CROTON-ON-HUDSON – As the village prepares to draft the 2026-27 budget, the Board of Trustees is exploring ways to cut through the noise and hear directly from residents about their spending priorities. At a work session on December 4, the board discussed launching a "Budget Priority Survey" to gauge public opinion on how tax dollars should be allocated.
The Board of Trustees in session during discussion of a budget priority survey for the 2026-27 budget.
The Board of Trustees in session during discussion of a budget priority survey for the 2026-27 budget.
The discussion comes as the board grapples with the reality that while residents often have strong opinions on taxes, a significant portion of the village budget is already spoken for before the board even opens a spreadsheet. Village Manager Bryan Healy explained that while the administration looks to engage the public annually, a survey would need to be carefully designed to manage expectations. "There's also things that actually could be impacted... we would just be dealing with more the smaller subset of the budget that is actually that we actually have the power to move the funds as the board deems fit," Healy said. 1:07▶ Healy estimated that approximately 40% of the budget could be considered "discretionary" or movable, though he noted that "discretionary" is a loose term. The majority of funds are tied up in non-negotiable contractual costs such as employee salaries, benefits, LOSAP (Length of Service Award Program) for the fire department, and police pension systems. "Unless we break the contracts, those are staying how they are," Healy said. 2:32▶ Clarifying the Tax Pie A major theme of the evening was the need for public education. Board members emphasized that a common source of confusion for residents is the distinction between village taxes and school taxes, which make up the lion's share of a property tax bill. Mayor Brian Pugh championed the inclusion of a "budget primer" alongside the survey to explain these mechanics. "We definitely want to have maybe a one page budget primer on there so folks understand what the budget is. We're not the school," Pugh said. 4:12▶ "Here's the budget. Right? Like that education point of... where does 75% of your taxes is actually school tax."
The Board of Trustees in session during discussion of a budget priority survey for residents.
The Board of Trustees in session during discussion of a budget priority survey for residents.
Village Attorney Joshua Subin agreed, noting that confusion often arises because residents receive tax bills from multiple entities. "I always see confusion on the public's part as to the percent of the budget that is the village as opposed to the school as opposed to the town," Subin said. 10:24▶ Not a Plebiscite While the board wants resident input, Mayor Pugh was clear that the survey would function as a guide rather than a direct mandate. "We want to say... that a survey is not a plebiscite. We're not asking... we can't make the decisions on the budget that way, although that can influence our decisions," Pugh said. 5:05▶ Pugh added that the survey is intended to give the board a "headwind" of public opinion before they sit down to finalize the budget details. "We have to make the decisions essentially at this table when our sleeves rolled up when we're looking at a 300 page draft," he said. 5:27▶ Ranking Priorities The board spent significant time debating how to structure the questions to get useful data. Trustees noted that surveys from other municipalities, such as Tucson, were less relevant due to size differences, though the example of Timmins, a smaller community in Canada, offered a promising template. Trustees discussed the pros and cons of "forced rank" questions, where residents must prioritize one item over another, rather than selecting multiple options. "If you had something with 20 different options, the number one option might have 12% that might win in a landslide. But that's useless, honestly, data," Pugh said. 7:33▶
The Board of Trustees in session during discussion of the budget priority survey.
The Board of Trustees in session during discussion of the budget priority survey.
The board also wrestled with how to frame hypothetical spending scenarios, such as asking residents if they would prefer a hypothetical $100,000 be spent on new recreation programs or returned to the fund balance to lower taxes. The board directed Village Manager Healy to prepare a draft survey using the Timmins example as a model. The draft is expected to be returned to the board for review at a work session in January.
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