By Rob Sample
Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne recently unveiled a $205 million countywide budget for 2025, representing a 5.1 percent increase over the 2024 budget but holding the line on property taxes.
“This budget lowers the property tax rate to $2.70 per $1,000 of assessed property value, or 2.7 percent, representing the lowest property tax rate for Putnam County sin
ce 2007,” said Byrne during a special meeting of the Putnam County Legislature on Oct. 3 at the Historic Courthouse in Carmel.
While conceding that the $205 million figure is the highest in the county’s history, Byrne pointed out that the cost of materials, services, and labor have all increased dramatically due to inflation experienced over the past several years – particularly since the pandemic. This is in addition to unfunded mandates.
“In addition to rising inflation costs, we’re budgeting for a 10 percent increase to health insurance premiums as well as a substantial increase in the county’s municipal insurance premiums, surging costs to mandatory pre-kindergarten and childhood early-intervention programs, and a record number of mandated ‘730’ cases in our Department of Social Services.”
The latter are cases in which the courts appoint an unbiased outsider to help make a judgement on a matter involving families and children.
“And, of course, we have to account for the county’s contractual union obligations to its hard-working employees,” said Byrne. “While we have managed to account for all of these, each one represents a significant new increase in our budget.”
One way the county is offsetting spending is by auctioning off foreclosed properties – 144, to be exact – and putting them back on the tax rolls.
“This auction was an important step in our ongoing efforts to reduce the overall tax burden on taxpaying residents and assist in ensuring these properties once again contribute to our local economy,” according to Byrne.
He said despite the recent rate cut from the Federal Reserve Bank – and the county’s favorable credit rating of AA1 from Moody’s Investors Service – interest rates remain high. Therefore, a six-year capital plan aims to drastically reduce the amount of financing required for major projects.
Byrne described the county’s general fund as healthy and the result of fiscally sound spending on infrastructure.
“That’s part of the reason why we plan, as we did in our 2024 budget, to utilize assigned funds from our capital reserve responsibly, and support the many other infrastructure projects we have going on across our county,” he said. “This act permits us to finance these important projects without overloading ourselves with debt while interest rates remain high.”
Byrne pointed to the recently finished renovations at the Koehler Memorial Senior Center and the Route 6N Department of Public Works garage, both in Mahopac, as examples of such expenditures. Both were completed in-house by the county’s DPW workforce.
“This past year, our county team completed major improvements at the Board of Elections, inside and out, and complete with new security improvements to ensure our elections – and the people working them – remain safe and secure,” added Byrne.
On another key function, road and bridge maintenance, Byrne noted that one of his first actions in office was to address long-delayed work on Peekskill Hollow Road in Putnam Valley. While the county is currently in litigation with the prior contractor, Byrne described the new contractor as “dynamite.”
“I’m excited to announce that the construction phase of Peekskill Hollow Road is currently 90 percent complete,” said the county executive. “Barring any unforeseen interruptions, we are expecting it to be 100 percent complete by Nov. 1. That means no more metal plates on bridges. No more one-lane traffic.”
The county recently signed a project-labor agreement with a contractor and crews that will work on Fair Street in Carmel, with a community forum scheduled Nov. 13 at the Bureau of Emergency Services auditorium in Carmel to address the project.
Byrne said the capital plan also focuses on improving water quality, energy efficiency, and a reduced carbon footprint for future generations.
“We’ve installed solar arrays on the county office building roof and throughout the Donald B. Smith Campus (in Carmel),” he said. “We’ve conducted energy audits and made many of our county buildings more efficient, and we’ve instituted a Complete Streets plan that makes sure our county roads are accessible for driving, biking, walking, and public transit.”
Those efforts were recommended by the county’s Climate Smart Task Force, which also applied for Putnam to be recognized under the state’s Climate Smart Community program.
“I’m proud to announce that in June, we were awarded bronze status by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,” said Byrne.
Among other initiatives, the county will mark the grand opening of its new fire training center in Carmel by the year’s end. The new $1.3 million campus will provide first responders with a safe and comprehensive environment to prepare for emergency situations and to sharpen their skills.
Part of the funding for the center came from a $300,000 state grant, as well as through the American Rescue Plan Act in 2022.
“We welcomed shouldering this cost as the investment further represents Putnam County’s steadfast commitment to the safety and preparedness of our first responders, who selflessly protect us every day,” he said.
Byrne commended the county’s newly formed Department of General Services for identifying ways to better manage resources and save tax dollars.
“In last year’s budget we consolidated a number of line items like fuel, security cameras, utilities, copiers, and vehicle leases,” said Byrne. “We already have a clearer picture of the county’s total spending on these items, enabling us to better leverage our purchasing power in the free market, garnering us better deals and rates.”
The county executive also touted Putnam’s Property Tax Stabilization Fund as a key initiative for coping with higher costs and greater state-level rules and regulations – and to prevent future county tax increases.
In addition, Byrne said the county intends to continue its moratorium on county sales tax for clothing and footwear less than $110.
“With inflation still crushing many residents, that 4 percent discount on a new pair of shoes or socks for a young child can suddenly become very helpful,” he said. “This budget accounts for the continuation of this meaningful tax cut throughout the 2025 fiscal year… At a time when businesses and families are still struggling, we are happy to continue doing our part, no matter how small it may seem, to offer relief.”
The county has reached an agreement with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Employee Association for its subsequent collective bargaining contract, according to Byrne. “It has my full support, as well as Sheriff (Kevin) McConville’s,” he said.
Byrne also announced the formation of a county “blue ribbon” committee to analyze the health-insurance contribution policy for county employees, which he described as an “outlier” in comparison to other jurisdictions and an impediment to employee recruitment and retention.
The County Legislature began discussing the details of each department’s budget lines in committee this week, recommending changes and adjustments, and will continue to do so throughout the month. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse in Carmel.
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