The Montgomery Village board, after three months of careful number crunching, finally adopted the village’s 2025-26 tentative budget during a special meeting last Tuesday, April 29. This approval included a tax rate of $19.66, or 11.5%, and a fund balance of $950,000.

During the April 29 meeting, the board dissected the budget one last time and considered cuts that would lower the tax rate; some of the cuts included $9,000 from the village’s summer camp program and half of the salary and retirement from a currently vacant police officer position. In the end, the tax rate remained mostly unchanged, staying at $19.66. As mentioned during the village’s April 22 meeting, a village household assessed at $147,000 would pay an additional $24.94 in tax dollars monthly, or $299.28 annually.

During a post-meeting conversation, Village Mayor Mike Hembury stated that he was initially concerned when the budget’s tax rate pierced the state cap by 28%. After working with Treasurer Deborah Delgado and Deputy Treasurer Heather Meres to lower the rate twice, he became much more confident in this year’s budget. Moving forward, Hembury wants to increase the tax rate by 3% every year as a measure to stay ahead of inflation costs. He also wants to continue bolstering the village’s fund balance and hold more discussions on budget review.

“At first, I was scared about the 28% tax rate. Through the expertise and guidance of our treasurer and deputy treasurer, we were able to lower it, and I felt more comfortable with the budget,” Hembury said. “A good manager surrounds themselves with professionals, and I’m very happy with our treasurer’s office.”

Hembury assured residents that this year’s budget was on the right track and that the village has been working to improve its financial habits for future budgets.