Author: Mark Turner

Last week we adopted the 2026 Town Budget.

• The Budget increased approximately 4% from the prior year. This is mainly driven by increased materials and labor costs. Additionally, there was a need to upgrade portions of the Town Office infrastructure.

• This is offset by an increase in Revenue and the commitment of additional dollars from the Unappropriated Fund Balances.

• In the adopted 2026 Budget, the Town-wide tax rate has decreased approximately 10%. This will be the third consecutive year that the budget has produced a Town-wide tax rate reduction. This decrease coupled with the previous 2 years’ reductions, represent an approximate 27% decrease in your town tax rate since 2023.

The 2026 adopted Town Budget maintains the same level of services you are accustomed to, as well as reducing your Town-wide tax rate, making the Town of Wheatland a more affordable place to live.

Fiscal state of the Town:

1. Strong Fund Account Balances: The projected End of Year Fund (EOY) fund balances are strong relative to historical levels.

2. 2025 Budget Performance: The town is projected to leave 2025 with a budget surplus. We anticipate spending less, while also taking in more revenue than planned.

3. Strong Reserve Balances: The town maintains healthy Reserve Balances. These can be used in times of emergency, to help manage cash flow, or to smooth out fluctuations in revenues.

The 2026 Adopted Budget and the 2026 Budget presentation are posted on the Town Website for review.

Thank you and enjoy the Holidays.

Jim Kirch, Town Supervisor

LEGAL NOTICE – OF PUBLIC HEARING

Freeman Park is a small but frequented park in the Hamlet of Mumford, the Town of Wheatland, Monroe County, NY. The Town recognizes the importance of planning for improvements that will preserve the park’s historical identity while enhancing recreational opportunities for all ages. This Master Plan outlines a vision for phased improvements based on introducing amenities to increase the capacity of the park to serve the community while maintaining or decreasing maintenance needs. The plan was modeled on best practices from other successful park planning efforts, and normative data available from the National Recreation and Parks Association annual report (2024).

As described in the Town of Wheatland Local Government mission statement, the Town of Wheatland is committed to “provide all of the Town’s citizens and businesses with the utmost quality of basic services, directed at publicly expressed community needs, at the least possible cost“. The Town provides a broad set of important services and functions for residents and businesses across various categories of operations, such as: Town-Wide, Town Outside of Village and Special Districts (refer to the Town Government Services Summary for further descriptions of these categories).

The detailed 2026 Tentative Town Budget is available on the Town of Wheatland Website.