\n
By <\/p>\n
Jason <\/p>\n
Miller, <\/p>\n
\n
Bookstore <\/p>\n
owner <\/p>\n
\n
C.S. <\/p>\n
Miller <\/p>\n
Books <\/p>\n
\n
Do <\/p>\n
good <\/p>\n
work. <\/p>\n
Be <\/p>\n
dedicated. <\/p>\n
Be <\/p>\n
loyal. <\/p>\n
You <\/p>\n
will <\/p>\n
get <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
raise. <\/p>\n
Pick <\/p>\n
up <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
second <\/p>\n
job <\/p>\n
if <\/p>\n
you <\/p>\n
have <\/p>\n
to. <\/p>\n
Maybe <\/p>\n
your <\/p>\n
partner <\/p>\n
goes <\/p>\n
back <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
work, <\/p>\n
too. <\/p>\n
This <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
what <\/p>\n
people <\/p>\n
have <\/p>\n
always <\/p>\n
been <\/p>\n
told <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
get <\/p>\n
ahead <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
rural <\/p>\n
America. <\/p>\n
\n
For <\/p>\n
many <\/p>\n
families, <\/p>\n
it <\/p>\n
doesn\u2019t <\/p>\n
feel <\/p>\n
like <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
working <\/p>\n
anymore. <\/p>\n
Story Continues Below Adverts<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Most <\/p>\n
people <\/p>\n
access <\/p>\n
health <\/p>\n
care <\/p>\n
through <\/p>\n
employer <\/p>\n
sponsored <\/p>\n
insurance, <\/p>\n
often <\/p>\n
paired <\/p>\n
with <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
Health <\/p>\n
Savings <\/p>\n
Account <\/p>\n
(HSA). <\/p>\n
It\u2019s <\/p>\n
usually <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
hidden <\/p>\n
cost, <\/p>\n
quietly <\/p>\n
deducted\u00a0 <\/p>\n
from <\/p>\n
your <\/p>\n
paycheck, <\/p>\n
until <\/p>\n
it <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
raising <\/p>\n
faster <\/p>\n
than <\/p>\n
your <\/p>\n
wages.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
In <\/p>\n
rural <\/p>\n
Chenango <\/p>\n
county, <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
pressure <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
compounded <\/p>\n
by <\/p>\n
steadily <\/p>\n
rising <\/p>\n
property <\/p>\n
taxes <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
effectively <\/p>\n
rise <\/p>\n
about <\/p>\n
4 <\/p>\n
percent <\/p>\n
per <\/p>\n
year. <\/p>\n
2 <\/p>\n
percent <\/p>\n
each, <\/p>\n
from <\/p>\n
school <\/p>\n
districts <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
municipalities, <\/p>\n
increases <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
have <\/p>\n
stacked <\/p>\n
year <\/p>\n
after <\/p>\n
year. <\/p>\n
Officials <\/p>\n
often <\/p>\n
celebrate <\/p>\n
staying <\/p>\n
at <\/p>\n
or <\/p>\n
slightly <\/p>\n
below <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
tax <\/p>\n
cap. <\/p>\n
Your <\/p>\n
income <\/p>\n
growth <\/p>\n
not <\/p>\n
being <\/p>\n
considered.\u00a0The <\/p>\n
result <\/p>\n
being <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
growing <\/p>\n
gap <\/p>\n
between <\/p>\n
effort <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
payoff.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Last <\/p>\n
week, <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
JAMA <\/p>\n
Network <\/p>\n
Open, <\/p>\n
reported <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
employer <\/p>\n
sponsored <\/p>\n
health <\/p>\n
insurance <\/p>\n
premiums <\/p>\n
have <\/p>\n
risen <\/p>\n
342 <\/p>\n
percent <\/p>\n
since <\/p>\n
1999, <\/p>\n
while <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
employees <\/p>\n
share <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
those <\/p>\n
premiums <\/p>\n
increased <\/p>\n
308 <\/p>\n
percent.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Over <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
same <\/p>\n
period, <\/p>\n
CPI <\/p>\n
data <\/p>\n
shows <\/p>\n
worker <\/p>\n
wages <\/p>\n
increased\u00a0 <\/p>\n
just <\/p>\n
119 <\/p>\n
percent, <\/p>\n
while <\/p>\n
inflation <\/p>\n
rose <\/p>\n
64 <\/p>\n
percent. <\/p>\n
This <\/p>\n
means <\/p>\n
health <\/p>\n
costs <\/p>\n
have <\/p>\n
grown <\/p>\n
roughly <\/p>\n
three <\/p>\n
times <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
rate <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
workers\u2019 <\/p>\n
earnings.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
The <\/p>\n
study <\/p>\n
also <\/p>\n
found <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
hospital <\/p>\n
prices <\/p>\n
