Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente proposed another budget with no increase to the property tax levy.

But getting to that point of proposing to not raise the levy wasn’t without challenges.

What You Need To Know

  • For the 12th consecutive year, the Oneida County Executive proposing another budget with no increase to the property tax levy

  •  The proposed 2025 operating budget is for $549,872,906 which is an increase of more than $20 million from 2024

  • Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said more than 90% of the proposal goes toward mandated costs by New York State

Picente’s proposed budget for 2025 comes with an increase of more than $20 million. Ninety-percent of that, he said, is due to mandated costs by the state.

One cost to work around is how the hourly pay for assigned counsel more than doubled this year.

“They increased the rate per hour for an attorney on assigned counsel through $158 an hour, which completely changes the scope of what we do," Picente said.

Picente said they need to restructure the Office of the Civil Defender to accommodate the increase.

The county executive said salaries and benefits have increased by $30 million. He said all union contracts are settled.

This proposal takes into account rising prices and the impact of an EF-2 tornado in Rome — the short-term impact costing the county more than $20 million.

Dozens of properties were condemned and looking through financial lenses, "those properties then come off the tax base unless they're going to rebuild, then there is a loss of revenue.”

Picente said the county commissioned a study to better understand the potential financial impact. The study, conducted by Camoin Associates, found an estimated "$13 million reduction to the taxable property value to Oneida County, the City of Rome and the Rome City School District."

For the long-term, Picente said the study found "a projected reduction in annual sales of $28.6 million" and "a $13.5 million drop in annual direct and indirect earnings that is equivalent to 191 jobs."

The county executive also noted the need to repurpose the county's large hangars at Griffiss International Airport. He said "the model we have employed there has not worked as we had hoped, and we need to move forward in a new way."

While Oneida Indian Nation revenue continues to contribute to Oneida County's finances to the tune of what Picente said is an estimated $23 million in 2025, he said sales tax revenue is “leveling off." Picente warns that while he’s proposing not raising the property tax levy this year, it may have to go up next year.

“We're still going to keep moving. We've kind of got to slow down a little bit," he said.

The County Board of Legislators will be voting on the budget proposal on Nov. 13.