The Issues
Spending
Mayor Williams Claimed:
Our general fund is only $400,000 less than four years ago.
Actually, there was $3,107,119 in the general fund (aka rainy day fund) four years ago.
Today it’s down to $1,143,103, a drop of $1,964,016, or a decrease of 63%.
Revenue & Interest
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“2021: $413 interest. Last three years: $2.2 million in interest.”
Interest income rose because rates rose and funds were moved into higher-yield account, not because of budget reform. Meanwhile, expenses grew just as dramatically, and interest revenue has already declined while spending continued climbing, resulting in an unprecedented $1.87 million deficit last year. No amount of electric car charging stations fees, paid parking, cannabis taxes, and geothermal fees will make up this difference.
Personnel
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“Four years ago, the DPW was half manned and unable to handle any infrastructure projects in house. Now we're fully manned and we're completing major projects in house every single summer, saving about 90% of cost.”
We appreciate everything DPW accomplishes but they didn’t just start doing infrastructure work four years ago - they have a long history of doing so. And while there have been vacancies over the years they have never been at half strength. Finally, it is impossible to save 90% doing infrastructure projects in-house because materials alone average 50% of the cost no matter who does the work.
Village employees work hard and provide the services we need, but we have to be able to afford it.
Since 2022, total personnel costs, including salaries and benefits, more than doubled from 1,302,749 to $4,102,662.
Water & Sewer Rates
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“Typically, water sewer rates go up double digits each every single year. Over the last three years, both have increased by 0%.”
Rates didn’t go up “double digits every year.” The data shows modest increases, a few spikes, and then three years of freezes. We don’t like spikes either. But holding rates at 0% while costs rise dramatically doesn’t make things cheaper; it just guarantees a bigger jump for ratepayers later.
Tax Cap
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“I have not broken the tax cap. We will not break the tax cap to complete this project.”
The village has actually stayed with the tax cap since its inception (New York State initiated the 2% property tax cap when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation on June 24, 2011). The Village can only increase taxes $145,000 to stay under the tax cap. Even if all other village expenses stayed flat…
Housing
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“There are 200 units of housing that were not available four years ago”.
The Lofts and Trudeau Village are promising projects but they’re not open yet, and they’re still not housing anyone today. Even when they do come online, those 166 units won’t solve a region-wide housing shortage years in the making. Housing simply isn’t “solved.” It’s time to refocus the community development department on its original purpose - housing.
Code Enforcement
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“The new code officer has worked to get 40 vacant properties back into the inventory. He's completed a hundred multi-family home inspections when in the previous five years they completed zero”.
Every vacant building that becomes a home again is great news but with over 115 units in the Village being used for short-term rentals, we are still losing ground.
Annexation
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“Annexing the Willow Way (Pine View Village) apartments added $2.7 million to the tax rolls.”
It’s true the village annexed this 96-unit complex in 2025, bringing its assessed value of roughly $2.7 million into the village tax base. This means the property is now taxed by the village, generating on the order of $35,000-$40,000 in new annual village tax revenue. We should highlight that with annexation comes responsibility: the village now maintains those roads and provides services there. Bottom line – yes, the tax base grew modestly, but the figure cited is the property value, not cash in hand.
Emergency Services Building
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“We received a $4.5 million dollar congressional spending request for our public safety building project.”
This is a great start but won’t go very far for a $27 million project. And a congressional spending request is not the same as secured funding. The Village still has to identify for the federal government how the remaining costs would be paid.
Ladder Truck
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“We purchased the $1.3 million dollar ladder truck that they've been waiting on for 15 years”.
The ladder truck is a critical investment and the firefighters absolutely deserve the equipment. But the purchase wasn’t initiated by the current administration; the prior board saved for it over several years and approved the purchase in 2022. Being in office when it was delivered isn’t the same as making it happen. Accuracy matters when we talk about big investments like that.
DRI Projects
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“We started and completed all the village DRI projects.”
The Village managed seven Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) public projects funded by New York State But Boothe River Park and Woodruff Street projects are not completed and Ward Plumadore Park went nearly three times over budget. We learned recently that one project, the Riverwalk Extension, was only moved after the prior mayor stepped in to secure a critical easement. This is not a record of “started and completed all” projects.
Mt. Pisgah
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“We have made a $750,000 investment to attract and keep young families here”.
*show Pisgah revenues and expenses over the past 4 years.
Grants
Mayor Williams Claimed:
“The Community Development Office received $2.1 million in grants in the last two years alone”.
$2.1 million in two years sounds impressive. But averaged over four years, it’s about $525,000 annually — far below the roughly $2 million per year the Village secured in prior years. And unlike prior years, much of this work is now being supported by outside consultants — something residents should factor into the overall picture.
