Board Approves Kirkland Budget

The Town of Kirkland’s 2026 budget keeps costs down while also financing some needed projects.

At last week’s Kirkland Town Board meeting, the Board adopted the budget of $9,746,243 after a public hearing.

The budget falls under the 2 percent increase cap allowed by the state without having the Board approve a larger increase.

Supervisor Bob Meelan said a house assessed at $100,000 will see an increase of $34 on the tax bill.

As this year’s budget winds down, the Board approved some transfers of money to cover the unexpected cleanup costs of the June tornado and other storms that hit Clark Mills and other areas of the town.

Another $20,000 was moved to provide for possible litigation and $3,000 for equipment replacement.

Meelan called it a responsible budget. “It gets the debts paid, and then we can look at capital projects,’’ he said.

Meelan, who is retiring from being on the Town Board at the end of the year, said he remembers 30 years ago when a Town meeting would be packed with people complaining about the budget.

Other than a couple of questions, no one from the public spoke at the hearing.

Town Councilman Garry ...