WXXI News | By Jeremy Moule
Published December 10, 2024

Monroe County legislators have approved a 2025 budget that will, among other things, cut the county tax rate and change how defendants are arraigned in town and village courts.

Legislators voted unanimously Tuesday to pass County Executive Adam Bello’s proposed $1.5 billion spending plan. It’s 5% larger than the enacted 2024 budget but it drops the average county property tax rate by 9% to $6.03 per $1,000 assessed value. That’s 62 cents lower than the 2024 rate.

““This responsive and responsible budget reduces our county tax rate to a historic low and will serve as a roadmap for a thriving and equitable future for Monroe County,” Bello said in a news release sent out shortly after the vote.

The budget funds the launch of the Centralized Arraignment Court Part for town and village courts in Monroe County. That will allow the local courts to centralize arraignments in one location.

Right now, officers book defendants in the town or village where the arrest occurred and then have to wait for a judge to arraign them, Bello explained when he released his budget last month. The officers have to supervise the defendants until they are arraigned, which Bello said delays them from handling other calls.

Under the new arrangement, police officers who arrest someone and take them into custody will bring them to central booking at the county jail in downtown Rochester. There, they will be processed and arraigned during morning or evening sessions. Bello said it will save law enforcement officers time and taxpayers money.

The budget provides funding for other public safety efforts. For example, it includes $280,000 to add probation officers to the county’s Juvenile Enhanced Diversion Stabilization Program, better known as JEDS. Through the program, the county probation department supervises youths facing criminal charges and helps connect them and their families with support services.

It also adds 77 new positions to the Department of Human Services, 23 of which are in the Division of Financial Assistance and 12 of which are in Child and Family Services.

During a public hearing on the budget last week, a representative from The Children’s Agenda, which advocates for children and families, called on the county to address staffing levels at the Department of Human Services.

“The Children’s Agenda has also heard complaints in the community about timely access to benefits, including child care assistance,” said Eamonn Scanlon, The Children’s Agenda’s director of community impact. “We recommend increasing staffing in the Department of Human Services to fill these needs.”

The budget will also launch a trial program where the county provides school districts with matching grants to help schools enact programs to recycle or reduce food waste. Districts have to apply for the grants and are eligible for grants of up to $5,000.

Original article: https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2024-12-10/legislators-pass-monroe-county-budget-that-launches-public-safety-and-food-waste-programs