Lewisboro finances remain on solid footing, comptroller reports

SOUTH SALEM, N.Y. - The Lewisboro Town Board held a work session at its May 26 meeting, giving town officials and residents a midyear snapshot of the town’s financial position.

The verdict? The town is in good shape, according to Comptroller Annie Burnham.

“This financial update is basically getting everybody up to speed on where our expenses are at the end of May versus the original budget for 2026,” Burnham said. “By the end of May, we expect to have spent 42 percent of the budget and have about 58 percent left for the rest of the year.

“Generally speaking, everybody's spending is right where it should be for this time of year,” Burnham added.

Burnham did note that several departments have larger balances remaining, on a percentage basis, from this year’s budget allocation. That’s because many of those departments incur a significant portion of their expenses at specific times during the year. Perhaps the prime example is the Parks and Recreation budget, for which expenses and payments increase in June, July and August.

“Parks and Rec has 77 percent of its budget remaining because of the timing,” Burnham pointed out. “They hit the bulk of their expenses in the summertime because they're paying for things like lifeguards.”

This is just one element of the uptick in seasonal hiring within the department. Other summer positions include camp counselors, maintenance workers and swim instructors, among other openings recently posted on the town website.

“The retirement fund obligation is paid once a year,” Burnham said. “So that looks like it has a lot remaining, but that is usually a top-level journal entry to bring it to the budgeted figure.”

Town departments maintain timetables showing the expected lifespan of assets to help plan major expenditures, such as re-roofing buildings or replacing windows.

“The goal when we created this year's budget was to put aside funds for capital,” Burnham said. “But the expenses were just so high that it was a very challenging budget.”

Deputy Supervisor Mary Shah added: “Whether you're putting aside money in a reserve account or using debt in the future is also part of the conversation. You want to do whatever is right, but it's not easy.”

Burnham noted that the town had issued bonds to help fund the new office building, as well as other needs across town departments.

“But we did use $1.4 million of our fund balance for capital purchases since the beginning of 2025,” she said. “To name just a couple, we paid off the highway trucks for $145,000, and we paid off a bond anticipation note, or BAN, for $320,000. So that's a borrowing that went away.”

Those disbursements from the fund balance included $165,000 for the Onatru Farm bathroom, $570,000 for the pool bathhouse and $5,500 for a swing at Vista Park. Burnham noted that while 79 percent of the cost of a new police vehicle was funded through auction proceeds, $14,000 from the town’s fund balance also went toward the purchase.

In addition, there was an allocation of $80,000 for a second police vehicle, as well as $140,000 in soft costs associated with the police department’s new headquarters building, she said.

Councilman Rich Sklarin wanted to know how healthy the town’s finances are likely to be at year’s end compared to last year.

“A few short months from now, when we start the budget process, we look to be kind of on sound footing,” he said. “Is that the case?”

“With the infrastructure investments that we made, we should be good for the balance of the year and next year,” Burnham said. “The only thing I'll add is that with the police department, we'll get a better estimate of what the building will cost. Maybe if we go to bid before the end of the year, which I hope we do, we'll know exactly what it may cost, and then we'll have to bond for that. But that debt service is not going to be reflected in the 2026 or 2027 budget. That's something we can plan for.”

Among other business, the Town Board gave the green light to the Waccabuc Country Club’s application to hold a fireworks display on Saturday, June 27, at 9:30 p.m.

At its meeting earlier in May, the board had withheld approval because the Waccabuc fireworks were scheduled so close in time to the town’s own fireworks display, which is set for 9 p.m. the same evening at Onatru Farm. Police and emergency officials have since determined that the close timing poses no safety risk.

The Town Board followed that vote with approval of a funds escrow agreement for the Wolf Conservation Center. The agreement will facilitate development of the center as a private nature reserve, including securing certificates of occupancy for buildings on the property.