CHENANGO COUNTY – Chenango County is among the top five counties in New York State to see the highest sales tax gains during the second fiscal quarter, according to a new report from the state comptroller’s office.

The county treasurer’s office has conjured nearly $17 million in sales tax collections from January to June, an 11.7 percent increase from the $15.2 million it collected by the end of the second quarter in 2024. The City of Norwich alone has collected $1.5 million in the same timeframe, a 19.3 percent increase from last year.

Chenango County ranks number five on the New York State Comptroller’s report, right behind Allegany County which saw a 13.6 percent increase in sales tax revenues during the second quarter. Hamilton County saw the most growth at 20.5 percent.

Neighboring Delaware County also drew significant gains, reporting a 15.2 percent increase for the second quarter.

County Treasurer Bill Craine believes positive changes in sales tax revenues may be attributed to adjustments in the state algorithms.

“There are algorithms used for this distribution. We’re one quarter of one percent of the state’s population,” he said at a meeting of the county’s finance committee earlier this month. “If you put an algorithm together, the tolerance can’t get that tight until somebody in the back office sits down and trues up the books. I think that’s what’s happened.”

According to Chenango Deputy Treasurer Shelly Gage, the influx of local sales tax may build county coffers by an estimated $1.4 million, and county legislators are now pondering how the one-time surplus could be spent. Among considerations are funding the repairs of damage caused by widespread flooding that occurred in June; and also funding expensive IT framework upgrades at the county office building in Norwich.

Craine said his department will have more specifics on surplus proposals for members of the county finance committee by August.

The New York Comptroller’s Office report indicates sales tax collections statewide are up 3.7 percent over last year – totaling $11.9 billion in the first half or 2025 – and that several economic factors, including the rate of inflation and growth or decline in consumer spending on goods and services, are likely explanations for changes in local sales tax gains.

On a county basis, sales tax collections, in aggregate, grew 2.8 percent in the first half of 2025. Nearly 86 percent (49 of 57) of counties outside New York City had an increase in collections.

Personal consumption in the state grew at a year-over-year average rate of 2.7 percent for the first five months of 2025, the report says, which was stronger than the average growth rate of 2.4 percent for the same period in 2024 and similar to the rate of inflation for the first half of this year.

The Chenango County Treasurer’s Office anticipates increasing its budget and applies surplus for sales tax revenues for the pending 2026 budget.