Ballston Spa board previews $12.5M capital plan, schedules budget workshop

The Ballston Spa Village Board presented a tentative budget that projects roughly $12.5 million in capital needs over multiple years and proposed steps to spread costs while protecting daily services.

Mayor Frank Rossi gave an overview of the capital priorities, which include a DPW garage replacement (estimated at $4 million in a two-part approach or $7–8 million for a single new building), water-tower renovations (about $1.75 million for three towers), replacement or repair of heavy equipment and vehicles, and renovations to Village Hall and the courthouse functions. He said the proposed approach is to phase some work (a cold-storage building at one site and later demolition/rebuild at Charlton Street) to limit single-year fund-balance impacts.

To manage the capital needs, the mayor suggested setting aside excess tax-cap revenues into capital reserves and using a combination of USDA loans/grants, state and federal grants, and reimbursement programs for sidewalks. The board also discussed a proposed water/sewer rate increase of roughly 4.5% (down from an earlier 6% projection) to support system maintenance and reserves.

Trustees scheduled a budget workshop for Monday, April 6 at 7 p.m. and set a public hearing for Monday, April 13 at 7:01 p.m. as required for any real-property tax‑levy in excess of the state cap; the April 13 hearing will follow additional public-notice rules. The mayor said the budget will likely undergo further revisions and additional work sessions before final adoption by the late-April/May statutory deadlines.

Residents raised questions during public comment about requests to avoid tax increases and how departmental requests are reviewed; the mayor and treasurer described a process in which department requests are reviewed against actual year‑to‑date spending and prioritized.

The board encouraged residents to review the executive summary and attend the workshop if they wish to comment in detail.