Greene County took in $53 million in sales tax revenue in 2025

CATSKILL―A recent report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office shows a sales tax inflow of $53.13 million in 2025 for Greene County. It represents an increase of $3.6 million from 2024.

“Sales tax is our single, biggest source of revenue,” noted County Administrator Shaun Groden.

“I can’t underscore the significance enough,” Groden says, noting a plump pay-in has allowed the county to keep the tax levy flat for seven consecutive budget cycles.

At the same time, “this is something we can’t control,” Groden pointed out.

“It is based in things like discretionary spending and employment, so we have been fairly conservative in our estimates” in terms of incoming money, he said.

County officials factor roughly $40 million in sales tax revenue into the active budget, channeling additional dollars into various rainy day accounts including an aptly named Reserve Fund Reserve Fund.

“The economy goes in cycles,” Groden said. “Back in 2008, with the financial collapse, we lost ten percent of our sales tax in one year.”

“Since then, we have set up the reserve for the reserve, adding to it every year so if we have another downturn, we can bounce back over the next three to four years rather than taking a big hit,” he explained.

The luxury of seven years with no tax levy hike won’t last ad infinitum, and while the county is confident about the 2027 budget, Groden says, “the problem is, at some point we will reach a maximum.”

“We will have to go back to the tax levy. That is probably a couple of years away but it is why we take a conservative approach,” he said.

The sales tax windfall came about after a court decision related to internet purchases, redirecting the money from the address of the seller to that of the buyer, particularly noticeable during the pandemic.

City dwellers fled to rural areas like the Catskill Mountains and Greene County, in many cases making the move permanent.

“We don’t have the malls. We don’t have the big stores,” Groden said. “But people were still shopping, so Greene County really benefitted.”

Greene County is also now receiving revenue from fees on short term rentals, known as STRs, anticipated to be a similarly significant revenue bonanza.

“We don’t know yet what that figure is because it just went into effect in the fourth quarter [of 2025],” Groden said.

“However, we now have a registration system in place that should allow us to get a good gauge on how many STRs there are in the county, where they are and if they are doing business,” Groden says.

An outside firm has been brought in to collect data on the complex logistics, with the county joining the network in response to outcries from the hotel, motel and resort industries, wanting a level playing field.

As for the extra revenue, there have been appeals to go further than keeping the tax levy even, including sending a check to individual taxpayers―a suggestion considered by lawmakers but ultimately rejected.

“We could go out and spend it, but that’s why a lot of counties are short. There are good reasons we haven’t raised the tax rate, even as costs continue to go up,” Legislative Chairman Patrick Linger said.

Appropriations rose by nearly $5.8 million in the 2026 budget but were balanced by allocated, unspent dollars from 2025, as well as sales tax.

“Some towns may get upset because we aren’t sharing the excess sales tax but it isn’t excess. This year, for instance, we took over the full cost of emergency medical services,” Linger said, referencing a decision to have the county absorb all costs for the Greene County Emergency Medical System paramedic fly cars.

Over the years, the county has paid 85 percent of the yearly fly car budget, while individual towns have paid the remaining 15 percent based on the total number of agency calls and the town’s share of those calls.

County legislators, in 2026, opted to pay 100 percent of the fly car budget, a change that is expected to become permanent.

Lawmakers also agreed to subsidize each town for ambulance services. The one time aid totaled $2 million, split proportionally among the 14 towns.

“In the past few years, we have rebuilt our transfer stations, paying cash,” Linger said, noting the need to not borrow money, a $9 million investment..

“We used to spend $1.2 million every year getting rid of our waste,” he continued. “Now, with the increased volume we can take in because of all the improvements, we are almost breaking even and getting closer.”

“We have a ton of reserve fund buckets. We have put money aside to build a needed [multi-million dollar] mental health building,” Linger said. “We have a responsibility to taxpayers and we are meeting it.”