Fulton County supervisors adopted a 2026 budget Monday that raises the property tax levy 8.1%, but that increase is down from 16% just two weeks ago.

The $130 million-ish budget — County Treasurer Alicia Cowen didn’t have a final figure Monday because supervisors tweaked the spending until five minutes before the vote — increases spending about 4% from this year’s spending package.

The property tax levy, $35.96 million, is up from $33.25 million in 2025. Property tax rate increases range from a 0.3% decrease in Bleecker to a 22.7% increase in Caroga, largely because of differing equalization rates brought about by outdated property assessments.

The budget was adopted, 463-27 in weighted voting, with supervisors Cynthia Breh of Oppenheim and Brandon Lehr of Mayfield absent. Supervisor Charles Potter of Gloversville’s 4th Ward voted against it.

Potter said the county should have taken more money from its fund balance — its unallocated reserve — to reduce the tax levy increase. He had suggested taking more than $1 million for the task.

However, the budget proposal had already tapped that fund to the tune of nearly $4 million, Cowen said, and taking more would have brought it down close to $22 million.

The budget includes a pair of one-time expenses — $545,000 in a solid waste project and $250,000 as part of a $750,000 to develop an industrial park — the county would eventually be reimbursed for, Potter said.

“Twenty-two million dollars in fund balance is still very healthy,” he said.

However, Supervisor Greg Fagan of Perth said that’s too little, particularly if reimbursement is delayed.

“We know we have two, one-shot items totaling $1.5 million that we won’t have next year,” Fagan said, but having too little money in the bank is an invitation for problems.

Supervisors spent much of the fall trying to cut the budget, which carried a $43.6 million property tax levy by Oct. 20, down to $38.5 million by Nov. 10. It’s an experience Fagan said he wouldn’t like to repeat.

“It’s the frustration; you can’t find where to cut,” Fagan said after the vote. “It’s the external pressures you can’t control.”

That’s why Supervisor Christian Van Valkenburgh of Johnstown opposed Potter’s plan to take more from the fund balance.

“What we used last year is unsustainable,” she said. “If we use any more, [the property tax levy] would skyrocket next year.”

Even so, supervisors agreed by oral vote to several last-minute changes in the proposed budget, which is why Cowen couldn’t provide a final spending figure:

Bob Cole, left, and Charlene Brown put up Christmas decorations on the pillars of the Johnstown Professional Office Complex at 55 W. Main St., on Tuesday.

’Tis the season

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