Issue #045 · LatestThursday, October 29, 2026 · Carmel · Cold Spring · Mahopac · Nelsonville
Putnam adopts a 2027 budget with the tax levy cut 20 percent, county lawmakers fund a $15,000 study of what tourism costs, and four early voting days remain
Free local email · written by Catherine Rosado · 4-minute read
The levy is going down. The Legislature adopted the 2027 budget Wednesday night after a four-hour meeting at the historic Putnam Courthouse in Carmel, setting the property tax levy at $32.7 million. Chairman Dan Birmingham credited $30 million in fund balance for the 20 percent cut, the largest reduction in 20 years. County Executive Kevin Byrne's proposal had already lowered the levy from $45.2 million to $38.7 million; the Legislature went further.
Most of the night went to the executive's own office. Lawmakers cut Byrne's 2027 salary from $191,000 to $175,000, removed the cost-of-living adjustment from the deputy county executive and set that salary at $167,000, and eliminated the $154,965 Director of Communications position. A Director of Communication Services role takes its place under legislative control, and the compliance position moves to the county attorney's office. For scale, the executive's office budget was $395,000 when Mary Ellen Odell left office in 2022; Byrne proposed $713,000 for 2027.
The budget also carries a three percent increase for the Putnam Arts Council, a new Putnam on Demand program for the western side of the county, elevator funding for the Depot Theater in Garrison, and money for the Putnam Wellness Coalition, 911 Diversion training and an expanded employee assistance program. One gate remains. Byrne can veto any of the 50 resolutions the Legislature approved, and an override would take a two-thirds vote of the nine-member board. If a line in this budget matters to you, the veto window is when it gets decided.
The questions Putnam searches this week, answer first, source after.
How much did visitors spend in Putnam last year?
More than $92 million, and lawmakers now want to know what that costs the county. Tourism Director Tara Keegan asked the Legislature to match $60,000 her department expects from the state I Love New York campaign. Legislator Nancy Montgomery of Philipstown argued the money should address management as well as promotion, because visitors leave behind trash, emergency calls and road wear that towns absorb. Legislator Amy Sayegh pushed back, saying those costs are what town property taxes already pay for, and Legislator Erin Crowley told colleagues the county cannot encourage tourism and then get upset about its impacts. It ended in a compromise, with Legislator Jake D'Angelo proposing and lawmakers funding a $15,000 study of tourism's impact during Wednesday's budget adoption. The promotion side keeps its match request alive; the management side starts as a study rather than new spending.
Four, starting today. Voting runs noon to 8:00 p.m. today, then 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at both county sites, the Board of Elections at 25 Old Route 6 in Carmel and the American Legion at 10 Cedar St. in Cold Spring. Sunday is the last day. Confirm your polling place on the Board of Elections site first, because several locations have been permanently changed. Anyone who votes early does not vote again on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, when polls open 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and early voting results are canvassed after 9:00 p.m.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: turn the four voting days left into one plan on your calendar.
Ask an assistant to build it with you. Paste in the remaining hours, noon to 8:00 p.m. today, then 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Board of Elections in Carmel or the American Legion in Cold Spring. Add your address and whatever the weekend holds, then ask which day fits and which site is closer. Have the assistant write the plan as three lines, day, site, hours, and put those lines in your phone calendar with a reminder the night before.
Two checks before you go. Confirm where you vote with the polling place lookup on the Board of Elections site, because several locations have been permanently changed. And keep the county page as the source; the assistant drafts, the county page decides.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corners.
The Dates-Ahead Calendar
Early voting runs noon to 8:00 p.m.; the county executive also holds public hearings at 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. on the proposed charter change about the vote needed to override certain budget vetoes (Reso #262); written comments can go by mail to the Legislature, Room 318, 40 Gleneida Ave., Carmel, or by fax to (845) 808-1901
Early voting runs 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the seventh of nine days
Board of Elections, Carmel, or American Legion, Cold Spring · boe.putnamcountyny.gov
Early voting runs 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the eighth of nine days; it is also Halloween, so daytime hours leave the evening free
Board of Elections, Carmel, or American Legion, Cold Spring · boe.putnamcountyny.gov
Last day of early voting, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at both sites; after today the next chance to vote is Election Day itself
Board of Elections, Carmel, or American Legion, Cold Spring · boe.putnamcountyny.gov
General Election Day, polls open 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; anyone who voted early does not vote again today, and early voting results are canvassed after 9:00 p.m.
