Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente has unveiled his proposed budget for next year, a plan that will keep the property tax levy flat. Picente told the county’s Board of Legislators Thursday that state and federal mandates forced some hard choices in crafting the $577 million budget. He said 90% of this county budget proposal is due to those mandates.
But at the same time, the county executive spoke about the need to invest in the future, and that includes the need for more housing. Picente said Oneida County can assist by making sure developers have good infrastructure to work with.
“It’s roads, it’s water, it’s sewer…it’s utilities,” said Picente. He said those are the things the county needs to do so that developers and various local communities can build more housing."
The focus on building housing is important to Mohawk Valley EDGE, a major economic development organization in the Utica-Rome area. Chief of Staff Marc Barraco noted with more people coming to the region and needing housing because of projects like the planned expansion by Chobani yogurt, the county needs to find ways to help foster those housing opportunities.
“I think the emphasis is start now and be aggressive and do everything we possibly can to make it easier for municipalities to get through these hoops, and I think we're going to make that happen,” Barraco said.
Picente announced plans to establish a housing division within the county planning department and he included $2 million in the budget to implement recommendations developed by the county’s newly-formed housing team in early 2027.
Picente did not announce any layoffs in the county workforce when he presented his budget on Thursday but he did say the county will cut the spending allocated to many outside agencies by up to 12% to help save money.
The proposed budget and capital plan will be reviewed by county legislators in the coming weeks.