OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Mayor Kathy Tampio was pleased that the village stayed under the tax cap and lowered the tax rate this year, just as it did a year ago.

SILVER CREEK — In back-to-back years, the village of Silver Creek has lowered the tax rate for its residents. The 2026-27 village budget shows a tax rate reduction of 1.19% from the previous year. The new tax rate will be $12.93 per thousand dollars of assessed value. It is the second lowest tax rate in the village in over a decade.

“I’m very happy that we reduced the tax rate, and that we’re under the tax cap,” Mayor Kathy Tampio said.

The total general fund budget for 2026-27 is $2,292,336. The total water fund budget is $1,129,514. The total sewer fund budget is $900,329. There will be no increase to the salaries of Village Board members.

The total amount to be raised by taxes is $1,044,596, which is $15,307 below the tax cap. The tax levy will be used entirely to support the general fund, with none of the tax levy applied to the water or sewer accounts.

The water and sewer budgets in 2026-27 combine for $2,029,843, with expected revenues of $1,641,766. The village has raised water rates in the past year and will be re-levying outstanding account balances on taxes moving forward.

A year ago, Silver Creek also managed to reduce its tax rate and stay below the tax cap. The tax rate a year ago dropped from 13.112820, or $13.11 per thousand dollars of assessed value, to 13.092640, or $13.09 per thousand. The only year with a lower tax rate than 2026-27 was 2023-24, when the tax rate was $12.90 per thousand.

Last year, the Board approved a general fund budget of $2,367,143 and a village tax levy of $1,059,903. Compared to last year, the general fund budget is $74,807 lower this year, and the total tax levy amount is $15,307 lower this year.

Tampio acknowledged she hoped for an even more substantial reduction in taxes this year, but several factors stood in the way of that, including a new union contract featuring increases to employee salaries; a 5% increase in cost for the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s contract for enhanced police protection; a 13% increase in health insurance premiums; and rising costs in fuel and utilities.

“I think we’ve done as fair of a budget as possible,” Tampio said.

The total assessed value of the village has decreased by $209,567 from 2025-26 to 2026-27, from $80,955,244 to $80,745,677.