County Executive Joanie Mahoney has proposed a budget for 2015 that takes steps toward lowering taxes in Onondaga County.

The budget, which was proposed on Sept. 15, includes decreasing property taxes and increasing sewer and water fees.

Danny Liedka, former East Syracuse mayor and now the representative for the 7th district in the Onondaga County Legislature, said the budget is a great starting point for decreasing taxes.

“The bottom line is the tax rate continues to go down in levels last seen in the 1980s,” Liedka said.

He added that property taxes should decrease by one percent after the new budget is passed.

The legislature holds public hearings every weekday where each department presents their budget. Then they convene at the end of each week and systematically go through the budget and proposed changes, and break it down piece by piece, Liedka said.

After Mahoney presented the budget last week, the legislature budget analysts looked over it individually. Then the legislators take notes and compile a list of changes. The process concludes with two weeks of public hearings followed by an Oct. 9 presentation of the tentative county budget, as amended by the Ways and Means Committee, according to the proposed budget.

The budget resolutions will be passed at a public hearing on Oct. 14, where the budget will be in its final stage, Liedka said.

According to the proposed budget, sewer fees are predicted to increase by 7.36 percent. The water rate per thousands of gallons per month is also estimated to reach $1.16 in 2015 for 30 million gallons, in comparison to the $1.03 it is currently.

“This is just a proposed budget, nothing is final,” said Deborah Maturo, clerk of the county legislature. “We don’t (know) what the impact of taxes will be until legislators meet on Sept. 30.”

The Ways and Means Committee will hold a final review on Sept. 30, which also includes a report filed with the clerk of the legislature, Liedka said.

In addition to the budget, there is a separate proposal for a $49.5 million bond to pay for construction of an amphitheater on Onondaga Lake. The public hearing for this bond will be held on Oct. 1, in a separate budget presentation, Liedka said. The committee will present for the project in a smaller hearing on Sept. 29.

Donald Dutkowsky, an economics professor at Syracuse University, said he thinks the proposed budget is very reasonable.

“Mahoney is working with a tough problem here in terms of Onondaga County, especially in the city of Syracuse,” Dutkowsky said. “She tends to be very operational and comes up with practical solutions.”

Dutkowsky said he believes that the proposed budget is good news in terms of lower property taxes, which are an ongoing problem in New York state. He said he doesn’t think legislators will change the budget drastically before it is passed.

Published on September 24, 2014 at 12:01 am