Rosendalians face a tiny tax increase in the 2022 budget, but not as big as last year’s. The 1.17 percent increase in the town’s overall budget this year is well below the two percent tax cap mandated by the state. The increase is attributed to numerous, small increases in the general budget line, which represents a $35,000 increase in new expenses this year, along with nominal bumps costs associated with the water and sewer lines.

Rosendale Town Supervisor Jeanne Walsh explained that the board still had $95,000 worth of room to raise the budget, without exceeding the state’s cap, but members did not want to burden residents any further.

“We spent a lot of time, and many hours, scrutinizing every line to trim the budget and make sure it’s as fair as possible,” said Walsh. “I am very happy with the budget this year.”

Some of the cost came in salary raises for town employees: minimum wage, for example, rose from $12.50 per hour to $13.20 in Ulster County. Certain departments, like the Highway Department and Rosendale Police, have mandated raises in their contracts that the town must provide, Walsh explained. The town also gave more work hours to some town employees, like the fire marshal who will have to complete more inspections after the town crafts its short-term rental law.

The town also needed to factor in the increased cost in materials for large, upcoming projects, Walsh explained. One major project is the ongoing renovations at the Rosendale Sewer District: a multi-million-dollar endeavor that will add an ultraviolet wastewater cleaning system to the facility and completely refurbish it. Anyone who has tried to build something over the past two years has faced higher costs for materials due to inflation.

Another factor to consider was the anticipated dip in Recreation Department revenue. Although summer activities this year resumed, fewer people attended, perhaps since they were still wary about the pandemic. This left the department with less money than previous summers. Walsh anticipated a similar drought of revenue for the summer of 2022, which is reflected in the budget.

The town also decreased its lighting district spending by between 40 and 70 percent thanks to the installment of energy-efficient LED lights instead of the traditional candescent bulbs. Overall, increases in expenses and revenues in the general budget rose in tandem, resulting in a minimal rise in the tax levy.

The highway department saw a $30,000 increase, which Walsh attributed to contracted raises for employees in the department. The water and sewer line expenses rose by roughly 26 percent, or $6,000, which was attributed to an employee getting health insurance coverage.

Walsh added that the town has yet to include the $295,510 it received from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Since the money arrived in August, it was not factored into the 2021 budget. However, Walsh planned to claim the money as “lost revenue” from 2020, which will allow it to be used for large town projects in the future. So far, the board has not decided what projects the money would be used for.

Campbell Street

Rosendale Highway Superintendent Robert Gallagher unveiled plans to fix a road collapse issue on Campbell Street, off of Binnewater Lane in Rosendale. This dead end street is ravaged by stormwater from the steep cliffs above it, causing a 50-foot stretch in the road to suffer road collapses over the years. If you enter the street from Binnewater Lane, the left side, protected by a guard rail, has a steep drop to the roadway and houses below.

In 2018, Gallagher explained, the road experienced a partial collapse, which was solved with a temporary repair. However, on March 14, Rosendale experienced seven inches of rainfall that ate away at three feet of pavement and caused the bank below the guard rail to decay further. At that time, the town paid for holes to be bored into the road for support beams and utilized Brinnier & Larios, an engineering firm based in Kingston.

Gallagher explained that the holes in the road will be filled with concrete support beams that will be attached to the rock ledge beneath the road. A wall will also be attached to these beams to hold the afflicted portion of the road’s bank in place. The town signed a $95,000 contract with Brinnier & Larios to complete the road reinforcement. A timeline for when the work would be completed was not shared.

The next Rosendale Town Board meeting will take place on December 9 at 6 p.m. and a town board meeting workshop will take place December 1 at the same time. For more information, visit the Rosendale government Facebook page as the date approaches.