Warren County plans a workshop meeting to discuss potential sales tax hike
A workshop meeting is taking place this Wednesday, August 14th as the Warren County Board of Supervisors discuss an increase on the sales tax rate.
The meeting takes place at the Warren County Municipal Center, located off Exit 20 of the Northway, on Route 9 in Queensbury. Those who cannot make the 10am meeting that is open to the public can catch the live stream of the meeting on the Warren County YouTube page.
Behind the discussion is a proposal to raise the sales tax rate by 1%, to 8%. In New York State, 4% of the sales tax is for the State of New York, as counties have the ability to increase the tax rate beyond that 4%. Warren is one of three counties to have the total sales tax rate of 7%, the lowest in the state.
However, those other two counties are two that surround Warren County - Washington and Saratoga Counties, which with their proximity to the county has in the past made the proposal to increase harder to pass.
The increase is being proposed as the Warren County Board of Supervisors hope to lower the property tax burden, transferring the burden to those who visit the area over the course of the year to increase funding for infrastructure repairs and improvements. The county has been hit hard with increasing repair costs over the past years due to significant damage from storms.
For example, the December 19th, 2023 rain storm caused over $4 million dollars in county highway repairs, and another $750,000 that was necessary to repair the county-owned rail line which is required under Federal Law to maintain in operational status.
“No one wants to increase taxes, but given the infrastructure issues and increased costs that Warren County faces, we need to weigh the impacts of helping pay for these critical expenses with sales tax or property tax," said Chairman Kevin Geraghty.
The Wednesday meeting will be to discuss only, as Warren County needs New York State legislative approval before any sales tax increase is approved.
