MONTICELLO – The tentative
2016 Sullivan County budget comes in under the state tax cap. The spending
plan, as drafted by County Manager Joshua Potosek, maintains vital services
and “is achieved in a fiscally responsible manner while maintaining
our fund balance levels at a level recommended by rating agencies and
by our own fund balance policy,” he said.
The total budget has appropriations of $207.47 million with a property
tax levy of $57.47 million. The property tax levy increase is 1.58 percent
with a county property tax rate increase of 0.93 percent. That is due,
Potosek said, to an increase in taxable assessed value. For every $100,000
of assessment, taxes would increase by $10.
Under the state tax cap rebate program, under the proposed budget all
STAR eligible homeowners would receive a check from the state equal to
their increase in taxes.
County Legislature Chairman Scott Samuelson is “extremely pleased”
with the spending plan.
“The proposed increase in funding to support county road and bridge
infrastructure improvements, the continuation of the Plans and Progress
Small grants program, and the addition of staff to ensure the effectiveness
of services to our most vulnerable citizens and many other new initiatives
is an exceptional place to start,” he said.
