Byrne’s 2026 Executive Budget Includes Historic Tax Cut

Watch the full meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMnCvgG-0KM

CARMEL, NY – Yesterday, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne released his 2026 Executive Budget to the public in an official budget address in front of the county legislature at the county’s Historic Courthouse in Carmel. In his hourlong remarks, Byrne provided details of the $221.7 million Executive Budget, including a proposed $1 million cut to the property tax levy, the largest in Putnam County history. The property tax rate would fall to 2.39, the lowest rate in nearly 20 years and the popular sales tax exemption on clothing and footwear purchased in Putnam County and online would be extended to March 2027. The full budget address can be viewed at PutnamNY.gov/26budget. 

Starting next year, the Executive Budget directs approximately $2.3 million in new sales tax revenue, representing a portion of the 1% sales tax extension, to the county’s nine towns and villages for economic development such as infrastructure and capital projects. Byrne spearheaded the historic local compromise with supervisors and mayors earlier this year and Governor Hochul signed the state delegation’s enabling legislation into law on August 7. The fiscal year 2026 budget plan is Byrne’s third as county executive; he has never raised property taxes since taking office in 2023 as Putnam County’s top elected official.

The $221.7 million Executive Budget makes critical investments in several key areas, including recruitment and retention, transportation, mental health, special education, and paramedicine, which fills a gap in demand for pre-hospital care by empowering emergency medical service providers to administer advanced medical care to patients in the community. The budget also presented a proposal which reaffirms the county’s commitment to the Row of Honor, a patriotic display of American flags featured along Lake Gleneida in Carmel periodically throughout the year. Byrne is asking the county legislature to codify the Row of Honor into law to help ensure its permanence in Putnam County.

If enacted, the 2026 county budget will also once again support programs and activities across multiple nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations, including the Putnam County Libraries Association and Cornell Cooperative Extension, that serve thousands of residents and visitors to the county. In addition, Byrne’s Revolutionary Putnam County Advisory Committee has secured tens of thousands of dollars in private-sector commitments to support events and educational programs related to the 250^th anniversary of America’s independence, bolstered by additional support included in the Executive Budget, a pledge he made during his State of the County address in March.

Byrne outlined his administration’s vision for a more affordable, accountable, accessible, and active county government while acknowledging that external inflationary factors, such as the rising costs of healthcare and energy, have increased expenditures compared with last year’s fiscal plan. However, at $2,081 per resident, Putnam County’s spending still ranks below that of all other lower Hudson Valley counties. The county is using $4.7 million to pay off a bond it used to purchase the Putnam County Golf Course and surrounding property in 2004, resulting in savings from future interest rates and alleviating Putnam taxpayers from restrictive federal rules related to the golf course’s operations. In fact, if Putnam County continues with its successful practice of limiting new borrowing, it will further reduce its long-term debt by 58% since Byrne took office.

During the presentation Byrne paid his respects to the late Sheriff Kevin McConville and, along with Acting Sheriff Brian Hess, presented a proposal to the county legislature to name the Sheriff Department’s Nelsonville substation in McConville’s honor. Byrne also acknowledged longtime public servants Personnel Director Paul Eldridge and Bureau of Emergency Services Commissioner Robert Lipton, thanking them for their years of service as they near their respective planned retirements.

“My budget dramatically cuts taxes, pays down debt, and invests in the essential services our residents need,” said Byrne. “From livestreaming public meetings to creating a one-stop budget website to leading on financial disclosure and ethics reform, we have remained the most transparent administration in Putnam County history and consistently acted as responsible stewards of taxpayer funds. The 2026 budget is a bold fiscal vision for Putnam County that makes our community more affordable, accessible, and safer than ever before. I look forward to receiving questions and feedback from county legislators so that together we can deliver an on-time budget for the taxpayers of Putnam.”

The 2026 Executive Budget will next be evaluated by the county legislature and a final fiscal plan is expected to be adopted in November. To view a summary as well as details of the 2026 Putnam County budget, please visit the county’s Budget Transparency website here.

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