When Monroe County Executive Adam Bello released his 2026 budget proposal earlier this month, it came with a warning.
Federal changes to SNAP and Medicaid will create $100 million in added expenses for the county in the coming years, he said, creating a deficit that is “going to require some very difficult decisions to be made.”
“To me, it's, it's incredibly irresponsible and it's wrong,” Bello said during the news conference where he released the roughly $1.6 billion county spending plan.
Monroe County is not alone in facing these new expenses. The SNAP and Medicaid changes apply to all of the states that also will have to find ways to cover new costs. But New York is a little different than most in that it’s the counties not the state that administer the programs using federal and state funding.
“It really, really could have a very direct, real and stinging effect on the county governments,” said New York Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen Acquario. “Not on the towns, not on the cities, and not on the villages, but on the counties.”
For New York counties there are three main SNAP and Medicaid changes that are cost drivers.
New work requirements and verification procedures for SNAP and Medicaid will mean a heavier administrative burden. Monroe County plans to add examiners to help manage the load, which means new personnel costs, including the expense of the specialized training the new staff will need.
The federal government previously reimbursed counties for half the cost of its SNAP examiners, but that formula is changing. The federal government will only provide a 25% reimbursement now. Bello said that will be a $3 million hit to the county in 2027, when that formula change is in full effect.
The other major cost could come from a new penalty tied to error rates in SNAP applications. Those rates are based on how often a state overpays or underpays benefits to recipients either because of clerical error or incomplete information being provided.
New York’s rate in 2024 was around 14% — higher than many states but in line with a handful of others.
The penalty takes the form of increased SNAP program cost sharing. Bello said that with the existing state error rate, Monroe County could be on the hook for an extra $40 million in 2027.
There is some uncertainty around these numbers. But state and county officials are trying to figure out the best way to address the new reality. There are a handful of options.
One option would be for the state to absorb some or all of the additional expenses. State and county officials are discussing things like whether the state could centralize aspects of these programs, or whether there’s a way the state could use artificial intelligence technology to aid in recertification and eligibility checks, according to Acquario.
He said it would make sense for the state to step in because the new costs are “beyond the capacity of local taxpayers to absorb.”
Counties also have several paths they could take, such as cutting or scaling back programs or services, or delaying construction and infrastructure projects.
They could also raise taxes, but that likely would be something of a last resort for the county. If passed, the budget Bello released earlier this month would be his sixth straight plan with a tax rate cut. And those cuts are frequent talking points for the county executive.
“This is very troubling, because a core mission of county government is to administer programs that help the most vulnerable in our society,” Bello said. “These federal funding changes take direct aim at those very people, our children, our seniors, people with disabilities, who will have nowhere else to turn. Counties alone cannot make up this difference. Something has to give.”
