TOWN OF WALLKILL – The Wallkill Town Board has approved the 2024 budget, which stays below the state tax cap.
“By cutting expenses and keeping out expected revenue within modest expectations, this budget reflects a well-balanced conservative spending plan for our residents,” said Town Supervisor George Serrano.
He said the budget “takes into consideration our beloved seniors and those families just starting out.”
He said depending upon the size of one’s home, residents will see an increase of between $8.64 and $23.04 a year and he said the town continues to have the lowest water and sewer rates in the county.
Serrano said the spending plan increases the police department to provide a full-time school resource officer at no cost to the county. It also increases personnel in various departments to serve residents, increases the paving budget, improves town parks and increases the investment in town-sponsored youth programs and town community events.
Councilman Neil Meyer, a Democrat challenging the Republican Serrano in Tuesday’s election, is not happy with the budget, which he said is “misleading as it does not include spending related to the settlement of the police contract that is up at the end of the year and includes no funding for an environmental study of the Shawangunk Kill.
Meyer also criticized the spending of $1.5 million from the fund balance. He predicted the number will likely be over $2 million “based on the expenses not accounted for in the budget.”
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