continue <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
rise <\/p>\n
even <\/p>\n
as <\/p>\n
admissions <\/p>\n
decline. <\/p>\n
This <\/p>\n
trend <\/p>\n
offers <\/p>\n
little <\/p>\n
reassurance <\/p>\n
for <\/p>\n
workers <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
small <\/p>\n
businesses <\/p>\n
absorbing <\/p>\n
those <\/p>\n
costs.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
These <\/p>\n
pressures <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
presented <\/p>\n
clearly <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
local <\/p>\n
budgets. <\/p>\n
Looking <\/p>\n
at <\/p>\n
municipal <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
school <\/p>\n
district <\/p>\n
spending, <\/p>\n
one <\/p>\n
of, <\/p>\n
if <\/p>\n
not <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
largest, <\/p>\n
line <\/p>\n
item <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
worker <\/p>\n
health <\/p>\n
insurance. <\/p>\n
Aside <\/p>\n
from <\/p>\n
federal <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
state <\/p>\n
aid, <\/p>\n
municipal\/institutional <\/p>\n
revenue <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
generated <\/p>\n
primarily <\/p>\n
by <\/p>\n
property <\/p>\n
taxes. <\/p>\n
To <\/p>\n
balance <\/p>\n
budgets, <\/p>\n
governments <\/p>\n
rely <\/p>\n
on <\/p>\n
assessed <\/p>\n
property <\/p>\n
values <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
determine <\/p>\n
your <\/p>\n
tax <\/p>\n
levy <\/p>\n
burden.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Recently, <\/p>\n
both <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
county <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
city <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
Norwich <\/p>\n
passed <\/p>\n
budgets, <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
suggest <\/p>\n
rising <\/p>\n
property <\/p>\n
values <\/p>\n
strengthen <\/p>\n
their <\/p>\n
respective <\/p>\n
revenue <\/p>\n
projections. <\/p>\n
That <\/p>\n
assumption <\/p>\n
intentionally <\/p>\n
glosses <\/p>\n
over <\/p>\n
inflation <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
serious <\/p>\n
equity <\/p>\n
problem <\/p>\n
– <\/p>\n
assessments <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
not <\/p>\n
updated <\/p>\n
uniformly <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
city <\/p>\n
or <\/p>\n
across <\/p>\n
municipalities. <\/p>\n
Yes, <\/p>\n
all <\/p>\n
municipalities <\/p>\n
do <\/p>\n
their <\/p>\n
assessments <\/p>\n
differently.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
According <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
NYS <\/p>\n
Office <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
Real <\/p>\n
Property <\/p>\n
Tax <\/p>\n
Services, <\/p>\n
\u201cMost <\/p>\n
Recent <\/p>\n
Municipal <\/p>\n
Reassessment\u201d <\/p>\n
data <\/p>\n
table, <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
city <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
Norwich <\/p>\n
assessments <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
from <\/p>\n
1988. <\/p>\n
Homeowners <\/p>\n
who <\/p>\n
have <\/p>\n
purchased <\/p>\n
property <\/p>\n
more <\/p>\n
recently <\/p>\n
often <\/p>\n
receive <\/p>\n
reassessment <\/p>\n
notices <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
mail <\/p>\n
reflecting <\/p>\n
updated <\/p>\n
market <\/p>\n
values, <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
come <\/p>\n
along <\/p>\n
with <\/p>\n
significantly <\/p>\n
higher <\/p>\n
tax <\/p>\n
bills, <\/p>\n
while <\/p>\n
neighboring <\/p>\n
properties <\/p>\n
remain <\/p>\n
assessed <\/p>\n
decades <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
past.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
As <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
March <\/p>\n
2025 <\/p>\n
roughly <\/p>\n
35 <\/p>\n
percent <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
property <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
city <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
tax-exempt, <\/p>\n
adding <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
working <\/p>\n
household <\/p>\n
pressures. <\/p>\n
Raising <\/p>\n
tax <\/p>\n
levies <\/p>\n
every <\/p>\n
year <\/p>\n
for <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
last <\/p>\n
10 <\/p>\n
years, <\/p>\n
according <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
2026\u00a0 <\/p>\n
