View as Webpage

A Roundup of Recent Ulster County Business-Related News, Views, and More

October 29th, 2025

Pictured: Results of an Ulster Strong 'What's the Plan' Candidate Questionnaire question

As local elections enter their final week before election day, we again invite the Ulster public to visit Ulster Strong's What's the Plan Candidate's Questionnaire results page. There you can look to see where county and town candidates stand on important local issues. The results to several questions stood out, including the ownership of our local electric company.

A primary rationale cited for a state takeover of Central Hudson is rising electric rates. But rising rates is not endemic to Central Hudson alone. It's happening across the state, and to varying degrees across the nation. For example:

• NYSEG: Requested a 35% electricity and 39.4% natural gas delivery rate hike, potentially taking effect May 1, 2026. The PSC is reviewing this request.
• National Grid: Agreed to a 31% electric and 40% gas rate increase over three years, which began August 1, 2025.
• Central Hudson: Had its request for a roughly 18% electricity and 31% gas rate hike approved, effective August 14, 2025.
• Con Edison: Requested an 11% electric and 13% gas rate increase, which is under review by the PSC. 

Consumer-owned utility rates (e.g. co-ops) are also rising, with averages up nearly 30% since 2021, outpacing inflation. As such, we think singling out Central Hudson for a state takeover isn't the answer. Something much larger is happening in New York and the industry. We shouldn't get distracted with notions of government takeovers, but focus on the main drivers of rising electric rates overall - rising demand, massive infrastructure upgrades, inflation, and the complex transition to a renewables-centric grid.

This month in the Ulster Strong Business Bulletin we touch on frustrations at iPark 87, local budgets, tax increases and tax breaks, and of course housing. We also invite you to support Ulster Strong's fundraising drive to help the Hudson Valley Regional Food Bank. Now more than ever organizations like this will be a life-savior to families in Ulster. Also this month we spotlight Ulster Strong member The Smoke House of the Catskills, and have an exclusive interview with Lisa Berger, Director of Ulster County Tourism and Office for Film. Happy Halloween!

This newsletter includes the following:

Negative Attitudes on iPark 87 are Misplaced

Help US Fight Local Food Insecurity

Op-Ed: As Federal Support Shrinks, Our Communities Must Step Up to Fight Hunger

Be Here Now: A conversation with Lisa Berger, Ulster County Tourism Director

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Smoke House of the Catskills

SNAPSHOTS From the Pattern for Progress 2025 Hudson Valley Housing Conference

Commentary - Are rents too high or are wages too low?

Ulster supervisor sees iPark 87 as ‘blank slate’ after 800-unit housing plan falls through

DATA BITES

QUICK BUSINESS NEWS UPDATES

KCSD to Offer Tax Breaks for Housing

The redevelopment of the former IBM campus, known as iPark 87, represents the most significant economic development opportunity for Ulster County in a generation. Unfortunately, recent press coverage has painted what we believe to be an inaccurate picture of the project. It’s time to set the record straight.

Three years ago, National Resources committed to redeveloping the campus. They did so based on a clear public-private partnership championed by former County Executive Pat Ryan. At its core was a commitment from Ulster County and its agencies—including the Executive's Office and UCEDA—to be nimble, flexible, and supportive partners. This included a pledge to help secure financeable leases necessary to anchor the project, including bringing in tenants like Ulster County government, SUNY Ulster, SUNY New Paltz, and Ulster County BOCES.

National Resources has upheld its end of the partnership, investing over $20 million of its own capital into the site. They fulfilled their obligation to complete the environmental remediation, a task initially estimated at $1 million but ultimately grew to over $5 million. And two key tenants, Archtop Fiber and now Ulster County BOCES, are bringing new life back to the dormant campus.

But big challenges remain. Massive, unexpected remediation costs and capital needs to get long-neglected buildings ready consumed a large portion of the project's available capital. In addition, for unclear reasons, progress at iPark 87 continues to be hindered by a lack of urgency and delays from county government. This, in turn, has created new challenges.  

We understand National Resources is trying to work with county leadership on a plan to restructure the mortgage to push payments further out. Similarly, we know the company is in discussions with the Town of Ulster to address differences of opinion on the property's assessed value. As is the legal right of any property owner, they've entered the formal grievance process. Once that process is complete, we are confident that National Resources will pay all taxes due based on the outcome.

