[0:03] Okay, good evening everyone. Welcome to
the August 25th, 2026
[0:10] town hall town hall
town meeting. Please rise and join me
[0:15] for the pledge of allegiance.
[0:36] Couns Council person Manikio.
>> Council person Weiss
[0:41] » present.
>> Uh deputy supervisor Meyer
[0:45] » present
>> and supervisor Felman
[0:47] » present.
>> Okay. Okay. A rec recognition of the
[0:51] fire of the first responders for the
fire at Parthnulls.
[0:55] » Okay. Okay. Tonight we come together to
recognize an extraordinary emergency
[1:00] response and to express gratitude, the
gratitude of the town board and the
[1:04] whole town of Austining for the many
people and agencies who answered the
[1:08] call when a fastmoving fire struck 87
Hawks Avenue, the Parthnull Complex.
[1:14] What could have been an even greater
tragedy was met with courage,
[1:18] professionalism, quick thinking, and
remarkable coordination. More than 30
[1:23] emergency response agencies and over 200
first responders came together to
[1:27] protect our residents and our community.
We are especially grateful that despite
[1:32] the intensity of and danger of this
fire, there was no loss of life and no
[1:36] injuries to residents or first
responders.
[1:39] That outcome began with the immediate
actions of eight police officers and two
[1:44] firefighters who entered the building
without hesitation to get the residents
[1:48] to safety. Their courage and commitment
in those critical first moments made a
[1:52] profound difference and today we will
recognize them for their heroic actions.
[1:57] We will also present certificates of
appreciation to the many fire
[2:00] departments, ambulance cores, emergency
service agencies, and other responders
[2:04] whose teamwork and dedication were
essential throughout this emergency. And
[2:09] finally, we will recognize Chiefs Luis
Luis Sanchez, First Assistant Chief
[2:13] Anthony Martinez, and Second Assistant
Chief Joseph Raldi. Their exceptional
[2:18] leadership and coordination of this
massive response. Today is an
[2:22] opportunity to say on behalf of the
entire town of Oening, thank you. Thank
[2:27] you for your courage, your
professionalism,
[2:30] and your willingness to answer the call.
And most importantly, for helping bring
[2:35] everybody through this terrible incident
safely.
[2:38] And it is my honor to begin these
recognitions. So, if we were going to
[2:42] start with calling up our fire chiefs,
Chief Sanchez, Chief Martinez, and Chief
[2:48] Raldi.
Um, okay. Yeah. And we will let Chief
[2:54] Raldi give a brief synopsis of the
[3:00] all chiefs.
[3:04] » All right. So, I figured it'd be a good
idea to give a little update or actually
[3:08] what happened that evening to the town
board here. So, Friday, August 7th, 2026
[3:14] started out as any typical August day,
sunny, hot, and humid, and preparations
[3:18] for were underway for the Austining Fire
Department annual parade. The stage on
[3:22] Main Street was set.
The flag raising ceremony in Market
[3:26] Square with US Ambassador Lu Rinaldi was
a success. The parade lineup was covered
[3:31] and preparations for the post parade
festivities were complete. Then heavy
[3:36] thunderstorms moved into the area. As
the storms intensified, there was
[3:41] growing uncertainty as to whether the
parade would be able to take place.
[3:45] Participating sorry, participating
departments began arriving while the
[3:50] Austin Fire Department handled a fire
alarm call on the south end of the
[3:53] village. At 17:30 hours, our parade
standby crews arrived from Pirmont,
[3:58] Spring Valley, Mount Kiscoco, and
Katona. Chief Sanchez, Chief Martinez,
[4:02] and I met with the parade judges and
unfortunately made the difficult
[4:06] decision to cancel the annual parade due
to weather at approximately 1857 hours.
[4:11] The Austining Fire Department and our
standby crews were alerted to 87 Hawks
[4:15] Avenue, Parthn Noles, in the town of
Austining for a reported building struck
[4:20] by lightning with smoke in the area.
Multiple units immediately began
[4:23] responding. In less than four minutes,
foreman Michael Aurora, Lieutenant Lewis
[4:28] Raldi, and I arrived on scene to find a
large volume of thick smoke emanating
[4:33] from the roof of building number one. I
immediately advised Wester County Fire
[4:38] Control that we had a working fire
assignment and were transmitting a 1075,
[4:42] reporting heavy smoke from the roof. As
we pulled it into the complex, I
[4:47] remember Lieutenant Raldi asking me,
"What do you want us to do?" and I
[4:50] simply replied, "Go save as many people
as you can." And that is exactly what
[4:54] they did. Foreman Aurora and Lieutenant
Raldi immediately exited my vehicle and
[4:59] ran into the building alongside eight
Austin police officers. Initial reports
[5:03] indicated that the building's fire alarm
system was not alerting res residents
[5:07] with Austin PD officers reporting they
attempted a manual pole station. It was
[5:11] later determined that the alarm system
may have been compromised and rendered
[5:15] inoperable as a result of the lightning
strike. however, never confirmed. Within
[5:20] seconds, fire broke through the roof
line and rapidly traveled throughout the
[5:24] entire common loft. Due to the
number of potential occupants, the
[5:28] building construction, and the
significant fire load, a second alarm
[5:32] was transmitted. Only 2 minutes after
our arrival, the standby crews arrived
[5:36] and immediately began deploying a hose
line into the interior and then flowing
[5:40] large volumes of water using deluge guns
and ladder pipes. Fire conditions
[5:45] continually uh continue to rapidly
deteriorate and firefighters were
[5:49] ultimately ordered out of the building
and due to multiple structural
[5:53] collapses.
At that point, the entire roof was fully
[5:57] involved. Fortunately, everyone was
successfully evacuated from the
[6:00] building. Seven families were evacuated
through the courageous and immediate
[6:04] actions of foreman Michael Aurora,
Austining Fire Department. Lieutenant
[6:08] Lewis Ronald, Austin Fire Department.
Sergeant James Castanis, Austining
[6:12] Police Department. Police Officer James
Hazel, Austining Police Department.
[6:16] Police Officer Brett Malfetano,
Austining Police Department. Police
[6:20] Officer Diego Mango, Austining Police.
Police Officer Luke Malone, Austining
[6:25] Police. Police officer Steven Pupchek,
Austining Police. Police Officer William
[6:29] Puffers, Austining Police. Police
officer Farooq Kapalo, Austining Police.
[6:34] These 10 brave individuals successfully
evacuated an entire multi-occupied
[6:38] residential building in only a matter of
minutes without protective gear. And
[6:43] while conditions inside the building
were rapidly deteriorating, I truly
[6:46] believe their actions saved lives that
evening. What else? What? Sorry. What
[6:51] makes this even more remarkable is the
outcome. Approximately 200 firefighters
[6:55] responded, including members of our own
junior corps, our standby crews, mutual
[6:59] aid, EMS, police officers, and despite
the tremendous fire conditions and
[7:03] structural collapse, there were no
reported injuries, and most importantly,
[7:06] no fatalities. The events of August 7th
are a powerful reminder of what our
[7:11] firefighters and police officers do. Not
only when conditions are ideal, but when
[7:15] plans change, the weather turns
dangerous, and people need help. On
[7:19] behalf of the fire, Austining Fire
Department alongside the town of
[7:22] Austining, we extend our sincere
appreciation to all the mutual aid
[7:26] partners and agencies who responded and
assisted that evening. Westers County
[7:30] Department of Emergency Services,
Austining Police Department, Austining
[7:33] EMS, and most importantly, the volunteer
members of the Austining Fire Department
[7:37] and the Austining Fire Department Junior
Corps. August 7th may have started as a
[7:41] day of celebration, but it ended as a
night that demonstrated the courage,
[7:45] dedication, and selflessness of the men
and women, sorry, men and women who
[7:49] serve our community. Thank you.
