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Finance Committee approves county budget, St. Lawrence County Legislators to vote Monday on proposal

Posted 10/20/15

By JIMMY LAWTON CANTON -- St. Lawrence County Finance Committee approved the county’s proposed $228 million budget that cuts spending by $5 million and raises the tax levy by $400,000. The $228 …

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Finance Committee approves county budget, St. Lawrence County Legislators to vote Monday on proposal

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- St. Lawrence County Finance Committee approved the county’s proposed $228 million budget that cuts spending by $5 million and raises the tax levy by $400,000.

The $228 million budget reduces overall spending by $5 million compared to the 2015 budget and will cut the property tax rate by 5 cents from $8.52 to $8.47 per thousand dollars of assessed value.

The proposal passed 12 to 3 with Rick Perkins D-Potsdam, John Burke R-Norfolk and Travis Dann R-Gouverneur, opposed.

The proposal would be under the state’s tax cap, which restricts the county from raising property taxes by more than roughly 1 percent this year.

According to an executive summary, the county would reduce staffing to 810 positions. It calls for the reduction of 16 full-time equivalency positions in the Department of Social Services, three positions in Community Services and four positions from Public Health.

To achieve this reduction the summary says staff will be shared and reallocated across multiple departments.

The county is projecting a $3.7 million in revenues in 2016. The county plans to spend $700,000 less on New York State Retirement next year.

Conversely it is projecting an additional $2.3 million in health insurance spending and a $3 million reduction in sales tax revenues.

The budget still needs approval from the Board of Legislators who are expected to vote Monday.