The Tompkins County Legislature adopted the 2004 County Budget at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, December 2, 2003. The budget, which passed by a 9 – 6 vote, will increase the County property tax rate by 15.7 percent.

The proposed budget on the table at the beginning of the meeting would have increased the tax rate by 19.65 percent. The legislators trimmed over $1 million from the amount to be raised by taxes before a majority agreed to approve the final spending plan.

The tax savings were achieved through additional program cuts and several revenue adjustments. None of the legislators expressed satisfaction with the $60.3 million local share budget ($116.9 million total, including state and federal pass-through funds), which reflects many service reductions and a shrinkage of the County workforce by about 20 full-time-equivalent positions.

At the meeting, amendments made two weeks previously – when the budget failed to pass – were re-introduced. Those amendments include a decrease of $100,000 in expenses estimated for the boarding-out of prisoners, and a restoration of $30,179 in funding for municipal youth services.

A new set of budget amendments approved by the Legislature include a $250,000 reduction in 2004 capital funding for the Public Safety facility, a proposal to seek an increase in mortgage taxes by .25 percent as an offset to public transit costs, an increase of $250,000 in anticipated sales tax revenue, the release of $230,000 in retirement reserves, and a $50,000 reduction to the mandated program estimates for the Department of Social Services.

Taken together, these amendments brought the tax rate increase down from 19.65 percent to 15.7 percent. The 2004 County property tax rate will be $7.47 per thousand of assessed value, up from $6.45 in 2003. A taxpayer with a home assessed at $100,000 will pay an additional $102 in 2004.

The 2004 budget was approved following nearly three hours of deliberations, including a recess to caucus. Legislators voting yes were Barbara Blanchard, Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, Kathy Luz Herrera, Tim Joseph, Dooley Kiefer, Michael Koplinka-Loehr, Michael Lane, Martha Robertson, and Nancy Schuler. Voting no were Dick Booth, Peter Penniman, Frank Proto, Tom Todd, George Totman, and Daniel Winch.

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