Yarris’s spending proposals don’t add up

Dear Editor,

I want to respond to Brett Yarris's guest column ("Putnam government hoards while families struggle," Sept. 17, Page 22).

Putnam County is indeed financially strong as evidenced by its Aa1 rating by Moody’s Investor services, which indicates a strong financial position and low debt burden. A recent article from HomeSnacks.com listed Putnam County as No. 4 in terms of best counties to live in the state. The website CountyScore ranks Putnam County No. 7 out of 60 in safety in New York, while Schools by County ranked our schools 89/100. U.S. News & World Report ranked us 85th out of 3,000 counties as part of their Healthiest Counties in America Report.

The proximity of Putnam County to New York City is the main reason for the increased demand for housing and services, hence driving costs higher. Also, unrealistic Democratic climate goals have caused our energy prices to skyrocket since closing Indian Point without a plan to replace its supply. But to insinuate the high cost of living is due to the current County Executive is clearly false.

Since taking office, Kevin Byrne has delivered real tax relief that reduced the overall tax burden in the budget for the first time in 25 years. Mr. Yarris complains about the county tax burden, but the real burden on local taxpayers are school taxes, which are 70% of our real estate tax bill. Democrats predominantly fund the Mahopac Teachers Association (MTA) and support their “spend as much as you can” attitude for our schools, which keeps school taxes high, even though enrollment has significantly declined.

Mr. Yarris cites the $4 million in tuition payments that the county pays out as his rationale to build a new community college in Putnam County. These are legislated payments under New York Education Law Section 6305, which requires counties to subsidize tuition for residents who go to an out of county community college so they still pay in-county tuition rates. These mandatory payments cannot be re-directed, so to use these mandated payments as a reason to build a new community college in Putnam County is another idea without understanding its financial implications. His proposal would cost millions to build, and millions to maintain. Recent budgets for Dutchess, Rockland & Westchester community colleges are $70 million, $65 million and $157 million respectively. That is surely a great way to “save” your money when these institutions exist in close proximity to our county. Let’s reinvent the wheel!

As our county executive for the past 4 years, Kevin Byrne has cut the sales tax on basic clothing and footwear. Sales tax is a regressive tax, which disproportionately affects low- and middle-income residents. He enacted a new property tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers, which positively impacts many residents.

He launched an innovative ride-on-demand pilot program in the towns of Patterson, Southeast, and Carmel. “Putnam On-Demand” is an app-based public transit system where residents can book rides for the price of a regular cup of coffee ($2.50) and get door-to-door service Mondays to Saturdays. Transportation in our county has also been one of the drivers for our high cost of living and this program provides a solution!

Mr. Yarris's insinuation that there is a giant slush fund just waiting to be spent is also a lie. Over half is assigned for identified specific purposes such as retirement costs, tax stabilization and future capital projects, among others. You can’t spend every dollar you have because there could always be a disaster emergency, economic downturn or some unfunded mandates from our Democratic-led legislature and governor. You can’t suddenly go out and ask the taxpayers for more money because you spent every last penny.

I find most of Mr. Yarris's comments the rantings of a candidate who lost a bid for a legislative seat and now thinks he is qualified to run and manage the top job in the county. His ideas for fiscal management show him to be particularly unqualified for the position of county executive of our great county!

-Marie Frenkel, Mahopac