NEW SCOTLAND —  At $8.7 million, New Scotland’s tentative budget for next year is up 3.2. percent over this year’s adopted spending plan.

For 2026, New Scotland is proposing a town-wide tax-rate increase of about 3.4 percent, from about 1.55 per $1,000 of assessed value to approximately $1.60 per $1,000.

New Scotland’s 2026 levy, the amount to be raised in property taxes, is expected to be about $3.25 million, of which about $1.74 million comes from the town-wide tax. The remaining taxes come from benefit districts like those for fire, ambulance, emergency medical services, water, light, and sewer. 

“The Tentative Budget for calendar year 2026 continues our goal [of] conservative use of taxpayer dollars while providing excellent services to the community. The plan to build back the A Fund reserves, initiated in the 2024 budget, continues to advance in a positive fashion,” Supervisor Doug LaGrange’s budget message states. 

New Scotland has four main funds: the general fund town-wide (Fund A); the general fund for the town outside the village (Fund B); the highway fund for the town outside the village (DB); and the townwide highway fund (DA). 

The town board during the 2024 budget season changed the way the funds are financed. The A Fund in recent years was largely funded by property taxes, about 70 percent, with about 10 percent coming from the mortgage-recording tax.

The B Fund received most of its revenue from county sales tax. Albany County distributes a portion of the sales tax it collects to municipalities based on population. But, as of late, mortgage taxes were down, and so the town changed the way it allocated funds. 

Rather than allocating sales tax to the B and then DB Fund, New Scotland now appropriates sales-tax revenue across its four main funds: $440,707 to A Fund; $648,503 to DA; $868,319 to B; and about $982,471 to DB. By allocating sales tax across all funds, the B Fund can effectively support the A Fund, preventing excessive tax increases for A Fund taxpayers. 

LaGrange’s budget message goes on to say, “As costs rise the biggest increases for 2026 will be regular health insurance (20.4%) and the Medicare Advantage Plan (16.8%), but our ability to absorb these reflects our prudent past practices.”

Costs associated with employee benefits would increase from about $1 million this year to $1.27 million in 2026.

All told, the total town-wide levy for 2026 is up about $115,000 compared to this year, from about $2.99 million to $3.1 million. To fill the levy gap, New Scotland expects to use about $717,000 from various appropriated fund balances, up from about $670,000 this year. 

Among New Scotland’s largest expected revenue sources for 2026 are property taxes, about $3.1 million; state highway-department aid, about $431,500; and mortgage tax, $240,000.

The largest expenditures are expected to be: 

— Highway, about $1.8 million; 

— General government support, about $1.02 million

— Employee benefits for the four main funds, about $1.27 million;

— Home and community services, about $895,000, with the largest chunk expected to be the town’s refuse and garbage collection, about $767,800; and

— Public safety and health, about $473,300, with the town’s contract for ambulance services from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office making up about $435,000

The salaries for the town’s full-time elected officials would increase next year, from $75,145 to $77,399 for supervisor; $69,698 to $71,789 for town clerk; and $88,473 to $91,128  for highway superintendent.

In part-time posts, the salaries of the town’s three judges would each increase from $33,638 to $34,648, while salaries for each of the four town board members would increase from $11,679 to $12,028.