MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County has once again seen another fiscal year officially finish in the black. According to a release from County Executive Greg Edwards, an independent audit of the county’s 2012 books shows that it finished with a $5.8 million surplus for the general fund.
Edwards said the surplus was the result of work by his administration to streamline to find cost savings and find ways to continue to streamline county government.
The County Executive pointed to a large savings coming from the effort by his staff to merge of the Departments of Health and Social Services into one Department. Edwards added that a recent report from Albany confirmed that the merger helped to crack down on $6 million in wasteful spending through social service benefits, which led to a local share savings to Chautauqua County by over $2.7 million.
Edwards also pointed to additional revenue by the Department of Health and Human Services, along with additional money from the Department of Planning and Economic Development. The county executive said the county also saw increases in revenue via the sales tax and mortgage tax as well as additional revenue from the county’s methane-to-energy plant at the landfill. He said the county also saved more than $900,000 due to a reduction in Community College charge back expenses by $910,000.
Edwards said the surplus will enable the county to make the required investments needed in local infrastructure without having to go out and borrow. The final audit was reviewed earlier this week by county lawmakers in committee. It will be accepted by the entire legislature during next week’s monthly voting session.
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