The Lewiston Town Board has approved a 2027 budget totaling about $24.04 million in appropriations and special-district spending, about $1.575 million above the previous year's plan, while pairing the increase with a steep cut to the town's property tax rate. The new rate lands at 11.7 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, down 65% from the prior year's 33 cents.
The vote, reported Wednesday by the Niagara Gazette, lands the budget's bottom line about $1.575 million above the previous year's spending plan. But the rate drop doesn't mean a lighter bill for everyone. About one-third of Lewiston residents will actually see their property tax liabilities increase under the new budget, while the rest will see their bills stay the same or decrease, according to the same report.
The split outcome traces back to a joint reassessment that Lewiston and the Town of Porter completed earlier in 2026. Per the Gazette's reporting, that reassessment changed how the town's tax burden is distributed among property owners — it did not change the total amount of taxes the town is looking to collect. That distinction helps explain why a lower headline tax rate can still translate into a higher bill for some households depending on how their property's assessed value shifted.
Fund-by-Fund Breakdown Shows Where the Money Goes
Four main funds in the budget total $16.55 million. The Highway-Drainage Fund carries about $5.52 million in appropriations, with $5.42 million in revenue and $100,824 raised through taxes.
The Town General Fund, which includes Village of Lewiston expenses, carries $3.8 million in appropriations, funded by $3.5 million in revenue and $2,850,000 drawn from fund balances, per the same account. The Water Pollution Control Center carries $2.65 million in appropriations, funded entirely through revenue. Lewiston's seven special districts combined show about $7.49 million in appropriations; four districts have rate decreases, while three have actual tax levy decreases tied to the reassessment.
Notably, some of these fund-level figures differ from numbers reported ahead of the vote. Coverage of the tentative budget in October, via Yahoo News, had put Town General Fund appropriations at $3.6 million, Highway/Drainage Fund appropriations at $5.52 million, and the seven special districts' combined appropriations at $7.49 million. The available reporting doesn't explain what drove the changes between the tentative figures and the numbers in the approved budget.
District Rates Move in Different Directions
Tentative budget figures put the fire protection district rate at $0.7844 per $1,000 and the Lewiston South Sewer IA rate at $0.2698 per $1,000; the town refuse district rate was set to rise 3.22%, to $99.1523.
Other tentative district rates included the Lewiston South Sewer IA at $0.2698 per $1,000 and the Lewiston Water Improvement Area at $0.4008 per $1,000, while the French Landing Drainage and Lewiston Heights Gas districts were holding the same rates as before.
A Multi-Year Reassessment Finally Pays Off — For Some
The tax-rate swing is the latest chapter in a reassessment effort Lewiston and Porter first announced in 2024. At the time, Lewiston Supervisor Steve Broderick said the joint project would begin in winter 2024 and wrap up by July 1, 2026, with officials framing it as a way to save both towns money by sharing a vendor, data and processes, according to the Niagara County Tribune/Sentinel.
That same 2024 reporting described reassessment projects generally as a redistribution of budgets and levies rather than a mechanism for raising additional tax dollars — a framing that lines up with how the 2027 budget's effects are splitting across Lewiston's tax base. Yahoo News's coverage of the tentative budget also noted the rate cut continues a broader trend, describing it as part of the town's pattern of decreasing its assessment rate over the past few years.
