Red Hook board adopts 2026 preliminary budget as residents demand disclosure on proposed boat-club acquisition

The Town Board of the Town of Red Hook adopted a preliminary budget for the 2026 calendar year on Nov. 5, 2025, a budget the supervisor said “lowers the tax rate by approximately 5.75% to help offset the trending in residential assessments.” The board voted unanimously to adopt the budget after a public hearing at Town Hall.

The budget, Supervisor Robert McKeon said, keeps the town’s fund balances strong and retains a double-A rating that the board said helps secure favorable borrowing rates for upcoming capital work such as the water storage-tank rehabilitation. McKeon told residents the town’s borrowing limit is roughly $103 million and that current town debt is about $3.4 million; he said the draft budget is within the state tax cap and estimated the median town household would see an increase of roughly $17 under the 2026 proposal. “You would see a $17 increase in your taxes. If you live in the village, you would see a $13 increase in your taxes,” McKeon said during his presentation.

Why it matters: the budget sets the town’s spending priorities, affects local tax bills and determines which capital projects and service levels proceed. Several members of the public used the required hearing to demand more disclosure about a separate, contested initiative — the town’s interest in acquiring the Red Hook Boat Club — and about whether Community Preservation Fund (CPF) money could be used to retire debt or underwrite that acquisition.

At the hearing, resident Lisa Palero said the “preliminary budget is an artificial document intentionally underestimating legal and planning fees and omitting other certain costs, later to be propped up through transfers,” and she urged the board not to advance the budget without clearer line-item estimates tied to litigation, appraisals and acquisition. Roxanne Fisher asked the board to delay adoption until staff produce a full fiscal-impact report for any boat-club acquisition that would include legal expenses, acquisition and upgrade estimates, and funding sources.

Supervisor McKeon responded that the town code for the Community Preservation Fund “very specifically says…that it cannot be used for unwilling sellers. It must be used for willing sellers,” and he said the board is not proposing to use CPF proceeds to purchase property from unwilling sellers. McKeon also told the meeting that some outstanding bonds (notably certain Rec Park bonds) are eligible to be paid down now and that the board is considering whether to do so; he said those specific bonds total about $1.1 million and that the board will decide whether to apply CPF funds to eligible past projects after required changes to local law are complete.

What the budget covers: the supervisor’s presentation highlighted ongoing capital projects and recent grant awards — from trail and bridge planning to retrofits at town facilities — and new or expanded service lines in 2026, including added appropriations for police and volunteer fire companies. McKeon said the board intends to keep town services such as free summer recreation programming, transfer-station access and community-solar enrollment that have produced savings for many residents.

Formal action: the board moved and seconded adoption of the 2026 preliminary budget and approved the measure in a recorded vote. The supervisor said the budget remains within the tax-cap calculation verified by the town’s finance staff and that the board will continue to publish budget documents and hold the Nov. 19 meeting to consider related local laws and follow-up items.

The board also approved several related routine motions on Nov. 5, including the appropriation of water-district reserve funds for a tank rehabilitation project and task orders for solar engineering; those votes are summarized separately in the town’s meeting minutes and in the board’s “Votes at a glance” report.