MILLERTON — The Town of North East released a draft of its preliminary budget for 2025, marking a big increase in appropriations due to a sharp rise in the cost of emergency medical services provided by Northern Dutchess Paramedics (NDP).
The grand total of appropriations in the tentative budget is $4,056,246, compared to $3,622,196 in the prior year budget.
A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the budget.
The amount the town spent on EMS during 2024 was $376,858 during its five-year contract with NDP. Now, NDP has pitched a new contract that could potentially cost the town $646,300, increasing by 71.5%.
The new potential contract and increase of EMS costs takes more than 10% of the entire town’s budget and funding.
The previous contract was between the towns of Amenia, Dover and North East, which also have seen similar increases. There currentlyis a global EMS crisis which is increasing the costs of services, especially for towns with low call ratios.
The town has anticipated funding for the NorthEast-Millerton Library, even though the library is now hoping to secure funding through a 414 budget vote on Election Day.
The town has been providing the library $175,000, which includes $125,000 secured from a 2007 vote and an additional $50,000 that the town has been providing since 2019.
Since securing the $125,000 in 2007, the library has determined it needs more funds for day-to-day activities and maintenance. In 2019, the Town of North East voluntarily provided the further support of $50,000 each year since then. Though it seems the funding will remain the same, this year the library is returning to the ballot in order to secure the total budget of $175,000 from the town.
The Fire District’s budget has risen from $756,222 in 2024 to a tentative budget of $771,366, a 2% increase. The Water District is slated for a 2.7% addition, which adds $1,010 to its tentative budget appropriation of $39,978.
Another large jump in the town’s proposed spending is for town hall renovations, expected to increase by 50%. In 2024 the town used $25,000 for renovations and has put down $50,000 for the next preliminary budget.
There are some cutbacks in proposed spending. For example, the new budget cuts $20,000 of funding for a part of snow removal, now bringing that budget to $100,000.
The Highway Department’s budget has been lowered by 15.2%, going from $1,775,706 in 2024 to $1,504,963 for the draft of 2025, reducing the amount by about $270,000.
With the new recreation programs this year, the budget has increased by $4,800 for the Village’s program. The budget also shows small changes in salaries and benefits for town employees, with medical benefits showing the most change.
Photo by Graham Corrigan
