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Greene Co. Legislature adopts 2017 budget
Daniel Zuckerman is reporting in The Daily Mail the Greene County Legislature Wed., Nov. 16, adopted its $110.4 2017 budget on a 9 to 5 vote. "Nobody is happy with this budget," Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. "This is the first budget in six years [where] we had to override the tax cap." Major increased expenditures for the coming year include: $500,000 for health care, $100,000 for a new roof on the county office building, $200,000 for Columbia-Greene Community College and $600,000 in debt service related to the construction of a new Greene County Jail. The spending plan requires that $25.7 million be raised by taxes. Groden explained the main sources of income for the county are sales and income taxes. Greene County is not seeing much growth in home construction, retail centers or other businesses, Groden said, so if people stop spending, the county could find itself with a deficit. In an interview with the paper, Legislator Gene Hatton pointed out the $600,000 expenditure for the new jail is an advance for expenses, such as fees for the architect, engineer and project manager. The county will eventually be reimbursed in the form of a bond. Salaries for legislators remain unchanged in the new budget at a maximum of $15,000 per year. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.