Two hundred and fifty years ago this summer, a group of Americans wrote down what they believed about freedom, signed their names to it, and set in motion the country we live in today.
Cornwall has been part of that story from before the Declaration was signed. The American experiment grew up in towns like ours.
This Fourth of July, Cornwall Truth pauses to celebrate 250 years of self-government — and to thank every American, from 1776 to today, who has done the work to keep it going.
Have a safe and meaningful Fourth, neighbors. We are grateful to live here, and grateful to live free.
Progress, predictions, and two meetings that matter.
Last week we predicted, on the record, that Supervisor Wojehowski's response to the Sands-Ring story would land in the form of "the artist was always going to pay it back." This week, that line arrived. We are not going to belabor it. Just remember: we called it.
The bigger news this week is constructive. Deputy Supervisor Tim McCarty sent the 2025 Draft Comprehensive Plan back to the planner for redlining following the public comment period — the deliberate, transparent next step the process called for. We thank Deputy Supervisor McCarty, and we thank the board members who supported this. This is what due process looks like, and the Cornwall residents who showed up to comment deserve to see their input reflected in the next draft. We are hopeful the redline will represent what the community put on the record.
Two meetings on the calendar Cornwall residents need to attend:
Show up to both. The process works when residents are in the room.
THE PATTERN: THREE DONORS, THREE APPROVALS, AND THE DONATIONS NOBODY ELSE GOT.
A companion to the Sands-Ring story, drawn from the NY State Board of Elections record. Three Cornwall residents wanted three different things from town government — a cricket field, a year-long sculpture exhibition, and an earthwork on town land. Each one wrote Josh Wojehowski a campaign check on the way in. Two of the three have no other political contributions on record, anywhere, in any year. The third donates regularly to many candidates — to Josh, exactly once, the day after her co-sponsor did the same. The pattern in the record, in full.
CAUGHT LYING ABOUT SANDS-RING. NOW THEY WANT YOUR TRUST ON THE COMP PLAN.
On February 24, a councilwoman told residents on the record that taxpayers wouldn't pay a dime for the "Storm King Decision" earthwork at Sands-Ring Homestead. The Supervisor promised town personnel, equipment, gas, and manpower would not be used. Then the signed Artwork Exhibition Agreement obligated the town to provide fencing, lighting, cameras, police patrols, and promotion — and the town's own skid steer, dump truck, and trencher showed up at Sands-Ring. Plus: a $30-per-hour communications consultant has billed Cornwall $1,410 for 47 hours and produced two flyers — and the town's own FOIL response cannot identify a single media outlet or social account where any of that work was published.
A FEW CHEAP APARTMENTS WON'T FIX CORNWALL'S RENT PROBLEM — BUT THEY WILL RAISE YOUR TAXES
Ahead of Thursday's Comprehensive Plan hearing: the housing push is being sold as rent relief. It won't lower your rent by a dollar — but the §581-a tax break and PILOT deals shift the cost onto every other homeowner in Cornwall. Six problems they aren't mentioning, plus the four rebuttals you'll need the moment supporters push back at the microphone.
Supervisor Wojehowski, Councilperson Wynn Gold, and Councilperson Mary Heed all publicly say they welcome resident comment on the Comprehensive Plan. In the same week, residents who try to participate are being told, by the Supervisor's own political circle, that the questions are inappropriate, that the timing is wrong, and that a Comprehensive Plan "doesn't do that." It does. This Plan is the legal first step toward turning Cornwall into a higher-density community. The question worth asking out loud: if the engagement is welcomed by leadership, why are the people around leadership working so hard to shut it down? A person's character is what they do when no one is watching. So is an administration's.
Background reading for this piece. Last week's articles, kept on the record:
THE PLAYBOOK: When Josh Feels Behind, Substance Disappears
Josh Wojehowski can campaign on his record when he is comfortable. When he is not, a different instinct takes over — manufactured scandal, manufactured fear, attacks designed to put an opponent on defense. We have seen it before. We are putting it on the record now so Cornwall voters recognize the playbook the moment it resurfaces this fall.
$30 MILLION IN DEBT. NO PLAN TO PAY IT BACK.
Over the last five years, the people who run the Town of Cornwall borrowed more than $30 million. That is money the Town has to pay back, with interest, using your tax dollars. But they never made a plan for how to pay it all back.
THE LAW DISAPPEARED. THE QUESTION DIDN'T.
Five weeks after residents caught Supervisor Wojehowski pitching one law and writing another, Local Law No. 2 of 2026 is nowhere on Tuesday's Town Board agenda. No withdrawal. No update. No explanation. Just silence.
