NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - North Salem taxpayers will get a chance to weigh in on the town’s preliminary 2026 budget of $13,077,447.
The proposed spending plan -- which covers the general and highway funds as well as special districts -- is up approximately 4.39 percent over the current total budget of $12,527,025.
After holding a public hearing at its Nov. 18 meeting, the Town Board voted unanimously to pass a local law allowing it to override the tax cap if necessary.
It then set a public hearing on the preliminary budget for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Town Meeting Room on June Road.
The budget must be adopted by Saturday, Dec. 20.
The allowable tax cap is 2.33 percent. The town proposes to exceed that by 1.65 percent, or $124,471.64.
The tax levy would increase by 3.984 percent (factoring in special district budgets) while the tax rate for the general and highway budgets would go up by 4.52 percent per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
Supervisor Warren Lucas explained that there were several reasons for needing to override the tax cap.
The town is due for a revaluation, for one, something that’s required by the state, he said.
That means a review of the market values of all properties in the community. Based on changes in the real estate market, the assessor will determine which assessments need to be decreased or increased.
That alone will cost the town about $85,000, which accounts, Lucas said, for about 1 percent of the required override.
(There are 2,200 properties in the town.)
Then there’s the “debt service” for the costs of reconstructing historic Delancey Hall, where some of the town offices are located.
Lucas pegged that at about $91,000, which accounts for slightly over 1 percent of the override.
Finally, the town expects to see a similar increase in the amount it contributes to retirement funds as well as in its employees’ medical insurance premiums.
At this point, the town doesn’t know the exact amount medical insurance will increase, he said, noting that that’s just one cost that beyond the town’s control.
“The fact that we only came up 4 percent is pretty impressive,” Lucas said of the impact of those four items alone, adding: “We tweaked everything we could.”
Personnel-wise the 2026 budget accounts for a new part-time position in the accounting department and also one in the highway department.
AMBULANCE SERVICES
Ambulance services are also a factor.
North Salem is one of eight Northern Westchester municipalities that constitute the Advanced Life Support Consortium.
In 2023, Westchester EMS (WEMS) informed members that its call volume had more than doubled in the past two decades. This caused average response times to rise to nearly 10 minutes in 2022.
That necessitated changes such as the addition of a fourth “fly car” for 12 hours a day.
The town is hoping to save some money next year by not hiring WEMS to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) on the weekends and “bringing it inhouse,” Lucas said.
It will instead increase the amount it contributes to the North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which is having a hard time finding volunteers to cover Saturdays and Sundays, so it can hire someone for that time slot.
The town is also contemplating forming an ambulance district. That would allow the Town Board to act as a board of directors, which would give it more control over, and insight into, the corps’ financials.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
The total tax levy in 2025 was $8,011,732. In 2026, it will be $8,330,951.
This covers the general, highway, and the special districts (water, sewer, lighting) funds. Folks only pay the special district taxes for the districts in which they actually live.
The average tax increase will be 3.984 percent if the budget passes as it now stands. That averages out to about $149 more per taxpayer.
For someone who owns a $1 million home, annual town property taxes would be $4,256.32, Lucas said.
North Salem expects to get 57.54 percent of its revenue from property taxes in 2026. This current fiscal year, that calculated at 58.51 percent. Revenue from other sources accounted for 41.49 percent in 2025; in 2026, that’s 42.46 percent.
Other revenues come from sources such as sales and mortgage taxes.
SALARIES FOR ELECTEDS
The town supervisor’s salary is going from $104,128.40 to $107,252.25, a difference of $3,123.85 or 3 percent.
Town board members’ salaries are going from $19,471.17 to $20,055.30, also 3 percent more.
(The deputy supervisor gets that amount plus a $4,000 stipend for his extra duties.)
The town town justice salaries are going from $41,634.68 to $42,883.72, or 3 percent higher.
The town clerk’s salary will rise from $99,064.03 to $102,035.95, or 3 percent.
The receiver of taxes’ salary, $91,368.57, remains the same. Newly elected to that position is Karol DeLuce, who is replacing Karen Roach, who is retiring.
The town’s highway superintendent has multiple jobs. In addition to his primary duties, he is superintendent of parks, maintains the town cemeteries, and is responsible for parking lots in Croton Falls and off-street parking.
Altogether, the highway superintendent’s paycheck will go up 3 percent -- from the present $147,755.31 to $152,187.97 in 2026.
The average town employee’s raise will be 3 percent.
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