Current Town Budget & Archive
2025 Town Budget (PDF)
Budget Workshop - September 26, 2024 @ 6:00PM | Agenda | Tentative Budget | Minutes | Video
The Tentative Budget is a rough draft budget based on conversations and decisions made between the Supervisor and the Town’s department heads. The Budget Workshop allows the Town Council to weigh in and modify the Supervisor’s decisions made in the rough draft. Once the Town Council is satisfied with their decisions on the Tentative Budget, it becomes the Town Council’s budget, commonly known as the Preliminary Budget. The Supervisor may be required by the Town Council to research and execute certain directives in order to cut the Preliminary Budget even further. This will take place between the Budget Workshop and the November Special Meeting.
Workshop Highlights (posted September 29, 2024)
The Town Board approved a Tentative Budget (now Preliminary Budget) that is 6.7% above the 2% tax cap (2% over last year is roughly a $19,000 allowable increase by NYS). The Town Council recognizes the deep challenges this presents to taxpayers. This is not the final budget and additional work is being done throughout the month of October to attempt to reduce this percentage. The following bullet points (in order of impact, greatest to least) represent the biggest reasons for the increase:
+$20,000 - The Highway Department must replace their 2011 1-ton utility truck as it is more expensive to fix it than to replace it. The Town is currently considering a RAM 5500 Crew Cab. This represents an additional $20,000 to the budget per year for the next five years.
5.0%/5.25% - 3.75%/4.0%/4.25% - Federal interest rates are forecast to be dramatically cut over the coming year which means the Town will accrue less interest/revenue on our fund balances (guessing from 5%/5.25 to 4%/4.25%)
+$5,000 to $25,000 - Increasing our contribution to the Highway Reserve fund to help offset future costs of tandem trucks (which are now under a requirement to purchase electric vehicles through the Clean Air Act) - we currently own two 2016 tandems (used) and a 2021 tandem (bought new)
+$4,620 - Willsboro Essex EMS has increased their paid personnel request due to a volunteer shortage.
Increasing a P/T employee to a F/T employee to assist with general laborer and buildings/grounds needs currently handled by a variety of employees (this increase will be split among 4 departments, with only 1 of the departments actually affecting the tax cap increase)
State Retirement costs continue to increase.
+~10% - General Liability insurance costs are predicted to increase
Public Hearing - November 7, 2024 @ 6:00PM | Agenda | Preliminary Budget | Minutes | Video
The Public Hearing will be on the 2025 Preliminary Budget and public input will be sought to inform the Town Council on their to-date efforts to produce a fiscally responsible budget.
2025 proposed salaries for the following elected officials, as required by Town Law §108:
Town Supervisor - $24,912
Town Clerk - $23,046
Highway Superintendent - $46,986
Town Councilmember - $2,913
Special Meeting to Adopt Budget - November 14, 2024 @ 6:00PM | Agenda | Draft Minutes | Video
The Town Council will use the Public Hearing input, as well as the Supervisor’s work since the September Budget Workshop to further refine the Town Budget. Once the input is considered and the Supervisor’s work incorporated in the amended Preliminary Budget, the Town Council will adopt by resolution the 2025 Final Budget, which is the budget to be used for taxation purposes in 2025.
Town of Essex Trend Budget Analysis and 2025 Tax Bill demonstration (PDF)
2024 Town Budget (PDF)
General/Highway Fund Tax rate per $1000 of Assessed valued = $4.40185 (a decrease of -11.07% over last year)