The lower Hudson Valley fared worst in the state in terms of sales tax revenue in 2009, according to data released late last month by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
In a dismal economic year, statewide sales tax receipts fell 5.9 percent, while in the lower Hudson Valley receipts were down 8.4 percent. Three counties statewide saw a double- digit dip in sales tax revenue including Westchester and Putnam Counties. (Washington County was the third.)
The only glimmer of good news was that the rate of decrease slowed down late in the year, according to state data, although it”™s too soon to know if 2010 reverses the trend.
County officials say the sagging revenue figures are forcing legislators to accept choices that were rejected just two years ago.
Westchester County sales tax figures fell 10.3 percent in 2009 from 2008, declining from $462.8 million to $415.1 million in 2009. In 2008, Westchester sales tax stayed level from 2007 levels.
Putnam County”™s sales tax revenue fell 10.1 percent to $45.9 million in 2009 after shooting up 11 percent in 2008 from 2007. That increase was largely attributable to the county increasing its sales tax receipts to 4 percent of purchase price, up from 3.5 percent in previous years.
Dutchess County sales tax receipts declined 7.5 percent in 2009, totaling $139.7 million. Ulster County also saw a 7.5 percent decline, with sales tax revenue totaling $91.4 million. Orange County”™s reduction totaled 4.2 percent with revenue at $213.9 million. Rockland was down 3.3 percent at $163 million in revenue. Sullivan County was down 7.8 percent bringing in $33 million in revenue from sales taxes.
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Overall, the lower Hudson Valley region was down 8.4 percent in sales tax revenue, suffering the largest percentage loss in the state, where among 57 counties, 53 saw a sales tax decline. Statewide sales tax revenue declined 5.9 percent outside New York City. New York City also witnessed a 5.9 percent decrease, collecting $4.6 billion, down from $4.9 billion. Fifty-two sate counties (outside New York”™s boroughs) overall collected $6.22 billion in sales tax revenue in 2009, down from $6.61 billion collected state wide in 2008.
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“These numbers are sobering,” said DiNapoli. “Fortunately, many local governments have taken sometimes painful budgetary steps to stave off disaster.”
“The good news, if there anything good about the Westchester County sales tax numbers, is by December we weren”™t having double digit decreases, we were having smaller decreases,” said Donna Greene, a spokesperson for county executive Robert P. Astorino
“The bad news is that the sales tax is not like it was in the good old days,” Greene said, referring to years prior to the recession when consumer spending drove county sales tax receipts to new heights in each annual budget. “So as a consequence county governments have to make major changes to balance the budget.”
Astorino is “looking at every line in the budget,” she said.
“We saw this coming,” said Putnam County executive Robert J. Bondi, who prepared a lean 2010 budget that reduced by $5 million projections for county sales tax receipts and eliminated seven percent of the county workforce over the course of two years through attrition and not filling vacancies. “We kept spending in check.”
But it wasn”™t enough to stem the tide of red ink in county accounts. “I believe further measures are going to be necessary,” said Bondi. “Barring a boom that no one expects, I don”™t see anyway for the county to go forward except using the frugal approach.”
And that approach, he said, must include privatizing some services and consolidations. “The atmosphere for consolidations and privatizations has changed dramatically,” said Bondi.
In March, 2009, Bondi approached the Legislature with a plan to privatize the services of county nurses conducting home visits. “We received no support, we were called bad words and it was called dead on arrival,” said Bondi. “But now the Legislature has changed their position and we are every likely going forward.” He said privatization of the service will save county taxpayers an estimated half a million dollars annually and could generate revenue from sale of the unit to a private health company.
Bondi and his staff are also talking with assessors from some towns in Putnam County which each operate their own assessment office, seeking to merge the offices into a centralized assessment center that would be less costly. They are also exploring centralizing tax collection service and court appearances streamlined through increased use of video equipment to minimize the expense of transporting prisoners from county lock up to town courts.
