Orange County Legislature Adopts $2 Million Reduction in Tax Levy for 2025

The Orange County Government Center in Goshen, N.Y., on Oct. 22, 2022. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

ORANGE COUNTY—Orange County legislators on Dec. 5 unanimously voted to slash the county tax levy by nearly $2 million in the coming year.

The adopted property tax levy for 2025, which supports a little more than one-tenth of the county’s annual spending plan, stands at $120.6 million.

This is the third year that the county has made cuts to its tax levy. It dropped by $9.6 million in 2023 and by $2 million in the 2024 budget.

Most levy reductions resulted from drawing from the county’s surplus account, plus minor expense adjustments in the planning, mental health, and sheriff’s departments, according to a schedule attached to the legislative meeting agenda.

“Once again, the Legislature has adopted my budget with minimal adjustments,” County Executive Steve Neuhaus said in a statement. “I am grateful for the cooperative relationship that I have with the Legislature, and I am eager to continue our positive forward momentum.”

“It has been a very smooth [budgeting] process,“ county Legislature chairwoman Katherine Bonelli said at the meeting. ”Thank you to each one of you for your efforts and your diligence.”

At the Nov. 6 Ways and Means committee meeting, county legislator James O’Donnell called on fellow lawmakers to tap surplus money to offset taxpayer burdens after legislator Michael Paduch’s spending reduction plan failed by a close vote.

The county’s unrestricted fund balance, which is surplus money with no strings attached, is projected to be about $205 million at the end of the year, according to the meeting.

That number accounts for about 23 percent of the county’s total budget.

However, in April, the county adopted its first-ever fund balance policy, which recommends using surplus money when it exceeds 10 percent of the budget.

“We have basically 111 extra million dollars over our recommended 10 percent, and I recommend to [use it] to reduce our taxes,” O’Donnell said at the committee meeting.

While commending the tax levy reduction, Paduch said before the vote that the number of job vacancies in the budget should have been cut down for further cost savings.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus delivers his proposed 2025 budget in Port Jervis, N.Y., on Sept. 24, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

The budget recommended by Neuhaus to the Legislature included close to 350 vacancies out of nearly 2,500 funded county government positions, PKF O’Connor Davies accountants said during a budget analysis in early November.

These budgeted vacancies carry an estimated net price tag of $10 million.

O’Connor Davies accountants said during the review that the Neuhaus administration intends to fill these vacancies, or at least a number of them, in the coming year.

According to previous reporting by the publication, Orange County ended 2023 with a surplus of $49 million, with lower-than-budgeted hirings as the top contributor at $20 million.

The total 2025 budget stands at nearly $988 million, about 7 percent higher than in 2024.

Sales Tax as Top Revenue

As in previous budgets, sales tax remains the largest county revenue source, accounting for more than 40 percent of its estimated income for 2025.

The county is expected to collect $412 million in sales tax next year, with about one-quarter of it—$108 million—to be distributed to local cities, towns, and villages based on population counts.

Compared with the five nearby counties of Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess, and Broome, Orange is the second most reliant on sales tax for county operations.

Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, N.Y., on May 7, 2023. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

“[That is] primarily because of Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, which does very well for you in providing funds,” a representative for O’Connor Davies said during the budget review.

The world-class outlet destination just an hour north of New York City draws domestic and foreign shoppers with its collection of 250 luxury and designer brands.

“Even though these funds are dependent upon what happens in the economy, it has always been a stable source of funds for Orange, as I can remember,” the representative said.

In previous interviews with The Epoch Times, Neuhaus said the consistently growing sales tax in the past years has enabled the county to rely less on property tax as a funding source.

In 2024, Orange was the least reliant on property tax as an operational funding source compared with its five nearby counties.

So far this year, the county’s sales tax revenue has performed slightly better than budgeted, according to the latest Ways and Means committee meeting.

New Compensation Schedules

At the Dec. 4 meeting, county legislators also approved new four-year salary schedules for themselves and for the county executive and clerk positions.

Between 2026 and 2029, the average annual wages for county lawmakers are expected to increase steadily from approximately $41,000 to $46,100. For those who chair committees, wages will rise from about $47,100 to $52,600, and majority and minority leaders will see their salaries grow from about $53,200 to $59,400.

The chairperson of the 21-seat Legislature will earn about $71,600 in 2026, and that will steadily increase to $80,000 in 2029.

The annual salary for the top county executive post will increase from about $205,600 in 2026 to $231,200 five years from now.

The county clerk position will see its salary steadily increase to $146,100 in 2029.