budget

Millbrook approves budget, $5.10 mill rate

MILLBROOK — The proposed town budget for 2024-25 was approved by unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees at its regular meeting on Wednesday, April 10, following public hearing.

No comments on the budget were offered by residents at the hearing, although a letter was read into the record urging continued attention to wages paid to town employees.

The budget has been the subject of numerous meetings. As approved, expenditures will total $2,238,291, an increase of $118,813 over the current year. For the coming year, the water and sewer budgets are separated from the overall budget as they rely upon their own revenues to balance expenditures.

Village Mayor Tom Collopy had distributed a newsletter summarizing and clarifying the budget for residents in advance of the hearing. The budget and the newsletter are posted on the town website.

The budget will require a 2% increase in the tax levy ($23,901) to total $1.1 million, just under the tax cap. Millbrook Village received $1.1 million from property owners in the form of taxes paid, and the remaining $1.1 million comes from other sources.

Residents can expect a 1.4% increase in the current mill rate of $5.03 to create a new mill rate of $5.10 for each $1,000 of assessed property value.

Salaries will see a general increase of 3%, excepting any employees who received an increase during the past year.

Two major street resurfacing projects are anticipated during the summer. Washington Avenue will be repaved and Maple Avenue will receive a treatment of oil and stone.

Following the budget approval vote, the Village Board voted in favor of increasing the sewer use rate from $9 to $9.90 per 1,000 gallons. The rate increase anticipated critically-needed repairs to the processing systems in upcoming years.

The next regular meeting of the Village Board is scheduled for Wednesday, May 8, at the firehouse, beginning at 6 p.m.

budget

Latest News

Millerton Police Dept. rebuilds after fire; new cruisers on the way

Millerton Police Dept. rebuilds after fire; new cruisers on the way

The borrowed Pine Plains cruiser parked on Main Street in front of the Millerton Inn during the Millerton Street Fair on Saturday, June 28.

Photo by Aly Morrissy

MILLERTON — After receiving substantial state grant funding in July 2024 and beginning to roll out new equipment that fall, the Millerton Police Department suffered a setback when the February fire at the Village Water and Highway Department building destroyed much of its newly acquired gear — including patrol vehicles outfitted with cutting-edge technology.

Thanks to full-value insurance coverage and swift support from the Town of Pine Plains — which loaned the department a vehicle — Millerton officers were able to remain active in the community. Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik said two custom-built, four-wheel-drive Ford Interceptor cruisers are now in production and are expected to arrive by the end of the summer.

Keep ReadingShow less

Uncertainty looms over Millerton community pool timeline

Uncertainty looms over Millerton community pool timeline

Groundbreaking of the new pool planned for Eddie Collins Park has been delayed after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation intervened to determine the status of wetlands in the proposed building site.

Archive photo

MILLERTON — The long-awaited groundbreaking for a new community pool at Eddie Collins Memorial Park — once expected this past April — now faces significant delays with no definitive timeline in sight, Mayor Jenn Najdek said.

The primary setback stems from a still-pending permitting process, as the village awaits final approvals from the Dutchess County Board of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding septic placement and wetland buffers. A patch of wetlands on the site — roughly five feet by five feet, Najdek said — requires a protective buffer, which could range anywhere from 5 to 100 feet. That determination will dictate whether the current pool design needs to be altered or moved altogether.

Keep ReadingShow less

North East town records brought into the digital age

North East town records brought into the digital age

Chris Virtuoso reorganized parcel records in the North East Town Hall basement by parcel number during the process of scanning and digitizing the documents.

Photo by Grace DeMarco

MILLERTON — Within the walls of the two-story Victorian housing the North East Town Hall lies a room-full of town records dating back to the late 19th century. Stored in labeled cardboard boxes and protected by dehumidifiers, the records are in the process of being dated, organized, and scanned into categorized online programs.

As the Town Hall works to relocate to 5603 Route 22 at the former Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness, the consolidation and digitalization of records, as well as the disposal of those unneeded, is a time-sensitive project. Marcy Wheatley, the Deputy Town Clerk, emphasized their current heavy focus on organizing and scanning. “Now, when we move, we can get rid of a lot,” Wheatley stated.

Keep ReadingShow less

Fun, food and facts bring crowds to downtown Millerton

Fun, food and facts bring crowds to downtown Millerton

Nora Garcia, 6, of Millerton, bottom right, gets a face painting treatment from Maddy Rowe, a Webutuck High School senior. Nora’s sister, Juliana, 8, top right, is decorated by Giana Kall, a Webutuck senior. The program was sponsored by the Webutuck PTA.

Photo by John Coston

Locals and visitors packed into downtown Millerton Saturday, June 28, for the first ever Millerton Street Fair hosted by the Millerton News, the Millerton Business Alliance and Townscape. Representatives from local nonprofits, businesses along Main Street, Bee Bee the Clown and face painters from Webutuck High School drew in crowds all afternoon.

Festivities officially opened at 10 a.m., and a steady stream of visitors soon followed. Volunteer firefighters hosted a bouncy castle, a duck pool, a “put out the fire” ring toss game, and the “touch a truck” event at the fire department’s garage.

Keep ReadingShow less