HILLTOWNS — Spending is up in the Hilltowns, according to next year’s preliminary budgets, likely as an effect of the federal relief funds that have been distributed to them and also because sales-tax revenues have rebounded past pre-pandemic levels.

Outside of property taxes, sales-tax revenues collected by Albany County and redistributed to municipalities based on population, makes up the largest share of revenues for town budgets.

This year, New York State distributed $387 million it received from the federal government following the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, and will distribute more next year.

According to a state document, the Hilltowns are estimated to receive the following by town: 

— Knox: $273,537.64;

— Berne: $283,486.33;

— Westerlo: $335,998.99; and

— Rensselaerville: $185,743.03.

As of now, each town has received about half of its expected amount. 

The money is regulated and must be spent according to a broad set of instructions from the United States Treasury, in its Interim Final Rule. Overall, the government expects municipalities to use the money to restabilize following the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and/or prepare themselves for future impacts. The money cannot be left to sit as part of a municipality’s fund balance. 

“The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds provide substantial flexibility for each government to meet local needs — including support for households, small businesses, impacted industries, essential workers, and the communities hardest hit by the crisis,” a treasury official told The Enterprise last week. “These funds can also be used to make necessary investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.”

Although Berne has taken drastic steps to reduce property taxes by almost 90 percent for its residents in 2022, using its fund balance and the same federal COVID-19 aid that all municipalities in the United States are eligible to receive, the 2022 budgets of Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville show that these towns have taken a more measured approach. 

Berne, as The Enterprise reported last week, is using some of the money to pay down recurring sewer-district fees, plugging a gap left when the town’s assessors mistakenly taxed residents using incorrect values. This has been controversial in Berne, with some questioning its legality and others calling it a poor use of one-time funds. 

The New York State Comptroller’s Office recommends that towns use the funding for non-recurring expenses so that budgets don’t become imbalanced. 

Like Berne, Westerlo is using its funds to relieve the burden of residents within a specific district — its water district, which is paying the town back for a loan that was taken out to cover an “accumulated operating deficit” that the state comptroller discovered during an audit of the town in 2014. 

Auditors determined that the water district owed the town $66,388 as of the end of 2013, and, according to Westerlo Town Board meeting minutes, the district is currently paying that back at a rate of $3,000 per year.

Deputy Supervisor Matthew Kryzak, who took over budget duties after Supervisor Bill Bichteman resigned earlier this year, and who was recently elected to the supervisor position in an uncontested race, transferred $57,388 from the general fund to the water district fund using the federal money.

In Knox, Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis said that the town is using a portion of the aid to cover sales-tax revenue loss from 2020, and that “the remaining monies are still being discussed at the board level.”

All the towns’ budgets are still in the preliminary stage and the values may change before they’re officially adopted later this month. 

Knox

Knox’s 2022 preliminary budget features large increases in spending — from $2.3 million last year to just under $2.9 million this year — while keeping taxes where they are with a fund balance of $1.9 million.

The vast majority of the spending increase is in the town and highway funds, as opposed to the special districts like fire and lighting, which are funded entirely by residents who live within those areas.

The most notable increase is to the building maintenance account, which jumped from $127,000 to $403,000, though Knox Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis said it's merely a placeholder for the American Rescue Plan money.

Some of the additional spending relates to raises for town employees and officials. For instance, the town’s part-time bookkeeper will receive $14,000 next year instead of $11,000 vecause she may work more hours, Lefkaditis said, and the full-time highway superintendent will receive $65,842 instead of $59,070. Lefkaditis said that $5,000 of this was already earned by the highway superintendent as a stipend, leaving the raise percentage at 3 percent.

Another notable increase is the equipment line in the highway fund, which has gone from $205,000 to $320,000.

“The highway equipment line items increase from 205k to 320k was in the event the Town purchases a new tandem truck,” Lefkaditis said in an email. “In 2021 the line was increased from the traditional 70k to 205k in anticipation of the purchase of two new 1 ton trucks but the trucks were never purchased and the money never spent.  This year we kept the monies for the two 1 tons and added additional monies for a new tandem truck in the line item. Much like this year the money may not be spent.”

