Monroe County's new budget is set to drop property taxes to their lowest rate in 18 years, County Executive Adam Bello said.

Bello says he signed the $1.2 billion financial plan Tuesday night after it was approved by the county legislature by a vote of 27-2.

Bello says the budget not only allocates additional funding to the sheriff's office, the district attorney's office and public safety department, but it also included two amendments.

County legislators say the first adds necessary positions and provides living wages for county staff. The other includes funding to hire three special assistant district attorneys in the district attorney’s office, providing additional support as the city of Rochester struggles with a record-breaking level of homicides.

"The 2022 spending plan reduces the property tax rate to the lowest rate since 2003, and continues the responsible financial planning that led S&P Global Ratings earlier this year to call this county’s fiscal management “strong” for the first time in more than two decades," Bello said in a statement. "Additionally, the 2022 budget allocates additional funding to the Sheriff’s Office, Public Safety Department and District Attorney’s Office. To address the ongoing opioid crisis, the budget provides more funding to the Improving Addiction Coordination Team (IMPACT) so this life-saving service can be expanded to 24/7 coverage. Our Youth Bureau will have more dollars to initiate programs that help young people set goals and make positive choices in their lives."

“I am grateful for the improvements made to the 2022 Proposed Monroe County Budget to bolster our public safety and ensure living wages for our hard-working County employees,” Majority Leader Steve Brew said in a statement. “Thank you to the Legislators who supported such amendments and the County Executive for recognizing and supporting these necessary improvements. The 2022 Budget, as amended, will ensure our residents are served to the best of our ability.”

Bello also said funding will go toward the expansion of MPower, a partnership with Monroe Community College that trains people with essential skills for existing jobs and connects them with employers, and the RETAIN program, which works with college graduates and employers to help keep graduates in the county.

Investments and renovations will also continue at Monroe County Parks lodges, shelters, roads and parking lots, the Seneca Park Zoo and Frontier Field, Bello said.