05/14/2026
Eldred, NY (May 14, 2026)-The Town of Highland Board has the utmost respect and gratitude for all of our emergency service personnel, both volunteers and paid employees of the Highland Ambulance Service, Highland Lake Fire Department, and Yulan Fire Department. These brave men and women are heroes, and we show our respect with the small token that our LOSAP (Length of Service Award Program) provides as well as NY State income tax credit or property tax exemption incentives for our volunteers.
The narrative that has been misconstrued by political hopeful, Mell Carney regarding the maintenance of the Barryville Fire Station building, in particular, is filled with both inaccuracies and a reimagining of facts. The Town of Highland custodial, maintenance and Highway team has continued the services that have always been provided to that building. They mow and trim the lawn, plow the snow and salt during winter, and make sure the building is free of neglect and disrepair as is affordable to an aging building. The town also pays the utility costs for this building. The only other emergency service building that is maintained by the town is the substation where the ambulance, law enforcement, and the Yulan Fire Department share a facility. As a courtesy, the Yulan and Highland Lake stations are plowed and salted by our hard-working Highway Department.
Both Fire Companies are independent bodies, and the taxpayers fund their general budgets for operation—Yulan Fire Department $174,000, Highland Lake Fire Department at $109,050, the Highland Ambulance Service at $43,627, in addition to their benefits program, workman’s compensation, disability, etc. The members are awarded LOSAP points for work hours including cleaning and organizing their stations, as well as training hours.
The Town Board has acquired NY State Grant funding to repair our Town Hall, Senior and Community Center, and Courthouse and secure the infrastructure of our community at no burden to the taxpayers. The need for replacement of the lock on the Barryville Station door was first raised at our June 2025 meeting. It was then decided, in partnership with the Yulan Fire Department, that it would be necessary to replace the door and lock together, and we began sourcing a door. We put together a budget for this project and voted on it in the March meeting this year. When the materials are in hand, the door will be replaced. The current condition of the door and lock are functioning. We will update the public with the progress.
Additionally, there has been a lot of disinformation about LOSAP payments. The reporting from the 2023-2025 was misreported, and numbers were carried over inaccurately for the benefit years 2022-2024 however the volunteers were compensated, but at the incorrect amounts. On Feb 1, 2024, the total cost benefits were dispersed at $55,418, which includes $3795 in administrative costs, and the investment deposit paid to participants was $51,623. For 2025, benefit year 2024, on 4/14/25 $72,982.00 was the total benefit deposit, including $5240 in administrative fees and $67,742 in benefits were paid out. Facts matter. Transparency matters. We will continue to strive for excellence and accuracy because we owe it to the taxpayers in the Town of Highland and to our hard working volunteers.
