CARMEL – Municipal leaders from across Putnam County are in support of County Executive MaryEllen Odell’s proposal to give the towns and villages $10 million in funding from the county’s sales tax revenue and ARPA funding.
The county legislature must approve the expenditures.
“This is unprecedented,” Putnam County Legislature Chairman Neal Sullivan said. “I know towns have been asking us to share the sales tax for a long time and it’s really great that the county is now in a position to discuss it and consider it. We’ve never been able to do that before.”
Odell proposed that $5 million in county sales tax funding be allocated to Putnam’s six towns and three villages for local infrastructure projects. She also recommended that an additional $5 million of the county’s $19.1 million American Rescue Plan Funding go to the municipalities.
“The county’s strong financial position has allowed us to invest in the future, including a new ‘Share the Growth’ plan, in which the county will increase the amount of the sales tax it shares with the municipalities based on the county’s sales tax revenue growth,” Odell said.
The legislature will vote on the entire package at its regular meeting on July 5.
Here is a description of the projects awarded:
School Safety – $ 2,000,000
The county will create a “team up for school safety” effort in which Sheriff Kevin McConville and Commissioner of Social Services and Mental Health Michael Piazza, Jr. will work with school district superintendents countywide to identify enhancements to help ensure the safety of students and staff.
Public Safety Software – $ 1,500,000
The county will purchase a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)/Records Management/Jail Management System. This technology will improve the ability of our first responder community to communicate and coordinate more efficiently and effectively, thereby enhancing public safety.
Police, Fire & EMS Subscriber Radios – $ 2,500,000
The county will purchase subscriber radios for first responder agencies as a part of the Putnam County Radio project. This new interoperable communications system will allow the first responder community to respond to emergencies more effectively throughout the county.
County Highway Infrastructure & Equipment – 5,012,507
The county will allocate $ 600,000 to highway equipment purchases and $ 4,412,507 to various road and bridge repairs throughout the county. The use of ARPA funds will enable the county to avoid borrowing $ 5 million to complete these projects, thereby continuing the successful debt reduction plan executed over the past 11+ years.
Putnam County Crisis Stabilization Center – $ 2,500,000
The county will partner with People USA to create a 24/7 community crisis hub, a place where people of all ages can connect immediately with an array of health care professionals & providers to address mental health, addiction, and or social determinant health needs. ARPA funds will finance two years of expenditures.
Mobile Food Pantry Program – $ 130,000
The county will partner with Putnam CAP to create a mobile food pantry program within Putnam County. Funds would be used to purchase a vehicle and fund an outreach worker to assist volunteers and delivering the food and educate recipients on other services that they may be eligible to receive.
Food Pantry Refrigeration Units – $ 25,000
The county will provide funding to Second Chance Foods to expand on site cold storage at their food pantry to enable them to serve more clients.
Town & Village Infrastructure Projects – $ 5,000,000
The county will provide $ 5,000,000 in ARPA funding, combined with $ 5,000,000 in sales tax funding to the six towns and three villages in Putnam County to perform vital infrastructure projects relating to water and sewer, food insecurity, roads, bridges, and buildings throughout Putnam County. These projects were vetted and approved by members of the Putnam County Legislature whose districts they represent.
Administrative Expenses – $ 30,000
The county will allocate $ 30,000 for various consultant services required in the administration of the ARPA program.
