Warren County — A county committee voted to send a home-rule request to the full board asking state lawmakers to permit Warren County to raise its local sales tax above the 7% cap, potentially to 8.

Unidentified Presenter (speaker 3), outlining the financial case, said the county’s current combined sales tax is 7 percent — 4 percent to the state and 3 percent local — and that a one-point increase ‘‘represents about $25,000,000, according to estimates’’ and that, under current distribution, ‘‘the county is gonna keep 12,000,000’’ of that additional revenue. He cited rising costs for EMS, culvert replacements, road work and other mandates as drivers of the request and said the county is under pressure from recent property tax levy cap overruns.

The proposal being referred to the full board is a request that county legislators submit a home-rule bill to the state legislature permitting Warren County to increase the local sales-tax rate. The presenter emphasized the referral would not lock the county into an immediate increase; if the legislature grants authority, the board could adopt any increase up to the authorized level (options discussed included 8%, 7.75% or 7.5%), or keep the current 7%.

Supervisors raised several concerns before the committee vote. One supervisor called the sales tax ‘‘regressive’’ and noted lower-income households would be more affected, while another said tourism mitigates regressivity because nonresidents pay a sizeable share of local sales tax. A member asked whether counties acting in unison would help legislative passage; the presenter said legislators had advised seeking the full 8% authority because it preserves flexibility at the local-law stage.

Supervisor Casito formally introduced the motion to forward the home-rule request and Supervisor Driscoll seconded it; the committee approved the referral with a majority vote and one recorded no vote. Several supervisors said more local discussion would occur at the full-board meeting, expected on the 19th.

Why it matters: The extra revenue, if ultimately adopted, would expand the county’s discretionary budget by an amount county staff estimated in the tens of millions, shifting the balance of how local needs such as infrastructure, EMS capacity and animal sheltering could be funded. Opponents flagged the distribution question — how towns and villages would share proceeds — and the tax’s potential impact on renters and low-income households.

What’s next: The committee sent the home-rule request to the full board for a detailed discussion and possible formal action at a later meeting. If the county’s legislators carry the request and the legislature and governor approve it, the board would then adopt local law to set the specific rate and distribution.