Published: July 26, 2008 11:57 pm            

COUNTY TAXES: Holding the line?

Record-high gas prices.

Increased grocery bills.

Fears about rising home-heating costs.

With the budget season once again on the horizon, Niagara County officials say they are well aware of the fact that the stretched-thin wallets of their constituents can ill afford a property tax increase next year.

“Our goal is for that to not happen,” said Legislature Majority Leader Richard Updegrove, R-Lockport. “That’s why I said what I said the other night. We are serious about that.”

During Tuesday’s meeting of the Legislature, Updegrove made a commitment on behalf of the Republican-led majority caucus to use a $2 million loan repayment from the county’s Industrial Development Agency to support tax rate stabilization in 2009.

The IDA payment — while technically reimbursement for a debt owed to the county since the late 1980s — could prove to be a well-timed gift as county officials begin putting next year’s spending plan in place.

“As expenses go up, they go up for everybody, including the county,” Updegrove said. “As taxpayers’ expenses go up, that’s even more incentive to try to keep a handle on the tax rate.”

County Manager Gregory Lewis said, at this point, he’s not considering the loan repayment as a gift. In fact, as county department heads continue their budget preparations, Lewis said he isn’t counting on the additional revenue at all. The goal, he said, is to build a solid financial foundation that doesn’t rely on the unanticipated revenue so that county lawmakers will have it available should they decide to use it.

“I’m not using that money as part of my budget planning,” Lewis said.

Department heads are currently in their third of four rounds of the county’s annual budgetary planning process, according to Lewis. Each round, department heads are asked to target levels of expenses and revenues according to their respective needs. After analyzing preliminary budget requests for all departments from the previous session, Lewis said the county was looking at a tentative increase in the tax levy of about 5.5 percent.

If all department heads reach their budget goals this time around, Lewis said he anticipates a tentative tax levy increase of around 3 percent.

He added that a fourth round of budget planning will take place in September, giving department heads another opportunity to make adjustments that could further reduce the burden for taxpayers.

“We know we have a tough situation and we are acting accordingly,” Lewis said.

Of course, things can change between now and September.

Like everyone else, Lewis said fuel costs continue to be the primary source of concern for county officials.

Another area of potential concern relates to the state, where Lewis fears New York lawmakers faced with billion-dollar deficits of their own may continue to force costs down to the county level.

The state’s 2008-09 budget included a 2 percent across the board reduction in state aid for programs delivered at the local level. Niagara County and other members of the state Association of Counties have expressed concern about the impact of cuts in state spending on counties, particularly in health and human service programs which often represent significant portions of a county’s budget.

“Any state cutback or reorganization will have a direct impact on the property taxpayers that we are all trying to protect in this difficult fiscal period,” said NYSAC President Lucille M. McKnight.

Last year, Niagara County lawmakers opted to use a portion of the county’s available fund balance to reduce the tax levy.

Lewis said that could be an option again this year. The county’s private auditing firm is expected to make a presentation soon on the final numbers from the 2007 budget year. Those numbers, Lewis said, will include the specific amount of fund balance available to the county.

“We anticipate that fund balance to be strong again,” Lewis said.

In the meantime, the county is continuing to work on all areas of its operations to see what can be done to reduce costs. Lewis said those efforts include finding areas where services can be shared with neighboring Erie County, undertaking more environmentally friendly “green” initiatives and maximizing grant revenues wherever possible.

The goal, he said, is to create a budget that provides the necessary services at a cost taxpayers can afford.

“We know what the economy is like,” Lewis said. “We personally understand it as people and we professionally know it as professional people who study this. We know what it’s like to keep a family budget.”

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250.

        

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