By Holly Crocco The County Legislature in October voted to put aside more than $6 million to create a property tax relief program for homeowners in Putnam County, but several months later, the funds are still sitting in purgatory. Former Legislator Paul Jonke, who retired from the governing body in December, returned before the board during its May 12 Rules Committee meeting to get a status update. He explained that in October, the county voted to return $200 to the 30,000 ow

By Holly Crocco With the Putnam County Legislature failing to approve the addition of a “taxpayer transparency” chapter to the county code during a committee meeting in April, one last attempt was made at the Legislature’s May 5 meeting to move the matter forward. Proposed by Legislator Laura Russo, R-Patterson, earlier this year, the Taxpayer Transparency Act would formalize many actions that are already taking place. It would require the commissioner of finance to maintain

By Holly Crocco The Putnam County Legislature is considering changing the way volunteers are appointed to the county’s Board of Ethics. Currently, the board is comprised of five individuals who are appointed by the county executive and approved by the Legislature. During the May 12 Rules Committee meeting, Legislator Tommy Regan, R-Southeast, proposed amending the county code to state that two members be appointed by the county executive, two by the Legislature chairperson, a