The 2024 Erie County budget is being trimmed down but still includes a tax increase that hasn’t been seen in decades.

According to a story by the Erie Times-News, the proposed tax hike is more than 14 percent and would be the largest in Erie County since 1983. That information was confirmed Thursday night by County Finance Director Paul Lichtenwalter.

He told us last Saturday, they met for eight hours going through each department in the general fund line by line, mostly making cuts.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that tax hike.

“One of the driving factors to that has been contract negotiations which are a product of where inflation has gone. That 14 percent is actually less than what the inflation rate for the consumer price index has been these last couple years. And along with everything else that goes up. . . we’re all paying more for gasoline and milk,” said Paul Lichtenwalter, director of finance.

He said council will meet again to discuss the budget this Saturday.