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Committee Hears Drop in Sales Tax Receipts and Approves Multiple Budget Modifications
Summary
Sullivan County finance staff reported a notable sales‑tax decline and ongoing Medicaid outlays; the Management and Budget Committee approved several budget modifications and other routine resolutions at the meeting.
Sullivan County finance and budget staff told the Management and Budget Committee the county is monitoring a recent drop in sales tax receipts and reminded members of steady Medicaid outlays; the committee approved multiple budget modifications on procedural votes.
County finance staff said the county’s most recent sales‑tax payment was down sharply compared with prior distributions; officials said Ulster County reported a 26% decline the same day and the county has requested a detailed breakdown from the state by taxpayer category to identify reasons for the shortfall. One official said statewide reporting is sometimes delayed and the state provides more detailed reports by request rather than automatically.
Treasury and budget staff presented a series of routine financial reports. Staff reported final room‑tax receipts of about $4,200,000 for the last reporting period and said the county is paying roughly $401,008.77 weekly for Medicaid obligations. Anna (budget staff) reported 223 open positions countywide, including about a dozen vacancies at the care center and roughly 11 vacancies elsewhere, and listed current stipends: 46 language stipends totaling $85,000.74, contractual stipends of about $101,004.26, and 35 legislative stipends totaling roughly $207,700.
Committee members and staff also discussed preparations for the 2026 budget cycle, capital‑budget deadlines (capital requests due by May 2), and the ongoing annual audit process; auditors were working remotely with read‑only access to county financial software to reduce on‑site time.
Votes and resolutions: the committee approved a set of four procedural resolutions, described on the agenda as a second resolution and three budget modifications (to the 2024 and 2025 budgets and a correction to a prior resolution). Each passed on voice votes with a recorded tally of three affirmative votes.
Why it matters: sales‑tax volatility affects the county’s ability to fund operations and programs; officials said a sustained decline would force difficult choices for services or staffing.
Ending: staff said they will share the state’s detailed sales‑tax breakdown when it arrives, continue audit and room‑tax reporting, and prepare capital and operating requests for the upcoming budget cycle.
