“…we are keeping as close an eye as ever on fiscal responsibility and the limits of taxpayers’ abilities…””

Joshua Potosek Sullivan County Manager

MONTICELLO — On Wednesday, October 29, County Manager Joshua Potosek presented the Legislature with a 2026 Tentative Sullivan County Budget of $305,746,606 designed to avoid cutting essential programs and deal with inflation-fueled costs and significant losses in sales tax. 

The proposed budget, which comes in at less than 1% higher than 2025’s adopted budget, raises property taxes by 9.1% and utilizes monies from the county fund balance to offset the estimated $5 million decline in sales tax revenue from last year.

“The 2026 Tentative Sullivan County Budget continues to carefully position the county to maintain its fiscal stability and provide the services taxpayers need and demand,” said Potosek. “Nevertheless, we are keeping as close an eye as ever on fiscal responsibility and the limits of taxpayers’ abilities, which is why I’ve conveyed to legislators and our economic development partners that it’s absolutely critical we aggressively work on attracting more taxpaying industries to the county.”

The proposed budget maintains funding for social programs including Public Health, Office for the Aging, the Youth Bureau, and EMS fly cars. Other highlights of the budget include: $15 million for road and bridgework (approximately half of which will come from state and federal sources), $1.3 million for capital projects at SUNY Sullivan, and $683,000 to create a modern records sharing system amongst the District Attorney’s Office, the Division of Public Safety, and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. 

Full details of the budget are available in a digital budget book at www.county-sullivan-ny-cleardoc.cleargov.com/17771.

December 20 is the deadline by which legislators must have reviewed, made changes, and adopted the budget. Residents will have an opportunity to voice their opinion at formal public hearings about the proposed 2026 County Budget on December 2 at 5 p.m. and December 4 at 10:45 a.m. in the Hearing Room of the Government Center, 100 North Street, Monticello. Written comment is being accepted now by Clerk of the Legislature AnnMarie Martin at annmarie.martin@sullivanny.gov or 100 North Street, Monticello, NY 12701.