Ulster County Comptroller Gallagher told the Ways and Means Committee on June 12 that year-to-date sales tax receipts through April totaled $57,600,000, a 2.46% decline from the same period last year. The comptroller said April's figures improved from larger declines reported earlier in the year.

Gallagher said cannabis-tax receipts were unclear because the county received a $96,760 payment for the first quarter in April and another $190,000 payment on May 28 that the comptroller's office has not yet been able to classify. "We do not know if the second payment that was received in May is making up that 4% of revenues or it is a monthly payment, which they've never done before. So we're waiting for clarification," Gallagher said.

The comptroller reported occupancy-tax receipts of $2,200,000 and said interest earnings for the year were about $3,500,000, roughly 45% of the budgeted $7,700,000; of that interest total, $511,000 was earned from certificates of deposit. Gallagher said the county's books for 2024 are not closed and that the finance office will formalize monthly reports going forward.

Gallagher also told the committee the office's audit work on occupancy taxes and other reviews has surfaced nearly $200,000 in additional revenues to the county. She said, "We don't believe anything was in bad faith" in those cases and that the matters appear to be accounting or reporting errors; the audit report will provide more detail when finalized.

Why it matters: Sales and special-tax revenues and interest earnings drive budgets for county services and town aid. Gallagher warned that payment uncertainty from state distributions can complicate municipal budgets because for some towns these taxes can represent a material share of local revenue.

What's next: The comptroller's office will provide a written monthly report going forward and is finalizing audits that will be circulated for management comment. Committee members asked for additional detail on the audit findings and on distributions from state agencies.