The redevelopment of iPark 87 is an extraordinarily complex endeavor. While Ulster Strong appreciates the checkered history associated with this site, we need to remain supportive of the promise of a fully-revitalized campus, host to good-paying jobs and businesses, thriving public-private partnerships, civic agencies and needed housing.  We need to be more subtle in this language – delays in financeable leases and lack of prospective tenants brought to the campus

Ulster Strong has launched a fundraising campaign for the Hudson Valley Regional Food Bank. Our goal is to raise $25,000 or more for their Thanksgiving drive in Ulster County. This effort, which prepares and delivers thousands of pounds of food to those in need, offers a significant opportunity for us to make a real difference in our community. 

The Food Bank has made it incredibly easy for everyone to contribute. They’ve created a link that can be shared with colleagues, friends, and family, enabling us to reach our goal together:

Ulster Strong Fundraising Campaign: https://give.regionalfoodbank.net/fundraiser/6726110 

There is also an attached form available for companies that prefer to send in a check. Please reach out directly to Samara Daly for additional information about how to support this effort. 

Op-Ed

As Federal Support Shrinks, Our Communities Must Step Up to Fight Hunger

By Tom Nardacci, CEO, Hudson Valley Regional Food Bank

Over the past five years, the need for charitable food assistance has steadily grown. Families who once hovered on the edge of food insecurity have fallen into it—facing bare refrigerators and impossible choices between rent, medicine, or a meal. Yet just as the need rises, federal support has declined.

This year, the impact of cuts to TEFAP—the Emergency Food Assistance Program administered by the USDA—is being felt across the country. At the Regional Food Bank, we are already seeing the eIects. We serve more than 1,000 agency and community partners across 23 counties, and the pressure to meet demand with fewer federal resources is growing by the day. The safety net that hundreds of thousands of our neighbors rely on is fraying. Volunteers who staI and support food pantries are exhausted and overwhelmed, trying to keep up with the demand. And the challenge is about to intensify. Looming reductions to SNAP—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—will drive even more families to food pantries and emergency meal programs. The charitable food system must prepare now—before a tsunami of need hits. That preparation will require more than food alone. It demands investment in logistics: trucks, refrigeration, warehouse space, staI, and volunteers to ensure food gets where it's needed— when it's needed.

To help close the gap, food banks like ours have been working to ramp up eIorts at a time when we already feel maxed out. Last year, we distributed 54 million pounds of food—enough for 45 million meals—and food banks across the state and nation are similarly stretched. This year, we oIset the reduction in federal food by increasing donations and recovered food from our partners in the food industry. We added an additional 3 million pounds of donated food—food that would otherwise have gone to waste. It’s a staggering number, but it shows what’s possible when we act with strong support. Scaling up these eIorts, however, requires serious operational investment. Good intentions alone don’t move millions of pounds of food. Infrastructure and people do.

We must also expand and strengthen our local food systems. The farm-to-food-bank model is one of the most promising tools we have. In New York State, the ‘Nourish New York’ program is among the best food programs in the country. Nourish New York has provided food banks with funding to purchase locally grown and produced items like milk, yogurt, meat, fish and produce, stimulating local economies and increasing the quality and nutrition of food we provide to neighbors in need. This year especially, this program needs a major expansion in the State Budget.

By sourcing food from nearby farms, producers, grocery stores, and even restaurants, we can reduce costs, cut emissions, and keep food local—supporting both our communities and our regional economy. It’s a smart, sustainable way to fight hunger.

But none of this will happen without bold local investment. If federal dollars are no longer a guarantee, state and county governments, regional philanthropies, and individual donors must step forward. The fight against hunger is winnable—but only if we choose to fight it together. Let’s not wait until the shelves are empty, or until another family falls through the cracks. Let’s act now—with urgency, compassion, and the collective will to ensure no neighbor goes hungry.

Ulster County’s tourist business is not just back—it’s booming. “It started out as what I would call an uneven year. It’s ending very strong,” Tourism Director Lisa Berger said.

By the state’s own accounting, 2024 set a local record. “We had $1.1 billion in direct tourism spending,” Berger said, citing the I Love NY tourism economics release published in August. “That’s 43% of the region’s tourism sales total,” and it generated “$60.2 million” in local taxes.

The trajectory points to continued growth. Though workforce and housing headwinds remain stubborn, and lines can run a little long at popular spots, there seems to be little that can stop our area’s ascendant visitor economy.

Within the broader Hudson Valley market of a dozen counties, Ulster ranks third in visitor spend behind Westchester and Orange. Those numbers, Berger said, track to what businesses feel on the ground: fuller weekends, higher average rates at premium properties, and steady demand for natural beauty and luxury attractions.

