Carmel's town tax rate is going down for 2027. Most town tax bills in the greater Carmel, Mahopac and Mahopac Falls area are still going up, because assessments rose with the market. The rate and the bill are different numbers, and the budget the town board is working through this fall runs on that difference.
The proposed budget drops the town tax rate 1.1 percent and stays under the state's two percent property tax cap, at $1 million more than the current year's spending. Town Comptroller Mary Ann Maxwell's example, for a property whose assessment did not move: a home valued at $542,780 would pay $2,171 next year, a $27 decrease from 2026. Most properties gained value, so most owners will not see that decrease; the higher assessment takes it back.
On the spending side, contractual employee salary and benefits make up 76.8 percent of the budget. Public safety rises 5.6 percent, including $13.9 million for the police department, with state retirement pension costs and police overtime both climbing. The budget also funds the Mahopac Library and Reed Library in Carmel at $40,000 each.
Supervisor Michael Cazzari retires at the end of the year. He said the board worked to keep the budget as tight as possible while labor, health care and operating costs all rose. If the bill math bothers you, the town board has scheduled a public hearing for November 4, and that is the room where it goes on the record.
The questions Putnam searches this week, answer first, source after.
Why is my Carmel tax bill going up if the tax rate is going down?
The rate sets the town's take; your assessment sets your share of it. The 2027 proposal cuts the rate 1.1 percent, but assessments across greater Carmel, Mahopac and Mahopac Falls rose with property values. Comptroller Mary Ann Maxwell's example: a $542,780 property with an unchanged assessment would pay $2,171, down $27 from 2026. Most properties gained value, so most bills will not drop. The public hearing is November 4.
In the American Legion Hall, running part time. County Clerk Michael Bartolotti announced it Tuesday night while presenting his department's 2027 budget: the rental is funded, along with a leased vehicle to move equipment to and from Cold Spring. Western Putnam residents now travel to Beacon or Peekskill for DMV business, and Bartolotti said the Beacon office has been "bombarded with folks crossing the bridge from Newburgh." He credited Legislator Nancy Montgomery and village and town officials in Cold Spring and Philipstown with landing the hall. The office opens next year, and the county keeps 10.75 percent of every transaction run in Putnam, which is why lawmakers praise the Brewster office.
Sheriff Brian Hess proposed $44.4 million before the Legislature's Protective Services Committee, a $4.35 million increase. He told the committee that $3.7 million of it is salaries, fringe and health benefits the department does not control, and after $332,000 in county chargebacks the remaining increase is $344,000, less than a one percent rise in spending. His 2026 numbers: arrests doubled, traffic stops rose 18 percent, DWI arrests 25 percent, and response times fell 13 percent. For 2027 he wants a lease agreement for new police radios, a drone first responder program, body worn cameras and more special patrol officers.
Parts of Rock Street, Main Street and Route 9D/Chestnut Street restrict parking Thursday while contractors spray pavement markings and stripes. Work starts at Rock Street and moves east up Main to the Cold Spring Fire Company driveway, and crews also handle catch basins at Chestnut and at the Church and Main corner. The Cold Spring Cemetery is closed to traffic and visitors Thursday as well, for paving.
Today runs sunny with a high near 62 on a light north wind, then clouds build overnight. Showers are likely mainly after 5 a.m., with a low around 48. Friday turns wet near 70, thunderstorms possible after 5 p.m. with gusts to 20 mph, and Friday night's rain fades to a chance after 8 p.m. Saturday is the raw one: mostly cloudy early, then gradually sunny, with the temperature holding near 46 on a north wind around 14 and gusts to 25. Saturday night drops to around 33, frost territory again. Sunday recovers to 54 and sunshine, Monday to 59. No watches, warnings or advisories are active for the Putnam zone as of this morning. On the civic calendar, the Personnel budget committee meets tonight at 6:00 p.m. in Room 318 of the County Office Building in Carmel, and Kent's tax-cap public hearing is Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: asking an AI chat what the town budget does to your own bill.
The comptroller's example covers a property whose assessment did not move. Yours likely did, since most values rose. Pull your assessed value off your current tax bill or the town assessment roll, then give the chat your own version of the math: my assessment rose [your percent], the town tax rate falls 1.1 percent, estimate my town tax change from a $2,171 base on a $542,780 assessment. Hand it the numbers from this story and it will do the arithmetic. Then ask what it cannot know: your exemptions, whether STAR applies to you, and which numbers the board finally adopts after the November 4 hearing. The estimate is a starting point for the hearing.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corners.
Personnel budget committee, 6:00 p.m., the last county budget working session of this week; Medicare Open Enrollment also opens today and runs through December 7
Room 318, County Office Building, Carmel · putnamcountyny.gov/legislature
First of two work drop-off days for the Putnam Arts Council's Annual Juried Fine Art Show, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.; artists 18 and older may enter up to two original works, and outdoor sculptures are accepted for the first time this year (also Sunday, Oct 18)
Belle Levine Art Center, 521 Kennicut Hill Rd., Mahopac · putnamartscouncil.com
County flu clinic, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., adults 18 and older, $30 cash or credit, free with a Medicare card, walk-ins welcome, in-car vaccination offered on request
Carmel Fire Department · register at putnamcountyny.gov/fluclinic
Kent Town Board public hearing on a local law to override the property tax levy for the 2027 budget, 7:00 p.m., followed by the regular Town Board meeting
Kent Town Hall, 25 Sybils Crossing, Kent Lakes · townofkentny.gov calendar
Opening reception for the Annual Juried Fine Art Show, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. with awards presented at 3:00 p.m.; the show runs through November 8
A. Eric Arctander Gallery, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac · putnamartscouncil.com
County Youth Bureau Trunk or Treat, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., rain or shine, vendor setup from 5:30
Youth Bureau farm site, 100 Route 312, Brewster · putnamcountyny.gov
