KINGSTON, N.Y. – Ulster County Executive Mike Hein and City of Kingston Mayor Steve Noble have reached a comprehensive sales tax agreement that integrates shared service initiatives while ensuring important revenue for the County, City of Kingston and Ulster County’s towns.  This agreement has passed preliminary review of the New York State Comptroller’s Office and subsequent review by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.  Following 2017, the County will begin receiving sales tax growth from the City of Kingston’s portion of sales tax receipts to help offset critical County expenses. This will be accomplished through a City sales tax “growth freeze.”  The total value for the growth section is estimated at $750,000 over the term of the agreement. In addition, in the event that the County’s authority to levy the existing 1% sales tax extension is not renewed by the State, the City and towns will share that impact with the County in a 40/60 split.  This creative agreement provides for the City’s sales tax distribution to remain at 11.5% and the towns at 3%.  

In addition to the sales tax distribution details, County Executive Hein and Mayor Noble have built a cooperative shared services plan, the magnitude of which will help transform the way the City and County do business and ensure enhanced and more efficient services for all of the City’s and County’s residents.  The five year agreement includes key new shared service provisions that move our community toward a single full service bus system, City maintenance of the County’s upcoming linear park, and the transition of the County’s impound lot from the former jail site to a City-owned property adjoining the current Ulster County Law Enforcement Center.

The additional terms of the proposed shared services outlined in the agreement include:

• A single, unified county-wide bus system within the next twenty-four months that will expand user friendly technology upgrades and provide for more environmentally conscious buses and a more coordinated system.  This will result in enhanced public transportation for all residents  inside and outside of the City of Kingston.   This service coordination will be accomplished at no additional cost to county taxpayers while providing for long term cost containment to City of Kingston taxpayers.  
• After the County has completed construction on the highly anticipated linear park in the heart of mid-town Kingston, the City will assume basic maintenance responsibilities including snow removal, mowing and trash pick-up in perpetuity for the trail that will stretch from Cornell Street to Washington Avenue.  
• The County currently has a vehicle impound lot located on the site of the County’s old jail; as the County moves to transition this property back onto the tax rolls, with this agreement the impound lot will now be relocated to City property adjoining the current Ulster County Law Enforcement Center.    

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein

“After working together with Mayor Noble, I am pleased to announce an agreement that, first and foremost, benefits all of our citizens,” said Ulster County Executive Mike Hein.  “My administration, and that of Mayor Noble’s, have worked together diligently and professionally throughout this process and we both firmly believe that status quo government is simply uns`ustainable.  The Mayor and I also agree that as a result, meaningful change is needed, and this agreement takes valuable steps that will lead to cost savings for taxpayers, and improved services for our mutual constituents as well as all Ulster County residents.  I want to thank Mayor Noble for his commitment and for partnering on these substantive changes.  I also want to thank Chairman Ken Ronk, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Gerentine, as well as Majority Leader Maio and Minority Leader Rodriguez for their steadfast commitment to altering the status quo and advocating for improved and more cost effective government, increased fairness, and most of all, greater services for all our citizens.”

City of Kingston Mayor Steve Noble

“This agreement provides the stability we need to maintain our essential services and the partnerships we need to do even more,” said City of Kingston Mayor Steve Noble.  “What we are agreeing to do is to work together to avoid duplications of service and to build a significantly more sustainable City and County, for the benefit of all of our citizens. I want to thank my staff, as well as County Executive Hein and his staff, for working through this incredibly productive process. I also want to thank our partners in the City of Kingston Common Council and the Ulster County Association of Town Supervisors and Mayors for joining us to ensure a fair and mutually beneficial agreement was moved forward. These joint efforts have laid the foundation for the long term success of the City, County and towns.”

The release of the sales tax agreement details was delayed to allow the New York State Comptroller’s Office and that of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to preliminarily review the agreement. The agreement is subject to final approval by the New York State Comptroller, the Ulster County Legislature and the City of Kingston Common Council.