By DOUG LA ROCQUE
Capital Region Independent Media
NEW LEBANON–Following a public hearing at which there was no comment, the New Lebanon Town Board gave its unanimous approval to the town’s 2025 budget during their November meeting. The spending plan reduces expenditures by 2.85%, which in real dollars means a tax levy of $1.96/$1,000 of assessed valuation, which is down 0.47% from the 2024 rate of 2.43%.
The town, however, completed a re-evaluation this past year, which means many property owners may have a new assessment, which depending on the individual property, may have gone up or down.
On November 15, the town officially closed on the purchase of the building being used for the Community Center, that being the LVPA’s former firehouse on U.S. Route 20. The board approved a number of new or continuing contracts, including internet and phone services, garbage disposal, heating fuel and exterior painting. They also set rental fees at $100 a day for community residents and $200 for out-of-town renters. Other center actions included changing the director’s position from hourly to salaried.
A request for the town to take over Old Ghost Road was on the agenda but not acted upon, as some surveying requirements are not complete. The developer of homes being built on the road has apparently brought the byway up to the town’s requirements for a takeover and established a $20,000 escrow account to defray maintenance costs. It is believed the request will be acted upon at the board’s December meeting.
Local Law #3 of 2024 gained the council’s approval. It makes a number of minor language changes to the town’s current Freedom of Information statutes, most notably amending the set fees for copying of pages to an applicable rate, based on what New York State charges. This simply means every time the state makes a change, the town does not have to adopt a new local law. Supervisor Tistrya Houghtling made it clear the adopted law does not change any requirements on applicants or the town concerning the filing and response to FOIL requests.
Federal law concerning the expenditure of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies requires all recipients to either have spent or contracted for the funds they received by the end of the year or return the money. New Lebanon had allocated monies for use by the Rail Trail committee, but first required all violations of the property be rectified. That has not happened and Supervisor Houghtling said she has had no response from the committee for over three months, so the board decided to reallocate those funds for the purchase of a leaf vacuum and bag trailer for the highway department. Bids are due before the next meeting so the money can be contracted before the year-end deadline. The amount of ARPA funds in question is approximately $26,500.
News and notes:
*Monty Wasch has tendered his resignation from the town’s planning, ethics and business economic development committees as well as the Shaker Site Preservation committee, because he is moving into the role of Town Justice for the next four years. His new position does not allow him to continue to serve in those posts. The council is requesting letters of interest
*New Lebanon recently qualified for up to $250,000 in funds from New York State Energy Research and Development office (NYSERDA). The amount of dollars in the grant funding pool is dwindling, however, so the town has sent an application for their share to install heat pumps and solar panels with a battery backup at the community center
*The board announced the LVPA President Ed Godfroy recently celebrated his 50th anniversary as a member of the fire department and hopes to officially honor him at their December meeting
*The start time for the Tuesday, December 10 gathering has been pushed back to 7:30 p.m. because of the school concert that begins at 6 p.m., the board’s normal start time. The annual end of the year meeting will be held on December 30 at 5 p.m. The 2025 re-organizational meeting will be held on January 2 preceded by the swearing in of newly elected town officials beginning at 6 p.m.