BATH – Steuben County legislators unanimously passed the county’s 2020 budget of $197 million Monday, after an 11:30 a.m. public hearing which drew no comments from county residents.
The budget carries a 1 percent hike of $500,000 in local costs, bringing the property tax levy up to $50.5 million. "This was not a very good year for our budget," said county Chairman of the Legislature Joe Hauryski, R-Campbell. "The state is handing us more work to do, and no money to do it with." The hike in expenses next year are driven by the state’s Criminal Justice Reform Act and the new centralized arraignment system, with costs in the county district attorney’s office up 23 percent next year. In addition, changes in medical services at the jail increased those costs by 13 percent. Steuben also lost $1 million in PaveNY funds.
Legislators approved using a $2 million increase in projected sales tax revenues, some county reserves and interest earnings to offset the additional costs next year. The county Legislature’s Finance Committee Chairman, Scott Van Etten, R-Caton, credited the county’s long history of balancing debts and the county’s fund balance, with keeping the tax levy reasonable. "It is a good practice," Van Etten said. "It allows us to be flexible enough to react to the unforeseen issues the state hands down to us."
While spending will increase next year, the average tax rate will drop 2 percent, down from the current average of $8.25 per $1,000 to an average of $8.07 per $1,000.
