OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Portland Supervisor Rich Lewis presented the 2026 budget for the town of Portland at a recent meeting.

PORTLAND — The Town of Portland technically did not avoid raising taxes for this upcoming year, but it is hard to find a much smaller increase than the one currently proposed.

The Town Board has introduced its preliminary budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which carries a property tax rate increase of less than half a cent per $1,000 of assessed value. A public hearing on the preliminary budget will be on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. at the start of the next regular Town Board meeting.

Town of Portland Deputy Supervisor Tammy Thompson commended Supervisor Rich Lewis for his work on the budget. Thompson and Lewis are both up for re-election prior to the public hearing on the preliminary budget. Thompson, a business owner in the village of Brocton, stated, “I appreciate working with (Lewis) … He knows what he’s doing. He brings his game to the table. I think he has served this community well.”

The tax rate is set to increase from $5.296 to $5.300 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The town tax rate has held steady since coming out of the pandemic, with tax rates ranging between 5.10 and 5.30 per thousand from 2021 through 2026.

The total assessed taxable value of the town of Portland, including the village of Brocton, is $121,921,478. Of that total, $95,089,896 is in the town but outside of the village.

After accounting for the town’s fire district subtraction, the total town levy in 2026 is $1,043,687. The town did surpass the tax levy limit of $1,000,030 by $43,657.

A major reason why the town surpassed the limit was its special districts of water service. The town has eight water districts, with the most substantial amount in the 2026 budget allocated to Water District 2, which recently completed a capital project updating the water and sewer lines throughout the district. Water District 2, pertaining to Van Buren Point and the Greencrest community near Patterson Lane, shows a figure of $163,394 in the 2026 budget. The other districts with substantial amounts to be raised by taxes are Water District 7 ($60,009.12) and Water District 5 ($36,595.60).

The town’s General Fund shows a total budgeted amount of $650,219, of which $327,935.59 will be raised by taxes. The town’s Highway Fund outside of the village limits is budgeted at $826,227 and townwide is $279,629, of which $236,629.25 will be raised by taxes. The Public Library Fund is allocated $81,734, with the entirety to be raised by taxes.

The Town Board approved two fire protection contracts at its recent meeting, with taxes to be raised in the amount of $65,000 in Fire Protection District 1 and $22,667 in Fire Protection District 2. There were no public comments during a recent public hearing regarding the proposed fire protection contracts.

Also of note, Lewis stated that there was “nothing that was alarming” in the 2024 external audit report of the town’s finances from Drescher & Malecki LLP.

In other business in the town, Michelle Patterson was appointed as an alternate to the town’s Planning Board. Patterson is also an acting member of the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. The Town Board also approved an operation/maintenance contract with the North Chautauqua County Water District.

A resolution was also passed by the Town Board in support of County Executive PJ Wendel’s proposal to establish a government efficiency fund designed to encourage shared services, mergers, consolidations and dissolutions. The village of Silver Creek passed a similar resolution two days prior to Portland’s resolution.