It's unlikely changes to Schoharie County's error-plagued budget will be finished in time for supervisors to adopt it at their meeting Friday.
That's according to Finance Committee chairman and Cobleskill Supervisor Leo McAllister.
Supervisors' Finance Committee has been reviewing the $86 million tentative budget since County Administrator Steve Wilson released it a month ago.
So far, Mr. McAllister said, they've whittled about $1 million from it.
But it still needs more work.
"We still have a lot of work to do on it," Mr. McAllister said Monday. "We've made nice progress so far, but it's not going to be ready by Friday.
"No one complained last year when the increase was 3.5 percent. I'd like to get this one in the 4 percent range. And I think we can get there."
The Finance Committee's work has been daunting, Mr. McAllister said, with rising health insurance costs--up about $894,000 for 2017--the biggest obstacle to overcome.
With the Finance Committee's review about 95 percent complete, spending stands at $86 million with revenue at $61.5 million, leaving a balance of $24.5 million to come from property taxes and savings.
Mr. McAllister was out of town for Monday's hearing on the budget, but in a written statement, he said the Finance Committee is considering three options to reduce the budget--all of which hinge on how much to take from savings.
If the county uses $2.5 million in savings to reduce the levy, the levy hike will be 6.1 percent, Mr. McAllister said.
Using $2.83 million in savings will result in a tax levy increase of 4.49 percent and using $2.94 million will cut the tax levy increase to 4 percent.
Mr. Wilson's original budget called for a tax increase of 5.77 percent; however once the math errors in it were corrected, that increase dropped to 5.59 percent.
Mr. Wilson told supervisors Monday that he would have a recommendation on which option to take after the Finance Committee completes its work.
Sitting on the sidelines during the budget process has been Treasurer Bill Cherry, who finessed past budgets.
He's been a vocal critic of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Wilson has fired back.
"The Finance Committee or Steve did not see fit to include me [in budget revisions]," Mr. Cherry said Monday.
"The Finance Committee and the board, frankly, have decided they don't need me."
Mr. Cherry said he only spoke to the Finance Committee when members were looking at his department and said his only role now has been pointing out errors in the spending plan.
He did, however, caution them against what he called the "slippery slope" of "using the fund balance to simply offset increased spending."
"Like the rest of the public, I have to sit back and see how it plays out," Mr. Cherry said.
[In the end], "The taxpayers will have to decide if the supervisors are on the right track or the wrong track."
The hearing on the budget will continue at Friday's supervisors' meeting.