County budget gap to impact local towns

At the same time, the county is offering to take over the election costs from the municipalities beginning next year and to cut the money they owe for elections in 2011 and 2012 by half.

Red Hook is expected to face a net loss of $41,289 when both the sales tax loss and the board of elections gain is taken into account, according to county figures.

For Town Supervisor Sue Crane, it is the future that is most worrisome.

Net sales tax loss after accounting for
Board of Election cost transfer:

Town of Red Hook $41,289
Town of Rhinebeck 22,830
Town of Milan 12,314
Village of Rhinebeck 18,392
Village of Red Hook 15,103
Village of Tivoli 9,597

Source: Office of the County Executive

“If sales tax [revenue] goes up, we don’t enjoy the benefit of that happening — that’s the painful part,” said Crane. “It’s not just this year, it’s going to get worse. It has a long-range negative impact on us.”

Red Hook Councilman Harry Colgan is also unhappy with the plan. “He’s taking our tax revenue, transferring it to the county and leaving us in the hole,” said Colgan.

Crane has submitted a bare-bones budget to the Red Hook Town Board for consideration. “In [my] 2013 tentative budget, the appropriations totals for that budget are down 7 percent and the revenues have dropped 22 percent,” she said.

In Rhinebeck, the town will face a net loss of $22,830 after adjusting for sales taxes and election expenses, according to the county.

“Our biggest challenge is that the budget that we’re [working with] is about 4 percent higher than last year, and we’ve got a 4 percent loss in revenue,” said Rhinebeck Town Board member Elizabeth Spinzia. During this year’s budget workshops, town board members have been struggling to find solutions for funding the needs of the municipality, she said.

“Our residents are already paying a high county tax rate and we’re not seeing as much benefit for it,” she added. “We’re being asked to shoulder more of the burden and we have a lower tax base to rely on.”

Calls and emails to Rhinebeck Town Supervisor Thomas Traudt were not returned by press time.

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