There was just one comment from the public when the Cornwall Town Board held its mandated Public Hearing on overriding the New York State tax cap on October 20. Cornwall resident Nancy Bryan said that while she “fully understands overriding the cap”, she said she still has not heard what percentage increase property owners face in their 2027 taxes.

The board did adopt the local law allowing them to go over the cap, in what Supervisor Josh Wojehowski called something “most towns do as a proforma action”. He added the public hearing on the budget will take place on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The preliminary budget is available to review at cornwallny.gov/Town-Hall/Town-News/fy-2027-budget-information.

Also pertaining to the budget, the board held a public hearing and then adopted the benefit assessment districts (i.e. sewer, sanitation and drainage) in the town, also as state law requires. There was just one comment on that, from resident Greg Robie.

A week earlier, at the board’s October 13 work session meeting, the board unanimously adopted a local law expanding the residency requirement for the Cornwall Police Department’s chief from living within town limits to living within 10 miles of Cornwall.

In some other matters of business from the two meetings:

- The board accepted the resignation of Recreation Department Activities Coordinator Phylis Murphy, effective December 30, with Wojehowski calling her a “bright light” and said she will be very hard to replace. In her letter to the board, she wrote: “Serving our residents in a community which I love for the past nine years has been a privilege and I am grateful for the opportunity and trust you gave me to be creative in facilitating programs, activities, and events for our residents and extended communities. This has never been a job for me - it was a labor of love and I thank you all for your support and confidence. It has been magical. I leave with a heart full of love and happiness and memories that will last a lifetime.”

- A request to review the town’s noise ordinance pertaining to garbage collection was discussed. Residents of Warren Court – which runs behind the Cornwall Plaza – complained about the very early collections done by privately-contracted garbage trucks there. The board agreed to further look into the matter, saying a public hearing and local law revision might be necessary. There were also several comments made about being careful with restricting collection times, for instance, noting that early pickups mean fewer garbage trucks on the roads later in the day.

- A $1,274,274 contract was awarded to Argenio Bros. to replace the Boulevard bridge. Wojehowski explained the long delay in getting to this point by saying “when dealing with federal agencies the process can either be slow, really slow or extra slow”. There were six other bids for the project, with the highest being $2,537,530. The work includes: a new 33-footwide span, 7-foot-tall, 3-sided pre-cast concrete bridge with a precast invert slab and wing walls; watermain relocation; and assorted grading and paving.

- On October 20, the supervisor gave a brief update on the town’s NY Forward projects, saying a new pedestrian bridge to the gazebo in Rings Pond will soon go out to bid; the Ice House work has started and will be completed before the end of the year; and a kick-off session for the ‘wayfinding and branding’ work was held recently. “We want to have those materials ready to go for next year’s tourist season.