city <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
Norwich <\/p>\n
budget, <\/p>\n
outdated <\/p>\n
assessments, <\/p>\n
shifted <\/p>\n
tax <\/p>\n
burden, <\/p>\n
combine <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
intensify <\/p>\n
financial <\/p>\n
challenges. <\/p>\n
People <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
working, <\/p>\n
but <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
system <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
increasingly <\/p>\n
misaligned <\/p>\n
with <\/p>\n
economic <\/p>\n
reality. <\/p>\n
\n
Costs <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
taxes <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
rising <\/p>\n
faster <\/p>\n
than <\/p>\n
wages. <\/p>\n
Assessments <\/p>\n
lag <\/p>\n
decades <\/p>\n
behind <\/p>\n
reality. <\/p>\n
The <\/p>\n
problem <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
more <\/p>\n
than <\/p>\n
affordability. <\/p>\n
Mobility <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
at <\/p>\n
risk. <\/p>\n
Hard <\/p>\n
working <\/p>\n
families <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
NOT <\/p>\n
thriving <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
Chenango <\/p>\n
County.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
This <\/p>\n
steady <\/p>\n
erosion <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
economic <\/p>\n
debasement <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
household <\/p>\n
finances\u00a0 <\/p>\n
changes <\/p>\n
behavior. <\/p>\n
The <\/p>\n
cumulative <\/p>\n
effect <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
rising <\/p>\n
insurance <\/p>\n
costs, <\/p>\n
higher <\/p>\n
taxes, <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
uneven <\/p>\n
assessments <\/p>\n
have <\/p>\n
stalled <\/p>\n
upward <\/p>\n
mobility.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
In <\/p>\n
rural <\/p>\n
communities <\/p>\n
like <\/p>\n
ours <\/p>\n
entrepreneurship <\/p>\n
has <\/p>\n
long <\/p>\n
been <\/p>\n
one <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
few <\/p>\n
reliable <\/p>\n
paths <\/p>\n
forward. <\/p>\n
Consequently, <\/p>\n
when <\/p>\n
starting <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
business <\/p>\n
means <\/p>\n
risking <\/p>\n
healthcare <\/p>\n
coverage, <\/p>\n
multiple <\/p>\n
forms <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
insurance, <\/p>\n
NYSEG <\/p>\n
(yes, <\/p>\n
them <\/p>\n
too) <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
unpredictable <\/p>\n
tax <\/p>\n
exposure, <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
path <\/p>\n
becomes <\/p>\n
daunting <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
pursue. <\/p>\n
The <\/p>\n
trailhead <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
there, <\/p>\n
but <\/p>\n
increasingly <\/p>\n
difficult <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
find. <\/p>\n
\n
For <\/p>\n
existing <\/p>\n
small <\/p>\n
business, <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
hidden <\/p>\n
costs <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
health <\/p>\n
insurance <\/p>\n
can <\/p>\n
slow <\/p>\n
investment, <\/p>\n
delay <\/p>\n
expansion\u00a0 <\/p>\n
or <\/p>\n
add <\/p>\n
people <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
their <\/p>\n
workforce. <\/p>\n
Over <\/p>\n
time, <\/p>\n
It <\/p>\n
becomes <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
key <\/p>\n
factor <\/p>\n
in <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
decision <\/p>\n
when <\/p>\n
considering <\/p>\n
to\u00a0 <\/p>\n
grow\u00a0 <\/p>\n
here <\/p>\n
or <\/p>\n
relocate. <\/p>\n
The <\/p>\n
same <\/p>\n
costs <\/p>\n
may <\/p>\n
also <\/p>\n
discourage <\/p>\n
new <\/p>\n
businesses <\/p>\n
from <\/p>\n
locating <\/p>\n
here <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
begin <\/p>\n
with.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Further, <\/p>\n
families <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
feeling <\/p>\n
this <\/p>\n
too. <\/p>\n
Many <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
forced <\/p>\n
into <\/p>\n
moving\u00a0 <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
areas <\/p>\n
with <\/p>\n
better\/higher <\/p>\n
wages <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
more <\/p>\n
affordable <\/p>\n
housing. <\/p>\n
A <\/p>\n
property <\/p>\n
tax <\/p>\n
bill <\/p>\n
should <\/p>\n
