NORWICH – It’s been a few years since someone spoke at a public hearing on the proposed annual budget for Chenango County, a plan that purports to levy $22,843,933 on taxpayers next year, an increase of .6 percent from the 2009 fiscal plan.
Preempting his comments with the words, “Somebody ought to speak up,” South New Berlin dairy farmer Ken Dibbell asked how much the county was in arrears on school and property tax collections.
“I know the farming community is about out of money and about out of credit. Few farmers have paid their school taxes, and might not be paying their property taxes,” said Dibbell.
Chenango County Treasurer William E. Evans said one of the most alarming signs of New York State’s and the nation’s current economic climate is the combined 9.5 percent increase in unpaid town and county, school district and village taxes returned by the various entities in 2009.
“This results in an increase of approximately $816,000 in our delinquent tax file,” he said.
While the county’s treasurer told Dibbell that he wasn’t prepared at the hearing with the specific amount of school taxes owed to the county, he said about $3.5 million delinquent school taxes had been returned over the past two years.
When Dibbell asked Evans how much the county anticipated in property tax collections next year, Evans said, “Hang onto your hat.”
This past year was the worst year for farmers paying taxes in the past 30 years, according to Dibbell, who estimated that some farmers he knew would be looking to sell out in the spring.
“Even the good (meaning the most business-minded) farmers are in trouble this year,” he said.
Dibbell’s comments were received by the Chenango County Board of Supervisors and a roomful of department directors Tuesday evening at the County Office Building, where the annual public hearing on the budget was held.
Board Chairman Richard B. Decker, R-N. Norwich, opened the hearing by directing those in attendance to keep a sharp eye open to decisions made in Albany that might affect county government.
“I can’t believe any department head is not aware of what’s going on in Albany. New York State government is a mess, and county governments, I mean more correctly stated, ‘the taxpayer’ will pay the price for it,” he said.
At the start of the 2010 budget development process, Chenango County received a promise of fiscal relief through $1.3 million dollars of federal stimulus monies for medical assistance. However, by mid session, the reality of lost Department of Social Services administrative revenue coupled with increased spending requirements in mandated programs quickly eliminated all but $95,000 of the aid.
“We then had to face the burden of a $1.135 million-dollar increase in required state retirement system contributions,” said Evans. “Our non-reimbursable portion of that bill increased by $331,000. Commitments to current and future employee contracts and a reduced application of county road program surplus presented another $1 million dollar hurdle.”
The estimated average countywide tax rate is $13.75, a decrease of approximately $1.73 per 1,000 dollars of countywide assessed property value. The total assessment value for county tax purposes is $1,579,126,092; an increase of 13.17 percent from last year.
The 2010 budget marks the fifth consecutive year of average tax rate decrease. The 2010 average rate is $13.75 compared to the 2005 rate of $17.07. This is also the fifth consecutive year with a tax levy increase of less than 1 percent. The five-year average increase is .54 percent. More than 71 percent of county budget units were presented with either a decreased local share or a very minimal increase.
The $136,788 added to the local share is less than the measured bricks and mortar tax gain in real growth of the assessment total for 2010. The Finance Committee remained firm in their resolve to not allow the tax levy growth to outpace the value of real growth in assessments.
Evans said budgeters next year would face further increases in retirement payments, and if the economic downturn continues, further reductions in sales tax and interest earning revenues.
“The future actions of this board to maintain tax levy stability will be very difficult. We estimate that 69 percent of the 2010 tax levy is a result of Medicaid and other mandated programs. The remedies within the remaining 31 percent must be explored in early in 2010. We must start a straightforward dialogue with our constituents about the actions which must be taken to safeguard their tax dollars and the resulting impact on services from county governments,” Evans wrote in his presentation at the hearing.
The full board was scheduled to vote on the budget this morning.