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Orange County Legislature OKs two-year extension of 0.3% sales tax; county executive urges keeping rate
Summary
The Orange County Legislature's Rules Committee approved a request to extend the county'wide 0.3 percentage point sales-tax increment from Dec. 1, 2025, through Nov. 30, 2027. County leaders and municipal representatives said the revenue fills a county and municipal budget gap and warned that reducing the rate would leave millions "on the table."
The Orange County Legislature's Rules Committee voted to request a two-year extension of the county'level 0.3 percentage point sales tax, approving a legislative request to continue the rate from Dec. 1, 2025, through Nov. 30, 2027.
The County Executive, speaking before the committee, urged legislators to maintain the current rate. "If we lower it from the rate we're at now, we're going to leave $38,000,000 on the table," he said, adding that other counties across New York are not lowering sales tax rates now.
Carrie Gallagher, Commissioner of Finance, told the committee this item is the first step in a three-step process; she said staff calculated the impact of removing the 0.3 percentage point increment against the 2025 budget. Andrea Fontanen, Deputy Commissioner of Finance, summarized the county'municipal split: the county would face about a $27 million gap and municipalities about $10.7 million, for a combined $38 million shortfall if the increment were removed.
Legislators and municipal representatives who spoke during the item said their towns rely on shared sales tax distributions. One municipal leader said that while the three cities receive a larger share, communities such as Woodbury and the villages that host major retail generators see spillover benefits when the county retains the revenue.
The committee clarified the overall sales tax rate for listeners: the total sales tax charged at point of sale is 8.125 percent; the county portion is 3.75 percent, the state portion 4 percent and the MTA portion 0.375 percent. The committee moved the request forward by voice vote.
Because this is a legislative request to place the incremental rate on the ballot/extend the authorized period, Gallagher described it as step 1 in the county's statutorily required process; further legislative steps and public-notice elements will follow.
The committee recorded the motion and second and approved the request by voice vote.
