Board holds public hearing and votes on Local Law 5 (2025) to impose additional conveyance transfer tax

The Columbia County Board of Supervisors opened a public hearing Aug. 13, 2025, on proposed Local Law 5 of 2025, which would impose an additional transfer tax on conveyance of real property within Columbia County. The clerk read the public-notice language into the record and invited public comment specific to the proposed local law.

No members of the public spoke during the hearing portion recorded in the transcript. Following closure of the public hearing the board proceeded with its agenda and later took a recorded vote on the proposed local law. The clerk recorded a roll-call vote with multiple supervisors answering "Yes," and the clerk announced the measure had passed.

The public notice read into the record listed availability of the proposed local law in the clerk's office and on the Board of Supervisors website and cited the hearing date as Aug. 5/ Aug. 2025 (the transcript lists both Aug. 5 and a separate Aug. 13 hearing for different notices). The transcript does not state the tax rate, effective date of the tax, or revenue estimates; those details are available in the clerk's office and the draft local law documents.

The board did not include further public comment on the local law in the meeting transcript provided; supervisors proceeded to other agenda items.