Tax receipts a positive sign

NORTH EAST — The Town Board was in merry spirits at its meeting on Thursday, June 9, at least when discussion turned to the recent mortgage tax payment it had received — the first of two installments planned for the year.The town received $41,038.54, more than what some of the board members were expecting, including town Supervisor Dave Sherman.“It was a positive indication there is some activity out there in the real estate market,” he said. “At least it’s providing us some revenue while we deal with budget expectations. If we can receive that much — hallelujah — more power to it.”The first installment of mortgage tax payments the town receives accounts for about two-thirds of what it expects for the year.“It’s always a concern with the projected revenues,” Sherman said. “You don’t want to be overly optimistic and you’re not sure if you’re going to be able to reach them. When the decline in the economy hit we saw mortgage receipts fall precipitously in the last few years. So it’s improving, but it’s still not anywhere quite near what it was.”