EVERY PENNY COUNTS: Why Cornwall Doesn't Need to Pay Twice for Communications Work
With taxes rising and every budget line under scrutiny, the town is looking to spend $23,000 a year on a communications consultant to do work a state grant already covers.
THE STIPEND THAT WASN'T EARNED: Wojehowski's MS4 Justification Doesn't Match the Plan He Signed
The Town Supervisor's own Stormwater Management Program reveals most of the work he claimed credit for is performed by paid outside contractors and other town staff — a pattern no other Orange County town supervisor appears to have turned into extra pay.
WYNN GOLD: The Insider Who Couldn't Win an Election — So Josh Handed Him a Seat Anyway
Cornwall voters rejected Wynn Gold at the ballot box — twice. Supervisor Josh Wojehowski ignored that verdict. In January 2026, he appointed Gold to the very Town Board seat voters denied him. Gold will serve out the year without ever facing the public again.
January 20, 2026 Cornwall Town Board Meeting: A New Member and Stipends That Shouldn't Have Passed
At the January 20, 2026 Cornwall Town Board Regular Meeting, newly appointed Councilperson Wynn Gold was sworn in — and the board wasted no time putting his vote to work, enriching the supervisor while residents were struggling with their recent tax increases.
Read the documents for yourself. Reach your own conclusions. Check back every Monday for updates — or send tips and public records directly to the address below.
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Hold your elected officials accountable.
Since taking office in January 2022, Josh Wojehowski has raised your taxes every single year — 48% over four budgets, including a 32% spike in one year. He borrowed over $12 million. He drew nearly $7 million from Town reserves — the same thing he condemned the prior administration for doing.
At the same time, his own salary climbed from $75,294 in 2022 to roughly $96,000 — a ~27% raise he secured while telling Cornwall residents their bills had to go up. His campaign donors have contributed to his campaigns while maintaining active interests in how Cornwall is governed. The Planning Board that will approve his housing agenda? He appoints every member.
This site uses his own budget letters, public documents, and official filings to lay out the full picture. Every fact here can be verified independently. We encourage you to do exactly that.
Your taxes: up 48%. His promise: keep rates stable. His delivery: four straight increases.
His salary: up ~27% — $75,294 → ~$96,000 — paid by the same taxpayers seeing those hikes.
$6.9M drawn from reserves — the same move he called "not sustainable" when someone else did it.
$12M+ borrowed, driving your FY26 bill to its highest level in his tenure.
His campaign donors have active interests in Cornwall's land use and governance — and they're funding his re-election.
His Planning Board will approve his housing plan. He appoints every seat.
Wojehowski ran in 2021 on fiscal responsibility. Below is what four years of that looks like for Cornwall residents — and for Josh Wojehowski personally. Every item is drawn from his own budget documents, official filings, and public records.
Every budget message from FY23 through FY25 used nearly identical language: "My goal as Budget Officer is to keep tax rates stable over time and within historical levels."
Rate climbed every single year: 4.48 → 4.78 → 5.01 → 6.64. The FY26 rate is 57% higher than the 2021 baseline. A typical Cornwall homeowner paid roughly $45 more per month in FY26 alone.
His FY23 budget message devoted two pages to condemning the prior administration for drawing $2.65 million from Town savings. He called it a "structural deficit" and proof of fiscal irresponsibility.
He dipped into reserves every single year. In FY25 he drew $2.44M — nearly matching the exact figure he condemned. Combined total: ~$6.9 million drawn down while taxes rose every year simultaneously.
Over four budgets, Wojehowski borrowed more than $12 million for capital projects. The debt service on that borrowing is now a primary driver of the historic FY26 rate increase. Cornwall taxpayers are paying interest on that debt for years to come.
While residents absorbed four consecutive tax increases, Wojehowski's supervisor salary rose from $75,294 in 2022 to roughly $96,000 — a gain of approximately $20,700, or ~27%. That raise was paid by Cornwall taxpayers. Source: SeeThroughNY.net (2022); Town of Cornwall Adopted Budgets
Each "attainable" unit generates ~$462/year for CCSD. A typical Cornwall home generates ~$1,099. Every 100 units he adds creates a $63,000/year school funding gap paid by existing homeowners. He never commissioned a fiscal study.
Douglas Land is on record as a contributor to Wojehowski's campaign and has active interests in Cornwall land use and governance decisions. The Planning Board that will approve every project under his Comp Plan? Every member is appointed by Wojehowski. So are the alternates — who, per the town's own attorney, can vote any time a regular member is absent.
