Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup the Cairo Town Board November 4, adopted the town's $5.9 million spending plan for 2022, on a vote of 3 to 1, with one member abstaining. The vote followed a public hearing. Board member and town supervisor elect Jason Watts was the lone dissenting vote. Current Supervisor John Coyne, and board members Stephen Kralovich, and Mary Jo Cords voted for the plan while Tim Powers abstained. The 2022 tax levy increase stays under the state's 2 percent tax cap and increases town property taxes by 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The budget appropriates $3.4 million for the general fund and $1.8 million for the highway fund, in addition to special districts. The total amount to be raised by taxes is $4.5 million. “We’re going to have to go up in taxes. I’ve come to that conclusion,” Watts said during a budget meeting last week. “We’re not going to be able to get anything done unless we go up in taxes....I want to go over the tax cap,” he said. Coyne responded, “I don’t want to go over the tax cap. Look at the people in our community. We are one of the poorest communities in the state.” One of the issues cited by Watts was how the town was going to pay for paving the walkway at Angelo Canna Town Park. “There is no money in here for any of that to be done,” Watts said. Under an agreement with Greene County, the town would need only to supply materials for the walkway, Coyne said, and the estimated cost of blacktop is $75,000. Powers abstained from voting on the budget, arguing the town board should have more oversight on how the Cairo Public Library board uses the money. The discussion became heated at times before Coyne reminded everyone that the purpose of the hearing was to discuss the budget and that library operations could be addressed at a later date. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.