Monroe County Budget released
Update: There is a more comprehensive article about the budget than the one I used to start this post hereÂ
Maggie just released the Monroe County Budget proposal. One week after elections.Â
Recall that the there was a debate over when the Budget proposal should be released.  Before or after an election (read open or closed government). The Republican position was to release it after the election so here we are.
Next year when the County Executive is running again - will we debating the budget as part of the election or will the County Executive be hiding behind the new process of releasing budget post election?Â
Time will tell
I haven’t looked through the budget yet but was struck by a few things in the article in the D&C. The article has a nice link to the budget proposal (all 6 megs).
Brooks proposed to the Monroe County Legislature a $1.02 billion budget, the largest in county history. Spending will increase by $26 million, or 2.6 percent. Yet Brooks was able to trim spending by about $400,000 on programs exclusively under the country’s control, or those not mandated by state or federal governments.
[snip]….cuttiing 30 full-time positions [snip]Â …Most are unfilled positions; only five full-time employees will be let go.
Day-care funds that the county spends to help low-income families get subsidized child care are slated to drop from $46.6 million this year to $43.6 million next year.
Yet the biggest news for taxpayers is that county property taxes won’t increase. Brooks said the tax rate would remain at $9.10 per $1,000 assessed value, or taxes of $910 for a home assessed at $100,000.
Unfunded mandates from the state and federal government? So how much exactly did our Republican national government cost us anyway?Â
Spending increases by 26 million dollars, costs are contained by .4 million dollars (I mean $400,000 dollars looks a lot more than $.4 Million)Â
How does the $3 million cut in the Day Care funding factor into the $.4M of cost containment or cost cuts.Â
The budget will make interesting reading to be sure. Â
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Just read through the D&C article myself. A few excerpts that I found precious.
“The county is also benefiting from increased property values; it estimates collecting $321 million in taxes, up from $305 million this year.”
In other words, Maggie (with the help of her surrounding town cronies) has raised our taxes. Sure wish the market values of our homes were going up 5-6% per year.
“She challenged them (County Legislators) to not become embroiled in ‘nasty partisan politics’ as they debate the county’s fiscal problems.”
I suppose challenging her proposed tax hike on the basis that it hurts families in lower income brackets the most is off the table. I’m sure this would qualify as way too partisan! Sounds awfully similar to George Bush’s condemnations of class warfare. I guess working folks are no longer allowed to stick up for themselves to maintain a level playing field. Besides, hasn’t the state legislature already rejected her proposed sales tax increase?
Moreover, “Minority Leader Carla Palumbo, D-Rochester, said Democrats have proposals on the table to help relieve future deficits, such as towns, villages and Rochester paying for county sheriff services.” I guess ignoring the Democrats’ plan is considered a nonpartisan approach to governing.
[...] But are we going to see this discussed this election cycle? Probably not. Remember when Maggie Brooks moved the budget approval cycle past the November Election? [...]