Two pizzas or town services: what’s your choice?
Supervisor Ed Lachterman could use your help. Or, perhaps more appropriately, input from you as he prepares his 2027 tentative budget.
Over the next several weeks, he’ll be meeting with department heads to review how much money they say they’ll need for the coming year to maintain their current level of services and the infrastructure they’re responsible for maintaining. He’ll also be meeting with the comptroller, trying to balance those requests against anticipated revenue.
After the supervisor releases his tentative budget by the end of October, the Town Board will meet in November to review his budget and consider whether we want to make any changes before adopting a preliminary budget that will be the subject of a public hearing on Dec. 1. Given today’s uncertain economic environment, our challenge will be setting a tax rate that addresses taxpayer affordability and, at the same time, maintains services and the town’s multi-million-dollar infrastructure.
But by Dec. 1, it’s typically too late to expect the board to make any significant changes in the budget. So ─ if you want to have any meaningful input into your 2027 tax bill, now is the time to speak up ─ before the supervisor releases his tentative budget.
Because a budget is as much a political document as it is a financial one, the supervisor will most likely try to minimize any possible increase in the “town” tax rate ─ the part of your town tax bill that supports the operating budgets for the General, Highway and Library funds. (All residential properties pay an additional refuse tax and, depending on where you live, your total town tax may also include additional taxes for water and sewer.)
At last year’s budget hearing, many residents wondered how Supervisor Lachterman was able to keep the 2026 “town” tax flat when the inflation rate was 3%. With inflation now at 3.4%, will he be able to propose a second zero tax increase for 2027 without cutting services or postponing other needed expenses?
And if he does propose a zero tax increase again in 2027, what might that mean for 2028? After virtually no increase in the “town” tax for four years, 2020-2023, reality hit and in 2025 there was a whopping 7.4% catch-up tax increase. But in 2026, the tax rate seesawed back down to zero. Will it have to seesaw up a second time in 2028? If so, by how much?
Salaries are the biggest expense in the town budget. And, based on existing union contracts, those salaries will increase by 3% in 2027.
It’s also reasonable to expect increases in the town’s bills for electricity, gasoline, diesel, pool chemicals and lifeguards, etc. Health insurance costs are also likely to increase.
But will increases in our major sources of non-property tax revenue ─ over which the town has no control ─ e.g., sales tax, mortgage tax and building permits, be sufficient to offset the increase in expenses? That’s the critical unknown.
You’re both the taxpayer and the recipient of the town’s services. So if you had a choice between a tax increase or cutting an existing service, which option would you choose? Forget all the talk about the percentage tax increase. Percentages are meaningless. Think dollars.
Would you be willing to accept a $50 increase in the “town” tax — the cost of two pizzas — if it meant
Paving your street next year
Freezing the cost of family pool passes despite the increased cost of operating the pools
Increasing library hours
Making sure an ambulance will respond to your emergency call in the shortest possible time
Providing additional services for our growing senior population
Or, spending some of the $50 on less sexy infrastructure needs, such as
Maintaining and/or repairing our town buildings, parking lots, parks, athletic facilities and playgrounds
Upgrading aging neighborhood drainage systems in order to alleviate flooding and street icing in the winter
Installing energy saving initiatives that will reduce future utility bills
To be honest, you or your neighborhood may not directly benefit from your $50 tax increase. You may never have occasion to drive on the street that’s been waiting 20 years to be paved. You may not use either of the town’s two pools or the library. You may not be a senior citizen.
But those services and infrastructure are part of what makes Yorktown a desirable place to live ─ which in turn directly impacts the value of your house ─ which has a direct impact on your financial assets, if not today then sometime in the future when you’re ready to sell your house.
Think of the $50 as a long-term investment that will pay future dividends. People want to buy houses in Yorktown because we have two quality school systems and an array of quality-of-life services like police, parks, open space, library, safe roads, recreation programs for all age groups, etc.
So what’s your choice: pizza or town services? You’re the taxpayer. Supervisor Lachterman needs to know what you want and what you’re willing to pay for.
Email him today at supervisor@yorktownny.gov.
Susan Siegel is a member of the Yorktown Town Board.
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