Wallkill Valley Times Nov. 08 2017

T IMES WALLKILL VALLEY Vol. 35, No 45 3 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017 Despite a political climate on Election Day that seemed to favor Democratic candidates across the nation, in the Town of Montgomery, voters came out once again in support of their Republican candidates, sweeping the elections. Political newcomer Rodney Winchell will be taking the helm as town supervisor in January, after unofficial election results late Tuesday night indicated that he had clinched the election. According to the Orange County Board of Elections, Winchell received nearly 65 percent of the vote with 3,246 votes, while his opponent Bryan Paz received 1,756 votes. When asked why he thought voters had shown that support, Winchell said it was because he is “restoring confidence that the citizens have a voice and a confidence ONE DOLLAR Section IX cross country Page 38 www .W allkill V alley T imes . net Republicans sweep in Montgomery By RACHEL COLEMAN 3 of leadership in government.” While there are a couple months until Winchell takes office, he stated that his first priority is the safety of the community and he intends to focus on improving communication and coordination between the town and the three villages within it— even if that begins with simply picking up the phone and talking with each other on Continued on page 4 Halloween patrol Anita Vandermark The Village of Walden Police, along with a few close friends, kept the streets safe during the village-wide trick or treat last Tuesday. Shawangunk stays within the tax cap By TED REMSNYDER The Shawangunk Town Board unanimously approved a 2018 budget at its meeting last Thursday that stays within the state-mandated tax cap and raises $5,396,014 from taxpayers. The budget was designed to arrive right at the 1.84 percent tax levy cap, which allows the town to collect an additional $72,730 in taxes in 2018. “We’re right at the dollar, because if we don’t and there’s a year when we have a catastrophe, I like to build up the fund balance and start a reserve fund for infrastructure,” Shawangunk Supervisor John Valk said of the cap. Most of the additional funds will go towards the Highway Department, with $1,695,398 to be collected from residents for that agency, a $42,000 raise over last year’s adopted spending plan. “The highway is in very big demand because of the bad winter, the salt and blacktop costs,” Valk said. “The personnel didn’t go up much. The union contract was very reasonable. I think we got that settled by the first of the year. That wasn’t a major expense, but the materials are very expensive.” The adopted budget includes $780,000 for general repairs, up from last year’s budget line of $718,324. Under the adopted 2018 spending plan, homes with an average value of $250,000 should see an estimated tax increase of $14.85. The town’s fund balance outlook is good, as Shawangunk will apply $140,163 from the general fund balance toward the budget, leaving the town with an unapplied balance of $566,991. “When our general fund closes out at the end of the year, that will go back up or go down Continued on page 4 SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL