NORWICH – Armed with a $34.5 million surplus, Chenango County supervisors are deliberating how best to use the funds to cover looming capital and operational expenses.

According to the Chenango County Treasurer’s Office, the surplus will help balance the budget for upcoming costs, with county officials emphasizing that the immediate focus remains on near-term needs.

“We want to allocate it to things we know are upcoming,” said Chenango County Treasurer Bill Craine. “We feel we have a good plan in place for that.”

The Treasurer’s Office and the Chenango County Finance Committee propose using $11.1 million of the surplus to address capital needs, including:

-$9 million for highway facility improvements;

-$800,000 to offset increasing DPW fuel and material costs;

-$500,000 for operations at the county-run airport in Norwich;

-$500,000 for necessary computer system upgrades;

-$300,000 for the Chenango County Office Building construction project.

Another $1.2 million is earmarked for mandatory operational expenses, including:

-$500,000 for restorative services for charged individuals;

-$350,000 to cover the county’s share of community college expenses;

-$350,000 for assigned counsel in the court system.

The remaining $22.2 million will be set aside as a contingency, Craine said.

“One of our precepts is that we like to have two months of operating cash,” he said. “We spend between $10.5 million and $11 million a month. It leaves us with a couple hundred thousand dollars if we need it available.”

The $34.5 million surplus was recently verified in an annual audit of county finances. The best use of surplus funds is for one-time expenses, according to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

“Surplus is precious. It takes a long time to build it up, and you need to be very careful about what you use it for,” Craine said. “We think this is a smart use.”

Chenango County is likely to see another surplus in 2026, but figures cannot be calculated until the end of the year.

The county took similar steps to allocate a surplus in 2021, when officials dispensed $22 million in unassigned, unappropriated funds generated from the American Rescue Plan Act. In 2023, they earmarked $29.5 million in surplus funds for other operational and capital expenses.