It is to be said that nothing is certain but death and taxes.

The common idiom popularized by Benjamin Fanklin is conjured to mind during this budget season.

The reporting staff at the Sullivan County Democrat has been out and about covering town board meetings, from Thompson to Bethel, and has written about town boards contending with drafting their 2027 budgets.

One thing certainly seems clear: money is tight.

Whether it’s rising costs or overestimating income, there’s more money that needs to be spent with not enough coming in. And that shortfall is being passed on to the taxpayers.

It’s clear that town boards don’t want to raise property taxes, but their hands are tied when it comes to balancing the books.

They’ve also mentioned the startingly high health insurance costs that these boards must pay in order for town employees to be covered.

The county is also dealing with just such a crisis, with County Manager Josh Potosek saying “something’s got to change” within the health insurance industry.

Recently, county legislators approved to change employee health insurance plans from fully insured to a self-insurance plan in an effort to cut costs.

It’s not just towns proposing property tax increases—the county is proposing a 27.67 percent tax increase in the 2027 budget.

The legislature has until December 20 to adopt a final budget and will hold public hearings in early December so residents can make their voices heard.

While 27.67 is a large number, initial budget estimates from the county suggested a 35 percent tax increase.

If we remember, last year the legislature decided to amend the proposed 2026 budget after objections from residents about a too-high property tax increase (which was 9.1 percent).

The passing of the contentious budget came down to the wire as legislators voted 5-3 to pass a new, amended budget that increased the tax levy by only two percent.

What happens if they do the same thing again this year?

Is it just kicking the can down the road as costs compound?

Or, will they say the buck stops here, and take on the task of dealing with a restricted budget.

And there are two towns which we would like to highlight.

In the Town of Highland, elected officials, led by Supervisor John Pizzolato, decreased the tax levy by 4% on its 2027 budget.

And we also must commend the Town of Delaware and Supervisor Scott DuBois, who just adopted its 2027 spending plan with only a .64% increase, which amounts to raising taxes only 4 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Well done!