Clinton holds public hearing on 2026 preliminary budget; board debates GPS for highway trucks

The Town Board of Clinton held a public hearing Nov. 5 on its 2026 preliminary budget and heard discussion about proposed salaries and a Highway Superintendent request to add GPS units to town trucks.

Town Clerk Carol read the public notice and the proposed salary schedule, saying the draft lists town board members at $8,598 each, town justices at $22,675 each, the town supervisor at $42,131, the tax collector at $9,144, the town clerk at $59,867 and the highway superintendent at $71,373. “Notice is hereby given that the preliminary budget for the town of Clinton for the fiscal year beginning 01/01/2026…was filed on 10/23/2025 in the town clerk's office,” Carol said as she read the hearing notice.

Board members then reviewed two corrections to the draft: one to keep the town clerk’s hours at 15 (instead of the 12 hours mistakenly entered) and a math error in the highway GPS line. A board member characterized the GPS request as coming from Highway Superintendent Todd and said it had been requested in writing for the budget; the board discussed whether the GPS units were needed given a pending grant for new radios. “If they were used, a policy regarding their use would definitely need to be developed,” the supervisor said, adding that radios might allow supervisors to simply ask crews where they had plowed.

Members also debated alternatives. One board member suggested drive cameras, which record interior and exterior views and can document collisions or incidents, but noted those also require a policy and would add cost. The board ran the numbers during the hearing and estimated that leaving the GPS request in the draft combined with correcting the clerk hours would put the preliminary budget roughly $5,000 over the draft figure; board members discussed whether to cut other line items or draw from reserves.

Town Clerk Carol advised the board that New York State requires employees be notified when they operate vehicles equipped with GPS, and she recommended discussing the matter with the union. “New York State also requires that they sign off, that they know that they are driving a vehicle with GPS,” Carol said. Board members agreed to consult with Todd and with union representatives and to develop a written policy before purchasing or installing any devices.

The board closed the public hearing by voice vote and scheduled the final budget decision for Nov. 11, 2025. A motion to close the hearing and subsequent motion to adjourn were each seconded and carried by voice vote.

The board did not take a formal vote to adopt the budget at the Nov. 5 hearing; the meeting record shows the hearing closed and the board set the next steps for finalizing the budget.