Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Catskill town officials are proposing a 2023 town budget of $7.5 million. The spending plan includes an overall 5.7 percent increase in appropriations over the current year. “The preliminary budget has not been adopted,” Catskill Town Supervisor Dale Finch said in a November 8 email. “I do not expect any major changes. The town board may wish to make some very minor changes, if any.” The budget includes a tax levy increase of 4.9 percent; for a home assessed at $100,000, the tax rate will increase by $26.65 per $1,000 of assessed value. The tax rate in the village will go up $23.82 per $1,000. The proposed spending plan also includes a general fund appropriation of approximately $4.1 million, an increase of 5.6 percent over 2022, and a Highway-Outside Village appropriation of roughly $1.9 million. Finch said some of the challenges this included a health insurance increase of 16 percent, additional fuel, heating and electric utility costs as well as employee wages. Town board members will each receive a one percent increase in their salaries; the town supervisor will see his salary increase by 1.4 percent. Finch said the board did not include American Rescue Plan Act funds in the preliminary budget. “ARPA funds are only available for a limited time and will be utilized for one-time projects, not recurring expenses," he said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.