AMHERST, N.Y. — While we've reported on the staggering costs of COVID to all levels of government, it may be an issue for years to come as local cities, towns, and villages seek to recover and maintain services for residents.
2 On Your Side found out that taxpayers here in Western New York may also share that pain.
Government leaders in town, village, and city halls across Western New York are extremely busy these days putting together budget plans for 2021. Most are due by the end of the month, and let's face it, they just can't ignore ongoing pandemic issues. They have taken away or sharply reduced.
As Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa puts it, "Coming off of a COVID year, it's all up in the air."
And earlier we heard this from Hamburg Town Supervisor James Shaw: "We cannot in good conscience go out to the 60,000 residents of this town and say here's a big property tax increase."
While no government leader likes to talk about them property tax hikes at some level are on the table for discussion even as government leaders try to keep the pencils sharp to cut costs.
Orchard Park Town Supervisor Patrick Keem said, "The estimates by our account, which is a 12 percent tax increase, but again it's gonna be lower than that and that's for sure."
Kulpa added: "The idea of there being a tax increase, yeah, I kinda of question how anybody can try to leave their tax flat when you have expense increases anyway. You can only cut so many positions and cut so many services before you hit a tipping point."
Erie County did assist local governments with money distributed from its share of the federal CARES Act. But it could only be used for the costs of Personal Protective Equipment and other supplies tied directly to COVID issues for a community. It cannot be used to cover lost revenue.
Kulpa says Amherst successfully cut in half a projected $14 million town revenue shortfall with various moves from a town hiring freeze to trims in across the board spending, so there's still millions to go as they approach 2021.
Then up in Niagara Falls the tourism and hospitality elements got slammed by COVID concerns taking away a prime revenue source.
Mayor Robert Restaino says, "What type of tax increase, if any, would be part of a full package of costs reductions? That's so that you can make the case that this is a combined remedy to what is a very, very difficult problem."