Plan would put rate at 1964 levels.
Syracuse, NY -- Onondaga County’s property tax rate would fall 2.7 percent next year under a budget that County Executive Joanie Mahoney will propose today.
The reduction would knock $19 off the county property tax bill for a house assessed at $100,000.
The $1.19 billion budget plan, which Mahoney is scheduled to present to the county Legislature this morning, would lower the county property tax levy from this year’s $183.9 million to $180.8 million in 2011. It would cut the tax rate from $7.04 per $1,000 of assessed value to $6.85 per $1,000 of assessed value.
It would be the first time since 1964 that the county’s property tax rate was under $7 per $1,000 of assessed value, Mahoney said.
She said her budget will call for the layoffs of five to 10 county employees — far fewer than the 138 workers laid off this year to balance the books.
She said she will not call for worker furloughs or for county employees to postpone pay raises — ideas she pushed last year. Those proposals were fought by county employees and were not approved by the Legislature.
Mahoney’s budget will call for increases in some park usage fees that she said she will make public today.
Despite rising costs, the drop in the tax levy would be possible for two main reasons:
First, the county this year changed its sales tax sharing formula, giving $64 million less to its 19 towns and 15 villages. Mahoney said the county will use most of that money — about $60 million — to close a budget gap created by such things as an increase in Medicaid and pension costs, an early retirement program, pay raises mandated by union contracts and debt payments for a new radio system for emergency service providers.
The early retirement program is sponsored by the state, but counties that opt into it must pay some of its costs upfront. That one-time cost will be $6.6 million for Onondaga County in 2011, but it will result in at least 312 employees leaving county employment. Mahoney said the county will need to hire people to replace about half of those workers. But their replacements will be hired at significantly lower wage rates and will fall under the state’s new, less generous Tier 5 pension plan, resulting in payroll savings and reduced pension costs savings, she said.
Mahoney said she hoped more of the sales tax revenues that the county took from the towns and villages can be used to reduce the tax levy in future years.
The county is estimating it will collect $288 million in sales taxes next year, an increase of 1.3 percent.
Mahoney also will announce that the county will take over the city of Syracuse’s purchasing department and has offered to do the same for all of the towns and villages — part of Mahoney’s push to consolidate the administration of government services.
Mahoney did not provide specific figures Tuesday but said the county will offset much, if not all, of its increased cost of administering purchasing services through savings derived from its increased buying power. Because it will be buying in greater volume, the county expects to buy supplies and equipment at lower prices, she said.
The county will also seek to save money by contracting with private vendors to provide health care and food services at the Justice Center jail and county penitentiary.
Mahoney’s budget also includes $360,000 to pay towns to plow an additional 60 miles of county roads next year. Currently, the county plows 500 miles of the 800 miles of county roads and pays the towns to plow the other 300 miles. Next year, the towns will plow 360 miles of county roads.
Mahoney said she hopes to see the county get out of the snow plowing business after May of 2012. In many cases, town plows travel over county roads anyway but lift their blades when they do, she said.
Her budget plan is subject to change by county lawmakers. The Legislature can make additions or subtractions to her plan until Oct. 15. If it does not act on her proposal by that date, it would have until Nov. 2 to make cuts to the budget but would not be allowed to add to it. If there is no final budget passed by the Legislature by Nov. 2, Mahoney’s budget automatically becomes the adopted budget.
--Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or 470-3148.