The county’s competitive edge, Berger argued, remains structural. “Our biggest strength—our beautiful, great big outdoors—is still a place that people want to be.” She pointed to a deliberate expansion of connected trail networks and small but telling pieces of infrastructure that blended recreation with commerce: “Blue Duck Brewing just opened in Kingston… Overlook Bikes is right next to them… and the O&W Rail Trail is directly linked… You can get on right from there,” a link she expects to be “a huge boon” for food-and-beverage spend. Similar connectivity is surfacing in New Paltz. “The people who own Woodstock Way and Kingston Carriage House are opening something called New Paltz Way… It sits right on the Empire State Trail/Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. What an asset that’s going to be.”

Premium attractions continue to validate the region’s ascendant brand. “Both Inness and Six Bells just were awarded a key from the Michelin Guide,” Berger said. The high-end concepts, she argued, work best when they’re authentic to place: “What these successful high-end places all do really well is connect people to our beautiful outdoors… once you have gone hiking or gone biking or stepped in one of our streams… that somehow gets into you and it never leaves you.” The Six Bells Country Inn in Rosendale—a reinvention of the former 1850 House by Audrey Gelman—illustrates the county’s magnetism for style-driven investment. Berger called it “a concept hotel… everything in Six Bells Country Inn is for sale,” paired with “a spectacular restaurant called The Feathers.” The appeal, she suggests, is cultural as well as natural: an “upstate and chill” cottage-core aesthetic with bucolic bliss.

Berger describes her office’s remit as having evolved from promotion to stewardship. “When I started in this business, they were called directors of tourism promotion agencies. Then the word shifted to destination marketing… what I am now is fully squarely involved in destination management.” On any given day that can mean “working with people who have great ideas” for new investments—she referenced a “farm-to-table, incredible high-end resort” in Marlborough—as well as troubleshooting the friction points locals feel. “Being able to identify where those hotspots are that are causing pressure… we want this place to stay beautiful.” That work includes partnerships with state parks, rail-trail associations and land trusts to spread visitation, improve parking and safety, and promote ‘leave no trace’: “We never, ever, ever want to be on the no-go list of overtourism.”

The balancing act is cultural as well as logistical. “If tourism’s doing its job, it’s going to the places that maybe aren’t getting enough of that love and saying… what if we started letting people know about you? Especially our amazing historic and cultural sites,” she said, recommending bikeable detours to Hurley’s Main Street museum or a stop at the D&H Canal Museum. “Don’t just be here consuming our culture. Be a part of it.”

The county’s marquee music venues are busy. “I feel like music is having a moment in Ulster County right now,” Berger said. One challenge: the ability for visitors (and workers) to move between destinations after dark is limited, with rideshares often hard to come by and little late-running public transportation. “This is a big issue that needs to be solved in our very geographically large county that’s also very rural in a lot of places.” The county, she said, has been exploring “demand systems… like they have out in Colorado,” app-based shuttles that function like shared taxis. She also cites Greene County’s for-profit trolley as a daytime model that could be adapted at night. Crucially, Berger notes, there is a funding mechanism to build from: “In Ulster County, 50% of the occupancy tax collected goes to two dedicated funds—one’s for transportation, and the other one is for housing.”

Those funds tie directly to another binding constraint. Staffing can be difficult, and housing is limited for the potential workforce. Berger bristles at the premise that tourism jobs are inherently low-skill or dead-end. “It bothers me tremendously when people call hospitality jobs low wage, low skill… it’s one of the few industries where you can go from being a front desk clerk to a CEO.”

The larger issue, she argues, is supply and fit: “We don’t have enough people in the labor pool. We just don’t.” Her prescription is targeted and flexible housing. “I would love to see some creative housing solutions geared towards the hospitality industry,” she said, citing a Oneida Nation project near Turning Stone that offers “flexible housing arrangements… a townhouse for four friends” with communal amenities.

Recession risk is on the horizon, but Berger sees resilience in the county’s value proposition. “Nobody is recession-proof,” she cautioned, but the pandemic reset habits in a way that favors Ulster. “People realized being outside was really important. Minnewaska State Park is $10 for a carload… you can spend the whole day there.” Access management is tighter at sensitive sites like Sam’s Point, but the breadth is significant: “Almost two-thirds of the Catskill Park sits within Ulster County. There are a lot of places that people aren’t going to right now,” and four of the five Catskill fire towers are in-county, all free to visit.

