Dunkirk City Schools financial adviser Richard Timbs made his annual appearance earlier this month at a recent board meeting. Timbs, who is always looking out for the districts, gave his usual spiel that taxpayers are not paying enough.

But he also issued a warning. He noted what is obvious to many who are close to Albany: New York state’s finances are not in the best of shape.

Timbs predicted, regarding state aid: “I think they’re going to try to continue to shortchange districts like yours across the state. Your rate of increase will decrease. … I think this is going to put a big crimp on your revenues, I think you’re going to be very strapped for revenue in the future, in large part due to this.”

The comptroller reported to the state a projected $4.3 to $4.4 billion deficit next year, $7 billion in 2026 and $9 billion in 2027, he said.

These warnings often are not heeded by area school administrators or the residents they serve. They instead will normally step up and pay more to keep their district’s identity while failing to look for real solutions moving forward.

Inflation is on the minds of everyone. It is certainly impacting the public sector and school districts. Boards of Education and area elected officials have to start deciding whether they increase the burden on residents or do they start thinking outside the box and look for further partnerships?

Raising taxes is usually the easy answer. It also is often the most painful to those who are longtime residents and property owners.