By Mary A. Crisafulli
DELHI - Delaware County Supervisors re-allocated unused ARPA funds and adopted the 2025 budget on Nov. 26.
Delaware County received $8,672,706 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds half distributed in 2021 and again in 2022. Supervisors allocated $500,000 in 2022 to restore the Soldiers Monument at Delhi Courthouse Square. The project, now completed, had a remaining balance of $220,086. Supervisors elected to reallocate $200,000 of that balance to the Agricultural and Livestock-Farm Enhancement Program through Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE).
Supervisors previously awarded $1 million in ARPA funds for the CCE project to combat issues due to the pandemic, which disrupted agricultural markets. Qualifying farms could request grants of up to $5,000 for crop production costs or up to $25,000 for improvement projects. To date, the initiative has supported roughly 49 farms. Additional funding is expected to fund eight to ten more projects.
"This has really made an impact on agriculture," said Masonville Supervisor Betty Scott. Comments from an outside audit of CCE were impressed by the enrichment grant program, said Scott who is CCE Board President. The auditors said this should be a best management practice across the board, she recalled.
Scott and Andes Supervisor Wayland Marshfield, as a participant of the program, both obtained from the vote.
ARPA Committee Chair and Hamden Supervisor Wayne Marshfield explained that all ARPA funds must be allocated by 2024 year-end. The county has roughly $33,918 in ARPA funds remaining. The committee will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 11 and supervisors are expected to approve allocations later that same day.
In other business, supervisors adopted the 2025 budget of roughly $130 million. The tax levy of $35,526,779 is an increase of 1.83% or $640,377 over 2024. The budget includes a salary of $16,465 for each of the 18 supervisors and a salary of $75,588 for the board chair.
Marshfield, a finance committee member, noted challenges in organizing the budget including a nearly $640,000 increase in spending. Significant increases include a 20% rise in special education and foster care service costs, retirement premiums jumping $1.1 million, and increased medical insurance of $442,000. Marshfield highlighted the County's duty to make towns and schools whole by paying unpaid taxes. Roughly $6.6 million was allocated for unpaid school taxes and $2.5 for unpaid property taxes. To manage these expenses, Marshfield said a lot of cutting had to be done to keep under the 2% tax cap.
"Is it a perfect budget, no, but its a good budget," said Finance Director Art Merrill, "It's a good group (the finance committee), there are seven of us and we study it (the budget) very hard."
In other resolutions:
Supervisors approved the tax roll collection for 2025 of $193,404 to be paid by towns for preparation of assessment rolls, and tax bills. Towns were additionally charged levy amounts as follows: Andes $10,850, Bovina $4,877, Colchester $9,073, Davenport $9,308, Delhi $8,147, Deposit $6,877, Franklin $12,585, Hamden $5,063, Hancock $6,329, Harpersfield $4,503, Kortright $10,069, Masonville $6,558, Meredith $10,069, Middletown $107,068, Robury $11,770, Sidney $23,045, Stamford $6,720, and Tompkins $1,589.
Self-insurance funds for workers' compensation and volunteer firemen's benefits were approved at $1,600,000.
Supervisors approved the apportionment of mortgage taxes totaling $393,401 to be distributed to towns and villages. Total amounts allocated to tax districts include Andes $22,533, Bovina $1,649, Colchester $10,906, Davenport $21,191, Delhi $36,711, Deposit $12,515, Franklin $18,600, Hamden $17,287, Hancock $31,946, Harpersfield $11,322, Kortright $6,701, Masonville $6,862, Meredith $10,568, Middletown $50,292, Roxbury $56,074, Sidney $29,866, Stamford $18,300, Tompkins $2,584, and Walton $27,485.
Supervisors honored former Social Services Director Sylvia Armano who passed away suddenly earlier this year. The new foster care family and children visitation center on Main Street in Delhi was officially named the Armanno Center. Armanno served the county for 33 years.
The next regular Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.
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