On Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., Town of Highlands residents will have the opportunity to comment on the town’s proposed 2027 budget. It’s an $8,963,480 spending plan, up $599,784 from the 2026 budget.

The Town Board finished working on the document on October 12. After weeks of Monday night work sessions, which followed months of early preparation by department heads and Town Comptroller Kelly Pecoraro, the board now waits for that public comment before adopting it. That is planned for the Monday, Nov. 9 regular board meeting.

A copy of the complete budget is now available for public review in the Town Clerk’s office.

“It was a long and arduous process again this year,” Supervisor Bob Livsey said last week. “I ask the board to give up three extra nights within a month to come to these work sessions, which they did.”

The budget is under the New York State tax cap. Livsey said that’s a mixed blessing. “People want us to stay under it,” he said, “and we will. But, we need an awful lot of things that aren’t in there. Every year, every department head requests items that we aren’t able to afford for them, we know that.”

For instance, there was discussion about adding two full-time police officers to the Town of Highlands Police Department that was eventually dismissed. Non-union employees will receive a flat three percent pay increase, as opposed to higher raises asked for by several department heads for their employees. Not receiving pay increases are Town Board members (with the exception of Livsey – he is taking his first pay increase in 15 years), and Planning and Zoning Board members.

Livsey is hoping that a grant obtained by Senator James Skoufis will pay for a new – much needed – garbage truck.

On the other hand, it appears that increased revenues – namely the new hotel occupancy tax enacted in 2026 – will help fortify the budget. In 2026 the board budgeted for $3,433,525 in revenues. In 2027 they are planning on $4,136,907, an increase of $703,382.

Livsey and Pecoraro are also pleased that in 2027 they were only forced to use $220,000 in fund balance to balance the budget – last year they had to use $419,841, which included $140,000 from tax stabilization reserve fund. That’s just under $200,000 they were able to keep in the bank, it was noted.

Once adopted, the tight budget will have to be closely monitored throughout the year, the supervisor said, noting that isn’t anything new to the board.

If adopted, residents can expect to see an approximate 31 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value increases on their property taxes. In 2026 the tax rate is $11.4299 per $1000 assessed value; in 2027 the rate will be $11.7456 per $1000 assessed value.