State Mandates
Jefferson County collects $70.5M in property taxes to run County Government, however the cost of just a handful of programs that the County is required by the state to operate account for $66M.
New for 2027: Federal Cost Shift of Mandated SNAP
H.R. 1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law July 3, 2025. It included provisions that shifted the costs of SNAP (food stamps) from the federal government to the states. NYS has indicated that this cost shift will be further passed to the counties. For Jefferson County, this would mean $5.75M local cost by 2028 without any additional benefit or service for taxpayers.
...That is over double the County's current property tax cap.
| Impact of SNAP Cost Shift | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP Admin Cost Shift | $1.25M (Full Year) | $1.25M (Full Year) |
| SNAP Error Rate Cost Shift | $1.20M (Q4) | $4.50M (Full Year) |
| TOTAL COST SHIFT | $2.45M | $5.75M |
Property Tax Levy Vs. Property Tax Rate
- Property Tax Levy ($70.5M): The total amount of money collected from all property taxes combined to fund the annual budget.
- Property Tax Rate ($5.56): The specific percentage applied to an individual property's assessed value to calculate that owner's tax bill. The total tax levy divided by the total taxable property value in the jurisdiction.
In short, the levy is the total total amount need to fund the budget, while the rate is the formula used to calculate personal share of that total based on your home's value.
Effects of Equalization
The county’s tax rate is dropping from $5.58 to $5.56. Taxpayer property taxes can go up or down, even when the county tax rate goes down. This is due to town’s equalization rate—a metric showing how closely local assessed property values match true market value as determined by the state. If one municipality’s market value increases, but all the other municipalities increase to a larger degree, then the first municipality’s share of the tax levy will decline. Here is how that impacts final bills for 2027 on a $100,000 home:
| Town | 2026 Equalization Rate | 2027 Equalization Rate | 2026 Full Value Tax Rate $5.58 | 2027 Full Value Tax Rate $5.56 | Tax Rate Difference | Change in Taxes on a $100,000 Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 0.800 | 0.760 | $6.97 | $7.32 | 0.35 | 34.66 |
| Alexandria | 0.570 | 0.580 | $9.79 | $9.59 | -0.20 | -19.56 |
| Antwerp | 0.640 | 1.000 | $8.72 | $5.56 | -3.15 | -315.41 |
| Brownville | 0.780 | 0.683 | $7.15 | $8.15 | 1.00 | 99.92 |
| Cape Vincent | 0.690 | 0.708 | $8.09 | $7.86 | -0.23 | -22.75 |
| Champion | 0.935 | 0.850 | $5.97 | $6.55 | 0.58 | 57.85 |
| Clayton | 0.960 | 0.890 | $5.81 | $6.25 | 0.44 | 43.97 |
| Ellisburg | 1.000 | 0.970 | $5.58 | $5.74 | 0.16 | 15.66 |
| Henderson | 0.680 | 0.660 | $8.21 | $8.43 | 0.23 | 22.51 |
| Hounsfield | 0.890 | 0.825 | $6.27 | $6.74 | 0.48 | 47.51 |
| LeRay | 1.000 | 1.000 | $5.58 | $5.56 | -0.02 | -1.55 |
| Lorraine | 0.990 | 0.890 | $5.64 | $6.25 | 0.62 | 61.58 |
| Lyme | 0.620 | 0.590 | $9.00 | $9.43 | 0.43 | 43.13 |
| Orleans | 0.750 | 0.700 | $7.44 | $7.95 | 0.51 | 50.92 |
| Pamelia | 0.940 | 0.880 | $5.94 | $6.32 | 0.39 | 38.71 |
| Philadelphia | 0.700 | 1.000 | $7.97 | $5.56 | -2.41 | -240.68 |
| Rodman | 0.980 | 0.890 | $5.69 | $6.25 | 0.56 | 55.83 |
| Rutland | 0.739 | 0.740 | $7.55 | $7.52 | -0.04 | -3.53 |
| Theresa | 0.750 | 0.650 | $7.44 | $8.56 | 1.12 | 112.06 |
| Watertown (T) | 0.455 | 0.425 | $12.26 | $13.09 | 0.83 | 82.91 |
| Wilna | 0.965 | 0.905 | $5.78 | $6.15 | 0.37 | 36.62 |
| Worth | 0.600 | 0.534 | $9.30 | $10.42 | 1.12 | 112.22 |
| City of Watertown | 0.730 | 0.690 | $7.64 | $8.06 | 0.42 | 42.06 |