[7:57] » You want to say anything?
>> Oh, one more thing, town supervisor, I
[8:01] just want to say the building owner is
here, Mr. Beldi. He has been great.
[8:05] worked with us all night and he was very
very sincere about his residence and uh
[8:10] you don't see that often with a landlord
and we also thank you for that
[8:35] I have a big
[8:48] Okay. All right.
[8:56] Emily woman Dana Levenberg would like to
say a few words.
[8:59] » Thank you. Uh pleasure to be here on
Town of Ashley town hall meeting. I just
[9:04] wanted to uh um also express my great
appreciation for the incredible work of
[9:11] uh all of the men and women who
responded. Uh I was actually out of town
[9:15] at the time. Uh but I heard about it and
uh I know that I've heard from the
[9:21] residents um some of whom are here
tonight how grateful they were to the
[9:25] incredible response of all of the first
responders, the fire department, police
[9:30] department, um EMS, but also uh I wanted
to just recognize uh Supervisor Liz
[9:36] Feldman. She also was there. she was she
responded immediately and did everything
[9:42] she could to help the residents find um
and feel better that night and find a
[9:47] safe place to lay their heads and that's
what all that we can ask for from
[9:52] anybody and certainly that's what all of
you give us the ability to do every
[9:56] night. So knowing that we can be safe
because of you uh we couldn't be more
[10:00] appreciative. So I know that uh the the
um town has prepared certificates for uh
[10:06] for all those of you up here as well as
some of you in the audience and um I
[10:11] have also have certificates for you from
New York State Assembly. Again, my
[10:15] sincere appreciation. Thank you.
and
[10:20] really
[10:30] uh this is just a bonus for Supervisor
Liz Feldman who deserves special
[10:34] recognition for her empathetic and
dedicated response to the devastating
[10:37] fire at Perth no Apartments on August
7th, 2026. Thank you so much. Appreciate
[10:41] you.
[10:46] There you go.
[10:52] Okay. Unexpected, but thank you. Okay.
All right. So, this proclamation is in
[11:00] recognition of our three chiefs. I'm not
going to read all three. I'm going to
[11:03] read one, which will be for Chief Luis
Sanchez. Um, but know that the other two
[11:09] match.
Whereas on August 7th, 2026, a
[11:14] fast-moving dangerous fire caused by a
lightning strike erupted 87 Hawks Avenue
[11:18] in the Parthnull area of Aening. And
whereas the magnitude and rapid
[11:23] progression of the fire required
immediate and extraordinary emergency
[11:27] response involving more than 30
emergency service agencies and over 200
[11:32] first responders. And whereas through
exceptional leadership, preparation, and
[11:36] coordination of Chief Lewis Sanchez,
emergency personnel from throughout the
[11:41] region work together to protect the
residents, neighboring properties, and
[11:44] the Austin community. And whereas,
despite dangerous conditions and
[11:49] intensity of the fire, the coordinated
efforts of the first responders resulted
[11:54] in no loss of life, no injuries to
residents or emergency personnel. And
[11:59] whereas Chief Lewis Sanchez has
demonstrated outstanding leadership,
[12:02] professionalism, courage, and unwavering
commitment to public safety during one
[12:07] of the most significant emergency
responses ever in our community. Now
[12:11] therefore, be it resolved that I,
Elizabeth Felman, supervisor of the town
[12:15] of Austining, with the enthusiastic
support of the entire town board,
[12:20] proudly recognize and honor Chief Lewis
Sanchez, for extraordinary leadership
[12:24] and service during the emergency
response to the fire of 86 87 Hawks
[12:28] Avenue, and extend the gratitude and
appreciation of the entire town of
[12:32] Aening for helping to ensure the safety
of our residents and first responders.
[12:36] Thank you.
[12:57] Okay. Do you want a picture? Okay. Who's
taking pictures? I guess Martha's taking
[13:01] pictures.
[13:46] Next, we'd like to recognize the fire
department members and officers who
[13:52] bravely ran into the building to rescue
the residents and to clear the building.
[14:03] Uh oh. Okay. Uh, foreman fire foreman
Michael Aurora
[14:20] and Fire Lieutenant Joseph Lewis Ronald.
[14:34] So this certificate is proudly presented
for extraordinary bravery and quick
[14:38] thinking in the line of duty on October
August 7th. Your fearless response
[14:44] during the Parthnulls fire at 87 Hawks
Avenue fire saved lives and protected
[14:48] our community. Your selfless actions
show the highest standard of public
[14:52] service. Thank you.
[15:05] You know, you want to come
[15:46] Okay. Sergeant James Castanis.
[15:56] Officer William Peppers.
[16:07] » I think he worked at
>> Officer James Hazel.
[16:23] Officer Luke Malone,
[16:35] Officer Brett Malfetano,
[16:43] Officer Farooqap, elbow,
[16:56] officer Diego Manco,
[17:03] and Officer Steven Pupchic.
[17:07] You could just hold it. Okay.
So this certificate is pres pr proudly
[17:13] presented for extraordinary bravely
extraordinary bravery and quick thinking
[17:18] in the line of duty on October 7th 2026.
Your fearless response during the
[17:23] partnels
at 87 Hawks Avenue fire saved lives and
[17:28] protected our community. Your selfless
action showed the highest standard of
[17:32] public service. Thank you.
[17:39] We'll get this. Okay.
[18:43] I see Luke Powell from the governor's
office. Did you want to say anything or
[18:46] just Governor Hokll sent her
representative here to honor you all as
[18:51] well? Okay. I'm going to call up a
representative from each of the fire
[18:55] departments that's here to receive your
proclamation. So Bedford Hills Fire
[19:01] Department,
Briercliffe Manor Fire Department,
[19:05] Buchanan Engine Company, Continental
Village Fire Department, Croin Falls
[19:11] Fire Department, Croinon Hudson Fire
Department, Dubs Ferry Fire Department,
[19:17] Golden's Bridge Fire Department, Katona
Fire Department, Mayapac Falls Fire
[19:22] Department, Mount Kiscoco Volunteer Fire
Department. I know I saw Mayapac here.
[19:27] Uhhuh.
Now, Kiscoco Volunteer Fire Department,
[19:31] Mutual Engine, North White Plains Fire
Company, number one, Austining Fire
[19:36] Department, not all of you, please.
Austining Police Department, Austining
[19:41] Volunteer Ambulance Corps,
Pleasantville.
[19:47] All right. Uh, Pleasantville Volunteer
Fire Department, Mechanical Hills Fire
[19:52] Department, Portchester Fire Department,
Putnham Valley Fire Volunteer Fire
[19:57] Department,
[20:05] » Scarsdale Ambulance Corps, Sleepy Hollow
Fire Department, South Salem Fire
[20:10] Department, Spring Valley Hook and
Ladder Company, Terrytown Fire
[20:14] Department, Thornwood Fire Department,
Valhalla Fire Department, Burplank Fire
[20:19] Department, Village Piermont Fire
Department, West Harrison Fire
[20:23] Department, Westchester County
Department of Emergency Services, and
[20:27] Yorktown Heights Volunteer Fire
Department.
