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

By Holly Crocco A statewide ban on 287(g) agreements in the “Local Cops, Local Crime Act” signed into law in May as part of a package of immigration protections has taken effect, announced Gov. Kathy Hochul last week. “Here in New York, we need local police focused on keeping our communities safe – not serving as de-facto ICE agents, not conducting civil immigration enforcement, and not carrying out the Trump administration’s callous immigration agenda,” she said. “Starting t

By Holly Crocco No one likes a parking ticket. While the Village of Cold Spring relies on income from metered parking – as well as tickets – to bring in revenue, merchants say the hefty $75 fine is not only turning customers off from shopping in the village, but making residents feel unwelcome on their own main street. During the Aug. 12 Cold Spring Village Board meeting, Mayor Kathleen Foley said village government has been working with the Chamber of Commerce and its Main S

Members of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office join local law enforcement, government representatives, friends, and family at the dedication of the new Sheriff Kevin J. McConville Memorial Substation in Nelsonville last week. An impassioned crowd of law enforcement officers, elected officials, family members, and friends gathered Aug. 20 to memorialize former Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville with the dedication of the Nelsonville substation of the Putnam County Sheriff’s

By Holly Crocco A local law to limit and restrain the ability of local government to increase salaries for county legislators and the county executive has been proposed by Legislator Dan Birmingham, R-Southeast. Currently, each of the nine legislators make about $48,000 a year for what is considered a part-time position. “We have almost 50 employees who, whether they pave our streets or answer the phones or deal with public on a full-time basis, we have almost 50 of them maki

Putnam Valley was hit hard by the July 28 and 29 storm. Provided photo. By Holly Crocco Cleanup from not only one, but several summer storms that brought torrential rain to the area – hitting Putnam Valley especially hard – is continuing, with debris removal from blocked drains, and other efforts, proving to be a challenge. The Putnam Valley Town Board passed a resolution Aug. 12 approving the highway department to remove storm debris from various drains, waterways, and other

By Holly Crocco With a town moratorium on battery storage systems and large-scale wind energy conversion systems having expired in October, the Putnam Valley Town Board is looking to act quickly to pass another moratorium that will protect the town from not only these types of developments, but also data centers. The state recently passed a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers using 50 megawatts or more of power to assess environmental, energy, and community imp

By Holly Crocco Money is on the way to local nonprofits that are helping to keep food on the table for area families in need. The Putnam County Legislature voted unanimously during its Aug. 4 meeting to release $150,000 from the county’s subcontingency budget and transfer it to Cornell Cooperative Extension-Putnam and Second Chance Foods, to fight food insecurity. In 2025, the Legislature voted to dedicate the funds to support agencies that help feed the hungry, moving the mo

By Rob Sample The Putnam County Coroner’s Office recently provided legislators with a mid-year snapshot of their work – in addition to clarifying the sad circumstances that call for their involvement and how such deaths get classified. The briefing by John Bourges, one of the county’s three elected coroners, took place July 22 during the County Legislature’s Protective Services Committee meeting. Dr. Michael Nesheiwat and Wendy Erickson, RN, are the other two coroners. Suicid

By Holly Crocco With state benefits being sliced last year and the current state of the economy, Putnam lawmakers are discussing ways to fill the gap and make sure those who are food-insecure don’t go hungry. Legislator Nancy Montgomery, D-Philipstown, recently proposed a resolution that would allow the Legislature to move $150,000 from subcontingency into the budget, to be allocated to agencies that can get the funds to local food pantries throughout the county. “There have

By Holly Crocco The Brewster Village Board has approved a local law that changes the zoning code in the district where the former Garden Street School resides, allowing for the development of affordable housing. A concept for the property has been proposed by Covington Development LLC and WBP Development LLC, which owns the property. It was brought forward around February, and the zone change was necessary to entertain the concept further. The motion passed 3-0 during the vil

By Holly Crocco Putnam County is poised to approve a tax exemption for surviving spouses of police officers who are killed in the line of duty. During its July 14 meeting, the county’s Rules Committee unanimously approved a 50 percent tax reduction on the assessed property value of the qualifying primary residence for a homeowner in Putnam County whose spouse has been killed in the line of duty as a police officer. The exemption is provided under Real Property Tax Law Section

Were political messages scrawled on the replica Declaration of Independence hanging at the Historical Courthouse in Carmel an act of vandalism, or an exercise of one’s First Amendment right? Photo provided by the Putnam County Executive’s Office. By Holly Crocco As part of continuing countywide celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne is notifying residents that another larger-than-life

By Holly Crocco The approval to grant Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreements for two Putnam businesses that seek to relocate within the county led to a discussion on PILOTs in general during the County Legislature’s June 29 Economic Development Committee meeting. APAP Land Management LLC plans to move from its current location in Patterson to a much larger site on Route 22 in Southeast, and the Kinsley Group is planning to relocate to 20 Fields Lane in Brewster. According to Bil