Berger’s office is also writing the medium-term playbook. Ulster hired Beyond Green Travel to produce a sustainable tourism strategic plan, with a focus on safety at road crossings on popular trails, parking, and communications. “Helping the people who are coming here to adopt leave no trace principles… so that everybody is having a better experience.” On the marketing side, demand is being cultivated beyond the New York metro to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.—drive markets that help smooth seasonality. And within the county, the team aims to better connect visitors to under-the-radar cultural assets to spread spend and goodwill.

The call to the business community is straightforward. “Visitors[s] spend $1.1 billion in Ulster County, and we understand that that fuels a lot of businesses, large and small, and not just hospitality businesses,” Berger said. The department intends to keep growth aligned with quality of life. “We do everything we can to balance the needs of the visitor with the resident,” she said. That can mean helping a cider startup expand, troubleshooting trailhead congestion, or simply pushing out information that keeps calendars full. “If it’s letting people know that the Pickle Festival is this weekend and that they should go because pickles are the bomb… then we’re doing the job.”

Her door, she emphasized, is open. “If I can’t help [a business] directly… we are a great resource for connecting them to other people, including Ulster County Economic Development [and] the IDA… If we can’t answer a question for you, it’s our job to get you the answer, and we will do that.”

For over 75 years, the authentic German butcher shop has been a cherished part of the Hudson Valley community, proudly offering a rich culinary experience rooted in tradition. They specialize in hand-crafted meats prepared with old-world techniques and feature an extensive selection of imported German products—from artisanal sausages and smoked delicacies to fine cheeses and pantry staples. Whether you’re seeking the flavors of home or discovering them for the first time, you're invited to taste the heritage and quality that set them apart.

They have everything you need—from breakfast to dinner and everything in between! Start your day with classics like double-smoked bacon and southern-style sausage meat. For lunch, enjoy deli favorites such as sliced cheeses, ham, salami, and bologna. Lastly, at dinner time indulge in premium steaks, chicken wings, bratwurst, burgers, hot dogs, sausages, and more.

Don’t forget the extras! The Smokehouse carries all your accompaniments, including fresh buns, sauces, salsas, specialty cheeses, pasta, imported chocolates, fresh-baked breads, and delicious desserts.

They're proud to bring the rich, authentic flavors of a traditional German smokehouse. From Landjäger, Weisswurst, Kielbasa, Braunschweiger, Bratwurst, and Schinkenwurst to hearty sides like spaetzle, knödel, and sauerkraut—every bite is a taste of Germany. Also offered are American favorites like their famous brisket burgers, double-smoked bacon, tender ribs, and house-made skinless hot dogs, along with premium cuts of steak, chicken, and pork—perfect for any meal or backyard BBQ.

The Smokehouse of the Catskills has also introduced authentic Italian imports, brought straight from Italy. Explore their selection of prosciutto, Tuscan fennel salami, Calabrian spicy salami, mortadella with pistachios, Grana Padano, and imported Italian olive oil—a true taste of Italy, right here at the Smokehouse! They also continue to offer house-made sweet and hot Italian sausages, now complemented by Annarella’s homemade marinara, pomodoro, and tomato basil sauces—perfect for creating an authentic Italian meal at home. Enjoy!

Pattern for Progress presented at their October Housing Conference initial findings from its new research on corporate housing ownership and consolidation in the Mid-Hudson region. The project – the first of its kind anywhere in New York – unearthed and quantified trends of housing corporatization and the increasing prevalence of short-term rentals so that we may better assess impacts of these trends on housing affordability and access.

I have been traveling around New York State and speaking with state legislators, city council members and mayors in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Schenectady & Kingston to get perspective on local housing issues. One mayor observed that rents are not really high, but many people's employment skills do not allow them to earn enough to properly support themselves in today’s economy. Also, expectations that rents can somehow stay low while the rest of the expenses for everything else keep rising is not realistic.

In Kingston, much progress is being made in holding down rents by bringing on more supply. Mayor Noble’s ambitious goal of  adding 1000 new units by 2030 is well on its way. The Barrel Factory, Golden Hill, the former Kings Motel site development, Frog Alley, Grand Street, Bluestone Court, Elizabeth Street, the RUPCO Quality Inn conversion and the rehabilitation of Chiz’s together total 564 units in various stages of development. The Mayor is more than half way to his goal.

