Sullivan County Management and Budget staff told the committee that county sales-tax receipts have declined about $4 million compared with the prior year and that, when staff certified revenues for budgeting, they reduced the sales-tax estimate by $5 million from last year.

“That New York State says that's not what you're supposed to do to how to figure it out, but we are down just under $4,000,000 from where we were last year,” said Nancy, a management and budget staff member. Nancy added, “when I certified the revenues for sales tax, I went down $5,000,000 from last year.”

The revenue update is driving budget adjustments ahead of a tentative operating budget the county manager intends to file by Oct. 30. Anna, another management and budget staff member, said staff will send the budget to print by the end of the week and highlighted staffing and wage pressures that complicate the picture.

Why it matters: Sales-tax revenue funds county services; a sustained shortfall can force expense reductions, use of reserves, or higher property-tax levies. Committee members and staff framed the shortfall as a driver of both near-term budget modifications and likely pressure on property-tax calculations.

Committee staff provided several numeric details: recurring expenses approved via resolution remained $779,009 as of Sept. 30; modifications from contingent funds increased to $1,483,433 (about 37% of the contingent budget). Total current vacancies as of Sept. 30 were reported at $9,930,004.94, down $2,021,001.75 from the prior quarter. Open positions at the county care center decreased from 111 to 104; remaining county positions decreased from 102 to 82. Active stipends totaled $384,002.26 (49 language stipends, 85 contractual stipends, 31 legislative stipends).

Nancy warned the committee to expect budget proposals that may include requests to override the property-tax cap; she said the increase in retirement and wage-related costs is a principal driver of pressure on the levy. “So when they come bring out their budget, and you see there's a tax increase, it's not because county employees are getting paid so much more… It is to the equation,” she said.

Nancy also briefed the committee on short-term rentals, saying the county expects to opt into a registry being produced by vendor Deckard and that Sullivan County may be among the first counties to deploy that registry with the company.

Public comment at the meeting touched on employee pay, retention and local housing. One resident said, “revenue increases, revenue decreases, shouldn't equal appropriation increases,” and urged fair treatment and adequate pay for county employees. Another commenter, Star Hesse, warned that potential incinerator development would harm tourism and second-home owners, saying it would “literally be killing the golden goose.”

The committee received a single budget modification resolution on the agenda for September; formal votes on that and related tax-roll corrections were handled later in the meeting (see the Votes-at-a-glance article). Staff said they will continue grant and billing reviews in public health and other departments to try to maximize non-property-tax revenue.

The committee did not take final budget action at the meeting; staff indicated the tentative budget will be filed by Oct. 30 and printed for review before the next steps.