Published: November 13, 2009 11:51 pm      

COUNTY LEGISLATURE: Holding line on spending

Niagara County’s tentative 2010 budget includes no increase in the amount to be raised by taxes and is expected to result in decreases in property tax rates for home owners living in all but three municipalities.

The proposed spending plan presented by County Manager Gregory Lewis on Friday calls for a property tax levy of $67.5 million, the same amount to be raised by taxes that was included in the county’s adopted 2009 budget. While county property tax rates will vary depending on state equalization rates for individual cities, towns and villages, the budget projects a 19 cent decrease in the full value tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning the average owner of a $100,000 home would see their county property taxes decline by $19 next year. The proposal calls for total spending of $305 million, an increase of $290,000, or one-tenth of 1 percent, over the current year’s budget. It also reflects an increase in the overall taxable assessed valuation from $7.95 billion this year to $8.17 billion in 2010.

“I think there was hard work applied by the county budget teams and there was very careful thoughtful analysis as to how we allocate certain available resources to hold the tax levy to zero,” Lewis said. “Most people living in Niagara County will experience a reduction in taxes on their bill.”

County Budget Director Dan Huntington said the exceptions are expected to be in the City of Lockport and the towns of Lewiston and Porter. Based on equalization rate estimates from those communities, Huntington said Porter would see the highest increase, with the tax rate rising 13 cents per $1,000. Rates in the City of Lockport and Town of Lewiston are also projected to increase by 4 cents and 5 cents respectively. Decreases are expected in all other municipalities, with the largest reduction occurring in the Town of Niagara where the projected rate is expected to decline by 35 cents per $1,000.

“For the most part, our citizens will have a reduction in their tax bill,” Lewis said.

The proposed budget reflects the use of $4.58 million in unreserved, undesignated fund balance, which is $400,000 less than what was applied to the general fund in 2009. In the 2010 plan, county officials also decided to allocate an extra $2.25 million from the fund balance to cover the early repayment of amortized New York State retirement debt, which the county was on a schedule to pay off in yearly installments through 2014. In retiring the debt early, county officials say they will now be able to save $520,000 in debt payments each year from 2011 to 2014. The spending plan also includes the use of $400,000 of debt reserve fund balance to pay principal and interest on outstanding debt.

Lewis and Huntington said the county continues to maintain a healthy fund balance moving forward. It is now $21.7 million or 7.6 percent of the 2009 budgeted total gross expense. In 2002, lawmakers passed a resolution that designated a fund balance threshold of 6 percent of the total gross expense of the current year’s budget.

The county anticipates losing $1.3 million in state aid for temporary assistance, food stamps and safety net programs next year and is also expecting to lose roughly $400,000 in support for operations at the Niagara County Jail due to New York state’s decision to discontinue the practice of reimbursing counties $37.60 per day for housing inmates who are scheduled to be housed at state facilities.

Next year’s budget did benefit from a $5 million decrease in the county’s share of the cost for Medicaid programs. The decrease is attributed to an influx of funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The county’s total share of Medicaid for 2010 is expected to be $37 million. County officials are expecting that number to jump to $44.4 million in 2011.

“We’re blessed by that helping us because that became a possibility where our expense for Medicaid was reduced for one time by $5 million,” Lewis said.

Like many other municipal governments in New York, Lewis said the county experienced increases in employee salaries and retirement costs and a decrease in interest earnings this year. He said those factors were offset, in part, by a slight increase in county sales tax revenue, reductions in the amount contributed to the county’s insurance fund and savings realized through changes in the healthcare plans for employees and retirees.

Lewis noted the county reached settlements with all six of its unions this year, allowing those employees to be covered under the county’s single provider health care plan at a projected savings for 2010 of about $3 million.

The proposed budget includes a total of 1,714 positions, up from a total of 1,671 in 2009. Lewis said the work force did increase slightly in some departments in 2009, including the Department of Social Services where additional employees were hired as part of the creation of a new child protective services unit that was created in Lockport. He also noted the sheriff’s department was allowed to hire three more jail guards in response to a mandate from the state corrections department in 2009.

Most county employees are scheduled to receive a standard 3 percent salary increases next year. The budget includes two new positions — a confidential, non-union secretary for Economic Development Commissioner Sam Ferraro and similar assistant for the head of the county’s risk management department. The risk management position would be covered with money from the county’s self-insurance funds. Two vacant positions also were cut as part of the 2010 budget.

County legislators received their copies of the tentative spending plan Friday. They are expected to meet individually with Lewis and Huntington to discuss the spending plan starting next week. Lawmakers are expected to set a public hearing for Dec. 1. The finalized version must be adopted by Dec. 20.

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