The county’s finances have improved dramatically since the 2008 Great Recession aftershocks. According to 12 years of Board of Legislature minutes, these votes were almost all unanimous and bipartisan; Republicans, who are in the majority, and Democrats both played a role.

A recent ad by county Republicans even illustrates this. “Working hand in hand with (our) St. Lawrence County Treasurer, (we) invested (the) fund balance to earn 20million (5 million a year) over the last 5 years.” Our highly skilled County Treasurer, Rene Cole, a Democrat, has been pivotal in the county’s recovery.  And the county treasurers during the downturn were both Republicans.

Yes, the county tax rate has declined but how much of the decline is the result of county spending and tax policy decisions, and how much is attributable to rising property assessments? A declining tax rate does not necessarily translate into lower tax bills for individual property owners. For example, one county tax bill increased from $895 in 2025 to $1,025 in 2026, a 14.5% increase. As property assessments rise, the county can generate additional revenue even when the tax rate declines.

And all of us have helped fund the county’s recovery with the 1% increase in the sales tax enacted in 2013, bringing the sales tax to 8%. In an excellent example of “all politics are local,” national Republican policies are slamming us with higher prices, yet simultaneously increasing sales tax revenue for the county:  

Tariffs cost consumers a “dollar for dollar” price increase, meaning “If retailers’ acquisition costs for a good rise $1 because of tariffs, they charge $1 more for that good seven months later,” according to an April Federal Reserve study.  (yahoo!finance, April, 2026)

The war in Iran drives up fuel prices, increasing tax revenue. The NYSERDA website shows these per unit price jumps from mid-September 2025 to mid-September 2026:  Heating oil up 70%, from $3.70 to $5.73; kerosene up 53%, from $3.37 to $6.01; propane up 10%, from $2.21 to $2.44.  Some of us will be cold this winter and all of us poorer.

Gas prices get the headlines yet diesel drives the economy, bringing us virtually every consumer good. Diesel has climbed nationally from $3.37 a gallon a year ago to an alarming $6.13. (macrotrends.net) As this ripples through the economy, the county pulls in more in sales taxes.

Yet these higher prices slam the county as well, and the tariffs and conflicts with Canada hurt us all. With Republican policies hitting our pocketbooks and neighbors hard, perhaps it’s time for a change. Vote “blue” this fall across the ballot.

Mike Zagrobelny and  Ginger Storey-Welch
Chair and Vice-Chair of the St. Lawrence County
Democratic Committee