Dutchess budget would raise spending, cut tax rates

The proposed 2017 budget for Dutchess County has a modest tax rate and levy decreases with no reduction to programs or services, according to County Executive Marc Molinaro.

"It is sound, it is balanced," Molinaro said of the budget at the Dutchess Legislative Chambers on Thursday. And the initiatives included in the budget focus on the county's top goals — being "stronger, safer, healthier and kinder."

Molinaro's proposed $467 million spending plan would represent a 0.2 percent increase from 2016. It would be funded in part by a $105.5 million tax levy (the revenue a government raises through property taxes), which is about $170,000 less than the 2016 tax levy.

If the Dutchess Legislature approves the budget, the property tax rate would drop from $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value to $3.58.

"We're experiencing modest economic growth," and the county continues to see unemployment rates decline, Molinaro said. "We cannot continue to govern the way we always have." And "in a time when it seems people are obsessed with tearing one another down ... if we are to be successful ... we have to respect one another and differences we have."

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He expects local communities to be innovative and different, the county executive added.

Among other things, the tentative 2017 budget includes:

• $1.7 million for economic development, tourism, arts and agriculture. Tourism is a major Dutchess industry, accounting for 10,000 jobs and more than $530 million in annual visitor spending, Molinaro said.
• An expansion of the county's public transportation system, including Sunday service, a new route option and expanded service to the City of Poughkeepsie if city bus services stop next year.
• $1 million for the County’s Stabilization Center, "where individuals in crisis can get help and services rather than having to go" to the hospital or jail. The center is set to open in early 2017.
• About $2 million to enhance services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, including "funding for non-medical model forensic examinations."
• $15.25 million infrastructure investment for road and bridge repairs and improvements.
• The renaming and rebranding of the county's airport as the Hudson Valley Regional Airport.
• Expansion of ThinkDIFFERENTLY initiatives, such as special needs parenting training programs and at-risk youth programs like “Community Schooling," a partnership with the Poughkeepsie City School District.
• $1 million for the Municipal Innovation Grant program (which used to be the Municipal Consolidation and Shared Services Grant Program), focused on criminal justice, land use and innovation.
• Two new Dutchess County sheriff's deputies.
• Two new assistant district attorneys, who will be focused on combating human trafficking and child abuse, and a new public defender, who will focus on parole hearings to reduce jail stay length. 

Restorative justice was a recurring theme in Molinaro's budget address: The county's model, he said, will focus on prevention, intervention, diversion and transition.

But if the county's financial position is strong, it should take another look at a controversial sales tax agreement it has with municipalities, said Dutchess Legislator Joel Tyner.

The current sales tax revenue distribution agreement was negotiated by Dutchess and its two cities — Poughkeepsie and Beacon — in 2013, in part to close a $40 million county budget gap. The agreement, which replaced one that expired in 2005, left the fiscally troubled City of Poughkeepsie $2 million short in sales tax revenue but guaranteed nearly $10 million a year. It was approved by both city councils and the Legislature.

The sales tax agreement has come to the forefront of this year's City of Poughkeepsie budgeting process, as a nearly 17 percent tax increase is on the horizon for residents. Common Council Chairman Chris Petsas has called on Mayor Rob Rolison — who was chairman of the Dutchess Legislature until he took over as mayor in January — to renegotiate the agreement.

Rolison and Molinaro have said it's not that simple to change the agreement expires in 2023.

The agreement "will be renegotiated when its complete ... this is a binding document," Molinaro said. "It just doesn't get tossed away."

Several town hall forums will be held to discuss the tenative budget over the next month, according to the county.

Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518 Twitter: @pojonschutzman

Online

Visit www.poughkeepsiejournal.com for video footage of the budget address.