Red Hook holds public hearing on 2025–26 budget as trustees and residents press sewer funding questions

The Village of Red Hook Board of Trustees opened a public hearing April 14 on the proposed 2025'26 budget, reviewing projected revenues, department expenses and several line'item changes before closing the hearing and scheduling final adoption for the board's April 24 workshop.

Mayor (speaking at the meeting) said the village's fiscal year runs June 1 to May 31 and reminded attendees that the village filed its tax'cap form with the State Comptroller's Office and must wait 10 days before formally adopting the budget. She said elected officials's annual pay is reflected in the general fund: village justice $20,000; mayor $13,620; deputy mayor $10,000; trustees $8,000 each. "That is reflected in the budget," she said.

Why it matters: the hearing laid out several adjustments that could affect millage and services, including changes to workers'compensation assumptions for the fire company and significant increases in employee medical insurance costs. Trustees and members of the public focused attention on how the village allocates costs among the general, water and sewer funds.

Major changes and numbers discussed - Fire department workers' compensation: the draft budget initially showed $65,000 (an unusually high year because of prior claims); the mayor said she reduced the assumption to $40,000 in the proposed budget (down from $65,000; $33,000 the year prior) to reflect a return toward typical years. - Medical insurance: officials said the village covers the deductible for full'time employees and that a recent projection shows roughly an 88% increase in medical costs built into the draft budget. - Fund balance: the village policy sets an operating fund balance target between 15% and 25% of the budget; the mayor said the village is toward the high side of that range and plans to use about $37,000 of fund balance in the coming year while remaining within the tax'cap calculation.

Questions about interfund transfers and sewer funding Resident Kat Viega (20 Cambridge Drive) asked why the village has repeatedly transferred money from the water fund into the sewer budget (she cited $25,000 and $30,000 transfers across recent years) and whether continuing transfers mean the village should reallocate those costs or charge sewer customers more directly. "If this seems to be a pattern that's going to continue, why isn't the budget just allocated differently?" she asked.

The mayor responded that auditors and the State Comptroller's Office review the village's annual financial statements and that the auditor has found the transfers permissible. She said the village is still learning the true operating costs of the sewer system because the village only recently took on the Red Hook Commons wastewater treatment plant (2021), started construction in 2022 and has been operating both plants for roughly a year and a half. "We're still learning what it costs us to run the sewer system," she said, adding that as the village gains better operational data it will "right'size" charges and could decide to charge sewer customers more in future budgets.

Timing and next steps Trustees closed the public hearing by motion. The mayor said the board will not adopt the budget tonight because of the mandatory 10'day waiting period after filing the tax'cap and that they plan to adopt the budget at the April 24 workshop meeting unless new, significant information arrives in the interim.

Other budget notes and departmental impacts - Union contract settlements for police and Department of Public Works (DPW) were finalized; the DPW negotiated compensation increases after adding responsibilities related to the new water and sewer systems. - The village is tracking timing differences in contract payments (for example, the school policing contract shifted payment timing) that affect the appearance of revenues in the current year.

Ending Trustees did not adopt the budget at the April 14 meeting; the board scheduled a formal adoption vote for the April 24 workshop after the statutorily required waiting period and additional review. Officials said they expect to make further adjustments once June actuals are known and once the village has more consistent operating data for the new sewer system.