SCHUYLER COUNTY, N.Y. (WENY) -- It's that time of year when counties are approving their 2025 operating budgets, and the Schuyler County Legislature voted to approve their budget on Tuesday night.

The total proposed budget for 2025 is $66,735,085.  That's a 2.3% increase from last year, the smallest increase in the past five years.  County officials say they're focusing on promoting the county, and painting an image of a vibrant destination for tourism.  The budget can be broken down into categories; management and finance, public works, community development and resources, human services, and public safety and criminal justice.

The average tax rate is staying relatively flat, going from $5.99 to $5.05 per thousand dollars of assessed value, according to county officials.

"Overall, the average tax rate is going to go down," said Shawn Rosno, the Schuyler County Administrator.  "It's going to depend partly on whether or not the town that the person lives in has recently been re-evalued or not. If the township has been re-evalued, more than likely they're going to see at least some small decrease. The towns that have not been revalued in a while are probably going to see a little bit of an increase again. Average for the whole county, though, is a decrease."

The towns that were assessed this year were Catharine, Dix, Montour, and Reading.

The legislature voted unanimously to pass this budget.  The wheels are also in motion to start the county's next comprehensive plan.