The six-month drive-thru closure resulted in a $400,000 revenue loss, the company claims, while repair of the pipe and pumping of the accumulating stormwater cost over $1 million.
Altamont’s tax rate for 2025-26 is set to increase 2.25 percent, from about $2.20 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.25 per $1,000. The corresponding tax levy will increase from $329,271 to $338,976.
A majority of the 43 operators, laborers, and mechanics in the potential bargaining unit have signed cards choosing the Civil Service Employees Association as their bargaining representative, according to the union.
“Let’s clarify what this is and what this isn’t," Chief Executive Officer Donald Csaposs said, opening a conversation on the topic during the IDA’s March meeting. “We’re not here to pass any policy revisions ... We’re here to have a very preliminary discussion of what workforce housing in Guilderland might look like as it relates to the provision of financial assistance by the IDA.”
The spending plan comes right up against the state-set levy limit but does not pierce it. This means a simple majority vote can pass the budget. While spending is up 1.88 percent from last year, the tax levy is up 2.3 percent.
Jason Southwood of Albany is seeking permission to convert the former seasonally-operated Cone Zone at 2028 Western Ave. to a year-round retail cannabis dispensary.
An Enterprise compiling of Crossgates’ property-tax payments show the mall is due to save millions of dollars due to successfully lowering its assessed value.
In the end, the draft budget restored 70 percent of the first-grade teaching assistants. It also restored two-tenths of a librarian’s position at Altamont Elementary School, another cut that had spurred protests from a committed Altamont contingent.
The withdrawal came as a surprise to both IDA board members and staffers as attorneys for the agency were negotiating with Pyramid over the subsidy right up until the day before IDA Chief Executive Officer Donald Csaposs received the March 20 letter informing him that Pyramid would forgo the multi-million dollar exemption.
