Washington county released the tentative 2026 budget recently. It includes a tax levy increase of almost 17% while cutting approximately 65 county employees.
The Board of Supervisors voted to override the tax cap for 2026. Dresden’s Town Supervisor, Charles Tall, is our voice on the Board of Supervisors. Another budget workshop is scheduled for November 10, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. and the tentative budget goes to the County’s Finance Committee on November 13th at approximately 9:30 a.m.
If the budget moves out of committee, a resolution to adopt the budget would come before the full board at its November 21st meeting, with a majority of the board’s weighted vote needed to pass it. Dresden has a very low weighted vote because our population is very small. However, because Dresden taxes account for a large percentage of the county’s tax income, many Supervisors listen to our Supervisor’s opinion. Because of this, it is imperative that our Town Supervisor shows up at Board of Supervisor meetings and works diligently to make our voices heard.
The county has been hampered in recent years because the state of New York passes unfunded mandates along to its counties and the county taxes reflect that.
I am doing all I can.