Chautauqua County committee rejects 'Affordability Act' after fund‑balance and service‑cut debate

The Audit & Control Committee debated a multi‑part measure dubbed the “Affordability Act of 2026” for nearly three hours on Feb. 19 before voting the package down.

The resolution bundled three main elements: a proposed reduction in the county sales tax rate (the staff example lowered the rate to 7.75%), a proposal to share more of sales tax revenue with municipalities, and a plan to use $2 million of county fund balance to reduce the property‑tax levy back toward 2025 levels. Director of Finance Kitty Lyons presented a five‑year model showing that, after those actions and normal cost pressures, the county could face an $8 million shortfall; applying $2 million in reserves still left roughly $6 million to find in cuts or new revenue.

"If we want to return the levy to what it was in 2025, we'd have a shortfall of $8,000,000," Lyons said during the presentation. She warned that making up the difference would require significant reductions in county appropriations or additional revenue, and that many line items (sheriff's patrol, highway local share) are large and not easily trimmed without reducing services.

Legislators pushed back on the use of fund balance for recurring costs and recommended clearer long‑term rules for when taxpayers should be given back excess reserves. One legislator argued for returning a large chunk of fund balance to taxpayers now (a straw proposal to return $20 million from the roughly $35 million fund balance), while others warned that such a step would erode the county’s ability to absorb unanticipated costs such as safety‑net spending or capital projects. The committee repeatedly stressed the trade‑off: use reserves to smooth tax bills now, or force choices to cut services or raise taxes.

After extended discussion, the committee took a voice vote and the motion failed; the chair recorded that the vote failed with three no votes.