Allegany County commissioners direct staff to advertise 6¢ property-tax increase and 0.10 income-tax bump amid $5.7M state-driven shortfall

Allegany County commissioners on an internal work session directed staff to prepare notices for a 6-cent increase to the county property tax rate and a 0.10-point increase to the local income tax (from 3.03 to 3.13) as part of a hybrid strategy to plug an estimated $5.7 million shortfall stemming from state budget actions.

The action, taken after more than two hours of discussion, asks staff to advertise the property-tax change and to update revenue projections; commissioners said they will revisit the numbers after the state’s final actions are known. The board agreed to return with a formal adoption schedule and to consider backing off the increases if the state restores funds.

County staff framed the options as blunt choices between immediate revenue increases and deep cuts to services and staff. “Every penny generates basically $540,000 of revenue,” Adam Patterson, county staff, told commissioners when explaining how much additional revenue each penny of property tax would produce. He said a one-cent property-tax increase raises about $540,000 countywide and that a penny on a $100,000 home equals roughly $10 per year.

Commissioners and staff described three revenue levers and multiple expenditure scenarios. Key figures and constraints discussed: - Property tax: staff said each…