Putnam government hoards while families struggle

Kevin Byrne says Putnam County government is financially strong.

That is not the truth Putnam families are living. Under this administration, Putnam has become the fourth most expensive county to live in in all of New York State, and it has done that while sitting on more than $150 million in unrestricted funds, roughly $80 million of it completely unassigned. Even the Putnam County Legislature says these funds have been mismanaged. That’s why they voted unanimously to ask the State Comptroller to conduct an independent audit, and this includes eight members of Byrne’s own Republican Party.

Combine that with the State Comptroller’s own local municipal guidance, which calls excessive fund balances normally caused by “poor budget practices” and “political reasons.” So when Byrne calls this government strong, ask the only question that actually matters: who, exactly, is thriving?

Not Putnam families. This administration takes in more than it needs, calls hoarding the people’s money good management, and puts off the investments that would make this county affordable. I’ve been calling it out as tax and hoard budgeting for the last 20 months, and it’s time we end it.

Here is what my Putnam Possible Project looks like: invest the money taxpayers have already paid instead of hoarding it. Start with the Putnam Careers Campus, a community college, trade school, and apprenticeship pipeline built right here at home, funded by redirecting over $4 million in tuition dollars we already send out of county, plus grants and SUNY partnerships, without raising a single tax.

Community colleges are economic engines and real pathways for young people. A statewide economic impact study of the SUNY community college system found that for every taxpayer dollar invested, local economies gain $8.40 in added economic development and taxpayer savings; taxpayers see $1.80 back in their own pockets for every dollar invested; and students see $5.10 in higher lifetime earnings for every dollar they put in (SUNY Community College Economic Impact Study, published November 2024).

Now compare that to the “tax cuts” this administration keeps touting, and ask how much they’ve actually helped you afford to live here. For a home assessed at $500,000, the property tax reduction the administration keeps repeating amounts to roughly $25 a year, about $2 a month. Minuscule county tax cuts can get erased by an annual reassessment depending on the homeowner.

There’s a second problem with the $25 number, and it’s about who is actually benefitting. The biggest beneficiaries of Byrne’s levy cuts aren’t Putnam families; they’re New York City and Albany, two of the largest landowners in this county, along with the same utility companies currently doubling your energy bills. You get scraps. They get tens of thousands of dollars in tax breaks.

That is the pattern with this administration: take enough off the top to generate a headline, sit on the rest, and call it fiscal strength. There is nothing healthy about a government stockpiling this much money while its own residents struggle to get by. It’s obscene, and Putnam residents are living the difference every time they see their cost of living go up, or utility bills double again.

On a roughly $220+ million budget, that $150 million cushion is money sitting idle while housing costs climb, small businesses struggle to find workers, and young people leave for lack of a path to build a life here. Taxpayers deserve an answer to why so much of their money isn’t working for them.

We do not have to settle for this. We have a choice this Nov. 3. Not only is a better, more affordable Putnam possible, but that is exactly what is on the ballot.

Brett Yarris is a candidate for Putnam County Executive.