CARMEL- Putnam County legislators have rejected Chairman Dan Birmingham’s proposal to forgo county taxes next year in light of the county’s $191 million fund balance.
Birmingham proposed the idea to his colleagues during a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee calling the suspension of county taxes for a year “a tax-levy timeout.”
However, fellow legislators expressed concern because of similar legislation enacted in Rockland County in 1987 followed four years later by the county’s leadership being forced to eliminate nearly 300 positions.
Putnam Legislator Amy Sayegh of Mahopac described Rockland’s decision a “disaster. “I don’t want to grab more money from the taxpayer, but I want to safeguard what we have. “I support gradually lowering property taxes, but not pausing them for one year.”
Legislator Tommy Regan of Southeast criticized the proposal, noting that New York City—Putnam’s largest taxpayer because of its county watershed holdings—and utility companies would benefit significantly.
Legislator Nancy Montgomery of Philipstown, the lone Democrat on the nine-member governing body, said she preferred increasing the county’s pause on collecting its portion of the gas tax and renewing an exemption from Putnam’s sales tax on clothing and footwear costing less than $110 before it expires in March of next year.
County Executive Kevin Byrne wants to make the exemption permanent.
Montgomery also suggested giving towns funds for the purchase of emergency services equipment with the surplus money.
Comments