[20:36] H
>> and Milwood, didn't I say Milwood? Yeah.
[20:43] » Milwood came like repeatedly.
[20:50] picture.
>> Okay. Martha, can I have one of the
[20:54] certificates?
[21:02] » Yeah. Come on down. Okay.
This certificate accommodation is
[21:10] awarded to
each and individual fire department in
[21:15] recognition of their part in the rapid
and coordinated response to the August
[21:19] 7th fire at Barthnol. The town of
Austining will forever be grateful for
[21:23] your teamwork and your coordination with
our fire department and the county. And
[21:30] it is heartening to know how the
Austining community and the greater
[21:37] Westchester and beyond fire communities
work together and coordinate to protect
[21:42] life and limb and most of your
volunteer. So with you and all of your
[21:46] 200 volunteer firefighters that showed
up, we just wanted to say thank you.
[21:50] Thank you very much.
[21:57] And you can all see Martha for your
actual certificate.
[22:02] Oh, picture. Yes, sorry. Picture again.
[22:56] people. Good work.
[23:57] Good.
[24:01] » Thank you guys.
>> Okay.
[24:05] Now, anybody that wants to stay for our
audit report is absolutely welcome to
[24:55] very much.
[25:07] Yeah, right.
[25:19] Okay.
[25:33] Okay, perfect.
[25:42] Chief, could we close those two doors
possibly?
[25:47] » How'd I get one? Stop listening.
>> Okay,
[25:50] » my first one.
[26:02] Keith, there's one there for you,
Keith.
[26:17] Okay. Uh, we're going to begin with our
We're going to begin with our public
[26:22] hearings.
Our
[26:27] first public hearing is we're going to
[26:35] Okay. I need a motion to table the first
public hearing on local law 2026
[26:40] regulating drones in the town. Do I have
a motion?
[26:43] » So moved. Second.
>> All in favor? I
[26:49] » I do it all the time. Uh, our second
public hearing will be the 2026 Cabaret
[26:54] license for Flames Bar and Grill LLC.
There anyone online since there's no one
[27:00] left in our audience now um that would
like to speak on that public hearing?
[27:08] Seeing no one, do I have a motion to
close the public hearing on uh the 2026
[27:12] Cabaret license for Flame Spar and
Grill?
[27:15] » So moved. Second.
>> All in favor?
[27:17] » I.
Special presentation.
[27:22] » Oh, there he is. Uh, the 2025 audit
presentation. Robert A. Denell, CPA of
[27:30] PKF O'Conor Davies. And we would like to
welcome our comproller, Dale Brennan,
[27:36] and our deputy comproller, Liz Nikari,
who are also here.
[27:40] » Good evening.
Okay,
[27:47] it's going to get a little bit quieter.
[27:54] » All right. Do we have the PowerPoint up
um that we can present?
[28:01] » One moment, please. Yeah.
[28:11] Um, it's up and ready, Rob. Just let me
know when you want me to skip to the
[28:14] next slide. Okay,
>> you got it. Thank you. All right, so
[28:18] we'll start. Uh, good evening and thank
you for having me present the audit
[28:21] results for the town of Austinine again
for the fiscal year ended December 31st,
[28:26] 2025.
Uh, before I begin, I just wanted to
[28:29] thank all the finance folks led by Dale
Brennan at the town uh for all their
[28:34] assistance throughout the audit process.
We began this process sometime in
[28:38] December doing some preliminary work and
we were able to issue this probably a
[28:44] month or so ago um or even sooner
actually and we're here presenting the
[28:49] results. So again, thanks to to Dale and
her team. Um so again, we prepared a
[28:53] PowerPoint rather than go through a
100page audit report. So uh if you turn
[28:57] to the next page, next slide, table of
contents,
[29:03] we'll go through a brief overview and
required communications. What are
[29:07] management's responsibilities? What are
our responsibilities as your external
[29:11] auditors? The reports we have issued and
the opinions we have rendered. Uh we'll
[29:16] spend a couple of minutes in the general
fund and the town outside villages fund.
[29:20] Those are the main operating accounts of
the town. We'll go through some budget
[29:24] to actual summary. Um, we do have a few
slides and some three-year comparison of
[29:30] how you ended up as far as fund balance
and a three-year comparison as well as
[29:35] your revenues and expenditures and
maybe, you know, we won't spend that
[29:39] long on those, but it'll give you some
trends uh that are happening. Same thing
[29:43] with the town outside village, a budget
to actual summary and give you some uh
[29:47] some of the budget to actual revenues
and expenses and then a three-year uh
[29:51] look back. Uh the town does operate
other funds. We'll spend a couple of
[29:55] minutes on those funds as uh we have a
slide on your debt service requirements,
[29:59] your your bonds outstanding and then
we'll close with some summary closing
[30:03] points. So very quickly if next slide um
although that we do prepare the
[30:09] financial statements we have to say
they're ultimately management's
[30:12] responsibility. So we do make sure that
management is selecting and implementing
[30:16] the appropriate county policies and
fairly presenting the financial
[30:20] information in accordance with the
standards generally accepted accounting
[30:24] principles that they're establishing and
maintaining effective internal controls
[30:28] over financial reporting throughout the
year and more importantly that they're
[30:31] in compliance with laws, regulations,
provisions of contracts and then really
[30:36] providing us with all of the financial
records so that we can complete the
[30:40] audit. Next slide.
So our responsibility is we take all
[30:46] that information
um and we are charged with rendering an
[30:51] opinion on the financial statements
taken as a whole. You could go to the
[30:54] next slide if you don't mind. So again
we are crunching numbers but ultimately
[30:59] we issue an opinion on on on the
financial statements taken as a whole.
[31:03] It's the first couple of pages in the
audit report entitled independent
[31:06] auditors report on the basic financial
statements. We have issued what is
[31:10] termed an unmodified opinion. An
unmodified opinion is a clean opinion.
[31:14] It's the highest level of assurance that
an entity can receive and it basically
[31:19] states that the financial statements uh
present fairly the financial position of
[31:23] the town again as of December 31st, 2025
and in accordance with the current
[31:29] accounting standards. We also issue a
report on our required communications
[31:33] together with our management letter. I'm
happy to report that although we did
[31:37] have a couple of comments, nothing rose
to a level that we call a material
[31:41] weakness or a significant deficiency. Uh
and we also audit the town justice court
[31:46] and we issue a separate report. Uh and
during the course of our audit, um we
[31:51] are required to communicate any fraud or
illegal illegal acts noted during the
[31:55] course of our audit. Again, I'm happy to
report there were no allegations of
[31:59] fraud or actual fraud that was
uncovered. uh business office very
[32:03] cooperative, no difficulties. Internal
controls appear to be in place and
[32:07] operating as designed. What we mean by
uncorrected or corrected misstates that
[32:12] just means if there was something that
we proposed as far as an entry that it
[32:16] was recorded by management and it's
included in your numbers and again the
[32:20] business office very cooperative. Uh
next next slide. So this is a highle
[32:26] look at the general fund budget to
actual summary. Uh details can be found
[32:30] on pages 64 to 69 in the actual audit
report. You can see there are four
[32:35] columns. The original budget is what you
folks, the town board approved back in
[32:40] the fall, I guess, of 2024. Uh I'm going
to give you some highlevel numbers and
[32:45] then we'll get into details. Um but
again, from a from a high level, $6.4
[32:50] million in revenues, almost $6 million
in expenditures representing in excess
[32:56] of $495,000.
