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Controller reports steady sales tax, capital spending increases; county flags cannabis tax allocation anomaly
Summary
The county controller reported a small year-to-date sales tax increase, rising capital expenditures including electric bus costs, and higher interest income; staff also flagged a likely error in cannabis tax distribution to a municipality that had opted out of receiving funds.
The county controller's office told the Ways and Means Committee on Sept. 10 that year-to-date sales-tax receipts are up roughly 0.1% compared with the prior year, interest income has risen and capital spending is on track to match recent annual totals.
Controller staff said the county received its first July sales-tax payment and that year-to-date receipts are about $1 million higher than the same point last year. Interest income for 2025 is budgeted at $7.7 million and year-to-date earnings were running at roughly 72 percent of the budget; the controller said the increase in projected interest income was warranted given 2024's results.
Capital spending through the month was roughly $23 million year to date, the controller said, and August included a $6 million increase tied to billing for two 35-foot low-floor electric buses and initial bills from the ECC project. The controller said the county expects capital outlays to remain on the higher side for the remainder of the year as additional invoices arrive.
Controller staff also discussed occupancy-tax and cannabis-tax receipts. On cannabis tax distributions, the controller said the state provides town-level sales figures and the county then distributes 75 percent of the shared amount to towns proportionally. The controller's office flagged an anomaly: a municipality that had opted out of cannabis revenue reportedly received approximately $9,800, which the controller said should not have happened. "If they opted out, we were not aware of that," the acting commissioner of finance said; the controller and finance staff said they would investigate and correct any erroneous payment.
Committee members asked whether the county has diversified banking holdings; the acting commissioner of finance said the county recently moved $40 million from the Bank of Greene County into a state cash-management vehicle and that further diversification planning remains in development.
The report also noted outstanding audits, including a 2024 single-audit package due to the federal government, and several forthcoming county audit reports on fairgrounds licensing, the medical examiner, vendor service quality and ARPA fund usage.
