County might cover villages' delinquent taxes

The proposal, previously considered in 2004and 2014, is back before legislators, who are less than enthusiastic about it.

A proposal under which Ulster County would cover delinquent village taxes has again made its way to the county Legislature. But as in 2004 and 2014, the measure received a lessthan-enthusiastic welcome from county legislators.

Still, a resolution to schedule a public hearing on the plan squeaked through the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday by a 4-3 vote.

Legislator John Parete reintroduced the measure, saying it not only would put the villages on a level playing field with the towns in Ulster County but with villages in the rest of the state.

“There’s only one or two counties in the state that don’t do what we’re asking,” said Parete, D-Boiceville. “Let’s do for the villages what the rest of the state does.”

Currently, towns and school districts are assured of getting the full amount of their annual tax levies, and any shortfalls due to unpaid property taxes are paid to those entities by the county, which then must initiate legal proceedings, usually through a tax sale, to recoup the taxes owed.

But the county’s three villages, as well as the city of Kingston, are exempt from this arrangement.

While village officials — and some county lawmakers — have lobbied for a takeover, most legislators are reluctant to take on the additional cost.

During the Ways and Means Committee meeting Tuesday, it was noted that unpaid taxes in the village of Ellenville total some $1.5 million.

Legislator T.J. Briggs, DWawarsing, whose district includes Ellenville, said the unpaid tax levy in the community is so high because the village makes no effort to collect unpaid taxes. “Once there’s an incentive to pay ... those folks will come to the table just like they do in the county and the towns,” he said.

“I’m against it no matter what,” said Richard Gerentine, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. During a Republican caucus, Gerentine, R-Marlborough, again argued against a county takeover, saying there already is a mechanism in place that allows the village to take its own action to collect back taxes.

Ulster County Finance Commissioner Burt Gulnick said requiring the county to cover unpaid village taxes and then go after the delinquent taxpayers would require the addition of staff in both his office and the county attorney’s office.

If the measure makes it through the full Legislature on Tuesday, the body will hold a public hearing on a county takeover in June.