Otsego County's property taxes will not rise much, if at all, next year, said board Chairman James Powers on Friday morning.
``With what's going on around the country, the last thing property owners need is a tax increase,'' he said. ``That's why we started working on this budget at the start of the year; we had to hold the line.''
In the county's tentative budget, which was filed Friday by Treasurer and Budget Officer Myrna Thayne, the property tax levy for 2009 stands at $10,329,159, an increase of about 0.11 percent over the $10,317,712 in the current budget.
Powers said the county Board of Representatives has made a provision for hiring just two new employees next year and has been helped by recent decreases in the price of fuel.
``We had variable, not fixed, prices for fuel, so we weren't locked into higher prices,'' he said. ``That's helping us, and our sales and bed-tax revenues have been good.''
Powers said much of the credit for keeping taxes from rising should go to the county's Administration Committee and department heads.
``Admin and the board and treasurer have worked hard this year,'' he said. ``I know not everyone is happy with the budget. There are some department heads and board members who believe we should spend more in certain areas, but the majority felt this is a year when we had to tighten our belts.''
Thayne noted that appropriations will decrease 3.55 percent in the 2009 budget, going from $115,696,041 this year to $111,590,887 next year.
Among changes that are helping the county are an increase in state and federal assistance to the county's health care facilities, including Otsego Manor, she said.
Two years ago, the county-owned nursing home cost local taxpayers about $5 million a year to operate. Next year, state and federal reimbursements, aid and money from private-pay patients should make the facility largely self-sustaining, she said.
Even as the national economy has sputtered, Otsego County is projected to take in about $34 million in sales tax this year, a slight increase from last year, she said.
At the start of 2008, the county's occupancy tax rate doubled from 2 to 4 percent, and revenues from this tax will nearly double this year, topping $1 million, she said.
``The good news here is we continue to have people going into business, collecting the tax,'' she said.
Thayne, who praised the board and the Administration Committee for fiscal restraint, said that lowering the cost of workers' compensation for the county and its municipalities also will help taxpayers in January.
Some money to pay for salary increases for the county's 600 or so CSEA employees also has been set aside in the tentative budget, she said. The county and union, which have been negotiating for nearly two years, are in the fact-finding phase, as the state Public Employment Relations Board strives to bring the sides together.
Some may pay higher taxes
Administration Committee Chairman Greg Relic, R-Unadilla, noted that some costs that aren't part of the county budget may increase people's tax bills in January.
County and town taxes are levied together, and if town taxes rise, some property owners will see higher bills, he cautioned.
``I know everyone looks at the bottom line, but a lot besides the county levy goes into reaching the bottom line,'' he said.
In addition to town taxes, there are charge-backs for services, including the cost of elections, that may raise tax bills somewhat, Relic said.
Thayne, Powers and Relic all warned that 2009 will be another tough year economically, with New York state and the federal government looking to cut expenses, even when those cuts can drive up taxes at the local level.
``We started working on this budget last January," Powers said, "and we're going to have to do the same next year.''
