Byrne presented his budget to the county legislature on Wednesday, highlighting a compromise he struck with lawmakers over the tax levy this year.
County legislators had initially proposed slashing the county sales tax rate from 4 percent to 3.75 percent when it came up for state review earlier this year, but Byrne rallied state lawmakers and town supervisors to propose a $1 million cut to the property tax levy instead. In exchange, Byrne agreed for the first time to share a portion of the county’s sales tax revenue with towns and villages to use for capital projects. The compromise would take effect in next year’s budget.
Byrne says the property tax rate would fall to 2.39, the county’s lowest rate in nearly 20 years.
"We are providing relief — meaningful relief with historic cuts," says Byrne. "And we're doing it responsibly, sustainably, and in a way that prepares us for the future."
The deal also extends the county’s sales tax exemption on clothing and footwear to March 2027.
The property tax cut comes as some neighboring counties, like Ulster and Rockland, have proposed keeping their property tax rates flat for the next fiscal year, amid concerns about rising costs made worse by federal cuts. Speaking with WAMC, Byrne says he’s not too worried.
“We’re always mindful of potential shortfalls, but I would say it’s not something that’s new to us," he says. "From dips in sales tax revenues to funding uncertainties, whether it’s the state or the federal government, we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re positioned well should we need to address it again.”
Byrne says his spending plan focuses on paying down debt associated with the purchase of the Putnam County Golf Course, and invests in personnel recruitment, retention, mental health and special education. The budget dips into the county’s general fund for about $6.6 million and proposes multiple new positions, including: another prosecutor for the District Attorney’s Office, two more employees for the Department of Social Services, an accountant position, a veterans’ service officer, and counsel for the Republican-led legislature. The budget also includes a proposal to hire a part-time counsel for the legislature’s sole Democrat, Nancy Montgomery.
Aside from the property tax cut, the project Byrne seems most excited about is a new community paramedicine pilot. He says the county signed an amended contract with Empress EMS this week to assign one of the company’s supervising medics to house calls providing primary and preventative care.
Byrne says the program has the support of the Putnam County EMS Council and could start as soon as this month without impacting the budget for the current fiscal year.
“The interesting thing about it is, unlike the current model that we have [where] you have a paramedic, someone calls 911 and they go to an emergency — they might be sitting doing nothing until they’re needed — community paramedicine can schedule out visits throughout the day, and really maximize their time," he explains. "We know already, in county government, where the need is in many cases, because of our senior resources, our senior center. A lot of these individuals have needs. So, by connecting the community paramedicine program with those individuals and then working with the hospital, there’s an opportunity to provide savings to the hospital, to the state, and to ensure that appropriate follow-ups are there in their home.”
Byrne’s presentation Wednesday also included a remembrance of late County Sheriff Kevin McConville, who died in August. Byrne has introduced a resolution to rename the sheriff’s office substation in Nelsonville after McConville.
After the presentation, Montgomery was the only legislator to provide comment on the budget plan. She said she’d like to see the county share more of its sales tax revenue with villages and towns, but she thinks the current compromise is a good start. The Democrat listed a number of priorities she will be keeping an eye on over the next few weeks.
“Infrastructure and environmental resilience, road safety, climate-smart projects," she said. "Past budgets have sometimes underinvested in long-term needs. So, hopefully we’ll have a budget that not only balances the books today, but prepares us for the future.”
The legislature is expected to vote on the spending plan in early November. A public hearing on the budget scheduled for October 27 at 7 p.m. at the Putnam County Courthouse.
