(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2022)
John Strough (file photo)
The Queensbury Town Board passed a real estate tax hike in their 2023 budget, Monday evening Nov. 7. The tax rate will increase from .521 to .821 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2023, a 56.7% increase over 2022, according to Queensbury Town Supervisor John Strough and the budget presented.
With the increased tax rate, Queensbury’s real estate taxes rise to $3.35 million from $2.11 million in 2022. Sales taxes are expected to rise from $9.6 million in 2022 to $10.8 million in 2023.
The total town budget including sewage, water, and a myriad other fees and revenue sources rises from $32,421,393 in the adopted 2022 budget to $38,170,833 next year, a 17.7% increase.
Credit rating agencies and auditors have identified the town’s over-reliance on sales tax as a “point of concern,” Strough said.
“When sales tax is up, everything is good. When it’s down, we must increase taxes,” Strough admitted during the hearing.
“Queensbury is the county’s economic hub,” he said. The town has about 30,000 of the county’s 66,000 residents.
According to Strough, Queensbury’s consumer and tourism economy is a major producer of sales tax revenue. However, that revenue is shared with the rest of the county’s municipalities. This economic activity can burden Queensbury because it creates emergency service and traffic management costs.
As well, the town has made a point this year of increasing the compensation of the local EMS providers. The town does not staff an EMS department. Rather, three, nonprofit, EMS companies contract with the town to provide emergency services and are staffed by a mix of paid personnel and volunteers. Increasing salaries, paid time off and funding training is an attempt to attract and retain skilled service providers, town officials have said at previous meetings.
The cost of emergency services has been particularly impactful for the town since volunteerism has plummeted and been replaced by paid service, Strough said.
During the town’s presentation, it was estimated that Fire and EMS services will cost $6.8 million next year, up nearly 30% from this year due to significantly higher costs in equipment, training, medical supplies, vehicle fuel, and heating fuel.
These costs, along with an increase in Length of Service Award Program benefits for fire and EMS volunteers, and 9% inflation have all contributed to the rise in taxes.
The tax rate hike didn’t come without pushback, albeit from one individual in attendance.
Travis Whitehead of Queensbury does not like the way the town uses the Capital Reserve, or what is commonly referred to as a rainy day fund, where the board allocates excess revenue to fund large projects.
Queensbury’s Capital Reserve Fund added $1.8 million in 2022, mostly due to a surplus in sales tax received above the budgeted amounts.
“It’s a shame,” said Whitehead. “They realize that no one — besides me — is looking and that is the reason they feel they can get away with it year after year.”
Despite Whitehead’s protest, Supervisor Strough touted a 3.3 fiscal score out of 100, indicating a very healthy budget and economy. He also discounted anything nefarious occurring and that the allocation of funds was a “difference in philosophy.”
The board unanimously passed the budget.