePew said he wold like to see the tentative budget increase of 16.70 percent “reduced to nothing but I know that is not going to happen. But honestly I don’t know the anticipation is that we are looking to pass a law to go above the tax cap. We would be foolish not to do that. Even if we could stay below it, which I don’t anticipate that happening,  that needs to be done.”

 

DePew said although he does not have the exact number on this, “rest assured the town board is going to work their butts off to move it down to as low as we can possibly get it but we don’t want to stop services either.”

 

DePew said other key items driving up the 2025 budget are Medicare expenses and insurances, “things we don’t have control over, some we can work with but with others, our hands are tied.”