Members of the public will get their first say on the proposed 2013 Schoharie County budget next week.
The Board of Supervisors will open the public hearing on the budget on Tuesday at 5pm in the supervisors' chambers on the third floor of the county office building in Schoharie.
The proposed spending plan restores many of the positions and services cut in the wake of last year's flood, said County Treasurer Bill Cherry.
The plan, he said, restores some funding that was cut last year to Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley and the Old Stone Fort, among others.
Under the proposed plan released by Mr. Cherry last month, the tax levy would increase by $509,923, about 2.8 percent over the 2012 total.
The increase is under the state-imposed tax cap, Mr. Cherry said, since the state comptroller's office said the county could have a tax levy hike of $763,081 without overriding the cap.
The tax levy increase would increase the tax rates differently in the 16 towns in the county.
According to Mr. Cherry's proposed budget, the tax rate would decrease in three towns, Blenheim, Broome and Jefferson, and increase in the other 13.
The towns of Cobleskill, Fulton, Gilboa, Middleburgh, and Richmondville would see tax rate increases of more than two percent according to the proposed plan.
Two factors that will affect the tax levy will be an expected increase in sales tax revenue and a drop in the full value assessments in the county.
Mr. Cherry said the county sales tax is expected to generate $15.3 million this year and despite a still sluggish economy, could bring in $15.5 million next year.
Sales tax revenue, he said, took a steep drop in 2008 but began to recover in mid-2009 and should continue that trend in 2013.
Another trend has been the declining amount of the full value assessments in the county meaning that the tax levy is spread out over a smaller tax base.
The full value of taxable real property dropped by 1.54 percent last year and will drop another 2.56 percent for 2013, Mr. Cherry said.
The full value assessment of properties was $2,277,350,381 in 2011 and will be $2,184,842,151 next year.
A big budget issue since the flood was the closure of the jail.
Instead of earning revenue for boarding prisoners, the county has had to pay to board prisoners in Albany County.
Mr. Cherry, who is also overseeing the county's flood recovery, said he expects the jail to reopen next fall.
Five corrections officers will return when the jail reopens.