Schoharie County budget calls for 30 job cuts

PHOTOGRAPHER: Edward Munger Jr.

Schoharie County would cut its workforce by 30 positions under a 2012 budget proposal reflecting the devastation wrought by August flooding.

County budget officer Paul Brady on Thursday said the $59.7 million tentative budget calls for a tax levy increase of 7.1 percent, despite a 7 percent cut in spending from roughly $64 million in the current plan. The hard-hit county will likely opt to override the state’s newly imposed 2 percent property tax increase cap.

The tax levy would increase from the current $17.89 million to $19.16 million under the plan.

Brady said the tentative budget would take $1 million from the county’s fund balance — its reserve of funds unspent in previous budget years — to help reduce the tax hike. The county had roughly $7.5 million in its fund balance before the flood but has spent about $5 million of it since.

Using $1 million from the fund balance would leave only about $1.5 million for unforeseen expenses, but Brady said the fund should be boosted next year by flood reimbursements by the federal government and insurers.

Assuming there are no changes by the county Board of Supervisors or its Finance Committee, tax rates on property in the various towns would increase from 2.3 percent in Summit to 8.89 percent in Fulton. The rates vary by how close a town’s assessments are to actual market value.