SARANAC LAKE — The Franklin County legislature is considering a $142 million budget for the coming year which is projected under the tax cap, keeps the tax rate mostly flat due to an increase in taxable property value and adjusts for cuts to federal funding to social services and public health.

On Nov. 6, the legislature will hold a public meeting on the tentative budget at the Harrietstown Town Hall at 2 p.m.

The county is proposing to spend $142,177,254, $3.8 million more than last year, or a 2.72% increase.

The county is expecting to take in $117.2 million in revenue next year, $2.3 million more than last year, or a 2.02% increase.

The budget proposes levying $19.18 million in taxes — $338,750 more than last year, or a 1.8% increase.

The tax cap this year was set at 2.5%, or an allowable levy of up to $19.9 million.

At the Nov. 6 meeting, the legislators plan to pass a resolution allowing them to exceed the state-imposed tax cap. They’re not expecting to exceed the tax cap. They haven’t exceeded the tax cap in years. But this is a “safety net” for the county.

The county operates 26 departments that provide services to residents — highways, public health, economic development, real estate, courts and services for children, seniors and veterans.

“It was a tougher budget year just because we didn’t know how to plan for the federal issues,” County Treasurer Fran Perry said.

County Manager Donna Kissane and Perry started preparing the budget in May, a month earlier than normal, to prepare for the planned federal cuts — some of which have already been made and some of which may still happen in the future. They’ve been trying to keep up on current information, but it keeps flip-flopping — funding that was cut is actually coming, or expected funding isn’t.

Kissane told the department heads to not count on that revenue.

“Every department has been asked to have a contingency plan to be able to pivot so that we can adjust if we receive notification of reductions,” Kissane said.

Some departments are getting one more year of federal funding to cover some positions. Others are downsizing through not filling vacant positions.

Even without some of that federal funding, the projected revenue is still higher than the current year.

Perry said sales tax revenue goes up every year because of inflation. The county collects 4% sales tax.

Perry and Kissane said they’re a good pair, who work well together on the budget. After years of being in financial stress, according to the state comptroller, they’ve been out for a few years now and have had a 0% deficit budget.

To see the full tentative 2026 Franklin County budget, go to tinyurl.com/bdz8e66c.

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Tax rate

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The countywide tax rate is projected to be $4.78 per $1,000 of assessed value. The tax rates are likely to change slightly if new information comes in from when they were first calculated.

The countywide average tax rate stayed the same because the taxable assessed value of properties in the county increased by $71 million, too. This is because of new homes, improvements to existing homes or reassessments. People who have higher assessments will pay more because of their higher assessment.

The tax rate in Tupper Lake is projected to be $5.13 per $1,000 in assessed value, 43 cents more than last year. This means a property assessed at $300,000 would pay $1,539 in taxes next year, $129 more than last year.

The tax rate in Harrietstown is projected to be $4.70 per $1,000 in assessed value, one cent more than last year. This means a property assessed at $300,000 would pay $1,410 in taxes next year, $3 more than last year.

The tax rate in Brighton is projected to be $3.08 per $1,000 in assessed value, 21 cents less than last year. This means a property assessed at $300,000 would pay $924 in taxes next year, $63 less than last year.

The tax rate in Franklin is projected to be $4.98 per $1,000 in assessed value, 16 cents less than last year. This means a property assessed at $300,000 would pay $1,494 in taxes next year, $48 less than last year.

The tax rate in Santa Clara is projected to be $5.33 per $1,000 in assessed value, 69 cents more than last year. This means a property assessed at $300,000 would pay $1,599 in taxes next year, $207 more than last year.

The tax rates in each town are different because each town assesses properties differently. To ensure that each town’s taxpayers pay their fair share in taxes, the state has something called an equalization rate, which equalizes each town’s assessments to full market value to make up for any differences in how properties are assessed.

Anything under 100% is under-assessed.

For example, the town of Constable has an extremely low equalization rate of 7.1%. It’s last assessment was probably around 30 years ago, Perry said — when she was in high school. Because this town’s properties have not had updated assessments in years, it also has a very high tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value — $43.38.