When you factor in uh what we call other
[33:00] financing uses, those are transfers to
other funds. Transfers to the debt
[33:05] service fund to cover your principal and
interest on your outstanding debt. Uh
[33:10] transfers to the capital projects fund
to do your ongoing capital improvements
[33:14] and transfers uh to the special purpose
fund. You do operate a Dale Cemetery
[33:20] that requires some funding from the
special uh purpose fund. When you factor
[33:25] in the the bracketed 529,000, you come
down to that bracket at 33,000 and
[33:30] that's just open purchase orders from
the prior year. Those automatically roll
[33:35] and amend the 2025 budget. The middle
column is your final budget. Um during
[33:40] the year, you can amend the budget. You
can see that your revenues went up about
[33:44] close to $400,000.
The town did recognize a portion of its
[33:48] American Rescue Plan Act funding in 2025
to the tune of about 400 385,000 close
[33:56] to 400,000. So that was amended. Uh
expenditures weren't really touched and
[34:01] and uh you could see the transfers out
went up uh about a million dollars, a
[34:06] little over a million dollars. Uh and
385,000 was the ARPA, the American
[34:11] Rescue Plan Act funds that you
recognize. Uh but the town did
[34:15] appropriate about a million dollars to
cover some capital projects rather than
[34:20] going out and borrowing. Uh so from its
own surplus it transferred about a
[34:24] million dollar. Some of the projects
were the uh angle waterfront uh
[34:28] waterfront park capital project they
transferred at $375,000
[34:33] and the geared back uh park project
about $230,000. Those were some of the
[34:39] uh larger transfers. Third column is
your actual results and you can see your
[34:44] actual revenues came in at a little over
$7.2 million, $423,000
[34:49] better than your final budget. You also
had expenditure savings of about a
[34:54] little over $97,000,
$5.8 million compared to a budget of
[34:59] just under $6 million. Uh you take your
revenue, subtract your expenses, you
[35:04] have an excess of $1.4 million. When you
factor in transfers in and transfers out
[35:09] to the other funds, again remember these
were planned transfers uh that you did
[35:13] for for capital projects mostly you come
down to that net change in fund balance
[35:18] which just means that your expenses
exceeded your revenues by $188,000 but
[35:24] as I mentioned you did transfer uh close
to a million uh for these capital
[35:29] projects. So you subtract $188,000 from
your opening fund balance of $6.9
[35:34] million and you do end the year at $6.7
million. So um although you do show a
[35:41] small loss I would call that break
evening uh because you did make those
[35:45] transfers that's what caused that. So,
um, overall a really good year in the
[35:50] general fund. And if you look at that
net change in fund balance line, you can
[35:53] see that again, if everything went
according to your budget, you would have
[35:57] anticipated using $762,000
of your own funds, and you only really
[36:02] needed to utilize $188,000. So, you had
a budget surplus all the way to the
[36:07] right there of almost $575,000.
U, so I mentioned you end the year at
[36:13] what, $6.7 million. If we go to the next
slide,
[36:18] um, and we focus on the 20 2025 column,
that's your 6.7 at the bottom. Um, it's
[36:25] broken down into really three buckets,
if you will. Uh, $87,000 is what we call
[36:31] non-spendable fund balance for prepaid
expenditures. That just means that you
[36:35] paid an insurance bill early for 2026 in
2025. So these funds are set aside and
[36:42] once that expense is recognized in 2026,
it'll be taken from that bucket. You
[36:48] have a small amount of what we call
purchase orders, $8,430.
[36:52] Again, this is going to automatically
roll and amend the 2026 budget. And more
[36:58] importantly, you have unassigned fund
balance of $6.6 million, which is free
[37:02] and clear to spend as you have utilized
in doing capital projects. Um, so 6.6 6
[37:10] million on a 2026 adopted budget of $6.6
million. You have pretty much fund
[37:17] balance equal to 100% of of of next
year's budget.
[37:22] So, next slide. How did you get there?
Very quickly, um these are your
[37:26] revenues. Some of the uh amounts
highlighted in green. I have some backup
[37:31] down below, but real property taxes.
Real property taxes came in short of the
[37:35] budget. Uh that doesn't mean you're not
going to collect those. there there are
[37:39] different rules. Um you can only
recognize revenue to the extent that
[37:43] they're collected within 60 days of your
fiscal year end. Uh so you have some
[37:48] slowpaying taxpayers. As I said, it
doesn't mean you're not going to collect
[37:53] it. You'll probably get it in 2026. So
there could be a chance that your
[37:58] revenues for real property taxes could
exceed uh your budget because of this in
[38:03] 2026.
Other tax item the these are interest
[38:06] and penalties on taxes. you do have a
budget of about $500,000.
[38:11] Uh those interest and penalties uh
received exceeded the budget by $57,212
[38:18] that generated some of the surplus. And
then if you go down to use of money and
[38:22] property, which is just another fancy
name for interest earnings. And given
[38:26] that the interest rates slightly went
down but stabilized, u you were able to
[38:31] generate uh interest income of $360,000
uh which was $270,000
[38:39] more than the final budget of $90,000.
And again, it's interest earnings and
[38:44] and and includes some rental income in
that line as well. The next line is your
[38:49] fines and forfeitures. These are tickets
that your police officers issued. Again,
[38:54] um although less than the prior year
from an actual perspective, the revenues
[38:59] generated were $392,000 and that did
exceed the budget by over $182,000.
[39:06] And then lastly, under state aid, uh
there is a caption there. The mortgage
[39:10] tax revenues, they did exceed the budget
by approximately $10,000. Uh final
[39:15] budget was $461,000. He did receive over
$472,000.
[39:21] So, the $423,000
was the revenue surplus that you saw.
[39:26] Um, if you turn the page, um, these are
some of the the next slide. Um, these
[39:33] are some of the major revenues and
giving you a three-year look back again.
[39:36] Real property taxes. Um, those are in
line. You're the town has not exceeded
[39:41] the tax cap. You've you're within the 2%
tax cap uh from actually for a long
[39:47] time. I just presented three years here.
Your interest in penalties on taxes
[39:52] actually dropped in 2024, but it's
trending upwards in 2025. You do provide
[39:58] clerk services for the town and village,
and you do receive a revenue offset from
[40:02] the village. Uh historically, that's
been around $2 $300,000. So, it did drop
[40:07] a little bit in 2024, but it's a little
over $200,000
[40:12] and 25. Use of money and property, your
interest earnings. again um you know we
[40:17] go back to 22 where we're getting out of
the COVID years 22 23 uh we've expected
[40:24] interest rates to kind of go down they
have stabilized um you did have pretty
[40:28] good interest uh earnings in 2024 it
dipped a little bit in 2025
[40:34] um but relatively right around $300,000
on a $90,000 budget uh I'm sorry
[40:40] $378,000 on a $90,000 budget. your fines
and forfeited bail. Again, these are
[40:45] your tickets and and your bail. Uh
roughly about $400,000. It dropped a
[40:50] little bit in 2025. Uh state aid, your
mortgage tax revenues. It's encouraging
[40:56] to see mortgage tax um
on an upscale. It did dip a little bit
[41:02] in 24, but we're back up to uh numbers
that we've seen in 23 and 22. And then
[41:08] all other categories I just wanted to
tie into your overall uh revenues and
[41:13] that's just other items uh significant
amount of items there.
