The Ulster Town Board has set a November 2 public hearing for a preliminary budget of $14,167.472, an increase of $902,085, or 6.8 percent, over the 2023 spending plan.
The tentative budget includes an overall tax levy of $9,195,000, an increase of $102,537, or 1.13 percent.
During a meeting of the town board held on Thursday, October 20, officials touted efforts to reduce the tax levy after first publishing a tentative budget earlier this month.
“The difference in the tentative budget to the preliminary budget and the general fund is a reduction in sales tax revenue resulting from a estimate put out by the Ulster County Department of Finance in relation to the sales tax revenues that they expect to collect in 2024,” said Supervisor James E. Quigley, III.“And in addition, we have recently received two notices of potential retirements in 2024, which increased the retirement line in the police department by $80,000.”
Some salaries see an increase over the present levels in the preliminary budget, including the supervisor, up 9.45 percent from $50,250 to $55,000. While the total for the four council members remains at 41,600, the additional stipend for the deputy supervisor role would rise from $1,500 to $2,500. Other salary increases include a bookkeeper ($81,254, up from $67,600), auditor ($38,500, up from $35,000) and secretary ($67,354, up from a budgeted $62,670 in 2023). But savings have been found elsewhere, including the removal of a part time payroll clerk budgeted at $37,566 in 2023; a drop in court security costs from $25,000 to $20,000; assessor’s salary from $96,830 to $84,380; and clerks’ wages, from $239,743 to $235,750.
In the planning department, planner’s fees are budgeted for $20,000, down from $30,000 in 2023; while the Planning Board chairman’s job will see an increase from $2,500 to $3,000; and the total cost for Planning Board members will rise from $8,000 to $9,000.
The town is anticipating significant increases in some insurance, including unemployment, initially budgeted for $5,000 in 2023 before being adjusted to $12,500; that line is set at $12,000 in the 2024 preliminary budget. Other anticipated insurance jumps include state retirement, up 15.67 percent to $282,031; police and fire retirement, up $718,569 from $631,631; disability insurance, up $1,000 to $12,000; hospital and dental insurance, an increase from $1,260,831 to $1,458,300; and retiree hospital and dental insurance, set at $835,050, a 27.95 percent jump from $652,650.
After a jump of nearly 10 percent last year, workers compensation is slated to increase much more modestly by 2.11 percent to $212,750.
At the town board meeting, council members accepted the preliminary budget and set the public hearing for 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, November 2. One unidentified member of the public already had their say at the October 20 meeting, saying that while the tax levy increase was low, he’d like it to be even lower.
“In listening to television I always hear Rensselaer County saying every year they lower everybody’s taxes,” he said. “I’m saying, what are we doing in this town here? It doesn’t happen every year. Even though you say you’ve got a good budget and it’s only 1 percent, my taxes still go up. So I’m asking you guys to take a look at the budget.”
To review the Town of Ulster’s 2024 preliminary budget, visit: https://www.townofulster.ny.gov/wp-content/uploads/TOU-2024-Preliminary-Budget-Package.pdf.
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