MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature will have to decide on whether or not it wants to sell the Chautauqua County Home sooner than initially thought. According to an article in this morning’s Jamestown Post-Journal, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards is calling for the sale of the county home in his 2013 executive budget proposal to help offset a $13.3 million budget gap for next year. The county executive announced his proposed spending plan during last night’s County Legislature meeting.
Edwards budget is banking on an estimated $6.3 million in revenue in next year’s budget as a result of selling the county home. If the legislature does not approve the county home sale line item, it will need to find other ways to offset that increase, and Edwards claims the only real option is a significant property tax increase.
According to Edwards, the $13.3 million overall spending increase is largely the result of costs the county has no control over. That includes Medicaid, state retirement contributions, and contractual employee benefit increases.
The tentative budget calls for a tax levy increase of 1.72 percent, a $1.3 million increase over this year’s $61 million levy. The property tax rate will increase 3 cents per $1,000 assessed value, equaling a .38 percent bump.
The legislature will begin reviewing and discussing the executive’s budget proposal during various committee meetings, taking place throughout next week in Mayville.
Leave a Reply