BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS, The Daily Gazette
SCHENECTADY COUNTY — Schenectady County will see spending rise by $6 million in 2020 but no increase in property taxes under a tentative budget presented to the County Legislature on Tuesday.
“The Legislature continues to hold the line on taxes, with 2020 being the fifth consecutive budget with either a tax cut or no increase,” said Legislature Chairman Anthony Jasenski Jr., D-Rotterdam.
Taxes were held steady in 2019, after a 1 percent cut in 2018, and steady taxes in the two years before that.
The proposed budget totals $336,281,273, up from this year’s $330.1 million, but the actual amount to be raised by property taxes remains at $70.4 million, the same as this year. The actual tax rates in the city and towns may rise or fall compared with 2019, depending on changes in their assessed property values, but those rates won’t be calculated until later.
The largest local source of revenue will be sales tax, at an estimated $100.9 million. Among other sources of revenue is $2,925,000 expected from a share of revenue from the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady. The county also receives state grants, including a $950,000 grant for sustainability projects, including the county’s plan to get all its energy for its operations from solar power by the end of 2020. The grant will allow the county to hire a sustainability coordinator.
This was the first budget prepared by County Manager Rory Fluman, a former legislator who became manager last spring following the retirement of Kathleen Rooney.
To view the complete article on The Daily Gazette website, click here.