Putnam County executive touts lower property tax rate, unveils transit and pre-K plans in state of the county address

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne delivered the administration’s annual state of the county address to the Putnam County Legislature, highlighting tax relief, infrastructure upgrades, emergency response improvements and new pilot programs while answering questions from legislators about agricultural-district rules and transit access.

“This evening, in accordance with section 7.09 of the Putnam County Charter, I present to you a state of the county address, which has also been provided to you in writing in the documents before you,” Byrne said, opening the presentation.

Byrne said the county’s property tax rate is at its lowest level in 18 years and that the administration has reduced borrowing and preserved a $7,500,000 property tax stabilization fund. He also said the county has maintained a “double A 1” bond rating from Moody’s and has enacted a two-year county and state sales-tax exemption on clothing and shoe purchases under $110.

The address summarized the executive branch’s annual departmental reports and said the administration focused on “financial responsibility” while investing in infrastructure and public safety. Byrne described recent facility upgrades at the Board of Elections, including new siding, drainage improvements and an upgraded security system, and credited the Bureau of Emergency Services with coordinating response to a 33-acre brush fire. Byrne said the county issued a state of emergency and an executive order limiting burn permits during the drought; county dispatch logged 152 fire-related calls and volunteers were deployed 29 times during the incident between Oct. 23 and Nov. 18, 2024.

On mobility and access, Byrne announced a new ride-on-demand pilot that will serve Patterson, Southeast and Carmel, describing it as an app-based service offering door-to-door rides Mondays through Saturdays. He said the county’s planning department conducted a transit study that informed the pilot. Byrne also outlined a county-led effort — in coordination with school districts and other stakeholders — to establish a more centralized pre-K early intervention model for special-education students, saying some children now spend nearly two hours on buses to reach facilities outside Putnam. Byrne said the administration proposes a pre-K campus at Inter Arts in Patterson to reduce travel times and costs.

The address noted initiatives to support youth entrepreneurs and tourism: Byrne said more than 70 young vendors participated in a new youth business market at Tilly Foster Farm and that the county saw an 11% increase in film-production-related visitor spending tied to recent productions.

Legislators used a brief post-presentation period to raise concerns and requests for faster follow-up. One legislator urged that agricultural-district inclusion rules be updated before April and asked that the county executive’s planned farmland roundtable include specific proposals for revising inclusion procedures. Another legislator said the transportation pilot’s current service area left District 1 — including Hutton Valley and Philipstown — without coverage and called for expansion, noting parental concerns about preschool transportation times. A legislator who said she attended a roundtable for the early intervention program described two-hour bus rides for medically fragile children and urged the county to move quickly on the proposed pre-K model.

Byrne closed the address by reiterating the administration’s themes of affordability, public safety and departmental transparency and said the full state of the county materials are posted on the county website. “Our best days are endless,” he said, concluding his remarks and offering to answer follow-up questions from legislators.