BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON – St. Lawrence County residents will see a drop in the tax rate despite a more than $2 million increase in the tax levy in 2025 after legislators adopted the 2025 budget.

Legislators unanimously approved the budget during the Dec. 2 full board meeting.

The budget raises spending overall by $8.5 million and cuts the tax rate by 18 cents.

"Thank you once again, thank you Miss (County Administrator Ruth) Doyle, to the budget team, to everyone involved. I don't like to see it keeps going up but I know how it is," Chairman David Forsythe said.

Forsythe complimented Doyle and her team for their efforts to put together an effective and efficient budget once again.

"They keep doing their due diligence on this, so hopefully it will make its wait through," Forsythe said.

Doyle said the true value tax rate will drop by 18 cents, from $7.15 per $1,000 of assessed value on a home, to $6.97 per $1,000 of assessed value.

That represents the lowest rate since 1983, she said.

Legislator Jim Reagen took a moment to share his congratulations to all involved in the budget making process as well.

"For us to have brought our tax rate back to what it was in the 80's is a real testament to our department heads, our employees and this legislature for holding the line on spending as much as possible," he said.

With pricing continuing to rise, the 2025 budget is a true testament to the efforts of county officials, Reagen said.

"This is not the first time we've done this and it sends a strong message to the people of the county that we have listened to them," he said.

"A lot of important services that we are providing and continue to provide, we do our best to thank them for being as efficient and effective as possible," Reagen continued.

While the budget has now risen to over $300 million, Legislator Rita Curran called into question the amount of mandated spending that the county cannot opt out of.

"We probably don't have this here but I'd like to see us put out the amount of money that we spend in this budget that is unfunded mandates by the governor that we on our own would not be putting on the back of the taxpayer," Curran said.

Forsythe said it was somewhere in the neighborhood of "98 or 99 million I think."

"There are a lot of things that we have every year that we don't have to do but go unfunded and mandated by the governor," Curran said.

The county has decreased the tax rate nearly every year for the past decade, the only exception was in 2020, when the rate was held flat.

"We are proud of and remain proud of this budget," County Administrator Ruth Doyle said.

Doyle previously said the 2025 budget accomplishes three key goals, including lowering the true value tax rate once again, preserving programs for county residents and ensuring the people who administer those programs remain in place.

Appropriations in the budget rise from $296.5 million to $304.7 million, while revenue is set to increase $5.5 million, from $242.4 million to $247.9 million.

The property tax levy will also increase, rising from $54,051,752 to $56,545,493.

Contributions to the New York State Retirement System will also increase $1 million, from $6.9 million to $7.9 million.

Health insurance expenses will rise $2.7 million, up from $30.9 million to $33.6 million.

Sales tax revenue is expected to decline, with county officials budgeting $78.5 million for 2025, down from the $80 million they budgeted last year.

Another major change will be the use of appropriated fund balance revenue, with $300,000 slated for use in the 2025 budget. Legislators opted to not use any fund balance in the 2024 budget.