Small Tax Hike in Richmondville Preliminary Budget

By Chris English

RICHMONDVILLE — Town of Richmondville residents are looking at a 2.705% property tax increase for 2026, according to a preliminary budget for next year approved by the town board at a Thursday, Oct. 2 budget workshop meeting.

The meeting was punctuated by arguments, somewhat heated at times, between Town Clerk-Tax Collector-Registrar Maggie Smith and board members over what she is being paid in comparison to Highway Superintendent Brian Manchester. Smith's salary is scheduled to go from $50,000 this year to $51,500 for 2026 while Manchester's salary will rise from $57,159 this year to $65,000 in 2026. He did not attend the Oct. 2 meeting.

Smith, who pointed out that she's held her job at the town for 32 years while Manchester is entering his fourth year as highway Superintendent, characterized the difference in their pay as reflecting male chauvinist attitudes among board members, a charge they denied.

"I know you value the manly work more," Smith said at the meeting. "It's men thinking men should get more. I don't see how it can be justified at any level. I don't see how you can look me in the eye and tell me this is fair."

Board members responded that it was not a male and female issue but just a difference in the nature of the two jobs.

"We know what an asset you are to the town," Councilman George Horning told Smith. "(But) they are two totally different jobs."

Smith answered that "he has one job. I have several, and several state mandates to deal with."

When she continued that her work was not being respected, Town Supervisor Jeffrey Haslun disagreed.

"We respect everyone's job, it's a team effort here," he said.

On other aspects of the preliminary budget, board members agreed with Haslun that the 2.7 percent projected tax increase for next year was fair given all the factors. Haslun pointed out that employee health insurance is going up 11.5 percent and retirement costs 9.5 percent, among other rising expenses.

Town property taxes went up about 1.89 percent in 2024 and 1.95 percent this year. Even though the state cap on tax increases for towns is 2 percent for next year, Haslun said the projected 2.7 percent hike will be allowable because towns are permitted to "carry forward" from years when the increase was below 2 percent.

"Everything is going up more than 2 percent," he said. "To use more fund balance (surplus) will hurt us in the long run. You need to have it for a rainy day."

The town plans to use $29,750 in fund balance to balance revenue with expenses for 2026, Haslun added.

"Assessments are up, so there's some growth within the community, so that's good," he said. On budget requests from the various town departments, Haslun noted that "not everybody got everything they wanted."

His salary as Town Supervisor will remain at $7,871 in 2026 while the total in salaries for the four Councilmen will remain at $10,190.

At the suggestion of Councilman Eric Haslun, the per-meeting pay for the Town Planning Board Chairman will increase from $50 to $100 in 2026 and pay for other planning board members will go from $25 to $50 per meeting.

"When they do meet, it's usually quite long and quite contentious," Eric Haslun said.

The board will likely hold a public hearing on the 2026 budget on the first Thursday in November and then vote at the same meeting on making the budget final. Total appropriations in the preliminary 2026 budget are about $1.6 million.