If necessary, the Town of Highlands can now exceed New York State’s mandated tax cap for its 2027 budget. The Town board adopted a local law which allows them to take the action at its meeting on September 28.

First, they held a public hearing on the matter, with just one comment. Village Trustee Aleena Olivia made the comment, saying “I hope you don’t have to do it”.

Supervisor Bob Livsey said the board did not want to or plan to go higher than the state-determined cap, but added adopting the local law is necessary in case they do. “If we didn’t pass this, and we go over, that additional money gets put into a reserve fund to use the following year (2028). We couldn’t use it next year (2027). So, it’s important that we do pass this law.”

The hearing lasted just four minutes.

Prior to the meeting, and then again after it, the board worked on the 2027 spending plan.

Town Assessor Jean Talman was on hand and said that her budget changed “by pennies” from the 2026 budget, and, when asked if she could find anywhere to cut she said she did not believe she could. If the Town Board uses a grant they have to purchase an electric car for several departments to share – as they have said they will – the line in the budget for vehicle fuel and maintenance could be lowered.

Recreation Director Aaron Falk was there too, and did ask for some increases; for salaries. He said the state’s minimum wage will increase again in 2027, which affects summer day camp counselors and lifeguards; that he’d like a stipend for the clerk who handles processing all of the applications and paperwork for his summer staff; and that he’d like to increase the salaries of the leadership of the summer program, all who are adults, as opposed to the high school and college age staff. All of that would increase personnel services from $59,000 to $67,200. Deputy Supervisor Rich Sullivan pushed back on those increases, saying that line has already increased from $45,000 in 2024.

Falk, who said 125 community children were enrolled in the camp this year, agreed that while it is a program which “takes in less than it puts out” money-wise, “it is also our most impactful program – helping parents with summer childcare and giving kids exposure to things, like museums and aquariums, that many would not otherwise have.”

Town of Highlands Ambulance Corps Captain Jeff Gathers was on hand to defend some of the increases he had in his proposed budget, including for supplies and equipment. He argued that in 2026 “we are probably going to break records with our call volume” and also added that many of his needed funds are for mandatory trainings, for utilities, and fuel.

In some other business from the meeting:

- The board held a public hearing on a ‘notice to remedy’ situation at 46 Mine Dock Rd. and eventually acted to do the work and bill the property. The owner is deceased.

- A letter of support for a grant application for the Highlands Flood Recovery Mitigation & Resilience Working Group – for a hydraulic engineer to come to the community and “tell us where we are vulnerable,” Brian Frederickson from the group said – was signed and given to Frederickson. In another grant matter, the supervisor said he has the paperwork ready to submit to Senator James Skoufis looking for a grant for a new sanitation truck.

- Bills and claims in the amount of $36,168 were paid including $5113 for diesel fuel, $6000 for August cemetery maintenance, $6118 for sanitation truck service, and $3404 for recycling hauling.

- The board transferred $114,851 from its Sanitation Truck Garage Fund to the Sanitation Vehicles Reserve Fund.

- Livsey said he had received a bid for $13,500 to repair and paint the fire escape at Town Hall. He needs two more bids, he said, but would like to budget that work to be done in 2027.

- Deputy Supervisor Rich Sullivan said to expect heavy construction on Mine Dock Rd. over the next month as catch basins and guardrails are installed and drainage work is done.

- Resignations from two employees were accepted – Matthew Rodriguez in the Town of Highlands Police Department and Laurie Graziano Rosario from the Dial-A-Bus.

- From the audience, Highland Falls’ Ron Malecot again asked if Zoning and Planning Board meetings could be livestreamed for the community to watch.