Catskill trustees approve 2025–26 budget and carry appropriations; resident presses questions on taxes and sewer funding

The Village of Catskill Board of Trustees voted April 30 to approve the General Fund appropriations for fiscal year 2025–26 after moving through a series of category-by-category votes at a public Appropriations Meeting at the Catskill Senior Center. Village Attorney Wayne Thompson said the budget as presented "carries" based on the board's approvals.

The board approved appropriations for Government Support, the Clerk/Treasurer/Collector, Bond and Note Issue Expense, staff, elections, shared services, special items, public safety, parking, the fire department, animal control, safety inspection, public health, the registrar of vital statistics, transportation and public works, street lighting, economic assistance, culture and parks, home and community services and planning, cemeteries, employee benefits and debt. Votes were recorded verbally during the meeting; Vice President Joseph Kozloski abstained on the fire‑department item, saying, "I am abstaining because I am a member of the Fire Department." The board then voted to present and approve the General Fund appropriation as presented for 2025–26.

Why it matters: the appropriations set spending authority by category and allow the village to proceed with implementation and any related procurement or grant uses. The votes were procedural approvals of categorical appropriations rather than line‑by‑line amendments; the attorney explained that amendments would require a separate motion and vote during discussion.

Resident Joseph Izzo raised several questions after the board carried the budget, focusing first on why anticipated real‑estate tax receipts rose slightly while General Fund expenditures fell. Izzo noted the budget showed a roughly $48,000 decrease in expenditures compared with the prior year but an increase in anticipated property‑tax revenue. "At what point — I am assuming...once a line item is offered and seconded then the opportunity for us to raise or lower that amount is permitted?" Izzo asked, and he pressed whether reduced or uncertain state aid prompted the tax change.

Trustee Peter Grasse and Vice President Kozloski responded that the municipal State Aid total declined largely because the village did not anticipate certain police grants this year that had been included previously (notably vehicle or equipment grants). Trustee Grasse said reductions in grant‑funded police purchases can lower State Aid receipts used to offset appropriations. Anna Signoretti, who spoke on fund accounting during the discussion, explained that some salary and overhead costs are allocated across the General, water and sewer funds and that the village used conservative estimates for overtime and grant receipts.

Trustees and staff also described drivers of increases in the water and sewer funds. Vice President Kozloski cited higher operating costs—"the cost of chemicals, the cost of electric"—and said disposal and treatment expenses have risen; President Natasha Law added salary increases intended to ensure living wages are also reflected in fund budgets.

Izzo asked whether storm‑drain separation work and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) requirements were delaying a proposed hotel project and how INI credits, County/IDA involvement and grant funding affect a developer's ability to hook into the village sewer system. Trustees said the sewer‑separation and related infrastructure work is "in the works" and involves collaboration with the county, the IDA and engineering consultants; they listed several funding programs associated with the separation project and engineering estimates that place some work out through about 2030–2033. Vice President Kozloski referenced multiple grant programs and estimated a combined funding pool discussed by the trustees and engineers, and Trustee Grasse said the village had secured significant grant support for the larger separation project.

What happens next: with the appropriations carried, the village can proceed with fiscal‑year spending under the presented budget and with pursuing the identified infrastructure grants and projects. The board closed the Appropriations Meeting following the votes.

Votes and key procedural notes: each appropriation category was moved, seconded and approved in open session; the fire‑department appropriation was approved with Vice President Kozloski abstaining from that specific vote. The attorney and board indicated that individual line‑item amendments would require a motion, a second and a separate vote during discussion.