Treasurer Cindy Edick presented the tentative 2025 County Budget to the Board of Supervisors on November 7, 2024. The Tentative Budget provides a spending plan totaling $165,774,500, an increase of $7,332,380 or 4.6%. The proposed budget is in compliance with the tax cap, reflecting a tax levy increase of about $1.2 million, or 2.55%.
The majority of this increase is driven by increases in salaries and fringe benefits, and an increase in the amount of sales tax revenue shared with the towns and villages. These increases are almost entirely offset by increases in revenue from non-property tax items such as sales tax, departmental income such as ambulance charges and landfill user fees, and State Aid for social services programs and highway projects.
In comparison to other New York State counties, Madison County’s tax rates may appear on the higher end not only because of sales tax sharing, but also because the County provides its municipalities with portions of its State Aid from the Settlement Agreement between New York State, the Oneida Indian Nation, and Oneida County, and its State Aid for hosting class III gaming facilities. It also funds services that benefit its municipalities, such as animal control, Sheriffs road patrol, soil and water conservation, and a variety of not-for-profit agencies. The County recently made a considerable investment in emergency medical services (EMS) that benefit the municipalities, primarily in the towns of Sullivan, Hamilton, and Lebanon.
In addition, the County provides shared services such as highway, information technology, tax collection, and public information services. These shared services require the use of County personnel and equipment, or are fulfilled through contracts between the County and outside agencies. In some instances, the benefited municipalities contribute towards part of these expenses. The County also provides mental health services in schools, and School Resource Officers through the Sheriffs Office, for districts that elect to participate. The school districts share a portion of the costs of these programs.
Treasurer Cindy Edick’s 2025 Budget Message
The Madison County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the tentative budget on November 21, 2024 at 11:10 AM, and the vote to adopt the 2025 Budget on December 3, 2024.
Madison County understands that cost of living has been going up and up over the past few years. The Madison County Treasurer and Budget Officer worked with Departments to trim the budget where it could be in order to keep the increase in the tax levy as low as possible, while ensuring our valuable services to our residents remain intact, and doing what is best for all of Madison County. Thank you all for your hard work.
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