Kingston administrator presents $12.8 million 2026 budget and proposes small EIT increase

Administrator Sondra Riviello on Monday presented the Town of Kingston’s final 2026 General Fund budget of $12,816,324 and urged the Town Council to consider a modest increase to the earned-income tax (EIT).

Riviello said the proposed budget reflects a conservative 5.19% growth over 2025 and incorporates minimal modifications from earlier drafts. She noted negotiated increases in public-safety costs, including a recent agreement with the ambulance association that added roughly $63,000 to next year’s funding and retention stipends that cost nearly $66,000 this year to keep officers from leaving for lateral hires.

Riviello outlined additional pressures: a pending MMO pension payment of $585,000 (up from $386,000 in 2024), an emergency sweeper rental of more than $31,000 not covered by policy, and projected retirement buyouts and benefits that could top $100,000. She said the Kingston police budget will include about $127,000 more for salaries in 2026 and that the town has applied for a federal police grant of up to $1.2 million to offset equipment and vehicle needs.

Riviello identified capital needs for the Department of Public Works and the municipal building, citing an engineer’s estimate of approximately $2.1 million for DPW and municipal building renovations and noting a grant application seeking in excess of $977,000 to help fund the work. "The EIT comprises nearly half of the revenue in the municipal budget," Riviello said, and asked council to "give serious thought to an increase of the EIT to 2.2%." She estimated the change would raise roughly $90,000–$110,000 in 2026 and $160,000–$180,000 in 2027, and noted the increase would amount to about $12–$13 per year on $50,000 of earned income.

When Council President Rob Jacobs polled members, Councilmen Paul Roberts, John Chernesky and Al Littzi and Councilwomen Kate McMahon and Nancy Cooper each indicated they preferred to keep the rate at 2.175% for now. Jacobs said the question could be revisited next year. Riviello noted the budget will be voted on at the special voting meeting that followed the work session.

The presentation also highlighted that revenues exceeded expenditures by $1,275,000 through Nov. 30, 2025, but that two more payroll cycles and the MMO payment would reduce that cushion. Riviello cautioned that if the town fails to secure the requested grant funding for DPW renovations, the council will face difficult decisions about which capital improvements to fund.

The work session adjourned at 7:28 p.m.; council moved directly into the special voting meeting where the council planned to vote on the 2026 budget.