Counties Weigh Property Tax Hikes Amid SNAP Cuts

The cost of helping hungry New Yorkers is about to go up by over $1 billion annually, and local taxpayers could foot the bill. 

Later this fall, counties across the state will pay more to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, running after a sharp decline in federal support.

Over 2.7 million New Yorkers are enrolled in SNAP, also known as food stamps; last year, the average household received $376 in monthly benefits. For decades, the costs of administering the program — from processing applications to issuing benefit cards — were evenly split between the federal government and states.

States will soon be responsible for 75 percent of program expenses, thanks to President Donald Trump’s 2025 “Big Beautiful Bill.” Starting this October, that will amount to an additional $168 million annually in New York. Beginning in fall 2027, as states start covering a portion of SNAP benefits for the first time in the program’s history, New York will also have to pay an estimated $1.1 billion in direct benefit costs.

Rather than using state funds, New York is making counties pay for most of the increase. Counties, in turn, are likely to pick up the tab through higher property taxes — or cutting other social services and staff.

New York’s approach makes it an outlier, says Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, or NYSAC, which represents a coalition of county governments. Just two other states, New Jersey and North Carolina, are doing the same. 

Acquario said the decision — based on the state’s interpretation of a law that puts New York counties in charge of public benefits — offloads a “state responsibility” onto counties, which have fewer ways of raising revenue than the state. County social services departments are already navigating fast-moving federal changes to SNAP eligibility that have strained their budgets and staff. 

The state has tied individual counties’ cost increase to how many of their residents rely on SNAP and the amount of benefits they receive. Under state guidelines, the annual increase could range from roughly $27,000 in rural Hamilton County, where a few hundred residents receive SNAP benefits, to nearly $111 million in New York City, where more than 1.7 million residents across five counties are enrolled in the program. The projected median cost increase across the state is about $555,000. 

Several counties that spoke to New York Focus set aside funds to cover the cost increase in the last fiscal quarter of 2026, but have not yet figured out what they’ll do next year. More permanent changes, like property tax hikes, require formal approval from local officials.

Neither New York City’s Human Resources Administration, which oversees SNAP, nor Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office responded to requests for comment about how the city will cover rising SNAP costs. 

Many county leaders have been hoping for a reprieve from Washington or Albany. NYSAC, along with counterparts in New Jersey and North Carolina, has been lobbying Congress to delay the cost shift. NYSAC has also been urging Governor Kathy Hochul to include the costs in the state budget. So far, neither effort has been successful.

In New Jersey, meanwhile, Governor Mikie Sherrill earmarked $71 million to cover higher administrative SNAP costs over the next year, affording counties a transition period. The New Jersey budget, passed in June, also established a minimum monthly SNAP benefit of $95 per household; similar efforts in New York failed to gain traction.

“While the State cannot replace the loss of federal partnership, Governor Sherrill’s budget works to blunt the impact and protect New Jersey families during this transition,” noted Maggie Garbarino, a spokesperson for Sherrill, in an email. 

Hochul’s office did not respond to questions from New York Focus. The governor “has been clear that no state can backfill these federal funding cuts alone,” spokesperson Nicolette Simmonds wrote in a statement. “As these federal cuts take effect, the State will continue to work with counties and local governments to ensure residents have access to critical resources.”

Counties’ financial burden will balloon even more next October, when states will start paying a portion of monthly SNAP benefits in addition to administrative costs — a change that could cost New York an additional $1.1 billion annually. The state expects counties to foot this bill, too, says NYSAC, but has not yet disclosed how much individual counties will pay. 

New York has a history of shifting the burden of public benefits onto counties, says Acquario. Amid the Great Recession, Albany permanently changed the cost share for Safety Net Assistance, a state program that provides temporary cash assistance to needy households, requiring counties to cover 71 percent instead of 50.

Property taxes remain one of the few ways counties can raise revenue, but not all are willing or able to do so. Earlier this year, a dozen counties hit a state cap limiting how much local governments can increase their levies each year — which Acquario finds alarming. It signals that counties are struggling to balance their books, he said, and that they’re likely ill-equipped to absorb additional costs. 

Washington County, in the Capital Region, increased its levy by nearly 17 percent this year, but it estimates that it will have to spend $78 of every $100 it collects in taxes on state and federal mandates such as SNAP or Medicaid, leaving the county with limited room to fund staff salaries and services. 

To cover its increase in administrative SNAP costs — projected at $574,558 — the county’s Department of Social Services has kept vacant positions unfilled, leaving a smaller staff with more paperwork thanks to recent changes in SNAP eligibility. It’s unclear how much the county will have to pay in SNAP benefits starting in 2027, and officials are just beginning to discuss how to cover it. 

“We’re going to plan for the worst and hope for the best,” said department Commissioner Duane Vaughn. 

In nearby Warren County, the board of supervisors voted to raise the levy by 12 percent, exceeding its tax cap. Director of Public Affairs Don Lehman attributed the increase to rising SNAP costs and other surging expenses like retirement and staff health insurance.

“Warren County would greatly appreciate relief from New York State on SNAP costs, Medicaid costs and other unfunded New York state mandates,” Lehman wrote, adding that staff are “looking at any and all feasible options to limit spending and increase revenue without raising taxes” next year.

By contrast, Ulster County is seeking to avoid regressive property tax increases by targeting wealthy residents. A proposed surcharge would raise income taxes by as much as 2 percent on single earners making over $250,000 or couples making over $500,000.

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger called the proposal a “modest step” toward creating a “fairer system” in a county where a large share of residents already spend at least half their income on housing and struggle to afford basic necessities. 

If the measure is approved by the state legislature in the upcoming legislative session — Ulster’s state delegates have introduced twin bills to implement the surcharge — the county could raise between $9 million and $11 million annually to help cover higher SNAP costs, including a projected $738,057 bump in administrative costs this October and nearly $8 million in direct benefits next fall. Ulster is also expecting its share of annual Medicaid costs to rise next year.

“Everyday people simply can’t afford to shoulder a disproportionate share of the cost of funding essential government services,” Metzger said.