[41:19] Uh we did the same thing if you next
slide on your expenses.
[41:23] Um to the left there these are general
terms your general government support
[41:28] basically the town's administrative
costs from the supervisor's office the
[41:33] engineering office. you do pay certain
tax or shirari claims from those, but
[41:38] you can see that generated a favorable
variance all the way to the right of
[41:42] $72,000 on a $2.7 million budget. Uh you
do have economic opportunity and
[41:49] development and these are your senior
programs, nutrition programs, your
[41:54] transportation support services um to
generate a small variance 7.7,200
[42:02] on a $726,000
budget. Your culture and recreation,
[42:06] which is your parks programs, also had a
a favorable variance on the expenditure
[42:11] side. home and community services, which
is your refuge and garbage, small
[42:15] surplus. Uh, again, on the expenditure
side, and your employee benefits, which
[42:21] most significantly is your medical
insurance, also was pretty much break
[42:24] even compared to your final budget. It's
actually a little bit less than when uh
[42:28] you originally adopted. Your debt
service is your interest on bond
[42:33] anticipation notes. And then you do have
transfers as we talked about. uh you did
[42:37] amend the budget to transfer more money
to the capital projects fund for ongoing
[42:41] capital activities, but overall you had
expenditure savings of just under
[42:46] $100,000,
about a little 1.6 million, 1.6% of the
[42:51] overall budget.
Same thing on the expense side, just to
[42:55] give you some perspective on the next
slide. Um a three-year comparison. Uh
[43:00] you can see your general again general
government support your administrative
[43:04] cost pretty much in line over the past
three years roughly about $2.6 million.
[43:09] Your transportation support services um
did did see a little drop in 2024. You
[43:15] did purchase uh equipment that wasn't
present in 25 and that accounts for the
[43:21] the expense expenditures being slightly
less parks programs. Um we did see a
[43:28] a rise in salaries. You did hire a new
full-time person in the parks department
[43:33] and you did purchase some equipment in
2025 and that results in the increase
[43:38] compared to 2024.
State retirement is uh based on the
[43:44] employees that are reported uh at the
contribution rate. The contribution rate
[43:49] is up slightly. Um, I believe it's up
five or 6% and that really translates
[43:55] into a slight rise in your state
retirement expenditures from um 33
[44:01] $34,000
and 24 to 355,25.
[44:07] And the good news is the medical
insurance, the nice ship rates. Uh, we
[44:10] all expected some double digit increases
and the rate increases wasn't as
[44:15] significant. um you did have less
retirees and that translated into being
[44:21] a little bit less uh than 2024 and then
you do have transfers out debt service
[44:28] fund that covers your principal and
interest on debt pretty much in line
[44:32] based on the amortization schedules.
Capital projects fund that's can change
[44:36] uh based on your capital needs. Um, you
can see that last year you did work on
[44:42] that continued in 2025. And again, some
of the funding in the special purpose
[44:47] fund is to cover the Dale Cemetery.
Um, so that's the general fund. Next
[44:53] slide. Um, you do operate a town outside
villages. Same presentation here. Um,
[44:58] four columns. The original budget is
what you folks approved back in the fall
[45:02] again of 2024. Details can be found on
pages 70 and 74 of the audit report.
[45:08] Again, from a high level, 4 point almost
$4.7 million of revenues, expenditures
[45:14] of $4.4 million representing an excess.
And when you factor out transfers again
[45:20] to other funds, you come down to that
net change in fund balance of the
[45:24] bracket at $177,000.
That represents two components. 77,928
[45:31] again are open purchase orders from 2024
that automatically roll and amend the
[45:38] 2025 budget. That just means that the
town committed to funds. It just didn't
[45:42] receive them as of December 31st 24. Um
so again they automatically roll and the
[45:49] $100,000 is what the town um designated
from its own fund balance in 24 to
[45:57] balance the 2025
um budget.
[46:02] Final budget very very little change in
the final budget. Um again the town did
[46:08] uh appropriate some funds. You can see
that net change in fund balance went
[46:13] from 177,000 to $214,000. So slight
amendment about $30,000.
[46:20] Um and then you come to the third
column, your actual results. Your actual
[46:24] revenues came in $485,000 better than
your final budget and your you had
[46:29] expenditure savings of $195,000. So take
revenue, subtract your expenses and
[46:35] subtract your other financing sources.
You come down to that net change in fund
[46:40] balance. Again, you had revenues that
exceeded expenditures by $464,000.
[46:45] So, you're able to add that to your
opening fund balance of $5.7 million and
[46:50] you end the year at $6.2 million. Again,
from a budgetary standpoint, that third
[46:56] line from the bottom, that change in
fund balance, um you anticipated using
[47:00] $214,000 of your own funds. Um, but not
only did you not need to utilize those,
[47:05] you actually generated a surplus in the
town outside villages fund of $464,000.
[47:12] So that swing from anticipating using
214 to actually generating $464,000
[47:20] represents a budgetary surplus of almost
$680,000.
[47:25] So again, uh, next slide.
Um, we're going to focus on the 25
[47:30] column. You ended the year with $6.2 $2
million in fund balance. Again, same
[47:34] presentation. You have money set aside
for prepaid expenditures. You do have
[47:39] money set uh restricted for cable
television purposes to the tune of
[47:44] $347,000.
So, that's slightly up. In the current
[47:48] year, you do have purchases on ordered
and again, these will automatically roll
[47:53] and amend the 26 budget. uh you did
utilize $50,000 to balance the current
[47:59] budget that you're in, the 2026 budget,
and you do have a healthy fund balance
[48:04] of $5.7 million on an overall uh budget
of about $5 million.
[48:12] Again, next slide. How did you get
there? Again, here, same presentation.
[48:16] The two big factors again were your
nonpropy taxes, which is really your
[48:21] sales tax revenues that the count that
Westchester County shares with you. And
[48:26] you can see that those revenues exceeded
the budget by $376,000.
[48:31] $1.2 million budget in your actual
revenues came in at $1,576,000.
[48:37] And the other significant area is your
use of money and property again which is
[48:41] your interest earnings which um
generated income which was $44,000
[48:46] more than the final budget. And really
those categories there uh translated
[48:51] into your revenue surplus of $484,000.
Uh we did the same next slide. Uh those
[48:58] some of the major revenues just to give
you uh some historical trends. Real
[49:02] property tax is all in line with the 2%
property tax cap uh slightly up in
[49:08] accordance with the levy increase.
Franchise fees are uh pretty much
[49:13] roughly around $160,000
over the past 3 years. Your nonpropy tax
[49:18] distribution from the county sales tax
uh has been rising. It's trending
[49:22] upwards which is a great sign uh not
only for Austin but all the communities
[49:27] in Westchester. Uh your departmental
income which is your permit fees. Um we
[49:32] saw a little drop in 2024, but that's
trending upwards. Uh you know, with the
[49:37] interest with the mortgage interest
rates um being a little bit high still
[49:41] people are, you know, deciding to do
some work and on their homes and pulling
[49:45] out permits and things like that. So
that generated a pretty good surplus.
