Town of North East approves 2026 budget with adjustments

MILLERTON — After a brief, one-minute public hearing that drew no comments, the North East Town Board unanimously adopted its 2026 budget on Thursday, Nov. 13, incorporating two final adjustments totaling $20,000.

Supervisor Chris Kennan proposed the additions before the vote. The first was a $5,000 line item to support the Village of Millerton’s upcoming 175th anniversary celebration. The second was a $15,000 allocation to hire a grant writer to prepare a 2026 New York Forward Grant application to support the town-village wastewater project.

“The village is in the center of the town,” said Kennan, who called the village’s request for support toward the milestone anniversary “reasonable.” He acknowledged the overall cost of the celebration will be well above the $5,000 mark. In addition, the town has been asked to run a volunteer event and Kennan, an avid runner, will work to organize a “fun run.”

Efforts to apply for a New York Forward Grant, an unmatched grant from the state for $4.5 million awarded to communities in the mid-Hudson region, would significantly bolster the town and village’s long-term efforts to support the wastewater project. “I think we need some professional help,” said Kennan, adding that he believes the town stands a very good chance of being selected. If unused, the funds will revert back into the budget.

These adjustments were only introduced at the Nov. 13 meeting because state rules prohibit changes between the public hearing notice and the hearing itself. Both items passed unanimously, adding the combined $20,000 to the 2026 budget.

The preliminary spending plan totaled $5,043,192, an increase of about 2.7% over the 2025 budget. With the two additions, the final adopted budget stands at $5,063,192, a 3.2% increase over the 2025 budget.

Once again, Kennan highlighted the steep rise in emergency medical services (EMS) spending. The town’s ambulance line will climb from $511,558 to $696,345, a 36.1% increase and the largest year-over-year jump in the budget.

“This is the only choice we have,” Kennan said. “The alternative choice is we don’t have an ambulance and we let people figure it out.” Several towns in the region follow that model – they rely solely on volunteers and neighboring communities that pay for contracted services.

Kennan noted that North East has the smallest population of the three towns that share a contract with Empress EMS – along with Amenia and Dover Plains – yet pays the highest rate. Costs have escalated under the multi-year contract signed in 2024, though officials initially hoped that there would be ways to reduce costs.

After Empress acquired Northern Dutchess Paramedics (NDP) earlier this year, Kennan confirmed the incoming company committed to honoring the existing contract through 2026.

While a long-term solution remains elusive, Kennan said he and other elected officials are playing the long game and raising the issue at every level of government.

Kennan also said the town faced rising costs across several budget lines, including insurance, auto equipment, New York State Retirement, a 6.5% increase in health insurance, an additional $50,000 increase for the NorthEast-Millerton Library following its successful 414 funding referendum, and data processing expenses.

The town will continue its annual support of the North East Community Center with a $5,000 contract and a $500 contribution to the center’s transportation program.

“I think we’ve done the best we could to try to bring this down,” Kennan said of the adopted budget.