MAYILLE – For the second year in a row, the Chautauqua County Legislature passed its budget with only Republican support after a request to use some of the county’s fund balance to further lower taxes was rejected.

During the legislative session, county lawmakers voted 14-5 to approve the 2025 budget. The $301.9 million budget has a tax of $73,256,471. The fee is the amount collected by county taxes. The tax rate for 2025 will be $6.70 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, 21 cents lower than the current year.

During Wednesday’s legislative session, Legislator Bob Bankoski, D-Dunkirk, proposed taking $2 million from county reserves and applying it to the levy, lowering the property tax rate.

Last year, the county had $37 million in reserves. This year, Bankoski said the county will have $40 million in reserves.

“This would provide substantial tax relief next year,” he said.

Bankoski also noted that a number of municipalities are looking at property tax increases and a further decrease in the county tax rate would help residents.

Legislator Lisa Vanstrom, R-West Ellicott, said she supports the current budget, which provides a reduction of 21 cents per $000 of assessed tax rate.

Legislator Fred Larson, D-Jamestown, noted that Erie County has a property tax rate of $3.38 per thousand of assessed valuation.

“We were 100% bigger than our neighbor” he said.

He added that if the county uses $2 million from its fund balance to reduce property taxes, the county will still have more than 10 percent in reserves.

Larson challenged five Republicans to join the five Democrats in giving back the $2 million.

One Republican said he supports such a move. Legislator Fred Johnson, R-Westfield, said: “I will vote in favor of the $2 million going to the taxpayers. I’m doing it to signal that the money we receive from taxpayers fundamentally belongs to them.”

Legislator Terry Niebel, R-Sheridan, said it’s unfair to compare Erie and Chautauqua counties in terms of tax rate.

“With Erie County and all their businesses, it makes sense that they can have a lower tax rate.” he said.

When it came time to vote on the amendment to apply the $2 million reserves to the tax, it failed by just six votes to 13. Johnson was the only Republican to join the five Democratic legislators, Bankoski, Larson, Susan Parker of Fredonia, Tom Nelson of Jamestown and Marcus Buchanan of Dunkirk.

After the meeting, Speaker of the Legislature Pierre Chagnon was asked about the Democrats’ statement that there would be $40 million in reserves. In an email, he wrote: “The unobligated fund balance at the end of 2023 (audited) was $46,358,471, which is 16.3% of appropriations. The 2025 tentative budget estimated the unobligated fund balance at the end of 2024 to be $37,914,365, 13.3 percent of appropriations. The 2025 tentative budget estimated the unobligated fund balance at the end of 2025 to be $36,504,216, 12.1 percent of appropriations.”

Earlier this year, the legislature approved a policy to have a target of 12.5% ​​in reserves. This policy was approved by a party vote.