Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks proposed a 2015 budget Wednesday night that will keep the property tax rate stable. It's her final budget, since she cannot run again due to term limits, and she says keeping taxes from rising is a challenge, given the big impact the county always faces from state mandates.
"It honors our longstanding commitment to property tax stability. The rate is not changing; it will be $8.99 (per thousand of assessed valuation). It's a balanced budget and complies with the Taxpayer Protection Act, it holds the line on non-mandated spending"
Brooks says 85 percent of the county's budget spending is due to state and federal mandates. Brooks says the budget streamlines county operations, but maintains a commitment to strong quality of life services.
Her budget cuts 17 positions, with 14 of those being actual layoffs, the others are currently vacant.
However she says some of those 14 people may apply for other jobs within county government.
Brooks says her budget proposal closes a $31 million budget gap. Democratic Legislative Minority Leader Carrie Andrews criticized the amount of money being spent toward child care subsidies. Brooks says the county provides the amount of money mandated by the state, and she says Monroe County is spending more than other upstate counties on those subsidies.
