The Oswego County Legislature closed out the year by adopting its operating budget for 2024. On Dec. 14, the body approved the $252 million budget which includes a real property tax levy of $46,361,834 and an equalized generic tax rate of $5.60 per thousand dollars of assessed value, a decrease of 9.5% from last year.

Actual tax rates may increase or decrease compared to 2023 based on each municipality’s individual equalization rate, which is determined and set by New York State. The equalization rate is a measure of a municipality’s assessed property value compared to actual property value. Rates may also be affected by each municipality’s mandated workers’ compensation and community college costs.

Although the property tax levy increased by $1.66 million this year, it complies with the New York State property tax cap – which is higher this year due to the 2023 county budget coming in significantly lower than the allowed tax cap.

“The Legislature, administration and department heads worked hard to develop a budget that demonstrates the county’s commitment to sound fiscal management through multi-year planning and careful use of funding sources,” said Oswego County Legislature Chairman James Weatherup, District 9. “We made every effort to protect taxpayers, knowing that many households and businesses are still struggling to make ends meet following rising costs and interest rates over the last year.”

He also remarked on some of the challenges the County faced this year – from the loss of federal Medicaid funding to the higher costs of many state-mandated programs – in developing the 2024 budget.

“The State’s decision to keep $2.8 million of federal monies traditionally ear-marked for Oswego County to supplement the high cost of Medicaid had a tremendous impact on our budget,” Chairman Weatherup said. “Not only did it lead to an increase of our property tax levy, but ironically, the move also caused Oswego County to initially exceed the state’s own property tax cap – which was instituted to control the growth of local taxes.

“We worked hard to re-group from this and the many other challenges placed before us as we developed this budget, which meets the needs of our citizens and stabilizes the county’s financial position going into 2024,” he concluded.

Oswego County Administrator Philip Church also said that, in his 16 years as budget officer, the 2024 budget had been the most challenging to put together.

Along with the loss of Medicaid funding, other external influences on the County’s 2024 budget include a $1.8 million increase to the New York State Retirement Fund, a $3.6 million rise in the State’s mandatory rates counties must pay for foster care and adoption services, a $1.1 million loss of revenue caused by a U.S. Supreme Court decision on tax delinquent property sales, and the $1.7 million added expense to provide state-mandated medical services for incarcerated individuals.

County leadership found opportunities to offset rising costs in the 2024 budget. Internally, the District Attorney’s Office and the Health Department were able to lower their impact on the budget and sales tax revenues – used to directly balance the property tax levy – remain strong. Next year’s budget conservatively forecasts these returns at $61 million, 21% of which will be shared with municipalities in an effort to help lower their property tax levies as well.

Oswego County is now receiving funds from opioid lawsuit settlements. The County will continue to receive annual payments over the next 16 years, all of which will support vital addiction services around the county and fund in-depth research to better understand the extent of the local opioid problem.

Another revenue source Oswego County will continue to utilize in 2024 is American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The County reserved $10 million of its original award for governmental initiatives aimed at improving services and enhancing the quality of life for residents.

“Among these initiatives is the re-design and enhancement of how Oswego County provides employment and training services as we position the county to take advantage of the $100 billion Micron investment on the horizon,” said Church.

“The growth of construction, manufacturing, technology and health care industries across Central New York has created a demand for a larger skilled workforce and a unique opportunity for many residents to obtain good-paying jobs,” he added.

To better align county resources with employment needs within its communities, some key functions of Oswego County Department of Social Services’ Division of Employment and Training (DET) are being moved to the newly created Department of Workforce Development. Freed from federal restrictions placed on traditional DET operations, this new department will focus on innovative and effective workforce development strategies and services targeting Oswego County’s specific employment needs.

“With labor shortages and a lack of skilled candidates across all industries, workforce development is a main topic of interest in the current local economy,” said Rachel Pierce, director of Oswego County Employment and Training and executive director of the Oswego County Workforce Development Board. “The need for new recruitment tactics and training initiatives will only continue to grow in the coming decades.

“We need to prepare now – to research successful programs and develop strategies for delivering them effectively; to grow our partnerships with community agencies, businesses and training institutions; to acquire additional grant funding and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations – to better support our residents as they pursue their career goals, maintain a strong work ethic and strive for self-sufficiency,” she added.

Oswego County Administrator Church thanked County leadership, department heads and staff for contributing ideas and submitting budget proposals that helped achieve the County’s goal of delivering a timely and reasonable budget for 2024.