POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Government ended 2020 with a fund balance of $60 million, an increase of $3.1 million over 2019, and that is despite the devastating economic impacts the pandemic had on the economy.
County Executive Marcus Molinaro said the strong financial condition of the county stems from the ‘careful, measured decisions” made during the very difficult year.
“We are in a strong financial position because we take conservative and smart approaches to managing taxpayer money and that is setting us up well for success as we try to rebuild this economy and rebound from the largest and most significant impact financially, socially, from a public health perspective, in modern history,” he said.
In 2020, because of the pandemic, general fund revenue decreased by $16.8 million from 2019. Sales tax alone fell by $8.6 million.
General fund expenses decreased $13.7 million as some programs and services were paused due to COVID-19 and the county instituted savings measures to mitigate the uncertainty of revenue shortfalls.
