SOLVAY -- Taxpayers in the Village of Solvay are speaking out against the new sales tax formula between Onondaga County and the city of Syracuse.

The new formula has lowered county property taxes in the Village of Solvay, yet the village property taxes have increased.

In a meeting at the village library organized by taxpayer Mary Bosco, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney tried to explain the reasoning behind the new agreement, while acknowledging these changes will take some getting accustomed to.

Taxpayers questioned why the city is getting sales tax revenue instead of towns and villages like in the past. Mahoney told the small group that the answer to that question is two fold. First, this new agreement keeps the city from creating its own sales tax. Secondly, it supports the economic hub of this region, as she called it, which provides jobs to thousands of folks who live in the suburbs.

Many of those employers, like Syracuse University and St. Joseph's Hospital, are exempt from paying property taxes.

"We as a region need to help pay for the cost of police and fire and roads if we expect that those employers are going to stick around here in our region," Mahoney said.

But Mary Bosco, who was the most outspoken of the small group of taxpayers, said she's not buying that explanation.

"Like she (Mahoney) said, a lot of them don't pay taxes, so we're paying their taxes. So how fair is that? It's not...and what she's doing is not fair," Bosco said.

Mahoney said the new sales tax formula actually saves taxpayers in Solvay about $150 per year because of the decrease in county property taxes. She said it's up to taxpayers to decide how they spend that extra money, whether it's on local trash removal or police departments. Keeping certain services around accounts for the increase in village property taxes, she said.

There was also a lot of talk about an alleged $75 million surplus in Onondaga County -- with many taxpayers urging Mahoney to dip into those funds to help towns and villages.

Mahoney said the notion of a surplus isn't entirely accurate. She said there is an $8 million surplus in the county from sales tax because of the recent spike in gas prices. However, Mahoney said the county has a $17 million deficit for mandated costs to Albany.

The rest of that money is part of the county's fund balance, which is only used in emergency situations and provides a good credit rating when the Onondaga County looks to take out loans with much lower interest rates.

"There's a desperation for relief and they want to use that money," Mahoney said. "But it's just not the right thing to do if it's going to result in higher costs down the road."

What do you think of the new sales tax formula between Onondaga County and the city of Syracuse? Is it fair? How would you change it?