[49:49] And your state aid, your mortgage tax,
we've seen um those are trending upwards
[49:53] as well. the the general fund and the
town outside villages share in in that
[49:58] uh mortgage tax.
Um and that's really it. I just wanted
[50:03] to tie in and I just put everything else
in all other categories. So same thing
[50:07] on the expenditure side real quick. You
had a u expenditure savings of in all
[50:12] categories. Um same setup. General
support is your administrative cost. In
[50:17] this case your public safety is your
police services. Um your culture and wer
[50:22] your parks program. Uh and then again
your employee benefits overall you had
[50:26] expenditure savings of 195,000 a little
over 4% of the town outside villages
[50:32] funds budget.
Um
[50:37] next slide is just to give you some of
the major expenditures. Again a
[50:41] three-year comparison. Um general
government support is roughly around a
[50:46] half a million dollars. We did see a
slight increase uh in the engineering
[50:51] department for some drainage work in
2025 and that resulted in that slight
[50:56] increase um in the police line and those
are increases in salaries in accordance
[51:02] with your uh police IMA contract um from
2.5 to $2.6 million. Building inspection
[51:10] uh fees roughly around $200 $220,000.
your intermunicipal agreement with the
[51:16] village slight increase um but gen
generally around the 400 and
[51:22] $400,000 mark over the past three years
and then the transfers are going to be
[51:27] on an annual basis of what's needed.
Highway Department did a lot of paving
[51:31] in 2024, transferred more more funds. Um
did significant amount of work in 25 as
[51:39] well, but not to the extent of 2024.
Capital projects. Um again doing some
[51:45] capital work and debt services to cover
some interest on your debt obligations.
[51:51] Next slide. Um you very quickly you do
operate some other funds. You have a
[51:57] highway fund that remained strong that
ended the year with revenues that
[52:01] exceeded the expenditures by a little
over $63,000. You have a healthy fund
[52:06] balance there of $1.6 million which is a
sign specifically for the highway
[52:11] department. You have a special districts
fund where expenditures did exceed
[52:16] revenues. It was almost a break even
year. You still have fund balance there
[52:20] to the tune of $970,000.
again specifically assigned for special
[52:25] districts. And you do have an active
capital projects fund. There are
[52:29] currently over 30 active projects.
Although the fund does show a deficit of
[52:33] $1.19
million, it is supported by a $3.97
[52:39] million short-term bondicipation notes.
Um the accounting for short-term
[52:45] bondication notes is different than when
you issue uh permanent financing such as
[52:51] bonds. The short-term bond anticipation
notes are not recognized as revenue
[52:56] until you pay them down or you convert
them to permanent financing. So although
[53:01] the fund has a deficit overall, it is
supported by short-term financing.
[53:08] That leads into the next slide which is
your your this is your debt service
[53:12] obligations and this is your bonds only.
You can see that the town has 1.86
[53:18] million in bonds outstanding at December
31st, 2025 with interest rates from a
[53:24] low of a half a percent to a high of
4.25%.
[53:30] Um the higher interest rate will be paid
off um in in April of 2027. down at the
[53:37] bottom, we are required to report those
payments to maturities over the next
[53:41] five years and then in increments of
five years. So you can see your debt
[53:45] service requirements if we look at the
total column is very small compared to
[53:50] your overall town and town outside
villages funds uh 468,000
[53:56] that's probably less than 1%. Um, and
then it it kind of drops down. Again,
[54:02] you do have short-term bonds and if you
do convert them into permanent financing
[54:07] into bonds down the road, it could
change uh what's due in 28 29 and so on.
[54:13] But right now, your debt service
requirements are low overall.
[54:18] So, uh that's it. Next slide. And just
some closing points. Um the town had a
[54:23] great year. uh town's in great uh
financial health and that could be
[54:27] credited to you folks the town board as
well as the finance department. You have
[54:31] demonstrated a history of uh prudent
budgetary management and tax levy
[54:36] discipline. As I mentioned, you haven't
exceeded the tax cap since uh I could
[54:41] recall. uh the general fund performed
better than budget and you did have
[54:45] revenues exceeding the final budget by
over $442,000
[54:51] and your expenditures were below budget
by almost $100,000. So after plan
[54:56] transfers, your fund balance did show a
modest decrease of $188,000 as
[55:01] discussed, but your overall fund balance
is at a healthy $6.7 million. And the
[55:06] tan outside fund also had favorable um
had a favorable year with revenues that
[55:11] exceeded the budget and expenditures
that were below the budget and actually
[55:15] increasing fund balance uh by
approximately $465,000.
[55:20] So why is all that important? Because
it's going to help you when you uh come
[55:25] and sit to formulate your 2027 budget in
the fall of this year. It's going to
[55:32] improve your cash flow. You have a great
bond rating. So that translates into
[55:36] better interest earnings when you do
decide to go out and get some permanent
[55:40] financing. Um it allows you to fund
unexpected um budgets or uh revenue
[55:47] shortfalls. In your case, the town did
uh transfer some funds to the capital
[55:53] projects fund for its ongoing capital
improvements rather than going out to
[55:56] borrow funds. So it allows the
opportunity to do that by having uh that
[56:02] fund balance. Um and you do the town
does guarantee the full payment of the
[56:07] school district warrants. Um so the town
pays the school uh no matter if it's
[56:12] collected and they assume um the the
uncollected taxes. So from a cash flow
[56:18] perspective the town has to factor that
in but overall you do have uh you know
[56:22] fund balance to account for that. Um
there are a couple of pronouncements at
[56:26] the bottom there that will impact the uh
town uh in 2026 and we will work with
[56:31] the finance department to make sure that
those are implemented. But overall a
[56:35] great year. I know I went through a lot
of numbers in a short time but if
[56:39] there's any questions.
[56:45] No, we appreciate the uh thorough
comprehensive
[56:50] uh
brought going through it. You want to
[56:55] say something?
>> Yes. Um thank you for the effort.
[57:05] Um just want to thank the finance team
and
[57:10] effort
very strong confident.
[57:17] Yeah. And and Martha, we can't forget
Martha who does a lot of work. So
[57:21] between Martha, Dale, and Liz, um
myself, we really keep an eye on the
[57:26] numbers. And I really do have to thank
the department heads for being
[57:29] responsible and really thinking through
each person purchase and each process.
[57:34] Um, we work hard to make every dollar
count. So, and thank you for putting
[57:43] that all in paper for us. So,
have anything to add, Dale?
[57:53] » Uh, I just wanted to say a big thank you
obviously to the town board and town
[57:58] supervisor and of course, Magical
Martha. Um, but of course to the finance
[58:04] team as well, Liz Nikari's on um who
really uh they all everybody pitches in.
[58:11] There's never anybody that says, you
know, can't do it, don't have time. Even
[58:17] if they don't, they don't tell me that.
So [laughter]
[58:20] that that that's something else. And and
a huge thank you to Rob and his team. Uh
[58:25] always always a learning experience
because of all these new pronouncements
[58:29] every year. So, um, get ready for the
next ones, right, Ron? [laughter]
[58:34] » Yeah.
>> So, I appreciate that because they they
[58:37] they're they're a huge help and and and
help us keep the train train moving.
[58:43] » Yeah. You definitely keep us on our toes
with what we have to go find for you.
