Not all Tax Cuts are Created Equal

This week, the Putnam County Legislature’s Audit Committee voted 2-1 to advance a proposal by Legislator Dan Birmingham to reduce the county sales tax from 4% to 3.75%. While “tax cut” may sound like a win for taxpayers, don’t be fooled—this is fiscal misdirection at best, and reckless policymaking at worst.

Legislator Birmingham’s pitch, which had vocal support from Legislator Greg Ellner (District 5), Legislator Toni Addonizio (District 3), and Chairwoman Amy Sayegh (District 8) is simple: save taxpayers money by shaving a quarter of a percent off the sales tax.

But when you actually do the math, which was the subject of some controversy as legislators in support were using faulty math to justify the tax cut, the average resident might save somewhere between $40 and $50 per year—if that. And that’s assuming they spend most of their income inside the county, which many don’t.

Andy Jarrett, a local farmer of Lobster Hill Farm in Brewster pointed out to legislators that their math was incorrect about the savings to tax payers (Legislator Ellner had suggested a $250 savings on every $10,000 spent). In reality, and Jarrett called it “farmer math” vs “Politician math”, the savings was only $25.

After a brief argument, and fact checking from the Putnam Valley town board sitting in the gallery, farmer math was shown correct and Ellner relented, graciously. (Full comments from Jarrett and others linked below)

But it goes to show, how confident legislators are in pushing this through, that faulty math was used as justification. It seemed this was getting rammed through no matter what.

I put it plainly directly to the legislators before they voted:

Most of any savings from the proposed sales tax cut vanishes the moment you grab takeout or eggs. Meanwhile, towns like Carmel, where I live, face real infrastructure needs that a few bucks in sales tax savings won’t touch.

But, a better idea would be fruitful… if legislators would allow themselves to admit it.

Here’s the thing many folks in the county do not know: Putnam County is sitting on a sales tax revenue surplus, and it has another option. Instead of giving back pennies on the dollar in a sales tax cut, the County could keep the sales tax at 4% and redistribute the surplus back to the towns and villages—where it would actually help prevent increases in property taxes by offsetting cost for much needed infrastructure projects.

That’s not just smart policy, it’s already been done. In 2022, the County redistributed surplus sales tax revenue to the towns, and according to Putnam Valley Supervisor Jackie Annabi, it made a huge difference. “That’s where the true savings is,” she said. “You can’t keep hitting the same taxpayers for revenue when you have another source—and you’re just throwing it away.”

The towns can only generate revenue through property taxes, whereas the county generates revenue through both sales tax and property tax. However, the sales tax is the only tax where the burden is offset by non-residents who buy things in Putnam County. Yet, legislators are trying to lower that one.

Annabi added, “We all agree—village mayors, town supervisors, different parties, different priorities—we all agree this cut is wrong.” When was the last time all your local elected leaders of different parties agreed on anything?

The committee vote wasn’t just controversial—it was chaotic and disrespectful. Legislator Nancy Montgomery, the only Democrat on the committee and a longtime advocate for town-level funding, attempted to introduce a competing resolution to keep the sales tax rate steady and return funds to the towns.

She was shut down by Committee Chairwoman Amy Sayegh, who refused to allow the resolution to be discussed—sparking outrage from both Montgomery and Supervisor Annabi.

“You lost the chance for the towns to even survive,” Annabi yelled, visibly letdown by the outcome of the vote. “For $25?!” The 0.25% sales tax cut passed out of committee with just two votes—Birmingham and Sayegh—with Legislator Erin Crowley the lone dissenter.

As Montgomery put it: “If you were a responsible legislator, you would make a motion. Your people have been telling you they want this for years.”

This isn’t a tax cut—it’s a political stunt. It’s a hollow headline at the expense of the towns and villages that make Putnam County function. And it could force local governments to raise property taxes to make up for lost revenue, hitting taxpayers even harder.

If the Legislature truly wants to help taxpayers, they should keep the sales tax where it is and reinvest in our communities. That’s not just smarter policy—it’s real relief where it matters most.

The full Legislature will vote on this proposal April 1st at the Historic Courthouse in Carmel. There are many important things on the agenda, like the fate of farmers. Join our rally at 6:30 pm where we will use our collective voices to be heard.

If you care about your property taxes, if you care about our farmers and neighbors being treated fairly, if you care about keeping your town services afloat, now is the time to make your voice heard.

Tell your legislator: Keep the 4%. Redistribute the surplus. Give us real relief.

Public comments on this issue can be seen here beginning at 2:43:07