The village of Saugerties has received its first payment from Ulster County for back taxes, Saugerties Treasurer Paula Kerbert said at the Village Council’s regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 19. Ulster County began refunding villages for back taxes for the first time this year. The check was for $4,338.90, including all penalties.
The village received a sales tax check for $28,984.90 for its share of the sales tax, Kerbert said.
The village received a first payment of $47,858 for September from the state’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS); the next payment will be in October or November. The state program reimburses municipalities for the cost of road improvements.
Ulster County will provide villages with new tax collection software starting in 2025, Kerbert said. “If we sign up now, the county will pay for the license and maintenance and support for the first year. After the first year, the village only has to pay the support portion of the cost,” she said. “If we don’t sign up now, the license will cost us $4,000 and the software will cost us $600. If you’re OK with that, I can work out an agreement with the township.” The program would provide information for the entire county, which Kerbert said would ease her collaboration with other towns, which she sometimes has to do. Kerbert, Mayor Bill Murphy and Town Clerk Peggy Melville contacted the state auditor general, as the board suggested at its last meeting, Kerbert said. They spoke with Ed Burgess, director of data operations, and asked why the village had not been notified of the financial burdens that showed up in a state report. “Ed told us we should have been notified, and we said we hadn’t. Ed apologized and said this would not happen again. He told us there are webinars early next year that we can attend and that later in the year in March we will know our financial score before it is released. “The village officials also received software that allows village officials to keep a running record of the village’s financial situation. In order to remove the financial difficulty notice, the village needs to raise taxes, which it has done; and increase the village’s cash balance, which we are working on; and of course, reduce expenses; and the communication we now have with the state auditor’s office and the webinars and the fact that we can now manage our own financial burden is a huge help.”
Mayor Bill Murphy said he contacted county auditor March Gallagher, who put him in touch with the state auditor’s office. Murphy said he learned that financial stress is based on a financial balance with a score from zero to 100. A score over 65 indicates financial stress. “We scored 86 here, so we were stressed. But 25 points of that was for our prepaid taxes, which is already paid off, so that alone got us over the stress level. We have a 25-point fund balance. We’re working on building that back up, and also the debt for the fire truck, putting the numbers in little by little to see how it goes, “so that doesn’t happen again,” Murphy said.
Trustee Andrew Zink asked if the township had an outside auditor audit its books. Murphy said accountant Gary Newkirk audited the township’s books for years, but he left the area and the township is now working with a new auditor.
Trustee Don Hackett suggested that the township request the new tax collection software immediately, “because when we’re up to date, we’re much better off.” Zink moved that the township sign up for the software, Hackett seconded, and the board voted unanimously to implement the program.
