The Town of Lewiston passed its 2024 budget Monday with property taxes continuing to go down for town residents.
The amount raised by taxes — $678,768 — is around $190,000 less than in the 2023 adopted budget. The whole town tax rate, 54 cents per $1,000 of valuation, is a 22.3% decrease from the previous year.
The fire protection, south sewer, and water improvement areas will have tax rate decreases while the refuse and MISA districts have rate increases.
The town plans on having $13.3 million in appropriations funded by $12.39 million in revenues and $268,437 in appropriated fund balance along with taxes. The full budget is available for viewing on the Town of Lewiston website.
The town board also plans to hold a public information session at its Nov. 27 meeting regarding short-term rentals.
The town passed a six-month moratorium on new short-term rentals back in July, with the intention of drafting a new law regulating them. The town code currently does not authorize or regulate short-term rental use.
The moratorium came as the Village of Lewiston approved a set of regulations and nearby Niagara and Youngstown are looking at regulations of their own.
Any proposed new law would require a public hearing before town approval. Town Supervisor Steve Broderick said this is not a legally required session.
“It’s just something the board is interested in hearing the public’s opinion on,” Broderick said. He added the board would want to make a decision before the moratorium expires at the end of January.