Four community residents spoke during the Highland Falls Village Board’s annual public hearing to approve going over the NYS mandated tax cap last week.

The board did approve the measure, as most municipal boards in the state do to give themselves the option of going over the cap should the need arise. As he has done at the last several meetings, Deputy Mayor Jim DiSalvo noted that the village has not even started its budgeting process for 2025-26, but the state’s timeline requires that this resolution be passed at this point in their fiscal year.

“We will make every effort to stay within the cap,” he said.

Commenting were residents Michael Joyce (“last year we had the same motion and people on the board said ‘it’s only in case’ and then taxes went up”), Aleena Olivia (“I urge the board to please not use this if we don’t have to; we really cannot afford it in the condition we’re in right now”), Ed Dunn (“what are we facing that you need to do this?”) and Bonnie Snow, who urged the board to spend less in the next fiscal year.

Trustee Dr. Melanie Guerrero voted no on the resolution, with the other four board members voting yes. Guerrero commented for several minutes about the village debt and other spending issues. She also voted no on two resolutions pertaining to bonds the village took out after the 2023 flood; those shifted funds from ‘water system’ projects to ‘roads and related improvements’ projects.