LAKE PLACID — The North Elba Town Council approved the town budget for the 2025 fiscal year with a unanimous vote at a meeting Tuesday, having made no changes from the preliminary budget that was discussed last week. Councilman Richard Cummings was the only council member absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

The total expenditures expected for the 2025 town budget is $12,416,856, which includes $3,141,540 in capital project expenditures. This budget is a 7.7% increase from the 2024 budget of $11,530,870. The tax levy for the 2025 budget is expected to be $5,175,925, a 3.13% total increase from the 2024 levy of $5,018,636.

Although the town passed a local law in October allowing them to override the real property tax cap, which was first imposed by the state in 2012, they did not end up needing it. The town’s budgets have met or fallen below the tax cap every year since it was put in place, according to town Budget Officer Catherine Edman.

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General fund

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Town spending falls into a number of different categories. The general fund includes things like wages for town employees, legal expenditures, insurance and community development. Overall, general fund appropriations for 2025 total $4,007,196, an increase of $32,601 from the 2024 adopted budget.

The expected increase in spending is due to a variety of factors, including a $112,586 or 7.3% increase in the wages that come out of the general fund. A significant part of this increase is because 2025 has an additional pay period. Likewise, municipal insurance costs increased, as well as community development expenditures for the completion of the comprehensive plan update. Other costs decreased from 2024, such as building department costs related to short-term rental software and legal expenditures.

The general fund tax levy for 2025 will be $1,960,528, which is up 43% from the $1,375,272 collected from taxpayers last year. Every taxpayer in North Elba contributes to general fund operations. It is difficult to estimate the average tax rate and amounts across all of the funds, since the applicable taxes vary depending on where a taxpayer lives.

Property assessments in North Elba have continued to increase. Assessed values for all districts rose between 5.37% and 15.81% from 2024 to 2025. As an example, the total taxable assessed value for general fund operations jumped from $3.08 billion to $3.32 billion, an increase of about 7.7%.

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Other funds

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The North Elba Park District budgeted expenditures decreased by $122,800. The revenues for the park district rose due to an increased tax levy and a jump in fees and admissions at a number of locations, including the Craig Wood Golf Course and Lake Placid Toboggan Chute. The tax levy for the park district for 2025 is $1,449,089, an increase of $47,176 from last year.

Fire protection is divided into three districts, two contracted with the village of Lake Placid and one contracted with the village of Saranac Lake. The total contracted expenditures for the three fire districts increased by $59,155, although the tax rates for the three districts decreased slightly.

The Ray Brook water district tax levy dropped by $5,736. The tax rate also decreased, having increased significantly from the 2023 to the 2024 budget. For the 2025 fiscal year, the water district tax rate went down from $1.11 to 86 cents per $1,000 in assessed value.

The Town Outside Villages (TOV) general and highway fund saw a rise in budgeted revenues and a fall in expenditures. This comes with a decreased tax levy and tax rate. The 2024 tax rate for the TOV fund was 68 cents per $1,000 in assessed value and will be 40 cents in 2025.

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Pay for town officials

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The budget also gave a pay raise for elected town officers. Council members will be paid $10,160 for their work next year, an increase from last year’s pay of $9,499. The highway superintendent will be paid $82,615, an increase from $77,238 last year. The town clerk will be paid about $63,968, compared to last year’s pay of $59,805.

Town Supervisor Derek Doty was paid $45,000 by the town last year and will receive $48,132.63 this year. The supervisor also receives pay from Essex County.

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Capital projects

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The 2025 budget includes $3,141,540 in capital project expenditures. The three projects at the Lake Placid Airport include the paving, signage and lighting design for runway 14-32. Only 5% of the funding for the airport projects comes from the town.

The 2025 budget also includes funds for continued repairs for the exterior of the North Elba Town Hall building and takes into account a few larger equipment purchases that will be funded using debt service.

Capital project expenditures fluctuate from year-to-year, Edman said. The town isn’t technically required to include capital projects in the budget, but Edman said they try to take them into account. The 2025 capital expenditures are a bit higher than an average year, particularly because of the paving project at the airport.