The Peru Gazette

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State to open proposed requirements for K-12 to public comment starting Nov. 19

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Corrected 11/15/25 at 3:10 p.m. Residents utilizing water and sewer services will see a slight decrease.  My first post did not take the water & sewer rate deceases into account. Taxes will increase for residents outside those districts. 

By John T Ryan 

Peru – The Peru town board has been formulating the town’s 2026 town budget since September 8. On October 2, it conducted a Special Meeting to unveil the preliminary Budget, and on October 5, it conducted a Public Hearing. On Wednesday, November 19, at 5:30 p.m., it will conduct a Special Meeting to adopt the Final Budget. 

Over the past several months, Supervisor Craig Randall stated that the 2026 budget would probably exceed the 2% state-imposed tax cap; he was correct. Noting that the board will probably make a few changes in the final Budget, Randall didn’t think the Final Budget would be under the tax cap.  While it doesn’t appear the budget will exceed the tax cap by much, Randall did not give the Peru Gazette the exact numbers. The exact amount should be available at the board’s November 19 Special Meeting. 

Preliminary Budget Tax Rates 2026 vs, 2025 per thousand dollars of taxable value 

General – $1.72/M vs. $1.43

Highway – $1.80 vs. $1.73

Water – $.86 vs. $1.03

Sewer – – $1.54 vs. 1.97

Increases in employee health insurance costs, NYS retirement expenses, and culvert replacement expenses drive the town’s increased expenditures. Facing about 18% increase in health insurance costs, the town is changing its employee health insurance plans; nevertheless, the board has budgeted $25,817 to cover the increased costs. 

The town installed several culverts following the 1998 flood. Unfortunately, the culverts are failing in rapid succession, meaning expense increases are likely to continue. The culvert replacement contracts are expensive, typically totaling several hundred thousand dollars.

Few, if any, of the expenses incurred at the ongoing Wastewater Treatment Plant Project are included in the 2026 budget. Those expenses will impact the 2027 budget, as well as work anticipated at the water treatment plant. 

Randall reduced anticipated Clinton County Sales Tax Revenue, saying, “How the County determines what it gives to the towns is a mystery to me. We’re budgeting much less for 2026 than we did in 2025.” The available fund balance is being reduced from $398,349 in 2025 to $200,000 in 2026.

The Peru Gazette analyzed portions of the Budget:

Health Insurance – $284,177 in 2026 vs $258,390 in 2025. 

NYS Retirement – $204,778 in 2026 vs. $165,283 in 2025. 

Sales Tax Income – $225,000 in 2026 vs. $326,466 in 2025 

Employee Wage Increases – 3% based on the Consumer Price Index.

Bond Payments on the Fuller Road Culvert – $195,000 

Bond Payments on the 1st Telegraph Rd. Culvert – $71,159 

Click here view the Preliminary 2026 Budget

Story updated  11/15/25 at 3:10 p.m. and 11/17/25 at 8:45 PM – Health insurance increase have been about 18%, not 22% as originally stated. 

By John T Ryan 

By now, many readers may be familiar with the Regional Food Bank’s massive effort to host a November 22 Single-Day Thanksgiving Meal Pick-Up for thousands of individuals, families, and seniors in the Adirondacks and the North Country. To make this happen, about 75 volunteers will be needed.  Organizations and individuals are invited to take part.

The items handed out will allow families to cook their own meals at home. Volunteers will fill a box/bag with more than 30 pounds of food items (including turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, gravy, vegetables, fruit, potatoes, and dessert) sourced from local partners.

On November 22, Clinton Community College’s Institute of Advanced Manufacturing will be the local food distribution site. Volunteers will be needed starting at 7 a.m. to organize and distribute the food via a drive-through system. Distribution will begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue until 1:00 p.m. or until all the food has been distributed. The Institute is at 53 Clinton Point Drive, Plattsburgh, New York 12901.

Individuals interested in volunteering can sign up using this link. Organizations desiring to participate should email Nicholas Rabideau at nickr#regionalfoodbank.net 

The Plattsburgh event is one of over 20 Regional Food Bank events across Northeastern New York. It is the single largest overall food distribution in the history of New York.

Click here for read a previous Peru Gazette story on this effort. 

Pictured left to right: Alex Jeffords Fessette; Vice President of Jeffords Steel & Engineering Company, John C. Bernardi; President & CEO of United Way of the Adirondack Region, Inc., and Jesse Ringer; President of Jeffords Steel & Engineering Company.

Jeffords Officials presented John Bernardi, President & CEO of United Way of the Adirondack Region, Inc. with a check from the employees’ workplace giving campaign and their corporate pledge contributing $16,000.00 to the 2026 United Way Campaign.  Jeffords Steel & Engineering Company has a long history of supporting United Way and several other community initiatives.

