Taxes. Taxes. Taxes.

Taxes. Politicians talk about them, but rarely come up with solutions that would address the burden. Many of the costs contributed to property taxes are driven by state and federal unfunded mandates, but that’s not an acceptable excuse for all county or local spending. The state’s tax cap was a commendable, but imperfect step. We must acknowledge that we can and should work to do better.

Case in point, following the Albany tax cap some of Putnam County’s leaders set an informal standard of normalizing tax hikes by raising property taxes for ten consecutive straight years! (2013 Budget - 2022 Budget)

The taxing trend didn’t change until after it was clear a new administration in Putnam County would be taking over and the 2023 Budget held the property tax levy flat. Then for the 2024 Budget, the property tax rate was effectively slashed to its lowest level in 15 years. These are bold and meaningful accomplishments that everyone should celebrate, but why didn’t we take this approach earlier when our general fund balance could have provided more support and while our sales tax revenues had continued to soar?

Truth time: sometimes, politicians act more like bureaucrats than public servants and they instinctively look for ways to justify raising taxes. This often comes from a misguided fear that they may not receive additional funding in the future. This “grab as much as you can get” philosophy can do real harm to conservative budgeting. We can’t let this way of thinking creep back into our county government.

Inflation is crushing people at the grocery store, at the pump, and everywhere in between. Wherever we can identify areas to give financial relief, we need to explore it.

For example, Putnam County has been getting soaked by offsetting losses from property owners not paying their taxes. This entire cost, including county, town, and school district taxes, is absorbed by the County. Not only is the County missing out on taxes owed to the County, but it’s losing even more money by making other municipalities whole. I’m not suggesting we change how we partner with our towns and villages, but the County must do a better job in getting these properties back on the tax rolls. We’re missing out on millions that could be used to, for one, rely less on taxes from our neighbors who dutifully pay their taxes on time.

Look no further than the Castle at Putnam Lake. Years ago I suggested, along with several others, that the Town consider acquiring and repurposing the property as a community center. That was simply one idea, but it was hardly set in stone. Bottom line, the status quo of letting this property rot in our town for nearly a decade is unacceptable. This is a perfect example of where the County is still making the Town whole and is also losing money. And all the while, the property sits in disarray.

Putnam County is missing out on recovering tens of millions of dollars with some delinquent properties dating back ten and even close to twenty years! Court decisions and changes to state laws have limited how governments can retain potential profits from selling foreclosed properties; so there is no longer reason to use a realtor to sell these properties. Putnam County Government must improve its monitoring and responsibly put these properties out to auction in a more timely manner.

So why isn’t anyone else in the county government talking about this? Millions of dollars on the table from properties that didn’t pay their taxes... I think that’s conversation worthy…

As someone who works professionally as a billing accountant in the private sector, I’m always looking at numbers, ensuring compliance, and looking for areas of improvement. We need that same type of commitment to detail when our legislators are assessing our county budget.

Too many politicians opt to raise taxes because it’s the easy thing to do and in some cases it’s pure laziness. Reining in taxes with fiscally conservative principles requires a commitment to fiscal discipline— a commitment I make to your next Putnam County Legislator for District 4.

To all my fellow Republicans, I ask for your vote and support in this GOP Primary that is critical for our Town and our County’s future. There is a Republican Primary on June 25th. Early voting begins June 15th. Learn more about me, my background and ideas at www.russoforputnam.com