OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Elmar Kiefer, Hanover Town Accountant, presented the 2026 Town Budget at a recent meeting.

HANOVER — After more than four decades of managing finances, Elmar Kiefer has a pretty good idea of what to expect. When the town of Hanover passed a local law that would allow an override of the tax cap in its 2026 budget, Kiefer, the accountant for the Town of Hanover, was confident in saying, “We are not going to override it whatsoever.”

Kiefer was right. The 2026 Town of Hanover Budget came in shy of the tax levy limit by $185,000 — roughly 8% below the tax cap. The tax levy limit for 2026 was $2.335 million, but instead, the Town has proposed a 2026 tax levy of $2,150,823, which is a decrease of nearly $100,000 from the previous year.

The total budget itself has increased by over $100,000 from the previous year, with a total budget of $6,743,076 in 2026. The total budget in 2025 was $6,633,767.

The Town is able to lower the amount to be raised by taxes due to an increase in revenue. A year ago, the Town revenue was approximately $3.8 million, but now it is over $4 million, which more than covers the increase to the budget.

A year ago, roughly $578,000 of reserve funds were utilized to balance the budget, and for this upcoming year, the Town is utilizing approximately $582,000 of reserve funds. Without use of those reserves, the Town could have been looking at a double-digit percentage increase to its taxes.

“We always save wherever we can so we have that money to return back to the taxpayers,” Kiefer said.

The general fund in 2026 is budgeted $1,732,165 in 2026, up from $1,705,088 in 2025. The sewer budget is up by more than $72,000, from $808,124 to $880,690. Water district costs are very similar in 2026 as they were in 2025, with the most substantial district, Water District 1, amounting to $756,164 in 2026, a slight decrease from 2025.

Kiefer highlighted increases the Town faces in its budget outside of its control, such as a 24% increase to health insurance costs. Over the two years prior, health insurance has increased by 27%. Retirement costs to the Town have increased by more than 40% over the past two years, as well.

“These numbers are just astronomical. We work so hard to make sure that we don’t pass these costs on to our taxpayers,” Kiefer said. “… Things are changing out there that impact us here, and in return, impacts you folks. But we are constantly working on what we can do to keep things as low as possible.”

In terms of fire protection, the Town Board approved contracts for $35,908 with the Forestville Fire Department for Fire District 1 and $31,111 for Fire District 2. Hanover Hose will receive $30,400 for Fire District 2, while Perrysburg receives $2,500 for its portion of Fire District 2.

In the case of Forestville, the assessed value of the territory decreased from roughly $33.4 million to $33.2 million, which resulted in a small increase to taxes in the area from $1.07 to $1.08 per thousand dollars of assessed value.

Kiefer also highlighted the new Bay-Creek Fire District, which was established earlier this year by merging the Silver Creek and Sunset Bay fire departments under one district to cover the territory of both departments. The Bay-Creek Fire District will set its own rate for the residents of its territory.

In 2025, the Town paid roughly $139,000 in contracts to cover the territory now under the new Bay-Creek Fire District, which was located in Fire District 2. For 2026, the total amount contracted to Fire District 2 was decreased by $139,000 to reflect the change. The remaining budgeted amount covered the cost of Forestville, Hanover Hose, and Perrysburg.

Kiefer determined that the evaluation for Forestville, Hanover Hose, and Perrysburg was higher than anticipated, so to raise the amount required to contract with the three companies, the Town was able to propose a rate of $1.07 per thousand, rather than $1.37 per thousand – roughly 22% lower than last year.

Kiefer also highlighted the Town has reserve funds set aside for several upcoming costs anticipated in the coming years. The Town has reserve funds allocated for a reassessment, highway equipment, and water tower repairs, as well as sewer and building maintenance. A fund has also been established for upcoming repairs to Forestville water lines.

Kiefer stated that the Town has taken a proactive approach in planning for its upcoming substantial costs in order to avoid borrowing money when the issues arise. “We do not spend any of your tax dollars paying for interest,” Kiefer said. “The moment you start doing that, you start going backwards.”

Town of Hanover Supervisor Lou Pelletter said Kiefer does “a wonderful job” in managing the Town’s finances. He said, “I don’t think you get enough credit for all the stuff that you do. You’re the reason that we’re in the shape that we’re in, that we don’t have to do double-digit taxes even though we’re getting double-digit bills.”

The next Hanover Town Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.