Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Taxation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Legislature refers request to continue 1% local sales-tax surcharge back to audit committee after debate
Summary
Chautauqua County legislators voted 11–7 to refer a resolution requesting continuation of a 1% sales-tax surcharge to the state back to the legislature's Audit and Control Committee for additional review and local input, after an extended debate over the proposed 85/15 county-to-municipal split and the county's fund balance.
Chautauqua County legislators on Feb. 26 voted 11–7 to refer a resolution asking the state to continue authorization for a 1% local sales-tax surcharge back to the Audit and Control Committee for further review.
The referral motion, made by Legislator Larson and seconded by Legislator Nelson, followed more than 40 minutes of debate in which Larson said the county should reconsider both whether to seek the full 1% and whether the distribution split—85% to the county and 15% to cities, towns and villages—is still appropriate given local fiscal conditions.
Larson said the county’s current unappropriated fund balance is about $40,000,000 and cited a county policy baseline of roughly $15,000,000. He noted that New York capped counties’ Medicaid exposure around 2005 and that the county sold its long-running nursing home in 2014, arguing those changes reduce the historical rationale for an 85/15 split. Larson moved to refer the resolution to Audit and Control to solicit input from town supervisors, village mayors and city leaders.
Legislator Johnson and others asked whether there was time to revisit the request before the state legislature’s window closed; the parliamentary advice cited in the meeting indicated there was time for at least another month. Legislator Buchanan and others supported referral so municipalities could weigh in.
The clerk called a roll on the motion to refer. The recorded votes were: Anthony (No); Bankowski (Yes); Buchanan (Yes); Carl (Yes); Dickey (Yes); Gustafson (No); Harmon (No); Heizer (No); Johnson (Yes); Landy (Yes); Larson (Yes); Nelson (Yes); Niebel (No); Pavlok (Yes); Penhallow (No); Proctor (Yes); Vanstrom (No); Chairman Chagnon (Yes). The motion to refer carried 11–7.
Why it matters: The 1% surcharge would change the county’s revenue stream and the share sent to local municipalities. Legislator Larson urged broader local input on the percentage and the proposed distribution, saying that some municipalities face fiscal stress and that the county’s fiscal picture has changed since the surcharge allocations were first set.
The resolution will return to the Audit and Control Committee for further consideration and outreach to municipal leaders before the legislature takes final legislative action to request continuation from the state.
