Photo by Howard Owens
With a $150 million future phase III water system and $70 million new county jail facility in progress, coupled with addressing a $3.4 million deficit that “emerged” after receiving budget requests from all department heads, it was no wonder why county Manager Matt Landers needed extra time to put his annual budget message together this year.
What was originally expected for release a week ago had to be delayed until Friday of this week, with Landers explaining along the way that he was working to make edits and needed more time with his words than he did with the budget numbers.
"The next few budgets will have a uniform theme and consistent message from the Manager’s Office, which centers on the new County jail and the constant race to keep water supply ahead of demand. The county is embarking on two of the largest capital infrastructure projects in its history, with a new County jail carrying a price tag of approximately $70 million and phase three of the countywide water system with a current projected price tag of $150 million,” he said in this year’s message. “These two projects are going to weigh heavily on decisions made by the Manager’s Office and County Legislature for the foreseeable future, and is evident in the 2024 recommended County budget.”
Despite all of the upcoming expenses for infrastructure and jail to house men and women out on Route 5, the thrust of the message is not nearly as dire as one might expect. This next year’s all-funds budget of $182,790,077 is $20 million more than the 2023 adopted budget and includes a tax rate that is 37 cents less than the current tax rate, or an expected $8.08 per $1,000 assessed value. For a home assessed at 100,000, if nothing has changed with its assessment this past year, the annual tax bill will decrease by $37.
The total budget also includes:
- Approximately $5 million in Phase 2 construction costs in the County Water Fund.
- Seven new hires related to the new County Jail.
- Additional operational cost increases at the Jail in preparation for the facility opening in 2024, both of which amount to approximately $1.9 million.
- Increased Medicaid costs to the County for approximately $1 million as a result of NYS eliminating the Federal subsidy known as eFMAP.
- Two new contracts with local ambulance service providers totaling over $600,000 annually.
- NYS retirement cost increases for approximately $1.2 million: These costs have risen significantly, with an average increase in all tiers exceeding 18 percent.
- Necessary collective bargaining contract increases for “a highly dedicated and underpaid workforce,” which amounts to approximately $3 million.
- Inflationary cost increases that are causing significant budgetary increases in a variety of commodities the County purchases every year.
- Mandates: Approximately 92 percent of the 2024 recommended property tax levy is made up of state-mandated expenditures to fund departments and programs, such as Medicaid, Probation, the new jail, Public Defender’s Office, assigned counsel, Social Service programs, Mental Health Department, Early Intervention, 3-5 Preschool Services, and various others.
“This budget funds County government in an efficient and responsible manner while making key investments that will help deliver better service to the residents of Genesee County. The recommended budget stays under the NYS tax cap while covering a lengthy number of expensive State mandates of which we have little to no control,” Landers said. “Crafting a balanced 2024 recommended budget presented considerable challenges, particularly in addressing a $3.4 million deficit that emerged after receiving budget requests from all department heads. To meet the challenge of keeping the net County support impact in line with the 2023 budget, County departments were encouraged to think innovatively and find cost-effective solutions.
“This was a challenge, considering New York State Retirement rates were once again increasing while higher than normal inflation and supply chain issues are causing vendor contracts to increase,” he said. “Despite these increases, I was pleased to see the majority of departments hold the line on spending, which helped greatly in delivering a budget that stays under the tax cap.”
The recommended budget includes $1.5 million of unappropriated fund balance, a decrease of $500,000 from the 2023 adopted County budget, he said. He is proposing a property tax levy of $32,722,377, an increase of $641,615, or 2 percent, which falls within the allowable tax cap. That would drop the current tax rate from $8.45 per $1,000 to $8.08 per $1,000 assessed value for a 4.37 percent decrease.
While he worked with department staff to control spending where possible, Landers also kept an eye on a “continued commitment in increased funding for our roads and bridges infrastructure,” he said, by putting an extra $1 million to play catch-up on work that's been put aside for too long.
“The cracks are showing,” he said. “This continued commitment of an extra $1 million is a big step in addressing the deferred maintenance of the county road and bridge infrastructure.
“The County continues to make strategic investments in its workforce, which will result in better service delivery to Genesee County residents. A large share of the investments in the 2024 recommended budget are being made in public safety,” he said. “Newly created positions are necessary to run an effective 21st Century correctional facility and include creating six new correction officer positions and a new custodial position to help maintain the significantly larger county jail.”
Another key piece of infrastructure is the multi-phase Genesee County Water System, which is nearing completion of the $25+ million phase 2 while Phase 3, a $150 million project, is being quickly designed, Landers said.
“Phase 3 includes bringing in enough water from Monroe County to close the City of Batavia water plant, which draws from a threatened source and has long outlived its useful life,” he said. “However, before the plant comes off-line, millions more have to be invested to ensure water supply keeps up with demand until Phase 3 is complete.”
As he had announced earlier this year, Landers had struck a deal with Mercy Flight and Le Roy Ambulance Service for dedicated ambulance response within the county. That is reflected in the 2024 budget with two new contracts for more than $600,000 annually “to help stabilize emergency response resources in Genesee County.” This action was listed as one of the recommendations from a recent County-funded study that examined fire and ambulance service in Genesee County, he said.
“These new contracts will strengthen the capabilities of local providers, improve emergency response times for County residents and allow the County to avoid directly purchasing ambulances and hiring staff,” he said.
Overall, Landers, with assistance from the assistant county manager and executive assistant, took a “deeper dive” into more specific budget lines, resulting in “significant budgetary savings,” he said, and more sharing of resources between departments.
How is he reducing the tax rate with all of those expenses on the county’s plate?
There’s a $1.5 million fund balance, $1 million from reserves, an increase in sales tax revenue of $6.7 million — due to the price of goods increasing as the result of inflation, larger online purchasing by Genesee County residents and the retail growth happening in the Town of Batavia, plus a large percentage of sales tax from gasoline sales — and recent interest rate increases have earned the county an extra $1.45 million of interest earnings, all going toward the 2024 budget, Landers said.
The public will have the opportunity to weigh in on the proposed budget during a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Courthouse Chambers, second floor of the Old County Courthouse, 7 Main St., Batavia. The county Legislature is expected to vote on a final budget on Nov. 20.
