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Allegany County treasurer: 2024 sales tax down 4.9% but final receipts met budget
Summary
County Treasurer Terry Ross told the Allegany County Budget Committee that final 2024 sales tax receipts were down about 4.9% from 2023 but exceeded the budget by $439,000.
ALLEGANY COUNTY — County Treasurer Terry Ross told the Allegany County Budget Committee that final 2024 sales tax receipts were down about 4.9% from 2023 but exceeded the county’s budget by $439,000.
Ross presented the report after the committee approved the minutes from its Dec. 18, 2024, meeting. "We ended the year with a decrease from the year before of about 4.9%, but we made budget, which is the good part. We made budget by $439,000," Ross said.
The report matters because sales tax is a primary local revenue source for Allegany County and influences planning for the coming year. Ross told the committee the county’s 2025 sales-tax expectations have been set conservatively: the committee lowered its forecast for 2025 to 28.5 (the transcript does not specify units). The county has received one payment so far for 2025, and that first payment is about $12,000 below the comparable payment last year.
Committee members asked a series of follow-up questions about the 2024 decline. One member asked, "So, we're down 4.9%. How does that compare with other nearby counties?" Ross said Allegany County appears to be one of the larger percentage declines in New York based on preliminary data, noting he had not yet received the final statewide report from NYSEAC. He and others discussed possible reasons for the drop, including a leveling off of online shopping after the COVID-era spikes and the county’s relatively small retail base compared with larger counties.
Ross summarized the scale and context of the decline without identifying a single definitive cause: "One of the things that has been mentioned ... is that the online shopping has leveled off. You know, we hit we had the big highs and the big lows when we first got it. We hit a big high again in 2020 with COVID and through 21, and now that has really just leveled off. It's not that we're not getting that. We still are at a good level, but it's just not fluctuating like it did before." He and a committee member also noted that Allegany County lacks the retail outlets in nearby Albany County that might otherwise offset lost receipts.
Votes at a glance: the committee approved the minutes of Dec. 18, 2024, on a voice vote; the chair declared the motion carried after members voted "Aye." Later the chair asked for a motion to adjourn; a member moved to adjourn and the meeting proceeded to closure.
The committee did not take further formal action on revenue assumptions during this meeting; Ross said the county’s 2025 forecast is conservative and the staff will continue to monitor receipts as additional monthly payments arrive.
The committee meeting record shows six members present and one absent at roll call. No additional budget amendments or formal directives to staff were recorded in the transcript portion provided.
