County executive rejected extra prosecutors

Dutchess County legislators voted on Wednesday (Dec. 17) to keep two new prosecutors and an administrative assistant in the district attorney's budget for next year, despite warnings from County Executive Sue Serino about "difficult decisions" ahead.

By a quick voice vote, legislators rejected Serino's veto of their bipartisan amendment to add the positions to the $653.6 million spending plan that they passed Dec. 8. Their additions included five new DA positions overall, costing $711,000, plus other amendments that increased Serino's $651.4 million proposal by $2.2 million and the use of reserve funds, or savings, by $7.2 million.

In a memo explaining her veto, Serino said District Attorney Anthony Parisi had decided to "walk back" an agreement to hold the positions vacant to offset $300,000 in spending on promotions for 22 of his attorneys. Serino said she sought a compromise: allowing Parisi to keep two of the five new positions, a third prosecutor and a junior accountant approved by the Legislature.

Even without the three extra positions, Parisi's office would have 73 employees, compared to 68 when he took office last year, said Serino. "You all share in the responsibility for fiscal sustainability," she said before Wednesday's override vote. "We will need to compromise in the new year to work together to do what's right for our community while minimizing the impact on taxpayers."

In a statement released shortly after the override vote, Parisi said the positions were "the five most critical" of nine he asked legislators to add to Serino's draft budget. Without them, the district attorney's ability to prosecute would have been "significantly reduced," he said, citing "growing demands" from the reform of state evidence-sharing rules and ongoing efforts to fight drug and violent crime and elder abuse.

"Unfortunately, the county executive's vetoes failed to acknowledge the real-world consequences these cuts would have had on victims, law enforcement and the safety of our communities," said Parisi.

All 15 Republicans voted for the amended budget, with nine of 10 Democrats (one was absent) voting against the plan. It anticipates $268 million in revenue from sales taxes, $107 million from property taxes and the use of $34 million in savings - $7 million more than Serino proposed.

The tax levy will stay below a state-mandated cap, and the rate assessed on property owners will fall slightly, from $2.17 to $2.10 per $1,000 of assessed value. The budget also eliminates 10 vacant jobs and leaves 17 unfilled.

Legislators also rejected a proposal by Serino to end an exemption from the county's 3.75 percent sales tax on clothing and shoes costing less than $110. (Dutchess consumers pay 8.125 percent sales tax, which includes 4 percent for the state and 0.375 percent for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.)

Letting the exemption expire as scheduled on March 1 would have yielded $5.4 million in additional revenue, including $133,000 for Beacon under a revenue-sharing agreement, according to Serino. Beacon's share of sales tax collections, which was $6.1 million in 2025, will still rise from 2.35 percent to 2.45 percent in 2026, or about $268,000.

On Wednesday, legislators also approved each municipality's share of the $107 million property-tax levy. Beacon property owners will be assessed $4.7 million.

After Jan. 1, Serino will have to work with a Legislature led by Democrats, who defeated five Republican incumbents in November to flip the 15-10 majority. Democrat Yvette Valdés Smith, who represents Ward 4 in Beacon and part of Fishkill as the minority leader, is expected to succeed Republican Will Truitt as majority leader.