Supervisor’s Corner

I’m happy to report that the 2026 budget for the Town of Chester was submitted last week. There are some details that I want to share with the public so you have a better understanding of what we are doing with your tax dollars.

Investments

Highway Department - $562K for a new AC system, replacement roof, replacement Single Axle, replacement utility truck, and a new knuckle attachment for our excavator.

Police Department – $177K for a replacement Chevy Tahoe, replacement Ford Interceptor, and various safety, weapon, and utility materials.

Water Districts – We are purchasing a control panel and booster pumps worth $55K in Walton Lake Estates, a Chlorine Analyzer and various equipment worth $20K in Lakehill Farms, drilling a new well and purchasing chlorine pumps worth $56K in Sugar Loaf, booster pumps worth $5K in Fieldcrest, and cellular endpoint meter upgrades worth $55K in Surrey Meadows.

Miscellaneous – We are bonding out for a $664K culvert project on Surrey Rd and a $217K headwall project on Pond Rd. We are starting payments for these projects next year, but we will pay for them over multiple years, so we do not burden taxpayers with the total cost all at once.

Ambulance District – We are purchasing a $230K ambulance rig that Chester would own. We can renegotiate our contract with Empress EMS to have them continue to provide their staff and services, use our rig instead of theirs, but we will collect the billing revenue from calls. Empress EMS billed for around $350K in 2024 and are estimated to be around $600K by the end of 2025. We could bring our costs down from $930K to somewhere between $650K and $350K depending on the year.

Savings

Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center Sale – We sold the SLPAC to Orange County. We received $1.34M for the sale which will pay off the full debt on the building and will go towards other one-time purchases in the 2026 budget. We had a retirement and a resignation because of the sale. We will also no longer need to worry about insurance, future repairs, and upgrades to the building.

Justice Court - One of our three court clerks is retiring halfway through next year. We will not replace that position.

Miscellaneous - I cut around $225K in various budget requests from all town departments in my Tentative Budget. I’m happy to say most of those cuts were agreed to by the Town Board in the Final Budget.

Bottom Line

The budget increased by 2.61%, which is under the 3.05% tax cap set by the State Comptroller. The tax cap is a ceiling that is set annually for every town. We are under that ceiling which is exactly where we are supposed to be. Town residents living outside the Village of Chester can expect a $14.78/month increase in their town taxes on average. Town residents living inside the Village of Chester can expect a $8.62/month decrease in their town taxes on average. These figures account for the refuse district and ambulance district increases. They do not account for other special districts if you live outside the Village of Chester.

If anyone has any questions about the budget, please contact me. I will be happy to go through it with you and answer any questions. I can confidently say that we cut every dollar possible, invested in necessary equipment and projects, and set ourselves up for a healthy future. But I am always open to hearing other suggestions on how to do better, so please reach out anytime.