Erie County Council voted on Nov. 20 to adopt the county2026 general fund budget and to set the county real-estate tax millage at 6.94, with both final actions passing 4-3 after extended debate and numerous action-sheet amendments.

The council recorded the general-fund adoption (Ordinance No. 65 20 26) and the tax levy (Ordinance No. 66 20 25/20 26) after amending multiple fund ordinances, recording transfers and approving grants. The final millage — 6.94 — was approved in the same 4-3 split as the main budget vote.

Several specific allotments and action-sheet items approved in the session include:

- $250,000: a general-fund supplemental appropriation to create a new line item for an emergency grant to Second Harvest Food Bank (Ordinance No. 70, first read and moved on the record).
- $249,990: grant to "Black Wall Street" (action sheet 3) approved by a 4-3 vote.
- $263,190: increase for the summer youth jobs program (action sheet 32).
- $1,533,750: transfer to Pleasant Ridge Manor to increase its transfer from the general fund to meet the facility's proposed budget; council recorded the transfer and voted to approve related amendments.
- $250,000: increase to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission fund (action sheet 4 / ARPA action sheet changes).
- New position: a data-center/GIS administrator position listed with a salary of $87,887 and associated fringe costs (action sheet creating position 070190-001).
- Body-camera equipment line items and several additions for public-safety equipment across departments (multiple action sheets).

Votes and key tallies: On both the general-fund adoption and the tax-levy passage the clerk called roll and recorded the same 4-3 split. The final recorded roll-call votes on the general-fund adoption recorded the following responses: Mister Bale — No; Mister Copeland — Yes; Mister Drexel — Yes; Mister Horton — Yes; Missus Schauerman — No; Mister Winarski — No; Chairman Scutella — Yes. That tally produced the 4-3 outcome in favor of adoption.

Council members debated alternatives to cover the gap between proposed revenue and required revenue, including a proposal to appropriate roughly $1.7 million from the fund balance that would have produced a required millage of 6.94; the council ultimately approved a combination of fund-balance appropriations and face-value adjustments that yielded the final millage.

Council also approved numerous housekeeping action sheets (reductions in advertising, changes to staffing and travel lines, and reclassifications) and asked financial staff to reconcile the face-value totals for final passage.

What happens next: The clerk recorded the new face values and the council scheduled finance and personnel follow-up as part of the administrative process. The next Finance & Personnel Committee meeting was listed for Dec. 4, 2025; the next regular County Council meeting is in December.