Potential sales tax increase meeting in Warren County

WARREN COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Warren County Board of Supervisors will host a workshop meeting to discuss a proposal to increase the county sales tax rate. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 14, at 10 a.m. at the Warren County Municipal Center, 1340 Route 9, in Queensbury. It will also be live-streamed on the Warren County YouTube page.

According to Don Lehman, the Director of Public Affairs for Warren County, Warren County is one of three counties in New York that currently has a sales tax rate of 7% -- (4% imposed by NY State, 3% by the county) – which, along with two neighboring counties of Saratoga and Washington, is the lowest rate in New York State. The board will discuss the potential to raise the rate a maximum of 1% (or $.01 on $1 of taxable purchase) to potentially lower the property tax burden and put more of the cost burden on visitors to the county to increase funding for infrastructure repairs and improvements.

“No one wants to increase taxes, but given the infrastructure issues and increased costs that Warren County faces, we need to weigh the impacts of helping pay for these critical expenses with sales tax or property tax," said Kevin Geraghty, Chair of the Warren County Board of Supervisors. "Our analysis indicates a sales tax increase would enable Warren County to keep property taxes low. We feel a discussion needs to occur at this point in time.”

The meeting is free and open to the public.