The Angelica Town Board will hold a public hearing Monday night on a $1.8 million dollar operating budget for next year which results in a proposed $190,440 combined property tax levy, while it recorded over $5 million in available funds, and growing, at the end of last year which apparently has been available to eliminate all taxes for many years.
The session will be held at 6:15PM in the Grange meeting rooms on Park Circle, prior to its 7PM, October 12, regular monthly meeting.
Based on data available from the State Comptroller’s Office, as reported to it by the town, the local government had enough surplus, known as unassigned fund balance, at the end of last year to offset more than nine years of taxes.
The unassigned fund balance has grown in the past five years from $2.8 million at the end of 2021 to just over $5 million at the close of 2025 while property owners continue to pay town taxes.
An email query to Town Supervisor Girard Kelly Saturday morning as to why the town has been collecting property taxes from its residents when it already holds the equivalent of some 10 years of levies has not been responded to at the time of this writing.
An Allegany Hope Community News analysis of the proposed budget, which is said to be reducing the property tax rate by 6.8 percent next year, finds other significant components which have led to the unused windfall, including:
Major underestimation of fund balance: Despite having $5,021,422.96 in available fund balance at the end of last year, the preliminary budget is showing only $336,817 being applied in the 2027 general fund budget to reduce taxes.
This actually is a $500 decrease from that proposed by Kelly, who also acts as the town budget officer, although a draft of the September 22 board budget meeting is showing no change to a higher $337,317 number.
The amended budget for the current year is showing a higher $536,584 having been allocated to the general fund, $17,224 to the town-wide highway fund, and $84,000 to the highway fund outside the village, or a total of $638,308.
More than $1.4 million in additional restricted town fund balances are shown in State Comptroller records at the end of last year, including $12,842.24 in the general fund for outside the village category, $731,906.65 in the town-wide highway fund, $674,011.53 in the highway fund outside the village, and $4,568.96 in the fire district fund.
Hyland Landfill community impact fees: The town is budgeting $899,923, spread as revenue across its five operating funds, for monies received from the siting of the county landfill in the southern portion of the town.
This is less, however, than the $997,072 received last year and proportionally less than the $346,657.27 which the town reports having received in August for just the second calendar quarter of this year.
The quarterly amount annualized would equal nearly $1.4 million, or a half million dollars more than being budgeted.
Interest on investments: The town has been receiving an average of $13,172.85 in monthly interest, or an annualized rate of more than $150,000, during the first nine months of this year through investment of some of its fund balance in the NYCLASS (New York Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System) pool.
This investment tool provides liquid, short-term, higher-rate opportunities for local governments pursuant to provisions of the state General Municipal Law.
The town is reporting that it had over $4.5 million invested in CLASS in September, with an interest rate, which varies each month, at 3.638 percent, resulting in $13,409.76 interest revenue for the month.
However, it only is budgeting revenue of $33,725 in interest for all of the coming year, compared with $195,113 received in 2025, according to budget documents.
A copy of the 2027 Town of Angelica preliminary budget is available at https://tinyurl.com/2027-Angelica-Budget, with the State Comptroller’s Open Book which details local government finances for many years at https://tinyurl.com/NYS-Comptroller-Open-Book.
A Classification accounts pertain to the town-wide general fund, with B for general fund services outside the village, DA for town-wide highway accounts, DB for highway outside the village, and SF for special districts, being Angelica Fire District costs related to the town.