Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel is proposing a $309.7 million budget for 2026. Photo by Gregory Bacon

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel is once again proposing a reduction in the property tax rate.

Meanwhile the levy, the amount of money collected by taxes, will be going up by 2%.

On Wednesday, Wendel presented his budget of $309.7 million to the full county legislature.

He is calling for a property tax rate of $6.17 per $1,000 assessed valuation. This is a reduction of 54 cents from the 2024 tax rate.

It’s the sixth time he has proposed lowering the property tax rate.

In 2020, the county legislature increased Wendel’s proposed 5 cent tax rate decrease for 2021 by 10 cents. It’s the only time the county increased the tax rate during Wendel’s tenure as county executive.

According to Wendel, the last time the county property tax rate was this low was in the early 1980s.

The levy proposed by Wendel is a little under $75 million. This year’s levy is about $73.26 million.

He notes the 2% increase is lower than the rate of inflation, which is 3.4%

Wendel blames the increase in the levy on state mandates, specifically safety net costs. “Unfunded mandates will collectively cost Chautauqua County more than $93.2 million in 2026. The safety net increased $1.17 million this year alone. This single unfunded mandate is 65% of the increase to our 2026 tax levy,” he said.

Wendel said the 2026 budget has only one new full-time employee in it – a position in the Probation Department – and that position was required by the state, even though the state is not funding it.

The past couple of years, Democrats in the county legislature, who are in the minority, have called on Wendel to use more of the county’s reserve funds to further reduce the tax rate.

His proposed budget calls for using 1% of the county’s reserves, keeping $35.46 million in the unobligated fund balance, the same as in 2025.

The county’s financial management plan calls for its reserves to be between 5 and 15%. His proposed budget would have the unobligated fund balance to be 11.5%.

Wendel appears to be anticipating the criticism once again. “Since I became county executive, I maintain a modest fund balance under sharp criticism from those who feel we should use our fund balance to provide a one-time rate reduction in the tax levy,” he said.

SPENDING PROJECTS

Wendel’s budget proposes more than $13 million in capital projects through the Department of Public Facilities, including the treatment and maintenance of over 660 miles of county roads, six culvert and bridge rehabilitations, two bridge replacements, and two culvert replacements. It also includes over $2 million for upgrades at Jamestown Community College, more than $3 million in public safety investments for the Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Emergency Services, and the expansion of the County Fly Car program to improve emergency medical response times in southern Chautauqua County.

Wendel said his plan also invests in economic development and tourism.

It allocates $350,000 for green field and complete streets projects and anticipates $2.39 million in occupancy tax revenue, with 40 percent dedicated to protecting local lakes and waterways and 60 percent directed toward tourism promotion.

He said festivals, community events, and lake conservation projects supported by the occupancy tax will continue to strengthen Chautauqua County’s economy while enriching quality of life for residents.

Additionally, Wendel announced a $500,000 Government Efficiency Fund to support local municipalities that pursue mergers, consolidations, and shared services.

According to Wendel, unlike existing programs that reimburse costs after the fact, this fund would provide upfront financing to help municipalities reduce redundancies, streamline operations, and ultimately lower long-term property taxes.

Following his presentation, the room stood up in applause, including the four Democratic county legislators present. Legislator Tom Carle of Fredonia who is running against Wendel for county executive this year was not in attendance.

The legislature has scheduled its budget review to take place Sept. 29-Oct. 3.

County lawmakers will likely adopt the budget at its October meeting.