Martha Quituisaca
Budget Director
phone (914) 762-6001
fax (914) 762-0833
16 Croton Avenue
Ossining, NY 10562
The Budget Office is located on the third floor of the Town offices. Office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
All Town offices (except for the Town Clerk’s Office) will close at 3:15pm on Fridays from July 1st through September 2nd.
pdf Download the 2025 Tentative Budget (1.73 MB)
folder Download past Town Budgets from the Archives
folder Download Audits and Financial Statements from the Archives
A Message to the Community Regarding the Supervisor’s 2025 Budget
Elizabeth R. Feldman, Town Supervisor
October 18, 2024
I am proud to be able to submit a tax cap compliant 2025 Tentative Budget to the Town Board. This will mark the 13th year that the Town has been able to meet the NYS 2% tax cap requirement and the 9th year that I have been a part of the process. This was no easy feat. Municipal governments are subject to the same pressures of inflation and rising costs that we are all dealing with when balancing our own household budgets. The double digit increases in the cost of health insurance, Worker’s Compensation, fuel, electricity and more have made it very difficult to stay within the tax cap. It was through the hard work and collaboration with all of the department heads that we have found ways, not only to maintain the quality of services the Town offers to its residents but also strategies to incorporate some of the budgetary priorities we are looking to accomplish this upcoming year.
We continue to maintain our tax assessment roll at full market value. As per the state guidelines, this requires that we reassess annually based upon sales ratio analysis and do a full reappraisal every five years which we will be required to do this year for the 2026 roll.
As you know, housing prices have been climbing and our area is no exception. The increase in assessment for people in the Town general area is 6.32% for the 2025 Tentative Budget and in the Unincorporated Area 4.86% for the 2025 Tentative Budget. This does not mean that your taxes will go up proportionally. The tax rate in the Unincorporated Area will be reduced by 2.44% and the tax rate in the General Fund area will be reduced by 3.79%. Overall, the proposed expected tax increase for an average property in the Town General Fund Area is $15.32. The average increase for a property in the Unincorporated area not including General and Special Districts is $128.57.
A Town Budget is a reflection of the values and priorities of the Town government. This year we have been able to accomplish many projects, utilizing grant funding wherever possible, to improve the lives of our residents. Some of the projects we were able to complete this year include the drainage improvements and paving of Ganung Drive and the adjoining cul-de-sacs Decker Road, Parker Lane, Robin Drive, Sleator Drive and Tuttle Drive, a new playground at Ryder Park with ADA preferred poured in place rubber surfacing funded through CREST Grants from Senator Pete Harckham, a new roof at the Cedar Lane Art Center through a CREST Grant from Senator Elijah Reichlin Melnick’s Office. We were also able to purchase a new hybrid van for our Senior Nutrition program using ARPA funds as well as refreshing our Highway Department fleet with several new vehicles that are much more efficient than the decades old vehicles they replaced.
The 2025 Town Capital Plan has many great initiatives including building a new combined pickleball, basketball, and volleyball court at Ryder Park funded primarily from ARPA grant funds, performing an engineering study to evaluate our stormwater management systems and then begin to strengthen them to be able to handle the stronger more frequent storms we have been experiencing to protect our residences, businesses and infrastructure, using a CREST Grant from Senator Harckham to install solar panels on the Cedar Lane Art Center roof which should alleviate most of our electrical costs throughout the park further reducing our carbon footprint and solar lights at the Cedar Lane Dog Park to expand the hours in the darker months. We will be purchasing electric lawn equipment for our Parks Department with an EECBG Grant and replacing a 2002 Diesel Truck with an electric F-150 Ford Lightning truck for our Highway Department to be funded by a NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities Grant. Also planned is the removal of invasive plant species from our parks and then replanting with native varieties.
Projects for the waterfront continue into 2025 in the form of new bathrooms to be located closer to the spray park as dictated by the Health Department and paid for in part through a Westchester County Community Development Block Grant. Planning is in process for a new performance space funded by the New York State DRI initiative with an anticipated project completion in 2026.
I would like to thank the Town Department Heads for their hard work and creativity in helping to produce a Tentative Budget that not only preserves the exemplary services the Town is known for but also provides for improvements of our parks, facilities, and roads.
The Supervisor’s Tentative 2025 Budget is available at the Town Clerk’s Office at 16 Croton Avenue, the Ossining Public Library and online at www.townofossining.com. There will be a short presentation on the proposed budget at the Tuesday, October 22nd Town Board Legislative Meeting, which is scheduled to take place at 7:30 PM via Zoom and in-person at the Ossining Municipal Building, 1st Floor Conference Room, at 16 Croton Avenue. Below is the Zoom access information for the October 22nd Town Board Legislative Meeting:
Via computer or mobile app:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84594515324
Via phone: +1 929 205 6099
Webinar ID: 845 9451 5324
The Ossining Town Board will also be discussing the Supervisor’s Tentative Budget with our department heads during the week of October 21st on the following days and times, via Zoom and in-person at the Ossining Municipal Building, 3rd Floor Conference Room, at 16 Croton Avenue:
DATE | TIME - DEPARTMENT | ZOOM ACCESS |
---|---|---|
Wednesday 10/23/24 |
9:00 AM - Assessor 10:00 AM - Town Court 11:00 AM - Town Clerk 12:00 PM - Receiver of Taxes 1:00 PM - Seniors | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88058404906 Or Telephone: 929-205-6099 Meeting ID: 880 5840 4906 |
Friday 10/25/24 | 9:00 AM - Building/Planning/Zoning 10:00 AM -Highway/Cemetery 11:00 AM - Parks 12:00 AM - Capital Projects Review | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82520985527 Or Telephone: 929-205-6099 Meeting ID: 837 9891 8093 |
The Town Board will also hold a Public Hearing at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, November 12th via Zoom and in-person at the Birdsall-Fagan Police/Court Facility at 86-88 Spring Street. Members of the public can join us on the evening of November 12th to view this Public Hearing and make comments by using the Zoom access below, or by appearing in-person:
Via computer or mobile app:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82851049794
Via phone: +1 929 205 6099
Webinar ID: 828 5104 9794
We urge members of the public to review the budget and either make comments at the Public Hearing, contact my office at (914) 762-6001, or email the Town Board at
pdf Town of Ossining - Fund Balance Policy (54 KB) (Passed by Town Board June 2, 2010)
folder Audits & Financial Statements - Archive
folder Archive - Voucher Detail Reports - Approved vouchers by the Town Board.
pdf Town of Ossining Fund Balance Policy (54 KB)
The Town of Ossining (the “Town”) has an important responsibility to its citizens to carefully account for public funds, to manage municipal finances wisely and to plan the adequate funding of services desired by the public, including the provision and maintenance of public facilities.
An important indicator of the financial stability of the Town is its un-reserved fund balance that represents the un-assigned and unencumbered balance of the Town’s revenues held in the Town’s numerous funds.
pdf Download the Fund Balance Policy for full details... (54 KB)