Seneca County officials presented a tentative $120.9 million budget Tuesday that would increase the county property tax rate by 3.6%, relying on additional sales tax revenue and reserves to help cover rising employee benefits, utility bills and capital costs.
The Board of Supervisors also adopted its 2027 salary law, returned a proposed kratom resolution to committee and amended airport lease procedures to preserve full-board approval.
The spending plan remains tentative. County Manager Melissa Taylor said it would be filed Nov. 12, giving the board time to make changes before the Dec. 20 adoption deadline.
Tax rate would rise 15 cents
The proposed county tax rate would increase from $4.19 to $4.34 per $1,000 of assessed value. For a home assessed at $130,000 with no change in its assessment, that would mean approximately $20 more annually in county property taxes.
The total property tax levy — the amount collected from property taxpayers — would rise more sharply, from approximately $16.59 million to $18.33 million, an increase of about 10.5%.
Taylor and Finance Director Julie Bub presented the figures as the product of months of work by department heads and a budget task force that began meeting in June.
The all-funds budget would increase approximately $5 million, or 4.3%. General fund spending would reach approximately $104 million, up about 3.2%.
The plan uses $1.65 million from the tax stabilization reserve to limit the property tax increase, along with $500,000 in highway fund balance.
It also anticipates $4 million more in sales tax revenue than the original 2026 budget, including approximately $2.5 million associated with the county’s decision to end its fuel sales tax cap.
That change returns affected gasoline and diesel purchases to percentage-based county sales taxation.
Health insurance remains a major expense. Bub said a 17.5% premium increase would add nearly $1 million, while retirement costs would increase approximately $340,000 and utilities about $430,000.
Combined salary and benefit expenses would rise approximately $1.8 million, or 2.5%. Bub explained that the comparison is affected by the payroll calendar: The 2026 budget included 27 pay periods, while 2027 returns to 26.
The proposal includes $1 million for debt service associated with the new highway building and mental health relocation renovations. It also maintains funding for capital planning and infrastructure needs, including courthouse work and repairs at the Law Enforcement Center.
Taylor said officials will monitor sales tax receipts, construction costs, state and federal funding, labor negotiations and health insurance expenses throughout 2027.
Salary law passes with supervisors’ pay unchanged
The board adopted Local Law 2 of 2026, establishing salaries for county officers and designated senior personnel and applying the 2027 management salary schedule.
The management schedule includes a 3% increase and 1.9% steps. The law lists salaries of $162,813 for the county manager, $151,127 for the finance director and $175,511 for the county attorney.
Supervisors’ salaries remain $15,603, with the chair receiving $19,800.
Those amounts reflect the board’s earlier decision to remove proposed raises for supervisors.
Supervisor Jeffrey Trout used Tuesday’s discussion to explain his opposition to increasing the board’s own compensation. He said his concerns were directed at supervisors’ raises, rather than the salaries of department heads or full-time elected officials.
Trout described conversations with residents struggling to pay taxes and household bills. He said the issue was a matter of principle even though supervisors’ raises would represent a small portion of the county budget.
The salary proposal had returned to committee in September after debate over approving compensation before the budget picture became clearer.
Tuesday’s law passed with Chairman Michael Enslow voting against it. The law provides for the salaries to apply beginning with the first payroll after Jan. 1, 2027, subject to its effective-date and filing provisions.
Airport leases will require full-board approval
The board approved airport lease and rental procedures after changing language that would have allowed approval through the Public Works Committee alone.
Seneca County Board of Supervisors
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Under the amendment, the airport manager can negotiate terms, but agreements must receive approval from both the committee and the full Board of Supervisors. The county attorney will review agreements before execution.
Supervisor Paul Shipley said the change retained the full board’s role in approving leases.
The board also scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. concerning proposed lease agreements for Hangars 4 and 7 at Finger Lakes Regional Airport. The hearing will take place at the County Office Building, 1 DiPronio Drive in Waterloo.
Kratom proposal goes back; service contracts advance
The board returned a resolution seeking stronger state controls on certain kratom-derived products to committee after Supervisor Beth Partee requested further discussion of emails received from the public.
The proposal sought restrictions on synthetic, adulterated and high-potency products, along with testing, labeling and other consumer protections. Sending it back means the board did not adopt that policy position Tuesday.
The board approved a separate resolution urging the state to establish and fully fund youth education about fentanyl and counterfeit pills.
Several direct service measures also passed:
- Mental health and substance-use contractor agreements totaling up to $994,166 for 2027.
- Mental health provider-agency contracts totaling approximately $1.87 million, supported through state aid and other identified funding without a mandated local share.
- A $27,180 increase in a psychiatric nurse practitioner’s contract to cover additional hours during the absence of the clinic’s full-time practitioner.
- Acceptance of a requested $492,944 state weatherization funding package for energy-efficiency work in eligible homes, with no local match.
- A $5,000 tourism grant supporting the It’s a Wonderful Life Museum and Festival.
The board also approved reallocating unused American Rescue Plan Act funding as the Dec. 31 spending deadline approaches. The resolution cited uncertainty over when the state might transfer the Willard campus to the county as an obstacle to spending money previously reserved for redevelopment.
Other approvals included two sheriff’s vehicles totaling $91,972.43, a highway pickup costing $46,998.50 and an agreement for county code enforcement to provide floodplain management services to the village of Waterloo.
The board ended the public portion of the meeting by voting to enter executive session for a personnel-related matter.
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