The Gardiner Town Board announced a proposed 13 percent tax increase for 2025, attributing the hike to the need for emergency medical services (EMS) funding, cybersecurity, and other costs.
In a meeting held October 24, Supervisor Marybeth Majestic detailed the new budget items, with $100,000 allocated from the general fund specifically for EMS support.
“So just for the public, since we have so many people here today, for the first time in a few years, Gardiner taxes will increase,” Majestic said. “And I’m going to tell you a few big ticket budget items that we haven’t had before in our budget that is causing this.”
Majestic explained that Gardiner’s shift towards a second-home community has led to a decline in local volunteers, impacting EMS response times during daytime hours. The board’s plan includes compensating volunteers for covering shifts from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., ensuring timely emergency response, which Majestic described as “essential” in the town’s rural setting. She noted that neighboring towns have spent as much as $1 million annually on EMS services.
“We have less volunteers than we have had in the past. Families with generations of volunteers, today’s generation is not volunteering as much. And we made a commitment as a town board to work with the staff at the Gardner Fire and Rescue to hopefully work within our core group of volunteers, to compensate volunteers to cover the rescue squad from 6 a.m. till 6 p.m., which is when most people are out at work,” Majestic explained. “We don’t have trouble with coverage in the evenings or on the weekends. It’s mostly during the day. And I will tell you that we have some very stellar volunteers right now that are taking 12 -hour shifts without pay and staying at the firehouse.”
Majestic said that once the 2025 town budget is adopted, “we’ve got to roll up our sleeves because items that are going to require follow -up by the town board.” This will include the establishment of a town-wide EMS district and the implementation of a new tax to fund the district.
Several neighboring communities, including the Town of Montgomery, have recently established special ambulance districts to provide funding for the equipment, infrastructure, and other needs of a community’s volunteer ambulance corps.
Ambulance districts can also contract with entities to provide emergency medical services and general ambulance services. The money to fund these services is raised through taxes of residents living within the established district. The district can use the funds to purchase vehicles and equipment, pay for professional training and salaries for paid EMTs, or contract with professional ambulance services such as Ambulnz. The tax levy for the district is separate from the municipal tax.
“I think that getting emergency services is extremely important and that’s one of the big nuts that’s been added to the budget,” said Council Member Carol Richmond. “So I think this is the best given that the other things are pretty much mandatory increases.”
Other budget items include $29,000 for cybersecurity measures mandated by insurance requirements and $5,000 to fund a grant writer. The highway department budget will see a $50,000 down payment for a new loader, while the sewer district will allocate $63,000 for a state-mandated sewer superintendent.
Healthcare and retirement expenses also contributed to the tax hike. Retirement costs for general fund employees rose by 36.5 percent, and highway fund retirement costs increased by 45 percent , alongside a 24 percent rise in retiree health insurance premiums.
The board scheduled a public hearing on the budget for November 7 at 7:05 p.m. at Gardiner Town Hall. The preliminary budget is available for inspection at the Town Clerk’s office. Proposed salaries for key officials include $57,330 for the supervisor and $77,433 for the superintendent of highways.
Total levied taxes are expected to rise to $3,124,544, up from $2,759,096. Residents are invited to voice their opinions on the budget, which includes funding considerations for special districts such as Gardiner Fire and Sewer District #1.