Sales tax revenues off to strong start in 2025 for Orleans County

Orleans County is off to a strong start with sales tax growth in the first quarter of 2025 at 9.2 percent, from $5.39 million to $5.88 million.

That is among the biggest percentage increases in the state, topped only by Chenango County at 11.8%, Delaware County at 10.4%, Yates (9.9%), Broome (9.8%) and Lewis (9.4%).

Among the rural GLOW counties, Orleans saw the biggest percentage increase at 9.2% with Genesee up 3.7%, from $12.47 million to $12.93 million.

Livingston and Wyoming both saw decreases with Wyoming down 1.1% (from $6.03 to $5.96 million) and Livingston down 0.8% (from $10.81 to $10.73 million).

The big jump in revenue for the quarter follows a modest increase for the county in 2024, when the local sales tax went up 1.4 percent from $23.10 million to $23.42 million, according to the state comptroller’s office.

The Orleans County Legislature allocates $1,366,671 of the local share to towns and villages. That collective amount – 5.8 percent of the total in 2024 – has not been increased since 2001. The towns and villages have requested more of the local sales tax to help pay for services at the town and village levels.

Local government sales tax collections totaled $5.8 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 3.2% ($180 million) compared to the same quarter last year, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reported last week.

Each of the 10 regions in the state, including New York City, had a year-over-year increase in collections.

 “Local sales tax collections grew in the first quarter compared to last year, but this growth could be threatened by economic disruptions and uncertainty,” DiNapoli said. “I encourage local officials to take advantage of the financial tools and guidance my office offers to help shore up their finances and build resilience against the challenging headwinds we face.”