The 9th Vermont private college to close in the last decade 

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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a global leader in biotechnology founded in New York State, will create 1,000 new jobs as part of a $2 billion investment at its new facility in Saratoga Springs. The company plans to utilize a more than one million square foot property it recently purchased on Duplainville Road, which previously served as a printed material manufacturer. The project would encompass the design, reconstruction and fit-out of the existing space, with potential for additional expansion. Empire State Development has agreed to support Regeneron’s plans and job creation goals with up to $35 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits.

“For decades, Regeneron has been one of our great success stories — now, they are doubling down by creating 1,000 good paying jobs and expanding the biotech industry that transforms lives across the world,” Governor Hochul said. “Regeneron’s choice to once again invest in New York State is proof that our continued commitment to innovation and talent is working. New Yorkers deserve the incredible momentum we are seeing in advanced manufacturing and life sciences.”

Regeneron was founded in 1988 in New York City; the following year, New York invested $250,000 in the company. Today, Regeneron is the largest biotech company in New York and one of the largest and most productive in the world. The new facility in Saratoga Springs will allow Regeneron to nearly double its existing manufacturing capacity in New York State. The project is expected to support approximately 500 short-term design and construction jobs, and create at least 1,000 full-time, permanent jobs. This project will bolster the company’s efforts in manufacturing and developing life-saving medications to fight the spread of infectious diseases, as well as continue to improve its oncology capabilities to fight cancer as well as a wide range of other life altering diseases. Read more »

A GREAT NCPR story 

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The story of this musical follows the poor but hopeful young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice in a world grappling with hardship and doubt. When Eurydice is tempted by an offer of comfort and security, she signs away her life to work in the industrial Hadestown. Orpheus journeys to the underworld to win her back with the power of music and love. 

Hadestown intertwines the Greek mythology of Orpheus and Eurydice with the story of King Hades and Persephone, set in a jazz-inspired, Depression-era-like world where the changing seasons depend on Persephone’s time on Earth.

This production is directed by Peru Drama Club Co-advisor, Meghan Matthews! Meghan has directed shows for many Peru Drama Club shows in the past, including last year’s Into the Woods, and has also choreographed countless productions with PDC. This production is musically directed by Kristen Willman, Peru Drama Club Co-Advisor and Peru Middle and High school music teacher!

Join us on the road to Hadestown December 5th-6th!  

The show runs December 5th @7pm; 

December 6th @ 2pm & 7pm

Peru High School Auditorium: 17 School St. Peru NY, 12972

Admission is $10 in advance and $12 at the door

Peru Central School students are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Tickets are currently available for purchase! Please visit http://perudrama.booktix.com 

For more information, email us at perucsddrama@gmail.com

This production will contain flashing lights and loud noises.

Prison officials are using a novel legal reading of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act to argue that it doesn’t apply to units where most people are incarcerated.

Click here for the New York Focus story 

5:00 pm, Thursday, December 4

Clinton County Historical Association, 98 Ohio Avenue, Plattsburgh

For the past seven years, Robin Caudell‘s back-burner book simmered about abolitionist martyr John Brown’s memory and legacy in the Adirondacks. Placing him in the context of the Underground Railroad in the Borderlands, this presentation examines oppression of the oppressed and the adoption, captivity, and slavery practices of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Western Abenaki before, during, and after European contact.This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts.

Born and raised on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Robin Caudell holds a BS in Journalism, from the University of Maryland at College Park, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. An award-winning Staff Writer at the Press-Republican and a U.S. Air Force Veteran, she is the 2023 Veterans Writing Award Winner for Black Heel Strings: A Choptank Memoir,which will be published by Syracuse University Press in May 2026.

Currently, Caudell is the director/executive producer/screenwriter for “Witness Tree at Union Road,” a speculative documentary in production about a Dutch-American family and its evolution from enslaver, abolitionist, to Union Army soldier KIA in the Civil War. The film is a collaboration with the North Star Underground Railroad Historical Association and the Clinton County Historical Association. This presentation is free and open to the public. Call 518-561-0340 for more information.

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Adirondacks, usa

Every dollar you spend at these locations is a gift to your community!  Here’s how you make a difference:

1. Unbeatable Quality and Flavor: Farm-to-table means fresher ingredients.
2. Support Local Economies: You keep money circulating within your community, helping these family-run businesses and co-ops thrive and allowing them to reinvest in the region.
3. Unique, Thoughtful Gifts: Homemade jam, a bottle of local spirits, or a basket stocked with unique goods from the Essex Food Hub is a gift with a story.

This holiday season, make a plan, visit these amazing local businesses, and turn your tables and gift-giving into a true celebration of local abundance. For more farms in your area and how you can support, click here. Happy feasting!

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