Niagara County Legislature majority leader calls for tax cut

Updegrove says in light of budget surplus, move is 'responsible'

Niagara County taxpayers will see their taxes cut if Rick Updegrove, the County Legislature's majority leader, has his way.

In a letter to County Manager Jeffrey M. Glatz and all 14 of his fellow lawmakers in both the majority and minority caucuses, Updegrove made the case for cutting tax rates based on several successful projects shepherded by the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, encouraging 2013 sales tax receipts, and projections showing a 2014 budget surplus.

"It is imperative that we as a responsible body continue to provide relief to county taxpayers whenever we are able," Updegrove wrote Glatz. "I would like to ask you ... to offer a budget that uses the projected surplus to reduce the county tax rate."

The Updegrove tax cut proposal would continue a long-term tax reduction trend in Niagara County, which has reduced property tax rates by 12 percent over the past decade.