At the March 10, 2026 Town Board meeting, residents raised legitimate concerns about who sits on the Planning Board and how alternates are used. Wojehowski's response: they only care because it's an election year.
Through FY23, FY24, and FY25, his budget messages continued to attribute fiscal problems to decisions made before he took office. By year four, with a 32% rate spike on his record, he acknowledged the town "has to stop" relying on fund balance — a problem he created while simultaneously raising taxes every year.
Your town tax bill has risen 48%. The Town has borrowed over $12 million. Nearly $7 million has been drawn from reserves. And through all of it, Josh Wojehowski's salary grew by roughly $20,700 — about 27% — on the same Cornwall taxpayer dime.
Meanwhile, the donor network backing his campaigns has active interests in Cornwall's land use and development decisions. His housing plan — with zero fiscal analysis — will be approved by a Planning Board he appoints. Every lever of local government that touches land use and public money runs through one man's office. The question for November is simple: who has this administration been working for?
Here is the unvarnished financial record of the Wojehowski administration — drawn from official Town of Cornwall budget publications and the Supervisor's own letters to residents. Note what went up for Cornwall, and what went up for Josh.
The same four budgets that drove Cornwall's combined tax rate from 4.48 to 6.64 also delivered Josh Wojehowski a supervisor salary that grew from $75,294 in 2022 to roughly $96,000 — an increase of approximately $20,700, or about 27%.
To put that in terms Cornwall residents understand: the owner of a $300,000 home went from paying $1,344/year in combined town taxes (FY23) to $1,992/year (FY26) — an increase of $648. Over the same period, Wojehowski's annual compensation from the Town grew by an estimated $20,700. He is the Budget Officer who submitted every one of those budgets.
| Year | Combined Town Tax Rate | Annual Tax on $300k Home | Supervisor Salary (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (first year) | 4.48 | $1,344 | $75,294 SeeThroughNY |
| 2023 | 4.78 | $1,434 | ↑ rising |
| 2024 | 5.01 | $1,503 | ↑ rising |
| 2026 | 6.64 | $1,992 | ~$96,000 |
| Change | +48% | +$648/yr | +~$20,700/yr (+27%) |
2022 salary sourced from SeeThroughNY.net (Empire Center, Town of Cornwall payroll). Current salary figure sourced from Town of Cornwall adopted budget publications. Residents are encouraged to verify both directly.
| Year | Combined Rate (per $1,000) | Annual Town Tax — $300k Home | Change | Who Submitted the Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4.21 | $1,263 | — | Prior Administration |
| 2022 | 2.81 | $843 | −33% (used $2.65M fund balance) | Prior Administration |
| 2023 | 4.48 | $1,344 | +59% from 2022 | Wojehowski — Year 1 |
| 2024 | 4.78 | $1,434 | +7% | Wojehowski — Year 2 |
| 2025 | 5.01 | $1,503 | +5% | Wojehowski — Year 3 |
| 2026 | 6.64 | $1,992 | +32% in a single year | Wojehowski — Year 4 |
Sources: Supervisor's FY23–FY26 Budget Messages; 2021–2023 Tax Comparison; Town of Cornwall Adopted Budgets
In 2022, Josh Wojehowski spent pages of his FY23 budget message explaining why the prior administration's use of reserves was fiscally reckless. In FY25, he drew $2.44 million from those same reserves — virtually the same amount. He never acknowledged the contradiction.
| Year | Reserves Drawn | Administration | Wojehowski's Words at the Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY22 | $2,650,000 | Prior Administration | "Not sustainable. Structural deficit. Fiscally irresponsible." |
| FY23 | ~$1,400,000 | Wojehowski | Still relying on reserves in year one |
| FY24 | ~$1,500,000 | Wojehowski | Continued drawdown despite tax increases |
| FY25 | $2,437,928 | Wojehowski | Nearly identical to the amount he called irresponsible |
| FY26 | $1,547,000 | Wojehowski | Still drawing down after the largest rate hike of his tenure |
Wojehowski borrowed over $12 million for capital projects over four years. The debt service on that borrowing is now a primary driver of the FY26 rate increase — the largest single-year jump of his administration. He also secured a salary increase for himself during this same period.
The county tax line actually decreased slightly on most Cornwall properties in 2026. Fire district and refuse lines were essentially flat. Every major increase on your bill traces directly to the Town budget submitted by Joshua T. Wojehowski.
