Orange County Executive Neuhaus Hails Fiscal Progress at Annual Address

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus delivers the "State of the County" address in Goshen, N.Y., on April 19, 2023. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y.—At the annual State of the County address on April 23, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus touted a well-improved fiscal condition under his helm, highlighting a growing tax base and lowered tax levy, a fattened rainy-day fund, and less county debt.

He attributed much of the financial success to his pro-economic development policy, which he said has attracted new businesses, created new jobs, and buttressed local spending.

“When [our businesses] are successful, and when our community is successful, they are able to pay for things, and our sales tax goes up, [which] allows us to give property tax relief,” Neuhaus told a crowd in an auditorium at the county emergency services building in Goshen.

He said that over the past decade or so, the county’s tax base has grown by 80 percent, and sales tax, the single largest county revenue source, has increased by more than half.

The county property tax levy, on the other hand, has been cut three years in a row by a combined amount of $13.6 million, according to a previous report by The Epoch Times.

Stronger finances have also led to a $58 million county debt cut and a more-than-tripled unrestricted fund balance—that is, surplus money with no strings attached—over the past decade under his leadership, according to Neuhaus.

Given the uncertainty in funding streams at the federal level, a healthy local fiscal condition means the county can afford to step in where the federal government has stepped back, he added.

“I spent a lot of my time since January meeting with nonprofits to make sure that if they get impacted by federal or state dollars, the county will keep those services to our people,” he said.

However, Neuhaus warned that the financial picture isn’t all rosy and that risks lurk around the corner, owing to factors such as the global economy, the state budget impasse, and federal tariffs.

So far this year, the county’s sales tax revenue has come $5.4 million under budget, an unexpected trend that the county finance commissioner said will not reverse in the near term.

Following the presentation on county finances, Neuhaus enumerated the work of various departments over the past year, highlighting investments in school safety, improvements in road and bridge conditions, the state-of-the-art operation at the emergency services department, and growing land preservation initiatives.

Looking ahead in 2025, Neuhaus said he wants to get the ball rolling on key new initiatives, including the potential purchase of Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center as a county venue, turning the county-owned old Chester High School building into a high-tech training hub, and a critical infrastructure mapping project to aid active shooter responses.