The Village of Ellenville is facing difficult financial decisions after approving a budget that includes a 7.3% property tax increase and sets the stage for cuts to local police dispatch services.
When Shawangunk Journal reporter Chris Rowley spoke to Radio Catskill, he said there was not much “good” in the budget other than the fact that the village was able to pass one at all.
“Having a budget and getting it balanced is a very difficult thing if you’re a little broke municipality,” Rowley said, adding that the board had to override the tax cap to approve the increase. The budget pressures, he said, reflect a larger problem facing small municipalities across the region: costs continue to rise while local revenues remain limited.
According to the Shawangunk Journal, Mayor Evan Trent told the village board that Ellenville has several major issues to address over the next few years, including police dispatch, overnight police coverage and whether to fill a vacant street department position. Trent described the village’s operations as “barebones,” saying that anything cut from the current level of spending would reduce village functionality.
One of the most significant changes now being considered is the phase-out of dispatch services at the Ellenville Police Department. Dispatchers currently answer emergency calls from the local police station, where their knowledge of village roads, neighborhoods and local conditions can be important during a crisis.
Rowley said that local knowledge matters in a place like Ellenville and the surrounding area, where roads can have changing names or other quirks that may be familiar to someone working in the village but less familiar to someone farther away.
“Dispatch is people who answer the phone for the 911 call,” Rowley said. “These are people who are in the police station and they have the local knowledge.”
If the local dispatch service is phased out, calls would be routed through Ulster County’s dispatch system, currently based in Kingston. The county is also building a new emergency communications center in New Paltz, which is expected to be operational in 2027, according to the Shawangunk Journal.
Trent said the first part of the dispatch phase-out could begin in September, with the second phase in January. He emphasized that the decision was not a reflection on the employees, but rather a result of the village’s financial reality. Deputy Mayor Ray Younger also said the move would allow the village to phase in the change rather than absorb the impact all at once. The village board voted unanimously to begin the process of phasing out police dispatch services.
The cuts would not affect the current budget, Rowley said, but would affect future budgets. He described the dispatch change as “the first shoe to drop,” warning that additional cuts may come if the village cannot find new revenue or reduce expenses.
One possible future cut discussed by officials is overnight police coverage. Rowley said residents want 24/7 policing, but the village may eventually have to determine whether it can afford three full police shifts.
“They may only be able to afford two shifts,” Rowley said. “That’s down the road. They haven’t touched that yet.”
The budget pressure comes from several sources, including rising healthcare, retirement, fuel, staffing and insurance costs. Rowley said municipalities rely heavily on property taxes, but those revenues depend on assessed property values and do not always keep pace with inflation or service costs.
A revaluation of properties may also be part of the larger financial picture, Rowley said. While revaluations can be controversial and often misunderstood by taxpayers, he said they are one of the few ways municipalities can adjust revenue to reflect current property values.
The village may also look toward future economic development. Rowley pointed to the long-discussed Cresco Labs cannabis facility outside Ellenville as one potential project that could bring jobs and economic activity if it moves forward. But he cautioned that such development remains uncertain.
For now, village officials are left trying to maintain services while managing a budget that Trent said will remain difficult for years.
“This crisis continues,” Rowley said. “It isn’t over.”