There is one thing to remember tonight when the Chautauqua County Legislature is expected to approve the sales-tax increase from 7.5 percent to 8 percent. It has to do with the annual budget.

Each year, many legislators parrot the 10 percent slogan. That is the “county only controls 10 percent of the budget because the other 90 percent is tied up in state mandates.”

That is not correct. The county payroll of the nearly $230 million budget makes up almost 25 percent of the budget. In the last year, the county has approved raises for some of those workers.

Those votes are local control, not a state mandate.

In addition, if you add in the benefits and pension costs for the employees, now you are talking another $21 million of cost for employees.

Again, contracts are approved locally, not state mandated.

So yes, the county is facing a budget deficit in the future. Yes, the increased sales tax money will help in solving that dilemma for a short time if the state agrees.

Then what?