Town Hall forums highlight 2019 county budget

STANDFORDVILLE — Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro has made an effort to keep residents informed about the proposed 2019 county budget through a series of Town Hall forums around the county, starting Monday, Nov. 19.

Since becoming county executive, Molinaro explained at his recent meeting at Stanford Town Hall that he has tried to give residents an opportunity to ask questions, share feedback and learn more about the budget’s key components as well as services offered in the county. The Town Hall forums kicked off at Pawling Village Hall on Monday, Nov. 19, before moving on to Rhinebeck Starr Library on Tuesday, Nov. 20.

On Monday, Nov. 26, Stanford Town Hall welcomed a full house of interested county residents. In addition to Molinaro, there were county representatives and officials in attendance, including County Legislator Gregg Pulver (R-19).

Overall, the total amount for next year’s county executive budget has been calculated at $502 million. The proposed tax rate will be $3.45 per $1,000 assessed value while the amount to be raised by taxes will be $106,350,769.

Molinaro announced that the Dutchess County Legislature is currently reviewing the proposed budget. He said next year’s budget plan will reduce the county property tax levy for the fifth consecutive year and the property tax rate for homeowners and business property owners for the fourth consecutive year. He reported that Dutchess County has been recognized for having the second highest bond rating in New York state and the public would likely see a modest reduction in the county tax bill.

Unfortunately, as a downside of tax reductions, Molinaro reminded the public that the county represents only 12 percent of the total tax bill. Projecting a graph of the average tax bill, he pointed out that 65 percent of the bill goes toward school funding while 23 percent goes toward fulfilling local needs and services. However, he assured attendees that “we do our best to control that 12 percent” as far as county funding is concerned.

In a basic breakdown of county expenses for 2019, the largest percentage focused on economic assistance and opportunity at 31.9 percent, followed by public safety at 19.6 percent and general government support at 16 percent. 

Projecting a breakdown of the 2019 county tax dollar, Molinaro demonstrated how 70 percent goes toward the mandated tax burden. The rest of the dollar goes toward public safety at 12 percent, road repairs and snow removal at 6 percent, behavioral and community health at 5 percent, asset management at 4 percent and parks and other expenses at 3 percent.

Molinaro said next year’s budget will maintain county services and programs. He noted the budget will help pave 20 miles of Dutchess County highway, replace or repair 13 separate bridges and remove 9,000 miles of snow.

Describing Dutchess Community College (DCC) as an asset, Molinaro said the county contribution to DCC is $17 million, representing a $1.75 million increase from last year and allowing the college the ability to educate 9,076 students.

The budget will also continue funding youth and senior services, shared services and infrastructure improvements and allow new initiatives that will address addiction and mental health. 

Molinaro also highlighted the ThinkDIFFERENTLY initiative.  Since its initiation, he said ThinkDIFFERENTLY has been embraced by numerous organizations, businesses and destinations and adopted by hundreds of communities across New York state as a way of rethinking how services are provided to individuals, regardless of their abilities. To date, DCC provides a comprehensive curriculum for individuals with disabilities. With the proposed budget for next year, the college will be able to expand its services to provide transportation to and from the college campus.

Next year’s budget will also allow $1 million to go toward the Agency Partner Grant Program, a competitive program that awards funding to nonprofit organizations based on their ability to fulfill an unmet community need. A total of 25,000 programs will be served by the 2019 program, 70 percent of which will go toward youth programs.

Should anyone have any additional questions, he encouraged the public to reach out to him at www.dutchesscountyny.gov.

On Wednesday, Dec. 5, Molinaro continued the Town Hall forum series at the Town of Poughkeepsie Senior Center.

Documents related to the 2019 County Executive Budget and the complete budget review schedule can be found online at www.dutchessny.gov. The review process will culminate with the budget’s adoption by the full Legislature on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.