Onondaga County Legislature approves new sales-tax agreement

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga County Legislature on Wednesday approved the 10-year extension of the sales-tax agreement between the city and county.

Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon II and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh on Dec. 13 announced the agreement would extend through 2030, pending approval by county and city lawmakers.

The agreement keeps in place a sales-tax sharing formula that gives more than 74 percent of sales taxes to the county, more than 24 percent to the city, and less than one percent to school districts, a spokesman for McMahon confirmed to BJNN after the Dec. 13 announcement.

The Syracuse Common Council is anticipated to vote on the agreement at its January meeting.

City and county lawmakers approved the original agreement in 2010.

The extension of the current formula not only “ensures a healthy” city of Syracuse, but that Onondaga County “continues to have the resources it needs to provide the level of services and programs the taxpayers have come to expect in all areas of our county,” according to a Wednesday news release from McMahon’s office.

“The county legislature took an important step today in recognizing the importance of a financially stable city,” McMahon said. “We cannot have a healthy county or region without a healthy city. The extension of this sales tax agreement will provide needed financial certainty to our partners in city government and ensure that everyone has the resources they need to address important issues like poverty, infrastructure and economic development.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com