Dismal Revenue Figures for County

When it comes to sales tax, the new year has begun where 2009 has left off. Last week members of the county legislature’s audit committee heard Commissioner of Finance William Carlin’s report for January indicating that shoppers spent $3,344,403 in sales tax last month, a $257,000 decline from January 2009.

The decline brought lawmakers back to reality, since in December sales tax receipts increased over the previous year, marking the first time in months that an increase had occurred. The modest $59,000 increase didn’t do much for county coffers last year other than encouraging hope that the recession had finally ended.

Putnam’s sales tax revenues for 2009 totaled $45,902,000, down from $51,677,872 in 2008 and even lower than the $45,988,000 garnered in 2007.

Carlin attributed the decrease to the economy: “Sales tax revenues are down across the state ... It’s been a rough year ... but the county remains healthy. We are fiscally solvent—not as strong as we used to be—but government is doing the best it can to provide services for those who need them.”

Putnam’s legislative chairman Vinny Tamagna attributed the return to the red in sales tax receipts to a lack of consumer confidence: “Leaders in Washington and Albany are floundering. I remain confident, nevertheless, that as the year goes on things will get better.”