Dutchess Legislature Approves $654M Budget

Spending plan passes without Democratic support
Dutchess County lawmakers on Monday (Dec. 8) approved a $653.6 million budget for next year along party lines, with Democrats uniting against the spending plan as they prepare to take control of the Legislature next month.
All 15 Republicans voted for the amended version of a draft budget that County Executive Sue Serino, also a Republican, presented in November. It anticipates $268 million in revenue from sales taxes, $107 million from property taxes and the use of $34 million in general-fund reserves, or savings - $7 million more than Serino initially proposed.
The tax levy stays below a state-mandated cap, and the rate assessed on property owners will fall slightly, from $2.17 to $2.10 per $1,000 of assessed value. The budget also eliminates 10 vacant jobs and leaves 17 unfilled.
Legislators rejected a proposal by Serino to end an exemption from the county's 3.75 percent sales tax on clothing and shoes costing less than $110. (Dutchess consumers pay a total 8.125 percent sales tax, which includes 4 percent for the state and 0.375 percent for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.)
Letting the exemption expire as scheduled on March 1 would have yielded $5.4 million in additional revenue, including $133,000 for Beacon under a revenue-sharing agreement, according to Serino. Beacon's share of sales tax collections, which was $6.1 million in 2025, will still rise from 2.35 percent to 2.45 percent in 2026, or about $268,000.
Serino, who said the changes create "a very large budget gap," now must decide whether to sign or veto the budget, or to reject individual amendments. But Democrats, who will soon take control, have already rendered their verdict. Nine of the 10 Democrats (one was absent) voted against the plan, even though it contains several amendments they proposed.
One increases spending for a trust fund for affordable housing from $1 million to $2 million and another allocates $200,000 for grants of up to $25,000 to municipalities for initiatives to combat homelessness.
Nevertheless, said Yvette Valdés Smith, whose district includes Ward 4 in Beacon and part of Fishkill, the budget "does not adequately address the affordability crisis that our residents are facing."
The Legislature also approved proposals to add $711,000 to the district attorney's office for five full-time positions and $750,000 to the budget for safety and security improvements at municipal buildings.
In her budget presentation in November, Serino highlighted $2.5 million for youth programs and $2 million for supplemental ambulance services. Buttressing the county's shorthanded EMS services has been a priority.
The budget also funds two school resource officers, a Drone as First Responder Program for the Real-Time Crime Center and a new Elder Justice Task Force. The latter, a collaboration with the Office for the Aging and the district attorney and sheriff's offices, "will investigate, identify, pursue and prosecute those who exploit older adults through abuse, fraud or neglect," said Serino.
After Jan. 1, Serino will have to work with a Legislature led by Democrats, who defeated five Republican incumbents in the November election to flip the 15-10 majority. Smith, who had been the minority leader, is expected to succeed Will Truitt as majority leader.