SYRACUSE -- Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney released her budget proposal Wednesday morning.
Mahoney's budget totals $1.2 billion. In it, the total property tax levy is staying the same, but actual property tax rates are going up in towns and going down in villages within the county. Starting this year, towns are no longer using sales tax revenue to offset their own taxes to the county, which means property tax rates in those towns are going up to compensate. The tax rate is going down in a lot of villages, such as Baldwinsville and Camillus, because the sales tax change only applies to towns, not villages.
Some legislators are very unhappy with Mahoney's proposed budget, including 3rd District Legislator William Meyer. He says the town of Cicero and Manlius are within his district, and that is one of the areas taxes are going up.
"I'm literally having hundreds of people telling me they're putting their houses up for sale now or they will be in the springtime, and the thing that really frustrates them is they view it as a total disconnect between the needs of the residents and the needs of the of government," Meyer says.
Meyer says he hopes to lower the increase over the next few weeks as legislators negotiate the budget. He is also asking his constituents for ideas on how to lower the tax rate.
Town of Salina Supervisor Mark Nicotra says the rate increase was expected, but he hopes the Legislature will work to lower the rate hike.
"We'll work really hard to lessen that impact," Nicotra says. "It's not going to be easy. The tax cap is not making it easier, so I'm going to have a few more grey hairs after this budget season."
Mahoney says the county property tax increase cap of 2% along with nearly 10 millions dollars worth of state mandated funding increases have made this a particularly difficult budget to draft. She says the state is heading down a difficult road with the rising costs of state programs, and she's trying to keep Onondaga County away from any potential trouble.
"Because it is now going to reach a crisis, something has to be done," Mahoney says. "What I'm trying to do is keep Onondaga County out of that crisis."
The legilslature will continue to disect the budget in the coming weeks. They're scheduled to vote October 11th.
