Broome Close to Another Small Property Tax Cut

Taxpayers in Broome County are closer to getting a small break on their bill next year but they aren’t quite there yet.  The Broome County Legislature has passed the 2023 budget that contains a tax decrease of a tenth of a percent.  

On September 14, County Executive Jason Garnar presented his spending plan that contained the fifth straight property tax cut.  That budget was adopted in a special session of the legislature on November 10.   

Legislative Chairman, Republican 5^th District Legislator Dan Reynolds issued a statement saying “cutting property taxes, investing in infrastructure and public safety are critical.” 

Finance Committee Chair, 1^st District Legislator Steve Flagg says legislators were able to work closely with Executive Garnar’s office, the department heads in the county government and the Office of Management and Budget to go over the proposed budget line-by-line. 

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Garnar, who became Broome’s youngest county executive when he was elected in 2016, says the fund balance has grown from $240,000 in 2017 to $35-million by the end of 2021. Last year, Garnar’s budget called for a tax reduction of .12%. 

The Democrat said tax reductions were possible through fiscal management that led to the growth of the County’s fund balance 

The September budget message called for investing 688-thousand dollars more in the government workforce, improving compensations and upgrading positions, a new multi-use building, outdoor ice rink and wiffle ball stadium at Grippen Park, new turf fields and lighting at the BAGSAI softball complex, continued investment in economic development, housing projects, veteran and mental health services, fighting substance abuse and continued repairs to miles of roads and bridges.

The ledger is now handed back to Garnar for a public hearing before it gets the Executive’s final signature.