Schuyler County passes 2019 budget

SCHUYLER COUNTY--The Schuyler County legislature passed the 2019 budget for the county, Tuesday, Nov. 13.
The total budget is for $49,280,353 with a tax levy of $11,116,913. The tax rate is $7.41 which amounts to a 0.71 percent decrease for the upcoming year.
The budget shows that total appropriations and revenue have dropped when compared to 2018. Appropriations went down $169,892 and revenue $227,861. The tax levy rose $57,969 for 2019.
When looking at the various county departments, three had increasing local shares for 2019 and two saw decreases. The percent change for public safety was 13.3 percent, human services 15.2 percent and miscellaneous/other 19.9 percent. Public works went down 5.2 percent and government services 10.5 percent. The net percent change of the local share was 0.5 percent.
Sales tax revenues are anticipated to show positive growth in the 2019 budget. Projections have 2019 at $11,350,000 compared to $10,678,000 last year. This represents a 6.3 percent increase or $672,000.
County Administrator and Budget Officer Tim O'Hearn previously explained the "Raise the Age" initiative for dealing with youthful offenders and additional mandated jail staffing accounts for budget increases in this budget.
The full listing of each department in the budget can be seen at http://www.schuylercounty.us/DocumentCenter/.