By Kevin Ostrowski
WHEATFIELD — The Town of Wheatfield’s 2027 budget goes before the public next week, carrying what Supervisor Don MacSwan has called a slight tax increase for a typical homeowner, and a winter outlook shaped by pricier road salt and uncertain state highway aid.
The Town Board will hold a public hearing on the 2027 preliminary budget at 6:55 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at Wheatfield Town Hall, 2800 Church Road, according to a legal notice published in the Niagara Gazette on Oct. 23. The preliminary budget is on file in the Town Clerk’s office and is available for inspection “at all reasonable hours,” the notice says.
At the hearing, the notice states, “any person may be heard in favor of, or against, the Preliminary Budget as compiled for, or against, any item contained therein.”
A $13.77 increase for a typical home
The tentative budget was filed in the clerk’s office on Sept. 30, and the board held a budget work session on Oct. 14, according to Niagara Frontier Publications’ coverage of the board’s Oct. 5 meeting by reporter Madeline Dorobiala.
At that meeting, MacSwan said the town would provide the same services it has in the past, but pointed to inflation, the newspaper reported.
“However, because our costs of providing these services are increasing, the 2027 tentative budget does include a slight property tax increase of $13.77 from $589.86 in 2026 to $603.63 in 2027 for a typical homeowner in the Town of Wheatfield, with an assessed valuation of $125,000, or a market value of around $380,000,” MacSwan said, according to Niagara Frontier Publications.
He said the increase is also tied to higher garbage and recycling pickup fees, the paper reported.
Officers’ salaries listed in the notice
As state Town Law requires, the hearing notice lists the proposed 2027 salaries of the town’s elected officers:
- Town supervisor: $56,336
- Councilman serving as deputy supervisor: $24,557
- Three other councilmen: $19,425 each
- Two town justices: $34,124 each
- Superintendent of highways: $102,577
- Town clerk: $97,687
The notice was issued by order of the Town Board and signed by Town Clerk Kathleen Harrington-McDonell.
Salt, state aid and a rotted valve
Winter costs got much of the attention at the Oct. 5 meeting. Highway Superintendent Paul Siegmann told the board that salt prices have gone up by $14 and that, as a result, subdivisions might not get salted, potentially only cul-de-sacs, according to the newspaper.
MacSwan urged caution on supply. “I would just make sure we have enough salt to protect us through the winter, and the reason why I’m saying this is the National Weather Service predicted New York state is going to have a very icy winter,” he said, as quoted by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Siegmann also reported back from a fall conference of municipal officials, where he said some attendees were unhappy with funding under CHIPS, the state’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program, which helps towns pay for road work.
“They’re looking into doing some kind of reapportionment to make us whole,” Siegmann said. “Right after they started the CHIPS is when we had our big build. So, we doubled the amount of roads we had in the amount of time.”
He said he was hopeful about next steps because of how many people raised the issue, according to the paper.
The highway department is also waiting for water levels to drop so it can inspect an outflow into Sawyer Creek. “We had to order a pipe; we’re going to sleeve the pipe into the outflow pipe. We have to put a new flapper valve on it, because the old one is totally rotted out,” Siegmann said.
Hydrants, exemptions and the board’s own chambers
Water and Sewer Superintendent Mark Clark said crews will begin pumping down fire hydrants before freezing weather. “So, if anybody uses a hydrant, please let us know so we can have it pumped down before the cold weather does come,” he said, according to the newspaper. “They’re not self-draining; they’re plugged.”
Assessor Kelli Coughlin said she will send agricultural exemption renewals along with a letter, as part of an effort to update the county’s map. “It’s supposed to be done every 10 years, and I’ve been here for eight years and it hasn’t been done,” she said.
The board also approved engineering firm Wendel’s services for a renovation of the Town Hall council chambers, which Town Engineer Timothy Zuber said he hopes will begin in summer 2027. The plan includes new flooring, a railing, refinished chairs and new light fixtures, Zuber said, and MacSwan said the board should consider how potential asbestos could affect costs, the paper reported.
What comes next
After the Nov. 2 hearing, the board can make changes before adopting a final 2027 budget. Under state law, towns must adopt their budgets by Nov. 20.
Residents with questions for the water and sewer department can email water@wheatfield.ny.us. The preliminary budget can be reviewed at the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall.
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