OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Dunkirk Town Supervisor Richard Purol, right, speaks at Tuesday’s Dunkirk Town Board meeting. At left is Town Attorney Jeffrey Passafaro. Sitting with his back to the camera is Town Councilman Henry Walldorff.

The town of Dunkirk wants to override its state-mandated cap of tax raises.

At its Tuesday night meeting, the Dunkirk Town Board set a public hearing for 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 6 about going over the cap, which is 2%. The public hearing on the 2020 town budget will follow at 7 p.m. and the board will then have a special meeting immeidately therefater.

Town attorney Jeff Passafaro walked board members through the legalities, noting the town must adopt its 2020 budget by Nov. 20 and have its hearing on the budget by Nov. 7. He pointed out the board will need to enact a local law to go over the cap, and since it needs a law, it has to hold a public hearing.

There was little information available about the budget at the meeting Tuesday, which closed to the public at the end for an executive session on a town personnel matter. Town Supervisor Richard Purol made it sound as if there is still plenty of work to do on the budget.

“We’ve got three different things right now,” he told the OBSERVER when asked what the tax levy would be. “I don’t want to speculate what it will be yet. But it’ll be over 2% (tax hike).”

He said a lot of the increase in expenses has to do with the water districts the town has had to put in place.