MONTICELLO, NY — Sullivan County Manager Joshua Potosek traveled to four different towns in the county to present the proposed 2020 county budget, which at $233 million is $1 million less than the 2019 budget.

“I want to give citizens an opportunity to learn about the budget via clear, concise and brief presentations that I bring to them, rather than requiring them to come to the government center in Monticello,” he said.

Potosek will present the 2020 budget at the following town board meetings: Mamakating Town Hall, Wurtsboro on December 3 at around 6:30 p.m.; Fallsburg Town Hall, South Fallsburg on December 9 at 6 p.m.; Highland Town Hall, Eldred on December 10 at 7 p.m.; and Delaware Town Hall, Hortonville on December 11 at 7 p.m.

There will also be two public hearings on the budget at the government center in Monticello, one on December 3 at 5:30 p.m. and one on December 5 at 8:45 a.m.

The $233,129,442 budget, as currently proposed, stays under the state-mandated property tax cap with a 1.59 percent rate increase. That’s below the average rate increase over the past four years.
Budget highlights include:

• $6.6 million for road and bridgework throughout the county

• $450,000 to purchase two buses and expand the service for Move Sullivan

• $300,000 for local towns and villages to demolish unsafe structures via the RUSt (Removing Unsafe Structures) Program

• $300,000 for the legislature’s Discretionary Funds Program, assisting deserving nonprofits and community groups

• $227,008 to complete a new Delaware River access point in Barryville

Legislators have until December 20 to review, discuss and adopt the budget.