Putnam County Commission adopts $2.29 billion budget; property tax rate unchanged at $2.66

Putnam County commissioners voted to adopt the county's fiscal year 2025-26 budget and related resolutions and kept the total property tax rate at $2.66.

The budget committee chairman moved to approve all funds as presented; following roll-call votes the commission approved the comprehensive packet of budgets and related resolutions, including the tax levy resolution, the general appropriations resolution and allocations to nonprofit and opioid-settlement recipients. County clerk Mr. Clark announced vote tallies after each roll call.

The package included a resolution setting the total tax rate at $2.66 and a separate resolution making appropriations for all county funds. The appropriations resolution lists total appropriations of $2,287,947,304 for the year beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026. The commission also approved a resolution allocating opioid-settlement funds to government and nonprofit programs for prevention and treatment.

Commissioners disclosed potential conflicts under a change in state law about voting on property-tax and appropriation resolutions; the budget committee chairman asked members who are county employees or spouses of county employees to declare those conflicts prior to votes. One commissioner said this was the first time in his three terms that his spouse’s employment created a disclosure, and that he would “vote in the best interest of the county and my district.”

Votes on the items, as recorded in the meeting, were: the motion to approve all funds passed with "21 voting yes, 2 voting no, 0 abstained, 1 absent"; the tax-rate resolution passed with "23 voting yes, 0 no, 1 absent"; the total-appropriations resolution passed with "22 voting yes, 1 no, and 1 absent"; the nonprofits appropriation passed with "23 voting yes, 0 no, 1 absent"; a motion to round property tax amounts to the nearest dollar passed with "21 voting yes, 2 voting no, 0 abstain"; and the opioid-settlement appropriation passed with "23 voting yes, 1 absent, 0 no." Mr. Clark declared each motion passed after the recorded tallies.

The budget chairman told commissioners the package reflected the committee's work and noted there were no changes from the budget committee recommendation. Commissioner Sandler, speaking later in announcements, said the budget committee met multiple long sessions to reach a compromise and cautioned that new personnel and other costs would present a challenge for next year’s budget.

No amendments to the budget package were recorded during the meeting, and no separate directions to staff were entered on the record during the votes.

The commission also elected a slate of notaries as part of routine business earlier in the meeting.