Westchester County Board of Legislators hold public hearing on proposed 2026 county budget
A public hearing was held at the Westchester County Board of Legislators Chamber.
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Wednesday was the final opportunity for the public to participate in the county budget process.
A public hearing was held at the Westchester County Board of Legislators Chamber.
The proposed budget by County Executive Ken Jenkins is a $2.5 billion spending plan that he says includes some "tough but necessary" decisions.
“This has been an extraordinarily difficult year, and the budget process reflected that. We are operating in a moment of unprecedented uncertainty driven by the Trump administration’s decisions beyond our control. Federal cuts, shifting aid formulas and tariffs have created instability in local planning in a way we have not seen in recent memory," Jenkins previously said during a press conference.
Included in that proposed budget is a property tax levy increase of 5.27%.
"It's becoming unaffordable, I don't know how people do it now a days, I really don't," says Yonkers resident Gloria Scalea.
County legislators have been reviewing the proposed budget.
“It’s been weeks and weeks of meetings with departments, reviewing every item, every page of that budget. It’s a tough budget. The budget proposed included a 5.27% tax increase and that’s something that we know the families are struggling and couldn’t be okay with so we’re working hard to get that number down,” says Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Vedat Gashi.
They have been holding public input sessions where the community has been weighing in.
On Wednesday, a public hearing was held.
Final revisions to the executive's proposed budget will be made by legislators on Thursday.
They are expected to vote on it Monday.
You can find more details on the budget from the county here: https://www.westchestergov.com/home/all-press-releases/10675-jenkins-releases-2026-budget-proposal-in-face-of-historic-fiscal-pressure-from-federal-government
