Madison County Treasurer Cindy Edick presented the 2022 tentative budget to the Madison County Board of Supervisors Nov. 4, 2021; the budget has the same total of $41,670,000 for 2021 and calls for no increase in the tax levy.
If adopted, the average tax rate on full value will decrease about 34 cents per $1,000 of taxable value. This means, on average, for a property valued at $100,000, the decrease in county taxes would be $34 in 2022.
The actual rates vary by municipality.
“The county’s financial outlook for 2022 is much different than what we were facing a year ago,” Edick said. “Last year at this time, we were bracing for drastic cuts in state aid, approaching sales tax revenue projections with an abundance of caution and questioning whether any federal stimulus funds would reach the county.
“Fortunately, most state aid reductions were restored, sales tax revenue has exceeded projections, and the county received a sizeable allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act.”
Edick says she was still cautious when estimating sales tax revenue for 2022, making sure ARPA funds are being used for items that are not reoccurring expenses and easing spending in departments to pre-pandemic levels.
“I would like to thank Treasurer Edick for her hard work on bringing the board a budget without increase,” said Madison County Board Chairman John M. Becker. “It was important that after raising taxes in 2021 to prepare for the worst, we were able to give back to the residents. I want to thank County Administrator Mark Scimone and the department heads for finding ways to use the ARPA funds and host community money from the Oneida Indian Nation to pay for one-time expenses. We were able to increase staffing, add programs and services, all while keeping the burden off of the Madison County tax payers.”
There will be a public hearing on the tentative budget at 10:10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. The public is welcome to attend or submit public comment by email to publiccomment@madisoncounty.ny.gov. The budget is set to be adopted at the Dec. 2, 2021, Board of Supervisors meeting.