“In Constable, your property might be assessed as $10,000, where in another county it might be assessed for $100,000,” Perry said. “Those two are technically equal.”

Tupper Lake has an equalization rate of 60%. Harrietstown has an equalization rate of 65.56%. Brighton is fully assessed with a 100% equalization rate. Franklin has an equalization rate of 61.77%. Santa Clara has an equalization rate of 57.76%.

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Revenue

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As the cost of goods goes up with inflation, the county’s sales tax revenue goes up, too.

Kissane said vehicle purchases are the largest driver of sales tax in the county. The cost of vehicles has increased significantly, too.

County costs are up, retirement benefits are up, salaries are up, insurance is up. The cost of everything is up. But so is revenue. Perry said the increases are “proportionate.”

New York recently started requiring short-term vacation rentals to charge sales tax. This is being rolled out slowly. Franklin County charges a 5% tax on hotels, motels and STRs. Hotels and motels have been required to charge the tax. STRs have been required not yet.

In 2019, the state also started allowing counties to levy sales tax on every internet purchase.

The county budget projects $28.4 million in state revenue and $14.6 million in federal revenue. Federal revenue is projected at $2.3 million less than than last year.

The biggest federal cuts currently are to funds for public health and the department of social services. Kissane said positions that have been vacant for more than a year have been removed from the budget in these departments. She said there should be no impact on public health services, but the DSS has reductions to its Home Energy Assistance Program.

HEAP offers up to $996 in benefits to people who need help paying their heating bills. To qualify for HEAP, people must meet income requirements of no more than $39,874 for one person or $76,681 for a family of four.

There’s now no federal assistance for people if their furnace breaks. Kissane said the county won’t leave people without heat, so they’re putting money aside to cover these assistance programs.

She also said people can only make one emergency HEAP claim instead of two now.

The start of the HEAP program has also been delayed because of the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has no end in sight.

The county is increasing its “safety net” spending on services for homeless adults by $350,000 in this budget, partially to fill in gaps in federal funding and partially because the need has risen in recent years. Spending on the safety net has doubled since 2022.

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Reserves

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The budget calls for the county to pull $4 million from its reserves to balance the budget.

At the end of 2024, the county had $51 million in its reserves, mostly in restricted reserves for certain things like retirement or mortgage tax. The unreserved fund balance is $35.3 million. Perry said they try to shoot for having two to three months of appropriations on hand in the fund balance. Currently, she said they have around three months worth of appropriations in reserves and are in a “very good position.”

Kissane said a $700,000 retirement increase came up unexpectedly right before they filed the tentative budget. Instead of adding $700,000 in spending to balance the budget, they took that money from the reserves. Kissane said situations like this is exactly why they keep reserves.

The budget shows the county is holding $20,000 in debt. Perry said this is not county debt per se. It is for the Rainbow Lake water protection district. The county takes on debt for Rainbow Lake water projects — in this case, repairs to a dam — and Rainbow Lakers pay off the county to clear the debt.

Kissane said the count used coronavirus pandemic-era federal funds to pay off its debt from energy efficiency improvements a couple years early, saving $160,000 in interest payments.

The budget has $3,865,570 under capital projects. The county got funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for bridge damage from Hurricane Debby. The FEMA money covers 75% of the work. Kissane said the county’s $1.5 million portion comes from reserves and the general fund, instead of the county taking out debt. This is also the case in the $2.2 million it has in Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program grants for road repairs.

Other increased costs this year include 3.5% raises for employees, the replacement of the Sheriff’s fleet and an increase in community college enrollment.

State colleges have in-state tuition rates and out-of-state tuition rate, with in-state rates always lower. When New Yorkers attend community colleges, the county pays the difference between the rates to bring the student’s cost down to the in-state rate, allowing the college to still get paid the amount of the full out-of-state tuition.

Any time a Franklin County resident attends a community college in a different county, Franklin County pays a portion of their tuition at that school.

Kissane said community college enrollment has been boosted among colleges around the state, which results in a higher cost for the county.