Kingston, New York officials say their city could lose up to $5 million in revenues because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They expect to collect significantly less sales and property tax revenues than estimated, and they expect a decline in other revenue sources.
Kingston Mayor Steve Noble and the city’s comptroller have proposed an economic recovery plan to the Common Council that would occur in three phases, and Noble wants the council to implement Phase 1 now. In Phase 1, Noble says that by strictly cutting back budgetary spending across all city departments, leaving unoccupied positions unfilled, and limiting overtime pay, Kingston will save about $1.6 million. He says the next two phases would be implemented as the city learns more about federal aid and sales tax figures and these phases include layoffs. City Comptroller John Tuey expects Kingston will see revenue decreases between $2.5 million and $5 million.
