Red Hook supervisor reports stronger 2024 fund balances, highlights capital projects and reserves

The Red Hook supervisor presented highlights from the town's 2024 annual financial review and the New York State Comptroller summary at the Town Board meeting on March 11, saying the town ended the fiscal period in a stronger position than it began.

The supervisor said the town began the month with an "open balance of 8,811,000 and change," recorded proceeds of "3,731,000" and had disbursements of about "856,000," leaving what the supervisor reported as an ending balance of $11,686,634 for the period shown. The supervisor said fund balances are highest at this time of year because the town has collected the bulk of property tax receipts.

The report also highlighted a community preservation fund balance of about $3,000,000 and an incentive-zoning fund returned to approximately $535,000, which the supervisor said will support waterfront and other capital projects. The supervisor noted Standard & Poor's reaffirmed the town's AA rating and that the town's debt balance had fallen from roughly $5.3 million in 2020 to about $3.4 million at the end of 2024.

Board members asked no substantive questions about the numbers. A voice motion to approve the supervisor's report was moved by Bill and seconded by Julio; the board approved the report by voice vote.

The supervisor said some capital projects remain underway or planned, including the Cookingham Farm (trails and affordable housing site), community preservation projects related to waterfront park planning, street-light upgrades and building retrofits for energy efficiency. He said some operational savings tied to electrification and other retrofits will begin to appear in 2025 and 2026.