BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg's new city manager says his budget proposal will include a $117,165 cut in the tax levy.

On Monday, Chronis told the city that the expenses continue to exceed revenues and if the city doesn't fix this problem they will soon be at the constitutional tax limit. That limit refers to the maximum amount the city is legally allowed to collect from taxpayers. A state created formula is used to make the calculation.

Chronis shared what he called a tax levy reduction plan to give the city breathing room in its strained finances.

Under his plan the city would reduce the tax levy $117,165 for the next five years for a total reduction of $585,825.

Chronis said the biggest change in revenues in recent years is a drop in sales tax.

That problem began after St. Lawrence County officials decided to change the distribution of the sales tax formula in a manner that significantly reduced the city's take.

The action by the county prompted  legal battles between the two entities. In the end the city opted to pre-empt the county by collecting sales tax generated in Ogdensburg rather than receiving funds via the county's formula.

However, the change, so far, has not helped the city make up for the revenue losses.

Chronis explained that sales tax is generally based on destination rather than origin. So people who have something delivered to their homes from Ogdensburg Lowes, would likely pay sales tax to the county rather than the city.

Chronis noted that the city faces many challenges, but said he plans to present a budget that proposes a tax levy of no more than $5,599.055. That would be $117,165 cut from the previous year and would decrease the tax rate from $16 to $15.69. However, that assumes a .5 percent increase in property values.

Chronis said his budget will also decrease the use of fund balance and "other one-time" funding to cover recurring and operations costs.

He said such costs must be balanced by revenues.

He also said that a least of department needs that can't be covered by the levy or fund balance will be generated. He said the council will need to review the list and evaluate which needs warrant a stray from the proposed budget parameters.

Finally, Chronis said his budget will establish a process for longer-term spending through capital improvement plans.

City councilors offered appreciation for Chronis’s budget process preview and said they liked what they heard.

City Mayor Michael Tooley, however, remained cautiously optimistic about being able to pass a budget as slim as that proposed by Chronis. He noted that the city has faced many cuts in recent years.

Councilor Jennifer Stevenson shared that sentiment. She noted that further cuts to the city would have major impacts on the remaining services and feared there is little "fat" left in the budget and that deeper cuts would be painful.