The RUPCO Quality Inn, Chiz’s and Elizabeth Street projects are especially important since they are more than just housing. Each location will include supportive social services beneficial to the tenants. Hopefully these projects when completed will allow permanent housing for those now in emergency motel accommodations. 

Most of these projects rely on robust government grants and funding. But looking ahead, our state is facing a severe budget shortfall, and along with an adversarial Washington, future housing development will rely heavily on a wary private sector.

Is building more housing the answer to lower housing cost?

Today in the podcast Max Politics, Jamie Rubin, who is the current Chairman of the New York City Housing Authority, and Alecia Glen, former Deputy Mayor for Housing in NYC, both confirmed that adding supply leads to lower rents because owners need to compete for tenants.

Not everyone agrees. At a public hearing in Kingston, Rebecca Garrard, Executive Director of Citizens Action, railed against adding new housing, like the Kingstonian, saying it leads to gentrification. Just today, the Tenants PAC urged NYC tenants to vote to block housing expansion, stating that increasing housing availability will accelerate displacement.

However, recent actual examples prove that increased supply keeps housing costs in check. Rents dropped 22% in Austin Texas last year as a result a 14% increase in supply over the last 5 years. Closer to home, the City of New Rochelle kept rents flat with only a 1.6% increase over a 5-year period. This was so because they adopted a developer-friendly planning approval program, streamlining the review process. In both of these examples the laws of economics, of supply and demand, took hold by flooding the market with housing.  Kingston also has recently streamlined its own plan approval process, and the fruit of this change will be evident in the years to come.

The region took a hit with the recent expiration of the site plan approval for 800 proposed apartments at the IPark 87 site. It would have contributed mightily to adding regional supply.

What doesn’t work to lower the cost of housing?

What clearly doesn’t work is shrinking supply and discouraging investment. In 2022, Kingston took a turn in the wrong direction by imposing rent price control. The laws of economics dictate that if you control the price of something, you get less of it. It doesn’t matter what it is - clocks, widgets, or housing. NYC is the poster child of housing dysfunction - insufficient supply leading to the world’s highest rents for half of the tenants and substandard housing for the rent-controlled half. Somehow there are those in the Kingston City Council who think we should emulate this in Kingston.

Thankfully, the recent vacancy study provides hope, showing that the vacancy rate in Kingston no longer permits the city to price fix rents and can return to a normal market. To that end the Kingston Common Council is holding 2 public hearings on ending rent control in Kingston on November 13^th and on November 15^th. Some on the Council are hoping that they can use the hearings as a way to get out from under the City’s own vacancy study and keep rent control in place.  Aside from the legal issues with such an effort, it would clearly be a further step in the wrong policy direction.  

A Helping hand on the road to homeownership.

As housing providers, we celebrate when one of our tenant’s can become a homeowner. There are programs in Ulster County to help renters, including multiple grant programs administered by RUPCO that aid those seeking to be first time homeowners. According to RUPCO’s Faith Moore, Sr. Vice President of Housing Programs, many tenants can afford the ongoing expenses of homeownership, but the downpayment is the obstacle. In addition to providing pre-purchase counseling for over a thousand perspective Ulster first time homeowners, RUPCO has provided hundreds of former tenants with downpayment assistance as well as funding for post purchase rehabilitation. These are worthwhile programs that deserve additional funding to help more residents.

All plans by iPark 87 for commercial and residential development along the south side of the east campus have evaporated with the May 2, 2025, expiration of site plan approval.

The proposal for 880 units of residential housing, renovations and new construction of retail and commercial space, a visitors center, and other projects that would have brought the former IBM and TechCity complex to life are no longer viable without further reviews, town Supervisor James Quigley said on Wednesday.

“Given the existing conditions on the east campus, the entire east campus is a blank slate that has to come to the (town) Planning Board,” he said.

A Summary of Select Questions from

WHAT'S THE PLAN

Ulster Strong Candidate Questionnaire

2026 Kingston City Budget: Levy Rises; Mayor Proposes City 'Bed Tax'

(Kingston Wire)

Under a proposed 2026 budget presented by Mayor Steve Noble on Friday, city tax rates will go up nearly 10 percent for the second year in a row. In a presentation Friday at City Hall, Noble blamed the tax hike on a combination of soaring employee benefit costs and the flattening of sales tax revenue that had buoyed the budget and lessened the burden on property taxpayers for nearly a decade.

