If Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney’s 2019 budget proposal remains unchanged, residents will pay an additional $30 a year in sewer unit fees.
Mahoney presented her $1,326,216,538 budget to the Onondaga County Legislature Friday, Sept. 14, which she touted as “a balanced budget that continues Onondaga County’s proud history of frugal fiscal solutions.” Little of the proposal is likely to spark controversy, but the sewer fee hike stood out. Mahoney said the hike was necessary to address the county’s aging system.
“In the 2013 budget, I told you that our sewer unit charge was about $57 lower than that of similar systems. I asked you then to support a gradual increase of 5 percent per year for the next five years,” Mahoney said. “It is now five years later, and while we made progress, our current rate puts us $41 behind our targeted sewer rate.”
She noted that while the county’s roads and pipes are in good shape, they require “ongoing investment” to stay that way.
“No one wants to pay for sewer infrastructure, but it’s the right thing to do,” she said.
The budget, up 1.9 percent from the modified 2018 budget, which totaled $1,301,554,187, proposes a property tax rate of $5.04 per thousand, which is down .2 percent from 2018. Mahoney said that’s the lowest it’s ever been.
“We continue to do what we can to carefully nudge the rate down, and we’ve done so by cutting the size and cost of your county government,” she said.
Mahoney noted that the size of the county government has dropped by nearly 1,200 employees since she was elected.
In addition, she credited increases in real property value and sales tax revenue with keeping taxes down. She also noted that the county is in better-than-expected financial shape for 2018.
“We are on track to finish 2018 with a surplus, which would prevent our having to use any of the fund balance this year, including the amount that you approved this year,” she said.
Any use of fund balance requested for 2019, Mahoney said, will be replenished through state funding thanks to shared services agreements with the city and the city school district.
Other highlights of the budget include:
- A proposal to merge the county’s 911 system with the Department of Emergency Management
- Funding for additional vehicles for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department, as well as additional vehicles for the county probation department
- $250,000 for the Land Bank
- $100,000 for the Museum of Science and Technology, which Mahoney stressed is “not a permanent funding stream”
“My guess is that this should be a pretty smooth budget process,” Mahoney said.
The county legislature will hold a public hearing on Mahoney’s budget proposal at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4. They’ll vote on a final budget Oct. 9.
