High Taxation

So you want to live in Putnam County? Be prepared to dig deeply when it comes to property tax!

For the second consecutive year, Putnam has ranked in the top 10 highest taxed counties in the nation. The only good news is that Putnam has dropped down the list a bit from the 8th highest taxed in 2007 to the 10th highest in 2008.

Results of the 2008 American Community Survey were released last week, indicating Putnam’s median tax was $7,324 last year, which compares to median property taxes of $3,622 across New York State, and $1,897 nationwide.

Putnam is not alone when it comes to sky-high property taxes since, according to the national survey, Westchester remains as the highest taxing county in the U.S., while Rockland County is ranked fifth, behind Nassau County on Long Island and Hunterdon and Bergen counties in New Jersey.

“Taxes, taxes, and more taxes,” is how Mary Brenner of Mahopac summed up the news. Brenner, who has seen her total tax bill more than double during the past 20 years told the Courier: “I don’t like paying increasing taxes each year but what am I going to do? Putnam County is my home. I’m not going to move to some far-off place in order to save a few dollars on a tax bill. Taxes are like death. They are facts of life.”

Barry Stern of Brewster agreed: “I want my kids to have a good education. Education costs money. I don’t believe we need village, town, and county levels of government in a small county like Putnam but what can we do—fight city hall?”

Not everyone was as philosophical.

Irma Martin of Putnam Lake said taxes were “killing” her: “I am on a fixed income. I want to stay in a community that my children grew up in but it’s getting very difficult. The cost of everything continues to escalate, but my Social Security barely increases.”

Kenneth Sinclair of Kent agreed: “Our government is dysfunctional. We don’t need town and county layers of bureaucratic nonsense. There’s where money can be saved!”

A former Carmel resident who recently relocated to Scarsdale, which has some of the highest school taxes in the nation, called it relative: “I want my kids to experience the finest education they can. If I lived in New York City, private school tuition would exceed $120,000 for my three youngsters. My school tax bill in Scarsdale of $105,000 is a bargain when you think of the community that I now reside in.”

Teddy Harrison of Carmel said he complains about property taxes all the time but “you pay for what you get. I want my family to live in a nice, safe, semi-rural community. I have it here. Putnam County is truly a beautiful place that is easily accessible to shopping, theater, sports events, and the Big Apple. What more can I want? How about lower property taxes—in my next life perhaps!”