"Growing property tax revenues by expanding the Town's tax base through smart growth economic development policies and implementing a plan to increase attainable housing."— Supervisor Josh Wojehowski, FY26 Budget Letter to Residents, "Our Long-Term Financial Strategy"
The 2025 Comprehensive Plan was written by a committee — but that committee operated under Wojehowski's administration, advanced priorities he championed, and lists his name first in its Acknowledgements. The committee structure gave him distance. The document itself shows his fingerprints. It quietly dismantles Cornwall's zoning protections to make way for what he calls "attainable housing": below-market, higher-density units assessed at a fraction of what Cornwall homes are worth. He says it will grow the tax base. The math says otherwise.
72% of every Cornwall property tax dollar goes to the school district. Below-market housing assessed at $175,000 contributes $462/year to Cornwall Central. The typical Cornwall home contributes $1,099/year. Every 100 of Wojehowski's "attainable" units creates a $63,000/year gap in school funding — a gap that gets spread across every existing Cornwall property owner. He has never commissioned a single fiscal study.
The 2025 Comp Plan's Implementation Schedule lists five zoning changes. Four are rated Immediate priority — the first things changed after adoption. Every single one tears down an existing protection:
| # | What the Plan Proposes | Priority | What It Removes |
|---|---|---|---|
| #7 | Remove the 2-unit apartment cap above commercial buildings in the GC Zone — unlimited apartments over storefronts | Immediate | Current apartment cap |
| #8 | Allow multi-family residential in commercial zones with new density limits replacing existing restrictions | Immediate | Residential density limits |
| #9 | Revise accessory dwelling unit criteria to remove barriers to additional units | Immediate | ADU restrictions |
| #10 | Amend multi-family permit standards to streamline approvals and reduce review requirements | Immediate | Multi-family review requirements |
Source: 2025 Draft Comprehensive Plan, Implementation Schedule, Town of Cornwall
Wojehowski didn't personally draft the 2025 Comp Plan — a committee did. But that committee was constituted under his administration, advanced an agenda he publicly champions, and the plan bears his name first among those acknowledged. The committee structure gives him plausible distance. The document gives him away.
And once the plan is adopted, the distance disappears entirely. Every housing application filed under the new zoning framework goes before the Planning Board for approval. Wojehowski appoints every Planning Board member. He also appoints the alternates — who, under the actual statute read aloud by the town's own attorney on March 10, 2026, can vote any time a regular member is absent, not just to maintain quorum.
The result: ① a committee writes the housing agenda under his watch and with his priorities, ② he pushes the zoning changes through the Town Board, ③ he appoints the Planning Board members who vote yes or no on each project, ④ he appoints alternates with broader voting access than his administration originally acknowledged. A committee wrote the words. One man controls every outcome.
When a supervisor raises your taxes 48% and borrows $12 million, the next question is: who's writing the checks that keep him in office? The figures below come from TransparencyUSA.org and the NY State Board of Elections — public records any Cornwall resident can verify independently.
Douglas Land and Lynn Peebles share a household at 60 Deer Hill Road and function as a single, coordinated political interest. Together they represent $212,940 in total recorded political contributions — one of the most active donor networks in Cornwall's recent political history.
Both Land and Peebles appear in NY State Board of Elections filings as contributors to the Wojehowski campaign. That is the household backing his administration — the same household with a documented, ongoing interest in how Cornwall is governed and developed.
Both Douglas Land and Lynn Peebles appear in NY State Board of Elections records as contributors to the Wojehowski campaign. Their household has directed over $212,940 toward political causes in total — and they have a documented, active interest in decisions made at the Town level: land use, zoning, development approvals, and the shape of local government.
Cornwall residents are encouraged to look up these records themselves and decide what it means that the people funding this supervisor's campaigns are the same people with the most to gain from his policy agenda.
Verify on the NY State Board of Elections → Search TransparencyUSA →
Individually, each item in the public record might be explained away. Together — the tax increases, the reserve drawdowns, the salary raise, the donor network, the housing agenda, the appointed board — they describe a single consistent direction: decisions that benefit the people around Wojehowski, paid for by the people of Cornwall.
He ran explicitly against the prior administration's reserve drawdowns and tax record. His FY23 budget began four consecutive tax increases, four consecutive reserve drawdowns, and $12M+ in new borrowing.
Douglas Land and Lynn Peebles contribute to Wojehowski For Cornwall. A committee constituted under Wojehowski's administration completes the 2025 Comprehensive Plan, introducing "attainable housing" as a new zoning priority he has publicly championed. His name appears first in the plan's Acknowledgements — the clearest on-the-record signal of who drove it.
Wojehowski faces re-election as Town Supervisor. Every Cornwall resident votes in this race. This is the moment to decide whether the pattern above represents the leadership you want for two more years.
Every claim on this site is grounded in publicly available documents. We encourage every Cornwall voter to read these primary sources and draw their own conclusions.