KINGSTON – Two Democratic Ulster County legislators are going to
introduce legislation to freeze the sales tax agreement between the county
and its municipalities for another five years. The current agreement with
a formula of 85.5 percent of the tax going to the county, 11.5 percent
to the City of Kingston and three percent to the towns, has expired.
Legislators David Donaldson and Jennifer Schwarz Berky will introduce
their resolution at the April session in hopes of working out a workable
formula going forward.
But, Kenneth Ronk, the Republican legislative chairman, said Tuesday they
should not hold their breath.
“I’m not sure there is support for that in the legislature,
but I think that bringing it forward in the middle of negotiations is
a mistake and/or a miscalculation by these two legislators,” he
said.
The Kingston Common Council has gone on record calling for the new sharing
agreement at the current percentages. Donaldson and Berky said that the
Supervisors’ and Mayors’ Association has unanimously supported
their effort to maintain the current levels.
