ROCHESTER, NY (WROC) – Monroe County Executive Adam Bello called the passing of the county’s new $1.34 billion budget “a great moment.” It was unanimously passed by lawmakers Tuesday night and also includes $144 million in federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The budget is something Bello calls “common sense.” There are four main pillars including public safety, public health, economic development and infrastructure.
The focus here is on keeping taxes low amid high inflation, which we are all feeling, he said. In fact, he said the budget – while difficult – is well below the rate of inflation.
Bello said he knew they couldn’t ask for much more money from taxpayers at this point, and many of the decisions made were due to community contributions.
“These are priority areas that we have gone public with, we have conducted many public input sessions, we have spoken to many stakeholders over the course of the last year – to ensure that our budget and ARPA investments do not just numbers on a piece of paper,” Bello said. “Budgets are about priorities. It’s about where you invest money to invest in people but to move the needle to actually impact the challenges our community faces. There is no question that public safety is a major challenge for us. The violence we’ve seen over the past year.”
The public safety portion will include additional investment in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, which will include 14 new deputies and major investment in the crime lab.
All of this, he said, works with funds from the American Rescue Plan, which examines what the unmet needs are in the community and how we get to the root causes of violence and crime. He says that starts with investing in neighborhood organizations, underserved communities and youth.
Bello shared his thoughts on why he’s happy with this budget and what it will mean for families.
“What I’m most proud of about this budget is that it not only makes the significant investments needed to address our public health, safety and economic challenges,” he said. “It offers the largest reduction in the property tax rate in 30 years. It lowers the full property tax rate to 1940s levels. And so we are able to do so while realizing that families are paying more every day. I have a family. My grocery bill has skyrocketed over the past few months. The grocery bill has gone up, the gas tank has been filled, everyone is facing the same thing.”
Also in the budget were millions of dollars in funding for organizations like the Willow Domestic Violence Center and the Veterans Outreach Center.
The money is expected to start arriving in March, with the sum being spread over a period of three to four years.
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