The Town of Cornwall will hold a public hearing on the town’s preliminary 2025 budget at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Town Hall. The board must adopt a budget by November 20.

The tentative budget was $16,226,974, which exceeded the town’s mandated NYS tax cap by about $459,000. (That tentative budget did not include the three fire districts –they weren’t added until later in the process.)

Now, after a budget work session on October 16, the proposed preliminary budget of $17,510,802 (includes fire districts) will stay under the tax cap, and the proposed tax rate to pay for these services is 5.01% (from 4.78% in 2024) on $1000 of assessed value, or $5.75 per month on a home assessed at $300,000.

Collecting $11,282,574 in taxes will help fund the budget, and to get under the tax cap, the proposed preliminary 2025 budget uses $2.4 million of available fund balance, which covers 14.26 percent of total expenses. Some of that is within special districts.

Supervisor Josh Wojehowski said, “We found a way to stay under the tax cap for 2025 and reduce the overall tax increase for residents. I want to caution residents that using this amount of fund balance year after year is not sustainable in the long run. The community needs to have a conversation about its future as it pertains to affordability for all residents. I plan on having that discussion next year.”

The supervisor has explained several times that driving factors in the budget include ongoing negotiations with the PBA and CSEA labor unions, which covers the majority of labor costs for the Town and major departments – Police, Buildings & Grounds, Highway and Sanitation. The ambulance contract with New Windsor EMS expires next year and medical/pension costs continue to increase by double digits. Debt service for major infrastructure projects and replacement of aging equipment and vehicles also contributed to the increase in expenses.

“We built this budget around negotiations,” he said. “We are trying to invest in our work force.”

At the October 15 Town Board meeting, Councilwoman Karen Edelman-Reyes spoke at length about the board’s working to stay under the tax cap. She challenged the state for setting the rule in place, saying “Why is it Albany wanted us to have this difficult decision every year – a self-scrutiny exercise?”

She went on to say that she does not feel “beholden to an Albany-imposed program that is telling us how we’re supposed to look and to live,” noting that by limiting towns, villages and schools to certain tax increases the state is making municipalities “at the mercy of grants, and the state gets to decide what those grants are for”.

Edelman-Reyes, in her first year on the board, said this year “is really hard – we’re going to have to do some hard things”. But she added that she, for one, is “trying to keep us, us.”

“The way our town is, is important to me,” she said. “Sometimes that means the tax rate will have to go up.”

Wojehowski has said repeatedly that “other traditional and new revenue sources” are needed to pay for the town’s expenses. For instance, he explained:

• Non-property tax revenues will cover about two percent of the total budget in 2025
• Sales tax has been a reliable & steady source of non-property tax
• Mortgage recording taxes are currently in a downward trend due to interest rates

• Court fees are currently in a long-term downward trend
• The new Hotel and Tourism Facility tax is still in roll-out phase, so it is too soon to have an impact
• New EV charging stations are already generating positive cashflow on a monthly basis

From the audience at the October 15 meeting, former Supervisor Richard Randazzo questioned Wojehowski on increased salaries for employees, saying “you worry about employees leaving, but what about the residents leaving?”

Councilwoman Virginia Scott commented on the topic too, saying to the audience at the meeting “I will be looking at the budget with you in mind,” she said. “I hope to find a good balance for our employees, but the taxpayer is my concern.”

The town is mandated to make the public aware of the salaries of elected officials in announcing the public hearing. They are: Town Supervisor - $78,639, Town Council members – 14,553, Town Clerk - $70,072, Town Justices - $38,690, and Receiver of Taxes - $21,366. Those interested in learning about the budget can visit cornwallny.gov, and click on FY2025 Town Budget. Copies of the budget are also available at Town Hall, during normal business hours.