Pierre Chagnon, R-Bemus Point, speaks during the Chautauqua County Legislature meeting about the 2020 budget. The legislature approved a spending plan with an 8 cent increase in the tax rate. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

MAYVILLE — Fiscal planning for tomorrow let alone years in the future is a difficult task.

On Wednesday, the majority of the Chautauqua County Legislature approved a budget with a tax increase in order to use none of its unassigned fund balance, or savings, in the 2020 budget.

The legislature voted 15-4 on a budget that includes a tax levy of $64,228,957, which is an increase of $2,317,810, or 3.7%. According to the state Department of Taxation and Finances, the tax levy is the amount raised through property taxes.

The proposed tax rate will increase 8 cents, or 1%, to $8.46 per $1,000 assessed property value. According to the state Department of Taxation and Finances, the tax rate is determined by dividing the tax levy by the total taxable assessed value of all property in a jurisdiction.

The four legislators who voted against passing the 2020 budget with a tax increase included Terry Niebel, R-Sheridan, Martin Proctor, R-Findley Lake, Elisabeth Rankin, R-Jamestown, and David Wilfong, R-Jamestown.

Prior to the vote, Niebel said he knows other legislators are worried about the use of fund balance to pass a budget that would include no tax rate increase. The tentative budget that was released by County Executive George Borrello last month had no proposed tax rate increase, but would have used around $1 million of the county’s fund balance or savings.

Niebel said legislators aren’t talking about how the tax increase will impact small businesses or household budgets. He said the county executive and department leaders worked for months on the proposed tentative budget that included no tax increase.

“(We should) let the taxpayers keep their money,” Niebel said.

Pierre Chagnon, R-Bemus Point, said the legislature was presented the auditor’s report earlier this year on the 2018 budget, which had a loss of $1.9 million. He said even with a 2019 budget that was created with new spending reductions and increased revenues, the county is on pace to end the year with another loss of around $900,000.

Chagnon said the 2020 budget includes $500,000 in new state mandates. These new state mandates through criminal justice reforms passed by the state Legislature will impact the sheriff’s, district attorney and probation offices. He also said additional risk in next year’s spending plan includes the cost of salt increasing, revenues decreasing for social services and two labor contracts that are unsettled. He added all these potential risk could impact the fund balance in 2020.

Chuck Nazzaro, D-Jamestown, said the proposed 8 cent tax rate increase is only a 1% increase and would only be an increase of $8 on a $100,000 home.

“This is the prudent thing to do,” Nazzaro said about raising taxes and using none of the county’s fund balance.