Legislators vote to bail out Ellenville
Ulster County to use last of pandemic funds to bridge village’s budget gap
KINGSTON — Staring at a budget gap of more than $1 million with few options other than dipping into a little-used emergency fund, the village of Ellenville got a temporary reprieve from an unlikely source: county government.
The Ulster County Legislature voted 18-4 on Tuesday to give $178,116 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the village, which is weeks away from insolvency, officials said.
The funds come from three sources: $129,581 is remaining unassigned American Rescue Plan Act funds, while the rest is surplus from previous ARPA projects, including the demolition of the former Ulster County Jail on Golden Hill ($37,753) and now-vacant salaried government positions created to distribute pandemic funding ($10,782).
The village of Ellenville is facing up to a $1.3 million shortfall for its 2023-24 budget due to a $536,000 unpaid water bill from the Nevele Hotel that was forgiven in a foreclosure proceeding and $762,526 in back taxes owed by property owners. Expenses were also higher than expected, including in the village’s Police Department, whose budget runs just over $2 million when benefits, insurance and retirement costs are included.
Newly elected Mayor Evan Trent has proposed withdrawing $500,000 from an emergency reserve fund to avoid significant cuts that would affect the “village’s health and safety.” The fund, which locals call “mountain money,” was created when the village sold land in the Shawangunk Ridge for $3.88 million to the Open Space Institute, which eventually grew to $4.6 million with interest. There’s $1.25 million left.
The last time Ellenville tapped the emergency fund was in 2010 when voters overwhelmingly approved using $1.19 million to wipe away another budget deficit.
Despite voting to approve the bailout, several county lawmakers on Tuesday questioned why the village continually faces financial issues. Some suggested it should be dissolved entirely; others wanted more time to consider the funding proposal.
“I think we’re doing business the wrong way,” said Herbert Litts, R-lloyd, Plattekill. “It seems like we’re bailing them out.”
John Gavaris, a Democrat who represents Ellenville and parts of the surrounding town of Wawarsing, said the extent of the crisis only became known at the beginning of the year. Without the funding, the village is 2 ⁄ weeks from insolvency, he said, which
would mean it couldn’t pay its water bills or police force or pick up trash.
“I wish there was another solution,” Gavaris said. “It’s the only solution that can happen in the amount of time it needs to happen.”
Ellenville’s budget hole was in part caused by “a number of unfortunate circumstances,” long-time
former Mayor Jeffrey Kaplan told the Times Union last week, including the fact that the town has not reassessed property values in eight years.
The Village Board has set a public hearing for Feb. 26 on the proposal to take $500,000 from the reserve fund to put toward the budget gap.