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Cheektowaga board narrows 2026 preliminary budget as members seek $3.7M in cuts to meet tax cap
Summary
At a special meeting, the Town of Cheektowaga reviewed forecasts and proposed line‑by‑line reductions for the 2026 preliminary budget after finance staff said the town faces a levy increase well above the state tax cap; members agreed to deliver a revised preliminary budget and call a public hearing.
Cheektowaga’s Town Board spent a full meeting Wednesday reviewing the 2026 preliminary budget, debating revenue assumptions and proposed cuts after finance staff said the town faces a levy gap of roughly $3.7 million to remain under New York State’s tax cap.
Town Comptroller Dennis Dombrowski presented multi‑year trends showing countywide fund balances and revenues that have become less reliable and warned that, without major spending reductions or new revenues, the town will likely need to raise property taxes. "These are trends we are seeing within the county," Dombrowski said during the slide presentation of operating and fund‑balance data.
Finance staffer Brian Krause told the board the statutory tax‑cap calculation for Cheektowaga allows a 2.58% levy increase — about $1,898,206 — but the proposed levy increase in the current draft would total about $5,589,988. "To stay within the tax cap, you need to…
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