Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican who announced that he would be running to unseat Democratic Congressman Antonio Delgado before Delgado was named as New York”™s new lieutenant governor, is proclaiming a “complete turnaround in this county”™s fiscal position.”
Molinaro may be running against Pat Ryan, the Democrat who is serving as County Executive in Ulster County, which is just across the Hudson River from Dutchess. Ryan filed papers in Albany to substitute his name for Delgado”™s name on election ballots. Delgado”™s campaign agreed to the action. However, as of May 10, Ryan had not formally declared that he”™s a candidate.
Regardless of the candidate Molinaro faces in the November election for Congress, the issue of fiscal management is certain to come up and he will be talking about his track record.
Dutchess county completed and released its financial report for 2021 that shows revenues for the year of $562.2 million and expenses of $449.4 million. The difference might be termed a “profit” in business, but in government it is viewed as a “surplus.”
Molinaro said that when he first came into office, the county had to appropriate nearly all of its fund balance to meet needs of the 2021 budget.
“Today, we have built a $119.5 million fund balance that will help ensure Dutchess County can weather any future fiscal challenges and we have kept our promises of delivering tax relief to our residents and businesses with historic cuts in both property and sales taxes, while making smart investments in safety, health and parks projects that improve the quality of life for all,” Molinaro said.
The county”™s unassigned general fund balance now stands at $119.5 million, according to the new financial report.
During 2021, the county saw a dramatic increase in sales tax receipts, which were up $50.3 million over 2021. An estimated $13 million of the sales tax increase came from a new requirement for sales taxes on all third-party internet sales platforms. The report showed that sales taxes account for 45% of the county”™s total revenue.
Federal money through the American Rescue Plan increased 2021 revenue by $5 million and hotel and motel tax collections went up $1.3 million over the 2020 level.
Expenses increased $7.3 million over the 2020 level, but the report said it was primarily due to sales tax revenue being shared with local municipalities.
The report said that the county”™s 2022 budget that was adopted provides historic tax relief in the form of a 10% property tax cut, elimination of sales taxes on clothing and shoes costing under $110 per item, and a switch from bonding to paying through budget allocations for the purchase of county vehicles and the funding of capital projects at Dutchess Community College.
This year, Dutchess plans to pay off nearly $8.6 million in debt dating from 2014 in order to save more than $1.5 million in interest.
“Although sales tax receipts have been strong, it is critical to ensure there is a strong fund balance to help offset any downturn in this economically sensitive revenue. With inflation currently driving up costs and interest rates on the rise, consumer consumption may decline as their buying power decreases,” the county noted.
