JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. — Broome County Executive Jason Garnar introduced his proposed 2024 budget, complete with a 4 percent reduction in county taxes, on Wednesday.
The $447 million budget also includes spending on public safety and the county’s workforce, capital projects that will break ground or be completed in 2024, a sixth round of the Small Community Fund, new housing developments, and a 20 percent increase for the county’s Veterans Fund.
“While the cost of living has gone up, we are once again making sure taxes are going down,” Garnar said in a statement. “Residents may have to pay more for things like gasoline and groceries; they’ll be paying less on county property taxes. Working with our budget team, department heads, and our partners on the legislature, we have an opportunity to once again make living a little more affordable while still making important investments for future generations.”
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The budget includes $3.4 million more for county employees, completion of the county’s largest parks-improvement program, renovations at the Greater Binghamton Airport in the town of Maine, and breaking ground on the county’s new Veterans Resource Center.
New public-safety funding includes a strategic-response group for the Broome County Sheriff’s Office to assist in target areas with quality-of-life issues and for new positions for Broome Security and the Office of Emergency Services. The new housing developments and county grant program will offer long-term support for neighborhoods.
Garnar noted during his address that while there are more than $5 million in new, unfunded state mandates, the county has grown its fund balance to more than $50 million.
He delivered his address outside the brand-new Dick’s House of Sport at Oakdale Commons, noting the location is an example of how a small investment from the county can turn into something that will have a lasting impact on the community.
