The Peru Gazette

By John T Ryan 

Peru, NY November 14 Special Town Board Meeting – The Peru Town Board approved the town’s $5.3 million 2024 budget. After multiple workshops, the board stayed under the state-mandated 2% tax cap. Its most significant challenge was dealing with projected Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance cost increases ranging from 26% to 29%. It reacted by changing providers. MVP will be the town’s new healthcare provider. Pay increases related to the rising cost of living and employee retention also had to be determined. The board settled on a 5% across-the-board increase. Unless a property’s assessed value increases by 15 to 20% (or more), people’s 2024 town tax burden should be relatively stable. 

2024 Tax Rates per thousand dollars of taxable value 

• Town General – $1.636 
• Town Highway – $1.783
• Town Water, #1,#2,#3 – $1.12
• Town Sewer #1 – $2.07 
• Valcour Sewer #1 – $.332
• Valcour Sewer #2- $.332 

2023 Tax Rates 

• Town General – $1.756
• Town Highway – $2.239
• Town Water, #1,#2,#3 – $1.038
• Town Sewer #1 – $2.304
• Valcour Sewer #1 – $.296
• Valcour Sewer #2- $.534

The General Budget totals $1,943,895. Primary revenue sources include property taxes – $1,046,475, sales taxes – $60,000, cable TV franchise fees – $77,750, fines, forfeited bail – $85,000, NYS mortgage tax – $80,950, and a 2023 fund balance totaling $490,184. Expenses include items such as the town board & town supervisor, town clerk, planning, zoning, data processing, town court, assessment, park maintenance, dog control, and highway department management salaries. Sales tax income is tough to budget. Clinton County doesn’t notify the towns if or how much sales tax money they will receive until late in the calendar year. Peru’s amount received ranged from $0 in 2020, $325,143 in 2021 to $620,650 in 2022. The amount the town will receive in 2023 is unknown. 

The highway department’s $1,956,032 primary budgeted expenses are paving – $404,795, general repairs – $159,303, machinery – $583,060, and snow removal – $354,221. Its primary revenue sources are real property taxes – $1,140,197, services to other governments – $133,285, sales of gas & diesel fuel – $273,863, and NYS Consolidates Local Street and Highway Improvement Program monies (CHIPS) – $404,795. The other government income relates to payment from Clinton County for plowing 30 miles of its highways. The fuel sales revenue is related to sales to Peru Central School and other town departments.