A Freedom of Information Law request has revealed that the town of Berne has continued to neglect some of its National Grid bills, two years after The Enterprise first reported on a number of similar lapses.

Berne Town Clerk Kristin de Oliveira says that the supervisor has crafted a tentative budget that he filed with the clerk’s office, but it hasn’t been published on the town’s website and the clerk claimed that she could not send a copy to The Enterprise at this time.

Knox and Westerlo’s tentative 2025 budgets show total appropriations going up, but Knox, so far, projects no increase in townwide taxes, while Westerlo projects a 2-percent increase.

Jim McGaughan, who previously chaired the Bethlehem Republican Committee, was elected last month as chairman of the Albany County GOP, replacing Randy Bashwinger, of Berne.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy told The Enterprise this week that creative budgeting allows for the consistent decreases in property taxes, but cautioned that unfunded state mandates could reverse that trend.

Albany County is first in the state and among the top counties nationally for its increase in new business applications, rising 34 percent last year, according to data from the United States Census Bureau, and 130 percent since 2020.

To soften the blow of rising emergency medical service costs, New Scotland and a number of other municipalities that rely on the Albany County Sheriff’s EMS service lobbied for a special district that would move the expense from local budgets to the county one, but hit resistance from county officials. 

The Rensselaerville Library will receive $36,287 to build a new back deck with handrails and to replace stair stringers, while the Westerlo Public Library will get $13,605 to replace ceiling plaster and insulate its attic space.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo Superintendent Bonnie Kane laid out her goals for the district, and an accompanying action plan, publicly for the first time at the board of education’s September meeting, touching on all areas the district is involved in, from academics to community-building and more. 

Rensselaerville’s $3.5 million tentative budget projects slight tax increases for all three fire districts in the town, with a $4,500 increase for the Medusa fire district (7.25 percent), a $1,428 increase for the Rensselaerville district (1.87 percent) and a $1,200 increase for the Tri-Village district (1.81 percent).