A group of volunteers prepares meals at Second Chance Foods in Brewster, to be distributed to pantries and other mechanisms throughout the county that distribute meals to those in need. The organization will receive a bump in funding – although not as much as it had hoped for – in the 2027 budget. Photo courtesy of Second Chance Foods, Inc. By Holly Crocco The Putnam Legislature last week adopted a 2027 budget with a tax levy of $32.6 million, which equates to a 1.72 percent

By Holly Crocco Putnam County government has a surplus of money, and the towns and villages want some of it. The County Legislature last week debated whether there is time to act on County Executive Kevin Byrne’s proposal to distribute $6.5 million to the municipalities by the end of 2026, or if they are better served by distributing $10 million to the towns and villages over the next two years. During the Oct. 20 Budget Committee meeting, Legislator Toni Addonizio, R-Kent, i

By Holly Crocco The Putnam Valley Town Board has whittled its preliminary 2027 budget down from the originally proposed 7.2 percent increase, to about a 3.34 percent increase. “The work that’s been done is good work,” said Councilman Louie Luongo at the Oct. 21 Putnam Valley Town Board meeting and budget hearing. “We’ve gotten it down. I don’t know that we can’t do a little bit more also with the other revenues that are possibly out there. We still have more work to do, but I

Lois Zutell (1935-2020) was the Town of Southeast’s first and – to date – only female town supervisor. By Holly Crocco & Jack Alcott The Town of Southeast is considering renaming the Lakeview Manor community center in honor of the town’s first and – to date – only female supervisor. “When we reflect on the life and legacy of Lois Zutell, a few words come to mind: community, dedication, leadership, and lasting impact,” said Putnam County Historian Jennifer Cassidy at the Oct.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Holly Crocco The Town of Putnam Valley has a Natural Resource Inventory that is eight years old but was never officially adopted. During the Sept. 16 Putnam Valley Town Board meeting, Ted Warren, public policy manager for the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, explained that the organization helped the town draft its NRI in 2018. “A Natural Resource Inventory compiles and describes important, naturally occurring resources in a municipality, such as forest, streams, wildlife habi

By Holly Crocco Discussion regarding what to do with the county’s $191 million fund balance continued last week, with lawmakers debating whether a “tax levy pause” would be doable in 2027, or if it would hurt the county’s financial standing. “I’d like to reframe it is a tax levy ‘timeout’ for 2027,” said Legislator Dan Birmingham, R-Southeast, during the county’s Sept. 22 Budget Committee meeting. “We had a $1 million tax decrease this year. And $1 million out of $163 million

By Holly Crocco The Putnam County Legislature is expected to approve a property tax exemption for those who create accessory dwelling units on their properties for long-term rentals. New York State has given counties the option to provide a temporary exemption on the increase in value created when a homeowner creates a legal accessory dwelling unit, and Legislator Nancy Montgomery, D-Philipstown, has put forth a resolution asking the county to utilize that tool to increase th

The Southeast Planning Board recently voted to amend the statement of findings from the 2021 environmental impact statement for the Lincoln Logistics development on Pugsley Hill Road, to support removal of the condition that trucks cannot operate overnight, citing that review of traffic and noise show there will not be an adverse impact. “If the board approves the amended finding statement tonight, then they will also vote on referring this to the town board for an amendment

By Holly Crocco New York State is moving toward one standard diploma for all students. While this new vision does not eliminate the Regents diploma, it does eliminate the requirement. Changes coming to school districts across the state were outlined by Mahopac School Board member Lisa Caraway during the board’s Sept. 3 meeting, when she updated colleagues on information learned during a recent conference hosted by the NYS Education Department. “It’s really all part of this ev

By Holly Crocco Patterson Town Supervisor Richard Williams has presented a preliminary budget for next year that surpasses the state-mandated 2 percent property tax cap by more than $134,700. “The 2027 budget proposes an overall 4.09 percent increase in spending,” he said at the Sept. 9 Patterson Town Board meeting. “Unfortunately, due to rising costs and other factors, it exceeds the amount allowed to stay under the tax cap.” Williams said there are a number of issues drivin

By Holly Crocco The Putnam County Legislature is poised to revise its policy on retiree health insurance benefits, offering a targeted retirement incentive program to encourage long-term and higher-compensated employees to retire earlier than planned, in exchange for a modified schedule of retiree health insurance benefits. During the county’s Sept. 8 Personnel Committee meeting, Acting Personnel Commissioner Adriene Iasoni explained that 87 percent of the county’s retirees a

Community Based Services recently hosted State Sen. Pete Harckham, Putnam Executive Kevin Byrne and representatives of county government, Jay Diesing of Mauri Architects, and Mary Urban, vice president of public affairs for WIN Waste Innovations – which has been a supporter of the initiative, for a tour of the renovations being completed at the Putnam Early Learning Center & Preschool in Patterson. A major expansion of the Putnam County Early Learning Center was recently anno

By Holly Crocco When Dan Birmingham, R-Southeast, rejoined the County Legislature last year after a 13-year hiatus, the lawmaker nearly fell out of his seat when he learned how much was in the county’s fund balance… $163 million. The fund balance is an accumulation of what is left over and unspent from each year’s budget. It has been amassing, essentially, since the incorporation of the county. And while some may say you can’t have too much extra cash on hand, Birmingham begs