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Fredonia trustees pass tax levy as residents and civic leaders press for budget review
Summary
The Village of Fredonia approved a tax levy for fiscal year 2025–26 that raises the tax rate to $61.25 per $1,000 assessed value; the vote prompted multiple public comments urging immediate budget cuts, transparency on where funds were spent and requests for outside assistance to rebalance village finances.
The Village of Fredonia Board of Trustees on May 12 adopted the fiscal year 2025–26 tax levy at a tax rate of $61.25 per $1,000 of assessed value, setting total charges for the year and directing the tax receiver to collect taxes and unpaid charges. The tax resolution passed despite several residents and civic leaders urging the board to reexamine spending and identify cuts to reduce the levy.
Why it matters: the levy increase prompted multiple speakers — including James Linden and Frank Pagano (Concerned Citizens Advisory Board) — to warn that the village’s debt load and spending trajectory risk higher borrowing costs, declining property values and further tax increases. Commenters and trustees discussed structural budget issues including ambulance revenue assumptions, increased personnel costs (particularly fire department expenses), and a pattern of drawing on fund balance in prior years.
Public comments: callers told trustees an 84‑year‑old resident had expressed distress about being able to afford the higher taxes, and speakers urged the board to accept outside volunteer budget help to find reductions. Residents asked the board to produce a clear accounting of where the increased spending occurred; one commenter said a previously projected fund balance of $766,000 was now a negative $306,810 — a swing residents asked the board to explain.
Board discussion: trustees and the mayor acknowledged the long‑term trend of rising costs, noting inflationary pressures on supplies (chemicals for the water and wastewater plants were singled out as up since COVID) and contractual obligations that affect personnel costs. Trustees said ambulance revenue assumptions dropped (from $700,000 projected one year to about $400,000 this year) and that fire department costs and capital purchases (including recent vehicle acquisitions) materially affected the budget. Several trustees asked staff to provide multi‑year spreadsheets showing department cost trends and to explore consolidation opportunities and grant prospects.
Next steps: trustees directed staff to supply more detailed, department‑level financial comparisons over multiple years, to seek grants where applicable and to consider options for shared services or consolidation with neighboring jurisdictions as longer‑term measures.
