OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Town Board member Jean Crane said she is “mortified” by the figures in the 2026 Town of Dunkirk Budget, calling it “the worst budget” she has ever worked on.

The town of Dunkirk has maintained one of the lowest tax rates in Chautauqua County for many years. Technically, that will be the case again next year, but the residents will still face a sizable hit.

“The residents are going to see an increase, it just won’t be on their tax bill, it will be on their water,” Town Supervisor Priscilla Penfold said.

The 2026 Town of Dunkirk Budget has exceeded the tax cap by $195,484 due to the special district appropriations for water and sewer costs.

The increases are related to a substantial payback to Chadwick Bay Intermunicipal Water Works (CBI) over the next three years. The Town is collecting $250,000 through its special water districts for the payback.

Town Board member Jean Crane, a former Town Clerk, said, “This was the worst budget I’ve ever had to work on. I’m just mortified by the figures.”

The Town Budget shows general fund appropriations of $672,183, with revenues of just over $525,000 and unexpended fund balance of $56,400. The only money to be raised by taxes is in the general fund, which holds steady at 89 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value. The total budget, including appropriations from special districts, amounts to $1,526,249. The amount to be raised by tax is just over $642,000.

“Because of what we have to raise for the CBI payback in the next three years, we really want to keep what we can as low as possible,” said Crane.

When factoring in the water districts, the costs will be much higher than usual in the town. Amounts to be raised in the special districts include East Lake Road, $43,000; Vineyard Drive, $71,000; Shorewood, $71,000; Bennett Road, $11,262; and Water Service 1, $7,338.

With the increases, the East Lake Road district tax rate will be $3.63 per thousand. Vineyard Drive’s rate will be $2.34; Shorewood’s rate will be $2.17; Bennett Road’s rate will be $1.41; and Water Service 1’s rate will be $1.51.

The Bennett Road, Water Service 1, and Shorewood districts are already paying off existing loans, so the additional CBI payback over the next three years only intensifies the burden on taxpayers in those districts.

Regarding the CBI payback, Crane said, “It’s not a good situation. We were forced to do it. The county said they would take us to court if we didn’t pay it back within a year, so we ended up taking out a bond anticipation note.”

The Town Board also heard requests from both of its fire departments for their budgets in 2026. The West Town of Dunkirk Fire Department requested a 2% increase from the previous budget, for a total amount of $82,400, while the East Town of Dunkirk Fire Department requested an increase of 1.95% for a total of $162,059. Multiple members of each department were in attendance to request the increases, which they each requested due to rising costs for utilities, equipment, and testing.

“On behalf of the Board, we thank you for all you do,” Crane said. “… The time away from your families, the time you spend on training, everything to keep our community safe. We appreciate both of your companies.”

The only remaining figure up in the air is the police protection contract with the city of Dunkirk. After discussion at the last regular meeting of the Town Board in October, the Town countered the City’s ask for an increase of roughly $12,000 with a proposal for a 3% increase to last year’s amount. Supervisor Priscilla Penfold did not receive a response from Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz in the weeks between the Town’s regular meeting and its special meeting to present the budget.

“I know that the Board would be willing to compromise on that contract that she sent to us, but we can’t compromise if we don’t communicate, and I have no communication,” Penfold said.

The Board reiterated its desire to have a contract in place for police protection, and moved forward with a budget proposal including a 3% increase to last year’s contract amount.

Following the required public hearings, the Town Board passed a local law to allow for a tax cap override, as well as the fire protection contracts with both the East and West Town fire departments.