BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM -- A public hearing on the town's 2025 preliminary budget starts tonight at 5:30 and the town board is expected to pass the fiscal plan for the coming year after some review and amendments at their meeting which follows.

The board is expected to also approve several personnel hires, allocate an overage of sale tax revenues to storm damage repair costs and construction of a Postwood bathhouse, authorize the town clerk to hire up to three deputy clerks to handle an increasing workload at the office, and other town business.  

The 2025 preliminary budget currently features a slight tax increase for the general fund to $1.89 per $1,000 of assessed property value, up from $1.72 per $1,000 of assessed value in the current year. Total tax levy for the general fund is to increase from $1,009,656.21 to $1,117,882. General fund appropriations for the 2025 general fund in the preliminary budget are $2,009,182, up from the current year’s $1,995,356.21.

The board meeting tonight will feature consideration of several amendments and revisions which could change the final numbers slightly on different line items.

A copy of the 2025 preliminary budget can be viewed online on the town website at https://tinyurl.com/mpfn6vfj .

For members of the public who can not attend in person, the town meeting will be broadcast live on Zoom, with links available at the town of Potsdam website, https://potsdamny.us/ .