Lefkaditis placed an additional $5,000 in the town’s Celebrations account on the contractual line, which will be for the town’s upcoming bicentennial event.

The personal-services line under the Playgrounds and Recreation Centers account also sees a jump, from $14,000 to $56,000, which Lefkaditis said is a placeholder for a position currently advertised, describing it as “full time grounds and maintenance personnel who will also be available to assist the highway department during the winter months.”

Lefkaditis also increased the employee-benefits account in the general fund next year, bringing it from $90,350 to $118,350. This relates to the addition of the position just described, as well as premium increases, which Lefkaditis said were around 7 percent “year over year.”

“The Town board is currently looking to hire a [full time] employee to haul the trash so that the highway employees can do the work they were intended to do, relieving the man power shortage the highway department currently faces,” Lefkaditis said. “So one of two scenarios will pan out. Either the board hires a FT employee to relieve the two highway employees who have been hauling waste for decades or the highway superintendent will need to hire back two FT employees. 

“On the budget side I had to budget in the general account and the highway account for salary and benefits as a placeholder for either FT employee or highway hires,” he continued. “So you are seeing twice the amount of benefits and twice the salary on the general and highway side of the budget. But the reality is that we will only spend monies out of the general or highway account, not both. So the increase is artificial but necessary to accommodate the course the board chooses.”

The Knox budget will also pay more for its contract with the county to share ambulance services, going from $59,275 to $72,258.

Rensselaerville

Rensselaerville’s budget also shows no change in property taxes, but has a large increase in spending, from $2.6 million to just under $3.1 million.

If the budget is adopted, the town will raise salaries for several officials and employees. The part-time supervisor will receive a raise from $16,500 to $18,000. The full-time clerk will receive a raise from $36,720 to $39,000. The part-time chairman of the assessors will receive a raise from $19,380 to $19,768. The full-time highway superintendent will receive a raise from $55,000 to $56,100.

The town council, as a whole, will receive an extra $800 raise, bringing the total compensation of four part-time members to $16,800. The town is also hiring a grant writer who will earn $12,000. The part-time justices will receive $22,000 instead of $18,900, and the part-time justice clerk will earn $6,500 instead of $5,916.

The biggest expenses are $250,000 for garage renovations, $180,000 for a new truck, and $40,000 for “recycling repairs.”

Westerlo

Westerlo’s tax levy will go up slightly — about 1.6 percent — to cover a $4 million 2022 budget, which is about $1 million more than the 2021 budget. 

However, the total increase is inflated by $562,500, which amount is listed as “Tonko grant,” referring to Congressman Paul Tonko, who represents Westerlo. The town is hoping to receive a $1.6 million grant from the federal government for broadband expansion and will have to contribute a certain amount of its own funds should that happen. 

The fate of the grant money relies on the federal budget passing with various community grants included. 

Otherwise, most of the increased spending in Westerlo relates to salaries.

For next year, the supervisor’s full-time confidential administrator will receive a substantial raise, from $49,850 to $64,600. The full-time clerk will receive a raise from $44,850 to $52,000. Deputy Clerk I will receive a raise from $24,567 to $38,000. The full-time highway superintendent will receive a raise from $62,400 to $65,000. 

The part-time planning board members, collectively, will receive a raise from $11,775 to $12,825, as will the zoning board members. The part-time judges will receive a raise from $34,000 to $36,000. The part-time code-enforcement officer will receive a raise from $20,500 to $22,000.

The town will pay substantially more for employee benefits in the general fund, the cost increasing by just under $70,000.

In the highway department, the town will pay an additional $53,572 for personal services, though the employee benefits package is not changing nearly as much as it did in the general fund.

The town will place an additional $5,600 in its Celebrations account, bringing the total to $6,350.

The town is also spending more on personal services relating to refuse and garbage, raising the line from $67,000 to $75,486.