MONTICELLO – The 2025 Tentative Sullivan County Budget was presented to the Legislature last week by County Manager Joshua Potosek. The budget is currently proposed at $301,002,983 and continues to reduce debt, expand existing services and avoid layoffs or program cuts while also adding new proposed positions.

“The 2025 Tentative County Budget prioritized debt reduction, road and bridge investment and cost-effective government. It carefully positions the County to maintain its fiscal stability, which taxpayers demand,” Potosek said. “For perspective, in 2019, our debt totaled just over $169 million. By the end of 2024, that’s expected to be under $108 million, with most of that due to construction of the jail.”

The proposed budget includes a 2.5 percent increase in the tax levy which is under the tax cap mandated by the State. No new debt is to be incurred in the proposal as well as not having to dip into the fund balance of the General Fund for ongoing operations. 

Potosek noted that the proposed tax increase is due to the county’s nearly $3 million investment in improving countywide EMS services and an estimated 8.5 percent increase in health insurance premiums. He also said that the county has led the state in job growth for more than three years and has experienced an “unprecedented” increase in sales and room tax revenue. 

Potosek also noted that the latest fiscal health report from the NYS Comptroller’s Office gave the county a perfect score of ‘0,’ which means they are not susceptible to fiscal stress. 

Highlights of the Tentative Budget include undertaking $21.6 million for road and bridgework without going into debt, $2.7 million to continue the EMS fly car service, creating a Housing Trust Fund for $2 million and $2 million for the design and renovation of County office spaces. 

Major investments are also proposed to be made in attracting staff which includes the addition of new positions -  an additional investigator in the District Attorney’s Office, another dispatcher at the 911 Center, a health & wellness coordinator in the Public Safety Division, three Social Services caseworkers, two Social Services aides and several instructors for both the Bureau of Fire and the Bureau of EMS. 

“Thanks to the continuously robust economy, the 2025 Tentative Budget can add staff and services while eliminating short-term debt,” Potosek explained. “Nevertheless, we are keeping a close eye on fiscal responsibility, and this budget ensures the County is prepared for fiscal bad weather, as there are some indications that revenues will start decreasing.”

Other highlights 

The Adult Care Center at Sunset Lake in Liberty continues to be a hot-button issue at meetings of the Legislature. While the Care Center continues to be operated by the county, the NYS Department of Health will be asked early next year to transfer the operating certificate to Infinite Care, the current consultant that is helping the county run the nursing home facility. Ownership would remain with the county, but the day-to-day operations of the facility would be in the hands of Infinite Care.  

The proposed 2025 budget anticipates that the operating certificate transfer request will be granted. If the transfer is not approved, however, and the County takes back sole operation of the facility, an approximate 9 percent tax increase will be required in 2026 to fund ongoing operations, according to the proposed operations. There would also be a need for funding to reestablish IT presence in the building and over $10 million for capital improvements. 

The tentative budget also proposes giving the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association (SCVA) the full 85 percent of room tax revenues, increasing it from its current 60 percent. The other 15 percent - $600,000 - would be up to the legislators to distribute among groups interested in tourism promotion. 

“The goal is to introduce more people, especially young families, to the attractiveness of the County, so that they may choose to live and work here,” reads the budget proposal.

The proposal works to also invest in the children of the county, creating five new positions in the Services Department and one Senior Family Services Investigator Trainee position in the Child Support Unit. It also proposes to maintain $300,000 funding for the Youth Bureau and continue the “Sullivan Promise” scholarship which allows for two years of tuition-free attendance at SUNY Sullivan for local high school graduates.

There is also a proposed $250,000 for the development of a water resource study map to fully understand the region’s water resources and recommend where development and water infrastructure should and should not occur. 

Full details of the budget are available via a digital budget book at https://county-sullivan-ny-budget-book.cleargov.com/17036 (also accessible through www.sullivanny.gov).  

 “This is more than an online budget viewing tool,” noted Potosek. “It allows users to easily search for information, quickly find what they’re most interested in, and even generate their own charts and graphs. It is an interactive way of understanding our most complex fiscal document.”

 Legislators have until December 20 to review, discuss and adopt the budget, and they may make changes to the proposed version before it is adopted. Formal public hearings about the proposed 2025 County Budget will be announced soon. In the meantime, written comment is being accepted by Clerk of the Legislature AnnMarie Martin at annmarie.martin@sullivanny.gov or 100 North Street, Monticello, NY 12701.