Putnam County Press and the Putnam County Times

Philipstown’s ‘Big Dig:' Farm Program Shares the Fruits of its Labor

Rosie Pall, Stacey Farley, and Elo Blanton at the Sweet Potato Dig in Philipstown. Area food pantries, soup kitchens, and other organizations fighting food insecurity once again got a boost from the Sweet Potato Dig – a collaboration between the Town of Philipstown, and Stacey Farley and Davoren Farm, along with many volunteers and community members. On a parcel of land belonging to the town, at Route 403 in Garrison (across from the Desmond-Fish Public Library), sweet potato

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Philipstown’s ‘Big Dig:' Farm Program Shares the Fruits of its Labor

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Early Voting Begins Oct. 24

Putnam County will be participating in early voting for the general election, when there will be nine days when voters may cast their ballot prior to Election Day, which is Nov. 3. If you are a registered voter in Putnam, you may vote at either the Putnam County Board of Elections, 25 Old Route 6, Carmel; or American Legion Post, 10 Cedar St., Cold Spring, during the following times: · Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Oct. 24 to 26, and Oct.

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Sheriff Seeks 1% Budget Hike for Drones, Radios, Cams

By Holly Crocco Putnam Sheriff Brian Hess is asking the County Legislature to approve a less than 1 percent increase in his department’s budget for next year. “The sheriff’s department had a great year in 2026 and continues to have a great year,” he said at the Oct. 8 Protective Services Committee meeting. “I think that’s because of the deputies, the corrections officers… all the civilian staff has really stepped up.” He said arrests have doubled, traffic stops are up 18 perc

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2 hours ago

Election Night Dinner Supports Local Family

The Italian American Club of Mahopac is organizing a grab-and-go election night dinner as a fundraiser to support a local family that was recently devastated by an unexpected death. Christopher Roche, 56, of Carmel, was killed in a car accident Oct. 2, leaving behind his wife and seven children. According to news reports, Roche was driving on Route 6 near Sunset Boulevard and Tamarin Drive in Carmel when his pickup truck went out of control and rolled down an embankment. Chri

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Man Stole $200K from Garrison Nonprofits

A former Putnam County resident has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $200,000 from two area nonprofits in Garrison, according to District Attorney Robert Tendy. On Oct. 13, Mark Kenny pled guilty to the entirety of the indictment pending against him, which included two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree falsifying business records that allowed him to steal $212,000 from the Garrison Fish & Game Club and the Catfish Pond Association. The in

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Mahopac School Bus Monitor Accused of Assaulting Student

A Yorktown woman who serves as a monitor on a school bus for the Mahopac Central School District was arrested last week following investigation into an incident that occurred earlier in the month. According to Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess, district officials were alerted late in the afternoon Oct. 6 to an incident that occurred Oct. 2. The following day, the district contacted the sheriff’s office. Video surveillance from the bus was reviewed and it was determined that Ma

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$6.5M County Tax Cut Proposed

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne presents his 2027 budget Oct. 5 at the Historic County Courthouse in Carmel, as Putnam Legislature Chairman Dan Birmingham looks on. By Holly Crocco Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne is proposing $13 million in tax relief in 2027, through the gifting of $6.5 million to local towns and villages for infrastructure projects, and a $6.5 million reduction to the tax levy. “A budget is far more than a financial document,” Byrne said during his

Headline

Oct 11

Carmel Budget Stays Within Tax Cap

By Holly Crocco The proposed 2027 budget for the Town of Carmel stays within the state-mandated 2 percent property tax cap. “We worked to keep this budget as tight as we could make it, taking into account labor, health care, operation costs – all the things that go into running a town,” said Supervisor Michael Cazzari at the Oct. 7 Carmel Town Board meeting. According to Town Comptroller Mary Ann Maxwell, the proposed $28.6 million levy represents a little more than a $1 mill

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Oct 11

Kent Tackles 2025 ‘Fiscal Stress'

By Holly Crocco The Town of Kent is among 22 local governments in New York State to be designated in fiscal stress for the year ending in 2025, according to a recent report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. “Local governments are facing increased fiscal pressures due to a combination of the end of federal pandemic aid, higher inflation, rising operating costs, and moderating sales tax revenue growth,” he said. DiNapoli launched the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System in 2013

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Oct 11

Illegal Brewster Resident Arrested Twice in 18 Hours

A Brewster man, who has reportedly been living in the country illegally, was arrested twice in 18 hours following separate robbery and forcible touch incidents in Putnam. According to Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess, at about 9 p.m. Sept. 29, Putnam County 911 dispatched deputies to the Southeast train station after a female passenger reported being forcibly touched by a male aboard a train. The suspect fled before deputies arrived. An officer quickly located Diego Rodriguez

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Oct 11

Legislature Increases Mental Health Services Funding for 2027

By Holly Crocco Two items that are budget-related were acted upon during the Oct. 6 meeting of the full County Legislature – just one day after the county executive presented his proposed 2027 spending plan. Legislator Nancy Montgomery, D-Philipstown, put forth a motion to dedicate even more funds for mental health services than have been included in the proposed 2027 budget. She said the legislators received a “letter of necessity” earlier that day from the county executive

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Oct 11

Judge Finds Byrne in Violation of Campaign Finance Law

By Holly Crocco Putnam County Supreme Court Judge Victor Grossman last week found that County Executive Kevin Byrne’s campaign violated New York campaign finance law, and ordered it to refund $21,526.11 in contributions that were accepted in excess of the legal limit. State law prohibits campaigns for the office of county executive from receiving contributions that exceed 5 cents multiplied by the total number of active, registered voters in the county, from any one contribut

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Oct 11

Meet Your County Executive Candidates

From left are Democrat Brett Yarris, Conservative Tatiana Brahimi, and Republican incumbent Kevin Byrne, who are all running for the county executive’s office in the November election. By Holly Crocco The Putnam County Press/Times hosted a debate Sept. 30 featuring the three candidates running for Putnam County executive. Below are wrap-ups of each candidate’s viewpoints. To watch the debate, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/putnampress and click through the five p

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Oct 5

No Tax Increase Proposed in Southeast

By Holly Crocco Southeast Town Supervisor Joseph Castellano has presented a tentative 2027 budget that includes no property tax increase. “It’s been a busy, busy few months developing this budget,” he said at the Oct. 1 Southeast Town Board meeting. The spending plan was delivered to the town clerk and town board three days prior. The $10.8 million spending plan includes $19.6 million in expenses and $8.8 million in revenue. The highway budget (townwide and outside the villag

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Oct 5

Put Valley Considers 7.28% Tax Hike

By Holly Crocco The Town of Putnam Valley is considering a 7.28 percent tax levy increase in 2027, which would make it one of the many towns breaking the state-mandated property tax cap next year. The tentative budget, which was distributed during a special Sept. 30 meeting of the Putnam Valley Town Board, uses $2.2 million from the fund balance, leaving $3.5 million in reserves. “It’s a healthy fund balance,” said Town Supervisor Alison Jolicoeur. “It’s not a long-term solut

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Oct 5

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