Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz’s administration on Oct. 1 submitted the charter-required 2027 Budget Revenues and Expenses Report to the Erie County Comptroller and said the county’s proposed property tax rate will fall by $0.08 to $3.01 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The report, a prerequisite to the release of the full 2027 Proposed Budget on Oct. 15, also includes the county’s major expenditure estimates such as Medicaid-MMIS, public assistance, pension obligations and employee and retiree health insurance, along with revenue projections, the administration said.
The administration said the county’s expected property tax levy will increase by 3.5% to $327,118,990, the allowable limit under New York State’s property tax cap. Because assessed values grew by 6.55%, the county’s equalized full market value tax rate will decline by $0.08 to $3.01 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Poloncarz highlighted a long-term trend of lower county tax rates, noting the administration has reduced the property tax rate in nearly every year since taking office in 2012, from $5.03 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2012 to the proposed $3.01 in 2027.
“Keeping the county property tax rate as low as possible year-to-year has been an ongoing goal of my administration and we are pleased to be able to lower that rate once again this year to continue offering real, tangible tax relief to property owners. Since 2012 we have lowered that rate by over two dollars, putting that money back into people’s pockets,” Poloncarz said in the statement. He added the 2027 proposal “accounts for the burdens and obstacles the federal government will impose on us through the Big Ugly Bill but also makes investments in the programs and services that matter to our residents.”
The county will release the full 2027 Proposed Budget on Oct. 15 with detailed spending totals and program-level figures, including the total General Fund budget and line-item estimates for the cost drivers named in the report.