[58:47] [laughter]
>> We'll find a receipt from Okay.
[58:53] » Anyway, thank you.
>> Thank you.
[58:55] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[58:58] » Okay. Okay, thank you very much. Moving
on, supervisor and town board
[59:04] announcements.
>> Okay,
[59:08] the Austining River Jam Con summer
concert series finale is this Friday
[59:12] with another great evening of live music
on our waterfront. This week's featured
[59:16] performer is the Barn Barn Vultures
performing a mix of classic Americana
[59:21] and Roots Rock. The food trucks will
begin serving at 5:00 p.m. and the
[59:26] concert starts at 7:00 p.m.
Lewis Engle Spray Park remains open 7
[59:31] days a week from noon until 7:00 p.m.
During periods of extreme heat, the town
[59:37] may extend the operating hours 1 hour in
the morning and 1 hour in the evening.
[59:41] Any scheduled changes will be announced
on the town website and Facebook page.
[59:46] Residents visiting the John Paul
Rodriguez Operations Center at 101 Route
[59:50] 9A are reminded that the building is
secured daily at 3:30 p.m. Appointments
[59:56] are available between 3:30 and 4:30 for
town applicants and submissions by
[1:00:00] contacting the building department in
advance at 9147628419.
[1:00:08] We're also pleased to remind the
residents that the Aston Havstra ferry
[1:00:12] is offering hourly weekly weekend hourly
weekend service also on Saturdays and
[1:00:18] Sunday through October 31st.
Naerta Health and Wellness Journey will
[1:00:24] be hosting free guided meditation on
Wednesday, August 26 at 5:30 at the
[1:00:29] Cedar Lane Art Center. There will also
be a wellness talk and additional
[1:00:33] giveaways.
The friends of Old Croin Aqueduct are
[1:00:37] running an invasive plant removal
extravaganza on Saturday, August 29th
[1:00:41] from 11 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn from
the expert crew leaders of the N New
[1:00:47] York New Jersey trail conferences
invasive strike force to manage invasive
[1:00:51] grasses and bushes. No experience is
needed and tools will be provided. For
[1:00:56] more information,
please visit aqueduct.org.
[1:01:03] The 7th annual ASA Hispanical Festival
is scheduled for Saturday, September
[1:01:08] 12th. Join them for a vibrant
celebration of Hispanic culture. Enjoy
[1:01:12] live Latin music, folklore, dance, and
authentic food. The event also features
[1:01:18] arts, crafts, family-friendly
activities, and is presented by Austrian
[1:01:22] Padre Suspenos. It will take place at
Nelson Park from noon until 7:00 p.m.
[1:01:28] Up the Rivers Blues Festival returns
this year Saturday, September 12th at
[1:01:32] the Louiswis Englewaterfront Park. For
more information, please visit up the
[1:01:36] ros riverbluesfest.com.
[1:01:41] Elig eligible moderate income household
households may qualify for monthly
[1:01:46] utility bill discounts through the New
York State Expanded Energy Affordability
[1:01:50] Program. To learn more, please visit
nyapp.com/program.
[1:01:59] Jazz at the Lodge continues every
Thursday evening. Please visit
[1:02:02] jazzatthewthedge.com for the performance
schedule and additional details.
[1:02:07] Sustainable Westchester reminds
residents that its free grid rewards
[1:02:10] program allows participants to earn
incentives by reducing electricity
[1:02:15] during periods of peak demand.
Additional information is available at
[1:02:19] sustainable westchester.org.
Neighbors Link continues to provide
[1:02:24] valuable services and trusted resources
for our immigrant community, including
[1:02:28] know your rights webinars offered in
both English and Spanish. Residents can
[1:02:32] find information for trusted local
professionals by visiting
[1:02:35] neighborslink.org and selecting the
resources page. The Austining Public
[1:02:40] Library continues to offer outstanding
educational culture and family program
[1:02:44] throughout the year. For the latest
calendar of events, please visit the
[1:02:48] library's website or follow its official
Facebook page. Um, they are doing
[1:02:53] construction and they will be
possibly moving their book um, lending
[1:03:00] services to alternate locations. So,
please keep an eye out for that as well.
[1:03:04] The Loft LGBTQ plus community center
offers a wide range of support programs,
[1:03:10] groups, educational opportunities, and
community resources for LGBTQ plus
[1:03:14] individuals and families. For more
information, P is available at the
[1:03:18] lofgaycenter.org.
And as always, there are many more
[1:03:23] exciting events taking place in our
community and we have time to mention. I
[1:03:27] encourage everyone to visit the weekly
supervisors update on the supervisor's
[1:03:31] page to stay informed about upcoming
events, programs, and opportunities
[1:03:35] throughout the town of Austin. Thank
you. Anybody have any
[1:03:44] » Oh,
>> nothing waterfront
[1:03:46] » and it's the 25th anniversary, I can't
believe it, of 911. And there will be a
[1:03:52] waterfront ceremony at
>> Louis Engle Park. From 5 to 8:00 PM
[1:03:57] 911
>> from 5 to 8:00 p.m. at Louiswis Engle
[1:04:01] Park. We'll give you more information
next week.
[1:04:04] Thank you. I think it's two weeks. Two
weeks.
[1:04:08] » Yep. And I think we have one more
meeting before that.
[1:04:11] » Yeah,
he said she'll give them.
[1:04:16] Okay. [clears throat]
Thank you all. Moving on, public comment
[1:04:21] on agenda items. Visitors are accorded a
fourminuted opportunity to address the
[1:04:25] board on any of the resolutions on the
agenda. Is there anyone online that
[1:04:28] would like to raise their virtual hand?
No one. Let's move on to board
[1:04:33] resolutions. Approval of minutes regular
meeting August 11th, 2026.
[1:04:38] Resolve that the town board of the town
of Austin hereby approves the August
[1:04:41] 11th, 2026 minutes of the regular
meeting as presented. Do I have a
[1:04:45] motion?
>> So move.
[1:04:46] » Second.
>> In favor?
[1:04:48] » I. I
>> approval of voucher detail report that
[1:04:52] the board of trustees of the village of
Austin hereby approves the voucher
[1:04:55] detail report dated August 25th 2026 in
the amount of $588,58648.
[1:05:04] Do I have a motion?
>> So move second.
[1:05:06] » All in favor? Hi,
I'm wrong group.
[1:05:14] » Personnel appointment highway seasonal
labor resolved that the board of
[1:05:17] trustees of board of trustees resolved
that the town board of the town of
[1:05:21] Austin hereby uh appoints Jonathan
Aurora Austining to a seasonal position
[1:05:26] of labor on the town highway department
at an hourly rate of $17 an hour
[1:05:31] effective August 17th, 2026. Do I have a
motion?
[1:05:36] » So moved. All in favor?
>> I
[1:05:40] personel, [laughter]
>> we had a second on there, didn't
[1:05:42] » Sorry, I said I didn't second.
>> Personnel appointment highway seasonal
[1:05:47] labor resolved that the town board of
the town of Austin appoints Darien
[1:05:51] Blocking
Blocking
[1:05:56] to the seasonal position of labor for
the town highway department at an hourly
[1:06:00] rate of $17 an hour effective August
17th, 2026. Do I have a motion?
[1:06:06] » Move. Second.
>> All in favor?
[1:06:07] » I.