According to the budget proposal, which still needs approval from the Common Council, the city’s 2026 budget will total $63,286,136, a 5.7 percent increase over last year. The tax levy, which makes up about a third of total revenue, will rise by 9.89 percent to $21,496,726. That number includes $1.4 million taken from the city’s reserve fund and applied to the tax levy. Taken together with last year’s tax levy increase, it represents a nearly 20 percent increase over 2024 when it stood at $17.9 million.

Upstate New York rent control isn’t catching on. Lawmakers want to hear why.

(Times Union)

In 2019, New York passed a law allowing upstate municipalities to adopt rent stabilization protections that were previously limited to New York City.

Housing advocates have welcomed the new tools to fight housing insecurity. Six years later, despite a wide push to adopt the measure, the Hudson Valley city of Kingston remains the only municipality to adopt rent control measures in upstate.

This month, the state Assembly's Housing Committee will hear from local officials about why more municipalities have not adopted rent stabilization measures despite rising rents statewide.

Battery Storage Proposal Scrambling Local Green Politics

(Kingston Wire)

The proposal to build a green energy battery storage facility on the site of the former Coleman High School has provoked political fallout throughout Ulster County and made for some strange bedfellows.

The argument for battery energy storage facilities (BESS) is they are key to the transition from carbon-based energy to renewables like solar, which by their nature are only intermittently available. On the other hand, BESS facilities have a history of “failure incidents” — chemical fires difficult to extinguish and laden with toxic gases and heavy metals.

The environmentally conscious Town of Hurley, adjacent to the site, is fiercely opposed to the project. The environmentally conscious Town of Ulster, home to the site, seems split. Environmentally conscious state reps Michele Hinchey and Sarahana Shrestha support it. Local Republicans, often skeptical of green initiatives, oppose it, they say, in the name of public safety.

Village of Saugerties dumps Spectrum for Archtop Fiber

(Daily Freeman)

The village government’s internet and telephone bill will be $824.88 smaller with the change from Spectrum to Archtop Fiber.

Trustees provided the update on Monday, Sept. 6, during a Village Board meeting.

The savings include the elimination of Spectrum’s $983.95 monthly charges as well as other connection fees layered onto the communications bills....

Competition to Spectrum’s long hold on business and residential service has been significant in the town and village of Saugerties during the past year, with Archtop Fiber and Planet Networks focusing on the municipalities with fiber optic lines that have internet upload and download speeds at just under the 1 gigabit per second for residential service.

Spectrum’s speeds for premium service are also offered at 1 gbps for downloads but upload speeds top out at only about 50 megabits per second.

100-unit Barrel Factory housing project in Kingston expected to open in fall 2026

(Daily Freeman)

Developers expect residents to move into The Barrel Factory, a four-story mixed-use project consisting of more than 100 units of residential housing, commercial storefronts and warehouse space at 35 Bruyn Ave., by fall 2026.

Danny Sirotkin, one of the partners with the project’s developer MHV Development, told the Freeman this week that construction is on schedule and they expect to “complete construction and deliver the building” in fall 2026.

As of Oct. 28, construction has progressed rapidly.

Metzger unveils $491.5M Ulster County Budget

Plan increases spending by 3.5%, adds 10 new positions to county government, and draws $34.2 million from the county’s unrestricted fund balance

(Daily Freeman)

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger on Wednesday unveiled a spending plan for 2026 that increases spending by 3.5% and adds 10 new positions to county government, but still holds the line on the amount to be raised by taxes.

Metzger said to help offset spending, the budget calls for $34.2 million to be drawn from the county’s unrestricted fund balance and $182.5 million in sales tax revenues.

The proposed budget will now go to the Legislature, which must adopt a final budget for 2026 by Dec. 11.

The Kingston City School District has signed on to a new state law that grants major tax breaks to developers of affordable multi-family housing and accessory dwelling units. The vote by the school board leaves Ulster County as the sole taxing jurisdiction in Kingston which has yet to approve the measure.

The tax relief provisions known as 421-P and 421-P*2 were added to the state tax code in 2024. 421-P applies to new construction of multi-family housing with at least 10 units on vacant or underutilized land. To qualify, developers must make 25 percent of the units affordable to people making between 60 and 80 percent of Area Median Income and agree not to rent any affordable units to those making more than 100 percent AMI. In exchange, the property will be fully tax exempt for up to three years while under construction. In the first year after construction is complete, the property will be exempted from 96 percent of property taxes. That percentage will decline by 4 percent each year for 25 years. The tax break can never bring the owners tax bill below what it was prior to construction.