County Says Numerous State Mandates Affecting Taxpayers

Cortland County has, like the other counties throughout the state, have faced “significant” financial pressure due to ongoing state mandates which require the county to administer and also fund over 40 state-controlled programs through local resources.

The county says programs including Medicaid, public assistance, criminal defense, welfare, and preschool, have taken a significant amount of the county budget with the county citing little room for local priorities and ultimately leading to property taxes being some of the highest in the country.

Cortland County says nearly 80% of the annual budget goes towards funding state-mandated programs, but also some federal-mandated programs. A shortfall on the budget then leads the county to cover it by local property taxes. With costs continuing to rise, the county says it has put a strain on local resources and has driven up taxes on residents.

“Cortland County is working hard to balance our budget while minimizing the impact on taxpayers,” said Legislative Chair Kevin Fitch. “We understand that our residents are already stretched thin, and we are committed to finding solutions that avoid placing even more financial burdens on them.”

The county works each year they say in working to balance the budget with increasing costs from state-mandated programs with the county itself having a limited control over the eligibility, and cost of the programs. Due to this, the county says officials are forced to make difficult choices to fund the mandates and maintain essential county services.

“Counties are forced to divert funds away from local services to pay for state programs,” added Fitch. “We have little to no control over these costs, yet we are required to find a way to pay for them, which often means relying on property taxes and sales tax.”

Cortland County has been looking into reallocating the current share of sales tax collections it divides to the municipalities throughout the county. The reasoning to reallocate is to offset the increasing financial burden the county says has been occurring due to the state mandates. The county argues reallocating the sales tax distribution will also give the county better flexibility in managing services provided by the county and having fiscal stability.

“Sales tax revenue is one of the few streams that can provide us with the resources to offset these mandated costs,” said Fitch. “If we can reallocate a larger share of sales tax revenue to the County, we can reduce our reliance on property tax increases and continue providing essential services without overburdening our residents.”

The county says they have joined numerous other counties throughout the state requesting the state fully fund any new or any expanded mandates to help alleviate the costs counties must pay for them. In addition, the county said it will continue to review options to increase its share of local sales tax revenue.