Tax Rate

Something I've never gone into before, for some reason, is our tax rate (maybe because tax rate, assessments, equalization rates, etc., are not my strong suit). It's important, though and here's why:

According to 2015 data from the Treasurer's office, only two New York counties have a lower tax rate than Otsego County's 2.92 per thousand: Saratoga's 2.90, and Hamilton County's 2.23. Hamilton County, it must be noted, has a population of 4,268, which makes it a little bigger than the Town of Otsego without the tourists.

The other 54 counties (the analysis does not include the five NYC counties, although that wouldn't change much) have a higher tax rate than Otsego, from Essex County at 3.03, to Allegheny County at 14.4. Four counties – Montgomery, Cattaragus, Cortland and Allegheny – are in double digits. Chenango County, next door, is just below them at 9.97.

This low tax rate comes at a great cost, of course. We didn't find a magical way to continue to provide appropriate and meaningful services for less and less money. We provided less and less service. Our Highway Department has shrunk by half in the last ten years, as has our IT Department. Our M&C staff, as you're no doubt tired of hearing, has had only one raise in nine years. We've outsourced our Tourism and Economic Development Departments.

Some of this needs to be fixed.

My tax property tax bill, in January, contained a charge of $526.96 for County tax and nearly three times that for City tax. Statewide, that is what's known as a very low County tax. Given the 2% tax cap (which has been, in the last few years, substantially lower than 2%), my County taxes can go up a maximum of $10.54. I am one of the few people in Otsego County who know how much rebuilding we need, so the fact that I'm willing to put up with another ten or fifteen dollars a year in County taxes to address this problem doesn't mean much. But somehow, we have to find a way to rebuild Otsego County, and convince the taxpayers of Otsego County to be our partners in that work.