3 Final Bumps In Road,

But County Budget OK’d

COOPERSTOWN – Otsego County’s 2017 budget was approved today, but not before three final wrinkles were ironed out:

• County Rep. Kay Stuligross, D-Oneonta, objected to a $700 allocation to help the Otsego County Historical Society erect one historic marker next year. Lacking a policy on such requests, the veteran representative said, she was unable to approve the money. However, a vote of the full board overruled her.
• On the motion of county Rep. Andrew Marietta, D-Cooperstown/Town of Otsego, $1,500 was added to appropriations to allow the county board meetings to be audio-recorded. Marietta had hoped his colleagues would agree to video-recording their meetings, which would then be posted on www.otsegocounty.com, but that was set aside due to cost and technical challenges.
• County Rep. Keith McCarty, R-East Springfield, objected to $4,000 to help the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce operate its tourist kiosk in Pioneer Park next summer, saying only chamber members are allowed to display their brochures there. The county board approved the money, on the condition the chamber pass a resolution allowing the kiosk to distribute promotional materials from all in-county tourism entities, whether they are chamber members or not.

In all, last-minute changes added about $26,000 to the spending document, but keep the rise in the county tax levy at 0.4 percent. Applying surplus accrued over the past year, tax bills are expected to stay even.

The tax levy, which must be met by local property taxes, is in the $11.4 million range, and – with state subsidies and reimbursements – the total budget is about $105 million.