During a special meeting – the last portion of a regular work session – on November 12, the Cornwall Town Board adopted its 2025 budget.
The budget passed on a 5-0 vote, with Cornwall Supervisor Josh Wojehowski saying he appreciates the bi-partisan support.
“Together we have reached a budget agreement with input from the entire Town Board, and members of the public that stays below the Tax Cap, maintains the current level of services and programming, invests in the repair or replacement of critical infrastructure/equipment, and addresses increased costs due to contractual obligations. Going forward we will need to minimize our use of fund balance, increase non-property tax revenues and address affordability issues for residents. There is also a great deal of uncertainty around the potential impacts from fiscal, monetary, trade and other policy choices of a new president taking office in January of 2025. We will need to monitor accordingly and may need to make adjustments as appropriate,” the supervisor said.
He provided this summary of the spending plan:
The Town will see an increase in expenditures for FY25 to $16,133,934 or $17,510,802 with Fire Districts. The main drivers of expenditures for 2025 are expiring union/collective bargaining agreements, continued double digit increases to contractual obligations – health insurance, retirement costs, and debt service on DEC mandated sewer projects, replacement or upgrades of aging infrastructure, equipment, and vehicles.
“To balance the budget and stay below the state mandated tax cap, we are making targeted cuts, proposing policy changes, and appropriating fund balance,” Wojehowski added.
The tax levy for the year is $9,965,706, which covers 62 percent of the budget.
The adopted budget calls for a tax rate increase of 4.8 percent over the 2024 tax rate, or up from $4.78 per $1000 of assessed valuation to $5.01 per $1000.
“It’s about a $5.75 month increase in taxes on home assessed at $300,000,” Wojehowski said.
Special districts will see no tax increase in FY25 with the exception of Cornwall Sewer District 1 due to DEC mandated infrastructure projects.
To get to the adopted numbers, the board decided to use $2,437,928 of fund balance, which covers 15 percent of the operating costs. The adopted budget also uses $3,730,300 of non-property tax revenue, which covers 23 percent of it.
At the meeting where they adopted the budget, the board first made a change to the operations and maintenance line of the Cornwall Sewer District. It did not affect the bottom line of the document, just moved debt service to the correct line, Wojehowski said.