Johnsburg facing a 2025 spending hike of 11.9%

NORTH CREEK | The Town of Johnsburg's proposed 2025 budget calls for an increase of expenditures of $519,389, a hike of 11.9 percent — and more than half of this increase will depend on $300,000 to be drawn from the town's savings. Last year's budget called for no money to be drawn from financial reserves. These 2025 expenditures also depend on a 12.7 percent increase projected for the town's 2024 year-end fund balance. Despite using savings and leftover cash from the present year, the property tax levy is proposed to increase by $61,090, a 4.2 percent hike. A public hearing on this preliminary 2025 budget is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 in the Tannery Pond Community Center. These figures include the general municipal spending plus highway expenses, and to a much lesser extent, library-related appropriations. Fire, emergency medical services and water system costs all are to rise, but not by much. The increase in all these special district appropriations overall is 0.17 percent. However, residents of the North Creek Fire District are to shoulder an extra $174,704 in expenses, an increase of $37,437 or 21.4 percent. The grand total of the tax levy for Johnsburg government and services, including special districts, is to increase by $98,842. The major factor driving the increase in town government expenses is the cost of employee benefits, budgeted to increase by $60,206, a 19.2 percent hike. In this category, medical and dental insurance costs are the main factor: they are expected to rise from $164,000 to $215,347, an increase of $51,347 or 31.3 percent, while town personnel salaries are to increase 3.2 percent. Other increases in appropriations include hiring an outside auditor for $30,000. The town's revenues other than the local property tax levy are estimated to increase by 3.5 percent. Budgetary decreases include expenditures for equipping buildings which are to drop from $61,700 to $10,000 — and legal expenses, which are expected to fall 33.3 percent to $30,000. Personnel expenses of trash disposal and landfill operation are to rise 10.3 percent to $59,488, and hauling expenses are to increase 38 percent to $90,000 — but trash disposal equipment costs are expected to decrease from $100,000 to $22,500. The 2025 Johnsburg budget details are posted on the town's website alongside spending plans of prior years.

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Johnsburg facing a 2025 spending hike of 11.9%

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