not <\/p>\n
be <\/p>\n
higher <\/p>\n
than <\/p>\n
your <\/p>\n
mortgage <\/p>\n
bill. <\/p>\n
When <\/p>\n
taxes <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
too <\/p>\n
high, <\/p>\n
out <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
town <\/p>\n
landlords <\/p>\n
will <\/p>\n
pass <\/p>\n
that <\/p>\n
along <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
their <\/p>\n
tenants <\/p>\n
through <\/p>\n
higher <\/p>\n
rents. <\/p>\n
Higher <\/p>\n
rents <\/p>\n
leave <\/p>\n
families <\/p>\n
with <\/p>\n
less <\/p>\n
money <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
save,\u00a0 <\/p>\n
buy <\/p>\n
houses <\/p>\n
or <\/p>\n
start <\/p>\n
families. <\/p>\n
Behavior <\/p>\n
changes <\/p>\n
when <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
math <\/p>\n
no <\/p>\n
longer <\/p>\n
maths. <\/p>\n
Story Continues Below Adverts<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
This <\/p>\n
raises <\/p>\n
a <\/p>\n
hard <\/p>\n
question, <\/p>\n
how <\/p>\n
can <\/p>\n
we <\/p>\n
compete? <\/p>\n
What <\/p>\n
makes <\/p>\n
Chenango <\/p>\n
County <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
place <\/p>\n
people <\/p>\n
choose <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
live, <\/p>\n
work <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
build <\/p>\n
businesses? <\/p>\n
The <\/p>\n
individual <\/p>\n
hardship <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
tangible <\/p>\n
but <\/p>\n
this <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
about <\/p>\n
community <\/p>\n
survival.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Rising <\/p>\n
costs <\/p>\n
are <\/p>\n
squeezing <\/p>\n
working <\/p>\n
families <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
small <\/p>\n
business <\/p>\n
from <\/p>\n
every <\/p>\n
direction. <\/p>\n
Focusing <\/p>\n
efforts <\/p>\n
on <\/p>\n
growing <\/p>\n
our <\/p>\n
rural <\/p>\n
local <\/p>\n
economy <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
not <\/p>\n
optional; <\/p>\n
it <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
necessary.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u00a0 <\/p>\n
With <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
annual <\/p>\n
Progress <\/p>\n
Chenango <\/p>\n
reports <\/p>\n
approaching, <\/p>\n
we <\/p>\n
hope <\/p>\n
this <\/p>\n
article <\/p>\n
gives <\/p>\n
the <\/p>\n
reader <\/p>\n
an <\/p>\n
idea <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
how <\/p>\n
small <\/p>\n
business <\/p>\n
is <\/p>\n
working <\/p>\n
to <\/p>\n
help <\/p>\n
their <\/p>\n
workers, <\/p>\n
not <\/p>\n
just <\/p>\n
survive, <\/p>\n
but <\/p>\n
thrive.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
(Sources: <\/p>\n
Kanimian, <\/p>\n
S., <\/p>\n
& <\/p>\n
Ho, <\/p>\n
V. <\/p>\n
(2025).\u00a0 <\/p>\n
U.S. <\/p>\n
Medical <\/p>\n
Prices <\/p>\n
and <\/p>\n
Health <\/p>\n
Insurance <\/p>\n
Premiums, <\/p>\n
1999\u20132024.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
JAMA <\/p>\n
Network. <\/p>\n
New <\/p>\n
York <\/p>\n
State <\/p>\n
Office <\/p>\n
of <\/p>\n
Real <\/p>\n
Property <\/p>\n
Tax <\/p>\n
Services.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Most <\/p>\n
Recent <\/p>\n
Municipal <\/p>\n
Reassessment <\/p>\n
Data.) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jason Miller, Bookstore owner C.S. Miller Books Do good work. Be dedicated. Be loyal. You will get…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":481418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,78541,418,718,13332,6213,78544,218049,79,78540,64811,78545,405,50,12642,28336,593,1539,78543,16719,31590,63972,78542,448,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-481417","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-chenango-county","10":"tag-classifieds","11":"tag-community","12":"tag-cost","13":"tag-current-events","14":"tag-daily-newspaper","15":"tag-doing","16":"tag-economy","17":"tag-evening-sun","18":"tag-everything","19":"tag-forums","20":"tag-new-york","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-newspaper","23":"tag-norwich","24":"tag-obituaries","25":"tag-of","26":"tag-online-newspaper","27":"tag-oxford","28":"tag-right","29":"tag-rising","30":"tag-sherburne","31":"tag-the","32":"tag-united-states","33":"tag-unitedstates","34":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115811915111832393","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}