Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks announced her 12th and final county budget. Brooks says it's consistent with the priorities she's laid out over her last three terms in office.
"So, the tax rate in the budget is $8.99, the same as last year, and in fact the rate is lower then when I took office so we've been able to honor that commitment to protect taxpayers in the community so we're very very proud of that."
Brooks says 85% of the budget is made up of state mandates, but they've been able to reduce that spending by $5 million. On non-mandated spending, the County Executive says they've increased by 0.2%, less than the rate of inflation.
Brooks says they've been able to close a $22 million gap by reducing spending and "living within our means." She says they haven't cut any quality of life services.
The budget does not allow for increased spending for child care subsidies, which is a platform that her successor Cheryl Dinolfo ran on, but, Brooks says Monroe County still spends more on child care than every other region in the state, excluding New York City. You can see the complete budget here.
