USH Newsletter 8/20/25
Our Goal: Fiscal Responsibility & Lowering Your Taxes
You may have heard a lot of debate about the Village’s finances recently, and it can be confusing. But one thing is crystal clear: your property taxes have increased by 23% over the last two years.
We believe this increase was not only unnecessary, but it was also a failure of leadership. Let’s break down the facts.
What is the Village’s ‘Fund Balance’ and Why Does It Matter to You?
Think of the "unassigned fund balance" as the Village's savings account. It’s made up of money that was collected from you, the taxpayer, in previous years but wasn't spent. This is your money. The most important thing to know is that these funds can, and should, be used to lower your property taxes.
Are Our Village Finances Healthy? Yes, Extremely Healthy.
The New York State Comptroller suggests a healthy fund balance for a Village like ours should be around 15% of our annual operating expenses, which comes out to about $4.2 million.
As of the last fiscal year, Sleepy Hollow’s fund balance was already at $6.6 million— well above target. But that’s only the beginning.
● The Village is set to receive a $4.6 million payment from the GM settlement this year, which will be added directly to our savings.
● With new revenue from developments like Edge-on-Hudson, our unassigned
fund balance could swell to over $10 million by the end of this year.
Our Village has tremendous financial flexibility to deliver taxpayer relief.
So, If We Have So Much Money, Why Did Your Taxes Go Up 23%?
This is the critical question. The simple answer is: they didn’t need to.
The current administration has consistently overestimated the Village’s expenses by $1-3 million every year. This practice of "overbudgeting" is the real reason your taxes have gone up. Members of the board led by Trustee Jared Rodriguez, of the current TAG slate, have used these inflated budgets to justify raising your taxes, even with all this extra revenue coming in.
The Unite Sleepy Hollow members on the Board of Trustees saw this happening.
We voted AGAINST these unjustified tax increases. We even submitted alternative, sensible spending plans that would have protected taxpayers, but they were completely ignored by the current administration.
The Unite Sleepy Hollow Plan: Real Tax Relief and Responsible Leadership
We have a clear and sensible plan to fix this. The experienced Unite Sleepy Hollow team is committed to:
● Rolling back taxes to provide immediate relief to residents.
● Creating realistic budgets based on the Village’s actual spending needs, not inflated estimates.
● Wisely using our strong fund balance and incoming revenue to reduce your tax burden while increasing investment in key services.
● Acting as good stewards of your money, because we believe that transparent, responsible leadership is what our community deserves.
It's time to end the fiscal mismanagement and put taxpayers first.
Please make your voice heard and vote for the Unite Sleepy Hollow ticket of Jim Husselbee for Mayor, and Tom Andruss, Carol Banino, and Jim Garvey for Trustees on November 4th.