Proposed 1.88% tax hike to fund salaries, infrastructure in 2025
COLONIE –Town Supervisor Peter Crummey has proposed a 1.88% property tax increase in the town’s 2025 preliminary budget, largely driven by projected salary and wage increases for town employees.
The $124.7 million preliminary budget, released earlier this month, would increase spending by 4.49%. It would cost the median-priced homeowner—estimated by Comptroller Chris Kelsey to be around $300,000—approximately $12.55 more annually in property taxes and an additional $45 annually in water and sewer utility fees.
The preliminary budget allocates over $2 million for salary and wage increases across the town’s workforce. Top elected and appointed officials would also receive raises, including the Town Supervisor (from $140,669 to $149,402), the Police Chief (from $157,633 to $162,197), and Town Board members (from $23,536 to $24,183).
Crummey noted that the increased utility fees would fund necessary improvements to the town’s water and sewer infrastructure, including upgrades to the town’s 440 miles of aging underground pipes, which pump an average of 10 million gallons of water daily to homes and businesses.
The preliminary budget also accounts for a $676,000 increase in the town’s required contributions to the state pension system and an additional $200,000 split equally between two of the town’s reserve funds—one for land and buildings, and the other for parks and recreation repairs.
Despite a projected 5.74% decrease in state and federal aid next year, Crummey projects $35.1 million in total revenue from sales and cannabis use taxes, reflecting a 3.23% increase over this year. He added that the town has offset rising energy costs by generating over $1.6 million in hydroelectric credits and partnering with the New York Power Authority to replace street lamps with LED heads—a project expected to save the town $75,000 per year.
A public hearing on the preliminary budget is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7.
