No Tax Increase Proposed in Southeast

By Holly Crocco

Southeast Town Supervisor Joseph Castellano has presented a tentative 2027 budget that includes no property tax increase.

“It’s been a busy, busy few months developing this budget,” he said at the Oct. 1 Southeast Town Board meeting. The spending plan was delivered to the town clerk and town board three days prior.

The $10.8 million spending plan includes $19.6 million in expenses and $8.8 million in revenue. The highway budget (townwide and outside the village) totals about $4 million. Special districts account for about $3.3 million, and the library will be granted $679,000. The rest of the spending is accounted for in the general fund.

“Given the difficult times that we are facing, including the rising cost of fuel, home heating, electricity, and other day-to-day necessities, after speaking with department heads and employees of the Town of Southeast, I am proud to put forth a budget with a 0 percent tax increase,” said Castellano.

While expenses show an increase of 5.79 percent, or $714,000, revenues match that increase in dollar amount, going up 14.7 percent from 2026. That allows the tax levy remains the same, at $7.48 million.

The supervisor said his main goal was to develop a budget that came in below the state-mandated 2 percent property tax cap.

“After carefully revising the numbers, including some substantial increases in mortgage tax revenue and our sales-tax-revenue-sharing program with Putnam County, I’m pleased to present a budget that provides no tax increase while fully covering salary increases for our town employees – both union and non-union, as well as additional costs associated with the rising costs of health care and insurance premiums,” said Castellano.

He said the proposed budget allows the town to maintain a fiscally responsible approach to operating, with no added burden on taxpayers. It includes no salary increases for any elected officials.

The budget does include new personnel.

“I’m proud to announce that we recently created a full-time position in our building department, and we have plans for another full-time position in 2027,” said Castellano. “We’ll continue to sharpen our pencils and carefully review the numbers and present a budget that the taxpayers of Southeast can appreciate and be proud of.”

A budget hearing will take place later this month.

To view the budget, visit www.southeast-ny.gov/424/2027-Budget.