BUFFALO (WNED) – Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz says it will be months before anyone knows for sure why sales tax collections are right where the budget calls for them to be.
That’s $162 million for the first five months of the year.
“We think it’s a combination of higher gas prices along with the beneficial result we’re receiving from all the Canadian crossing the border,” Poloncarz said.
The overall budget assumes the county will take in $357 million over the entire year.
Poloncarz says the sales tax collections make a surplus for the year look likely, while there is the property tax collections with the comptroller saying they are $8 million dollars higher than they were supposed to be.
“The county executive should have reduced the tax levy by the cut amount,” said Poloncarz, offering a political shot for his opponent for this fall’s election.
“He (Collins) did not, so he started out with an $8 million cushion” in his budget projections.
That property tax collection argument is still being worked out.