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ARKWRIGHT -- Residents in this town of close to 1,100 will not be seeing a repeat of last year when property taxes decreased.
In November, the Arkwright Town Board approved the year's budget, which should reflect low operating costs in response to flat or further reduced contributions from the state. For town residents, there is no increase in the town's portion of the property tax, though the budget still allows for road repairs, equipment upgrades, and building renovations, all of which town Supervisor Brian McAvoy is eager to see in gear. The vote on the budget was unanimous.
For the 2019-20 budget, the town actually voted to decrease the tax rate for residents. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease wasn't something that was in the cards for the board, meaning a flat rate was the best they could do.
"We felt it was the most prudent thing to do," McAvoy said. "We never thought about raising them. We thought this year it was right to keep it flat. You never know what next year will bring, hopefully we can consider some other things, depending on the state of the pandemic."
In regard to the building modifications, McAvoy said the town was looking to upgrade several buildings, and while he noted that Town Hall needs to be considered, his biggest priority was for the town barns, which is where they keep and maintain their plows.
"The buildings need to be improved," McAvoy said. "The town barns aren't adequate for the type of plow trucks we'd like to get in the future. We need to keep the trucks inside to thaw them out, and if we want to get dual-axle 10-wheelers, the building needs an upgrade. It's seen better days. It'll be a multi-year project to make these improvements, and they won't look like the Taj Mahal or anything. They'll be efficient, cost effective buildings."
Last year also saw a handful of key positions of the Arkwright Town Board become vacated early in their terms. Despite the turnover and the effects of the pandemic, the Board is "pleased to report the town is in a healthy fiscal position." In addition, McAvoy also said the board is close to filing one of the most important vacancies they've had open.
"We're close to filling the vacant Highway Superintendent position," McAvoy said. "The Deputy Superintendent has been doing a great job getting the roads plowed and keeping our guys working, but we need a management level Highway Superintendent to do some of the reports that have to be done. We have to have a highway plan, and we have to do hiring, but we think we'll be able to bring someone on board here quickly."
In addition to the potential appointment of a new Highway Superintendent, the board also has a plan in place to fix the town's roads. Like the buildings, the road plan is another multi-year project, as not all roads can be fixed in unison.
"The plan will be available for anyone to see," McAvoy said. "Highway improvements have to be done as they can. A lot of our roads need oil and stone resurfacing, which has to be done every 30 years. It works for a reasonable amount of the town highway, but it doesn't make sense for all of them. We're also going to do our best to maintain our gravel roads and try and keep them passable."
The board will continue to carry on with the work they've done on the highway projects and "finalize a multi-year plan for capital improvements that can be maintained into perpetuity." There are several opportunities for the residents of Arkwright to get involved and help keep Arkwright properly maintained. Anyone interested in serving on a volunteer oversight board can contact the Town Clerk for information. Additionally, anyone interested in serving in an elected capacity should contact their local party chairperson.