Schuyler County plans public hearing on budget

SCHUYLER COUNTY--The Schuyler County legislature has made changes to the proposed 2018 county budget, and will now move to finalize the numbers after a public hearing, Monday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Schuyler County Human Services Building in Montour Falls.
The revised budget shows a reduction in expenses compared with the preliminary numbers, while also showing increased revenue over the first draft. This allows the levy to decrease by $78,916 compared to earlier numbers and makes the tax levy increase zero. For Schuyler County, the state would allow a 4.25 percent increase over last year.
To tax payers, this will mean a $0.30 decrease in taxes per thousand of assessed value if this budget is approved.
Schuyler County Administrator Tim O'Hearn partially summarized the proposed budget as "[the] local economy continues to be strong resulting in a projected increase in sales tax revenue for 2018." He also emphasized there was no use of a fund balance to balance budget. Shared services also helped to keep the budget flat, with a new partnership between the county and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to share purchasing duties will result in a $50,000 savings per year.
O'Hearn also talked about some of the increases in the budget, "health insurance premiums are projected to increase by 9.5 percent. However a move by management staff to a lower priced health care option, reduces the overall health insurance increase for the county." He also pointed out, "[the] spending increase is attributed to federal bridge projects and is offset by revenue equal to 95 percent of that expense."
The full budget can be seen at http://www.schuylercounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/5802.