>> New York State Liquor Authority special
[1:06:12] event permit up the river Bluesfest
resolve the town board of the town of
[1:06:15] Austin hereby authorizes the supervisor
to sign a landlord authorization form
[1:06:20] for the New York State Liquor Authority
special event permit application for
[1:06:24] each of the following vendors. 6° or
less brewery and wana sip for a craft
[1:06:30] beverage corral at the up the river
Bluesfest event September 12th 2026 at
[1:06:36] Lewis Angel Park and be it further
resolved that each applicant will
[1:06:40] provide the proof of insurance and a
letter of indemnity to the town in a
[1:06:44] form acceptable to council for the to to
the town. I have a motion.
[1:06:48] » So moved. Second.
>> All in favor? I
[1:06:53] » finance capital project 2026-5271-2026
[1:06:59] chapar and Gord Gordon stream slope
reinforcement for the highway department
[1:07:04] resolved that the town board of the town
of Austin authorize the opening of the
[1:07:08] 2026 capital project 2026-5271
entitled the 2026 chapar and Gordon
[1:07:15] stream slope reinforcement for the for
the town highway department with
[1:07:20] projected budget of $70,000 and the
project will be funded by transfers for
[1:07:24] the fund highway fund balance of $70,000
and the ins and outs of uh the debits
[1:07:31] and the credits are will be posted on
the clerk's bulletin board and on the
[1:07:35] web page. Do I have a motion?
>> So moved. Second.
[1:07:38] » All in favor?
>> I. Resolution Park nullles amendment to
[1:07:42] the affordable declaration. And whereas
due to fire in building one of a
[1:07:46] two-building multi-family residential
rental property located at 87 Hawks
[1:07:51] Avenue
known as Parthnos, residents of building
[1:07:55] one have been displaced and whereas the
owner of the property of Parthnos LLC
[1:08:00] has requested the town temporarily
authorized modification to the owner's
[1:08:05] declaration of restricted covenants for
affordable housing dated December 2nd,
[1:08:10] 2021 and allow displaced residents of
building one to reside in those two of
[1:08:15] the designated below market rate units
at the current at the currently vacant
[1:08:21] in building that are currently vacant in
building two. And whereas while the town
[1:08:25] board recognizes the need for affordable
housing giving the BMR units are vacant
[1:08:31] and there are Austining residents who
currently have nowhere to live, the town
[1:08:35] board believes it's unprecedented and
time-sensitive circumstances warrant
[1:08:39] temporary allowing of these two units to
be used to for the displaced market rate
[1:08:44] residents of building one provided there
is a plan in place for the owner to
[1:08:49] reestablish the BMR units with a
reasonable period of time and that a
[1:08:54] third vacant BMR unit in building 2 be
rented to a former occupant of building
[1:09:00] one BMU. And therefore, be it resolved
that the town board hereby authorizes
[1:09:05] the supervisor to enter into the
agreement amending the declaration of
[1:09:08] restricted covenants for affordable
housing effective a excuse me August
[1:09:13] 18th, 2026. Do I have a motion?
>> So moved. Second.
[1:09:17] » All in favor?
>> I.
[1:09:19] Resolution tax certuary statement by
Cliff Commons. Be resolved that on upon
[1:09:25] recommendation of the town assessor and
the town council and findings to be in
[1:09:30] the best interest of the town, the town
board approves a settlement of tax
[1:09:33] circuitary proceedings pending at 139
Scarboro LLC versus the town of Austin
[1:09:39] at all Westchester County Supreme Court
index 71702-2825
[1:09:47] for the property located at 139 Scarbor
Road, village of Briercliffe Manor, town
[1:09:52] of testing as to set forth in a proposed
consent uh judgment for assessments for
[1:09:58] year 2025 the estimated total tax refund
of $1,224.33
[1:10:05] and a 2026 final assessment role to
value the subject property at $2
[1:10:09] million.
And we had further resolved that the
[1:10:13] town supervisor, the town assessor, the
town receiver of taxes, town controller,
[1:10:18] the town council and other revelent
revelent staff are authorized to take
[1:10:23] the necessary step steps and appropriate
actions to ex execute, file, process and
[1:10:28] make payment on the aforementioned
settlement. Do I have a motion?
[1:10:32] » No move.
>> Can we have it as amended? Um just the
[1:10:36] heading um it's not even the resolution
itself but um the Brier Cliff Commons is
[1:10:41] incorrect. It should be 139 Scarboro.
[1:10:46] » Do I have a motion as amended?
>> The motion as amended.
[1:10:50] » Second as amended.
>> All in favor?
[1:10:53] » I
[1:10:58] I'll uh resolution taxuary uh settlement
Eminem realy corporation. That's
[1:11:04] correct.
>> Excellent. Uh, be it res I just want to
[1:11:07] know it ahead of time. Of course, I read
the whole thing and didn't realize. Uh,
[1:11:11] be it resolved at the recommendation of
the town assessor and the town council
[1:11:15] and finding that be in the best interest
of the town, the town board approves the
[1:11:19] settlement of taxuary proceeding pending
for Eminem realy corporation versus the
[1:11:23] town of Osning at all Westchester County
Supreme Court. And then the indexes
[1:11:29] follow for the property located at 520
North State Road, town of Austining and
[1:11:34] set as set forth in the proposed consent
judgment for the assessment year 2025
[1:11:39] with an estimated total t tax refund of
$2,528
[1:11:45] and a 2026 final assessment rule to
reflect the aggregate value of the
[1:11:50] subject parcels at $74,000.
And be it further resolved that the
[1:11:56] board the town supervisor board
supervisor town supervisor, town
[1:12:01] assessor, town receiver of taxes, town
controller, town council and other
[1:12:05] relevant staff are authorized to take
the necessary steps and appropriate
[1:12:08] action to execute, file, process and
make payment on the aformation
[1:12:13] settlement. Do I have a motion?
>> So move second.
[1:12:15] » All in favor?
>> I.
[1:12:18] » Okay. Monthly reports.
[1:12:23] Resolve the town board of town of Austin
hereby accepts the following monthly
[1:12:26] reports for the month of July 2026. Dale
Cemetery and Highway Department.
[1:12:31] There's a recognition. Visitors shall be
accorded a fourm minute opportunity to
[1:12:35] speak. Is it motion vote on the res?
>> I apologize. I should have done that.
[1:12:40] Okay. Do I have a motion?
>> So move.
[1:12:42] » Second.
>> All in favor? I
[1:12:46] » pass. I'm so close. Visitor recognition.
Visitors are accorded a one fourm minute
[1:12:52] opportunity to speak. Is there anyone
online that wishes to speak to the ward?
[1:12:55] Thank you. And do I have a motion to
adjurnn? Are you going into executive
[1:13:00] session?
[1:13:04] Um Martha, do you have anything? I think
we're good.
[1:13:09] » Motion to adjurnn.
>> So move. Second.
[1:13:11] » All in favor? Hi.
>> Hey. I'd like to thank everybody for
[1:13:15] joining us um our meeting and for our
recognition of the amazing first
[1:13:21] responders
that are in our community and beyond. Um
[1:13:26] see you when is our next meeting?
[1:13:32] September 1st. See you September 1st
work session, right?
[1:13:37] » Town hall meeting.
>> Town hall.
[1:13:39] » Or a town hall meeting. Thank you.