Revenue from mortgage tax disappointing

Local News

TIME PERIOD TOWN SPLIT COUNTY SHARE

Oct. 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010: $206,799 $94,366

April 1, 2010, to Sept. 30, 2010: $227,815 $104,588

Oct. 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011: $239,221 $110,241

April 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2011: $218,704 $101,196

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December 1, 2011

— Franklin County shares lower due to lack of property buys

Anonymous Press-Republican The Press Republican Thu Dec 01, 2011, 02:28 AM EST

MALONE — By DENISE A. RAYMO

Mortgage-tax collections are still not as high this year as Franklin County Clerk Wanda Murtagh had hoped.

The reason? Fewer large properties have sold or been refinanced.

Municipalities will split $218,700 for the most recent recorded transactions, and the county received $101,196 for its share, according to a recent resolution adopted by the County Legislature.

Twice a year, municipalities and the county share a portion of filing fees paid with certain real-estate transactions.

Counties can charge a fee of up to 1 percent of the property mortgage and, by law, must use their share to pay for capital-improvement projects or repairs and maintenance of their courthouse.

Towns and villages can use their share any way they want.

RECESSION HURT

Franklin County raised its fee from three-quarters of 1 percent to a full 1 percent in spring 2005 and had been seeing steady increases until the recession struck in 2008.

The income is slowly improving, with favorable interest rates leading more owners to refinance, but few properties are being sold, Murtagh said. And the ones that are selling are not high-end homes, which generate larger filing fees.

"The numbers are good, but they aren't what we should have" compared to other years, she said.

For example, transactions from October 2005 to March 2006 totaled $370,000 and hovered near $390,000, until hitting a peak of $414,000 in September 2007.

The total slid down to $275,000 in March 2008.

2011 PAYMENTS

Here is a breakdown of the payments made this year to each municipality for the recording period of April 1 to Sept. 30, rounded to the nearest dollar: Bangor, $6,266; Bellmont, $6,565; Bombay, $34,996; Brandon, $1,839; Brighton, $7,786; Town of Burke, $5,499; Village of Burke, $256; Town of Chateaugay, $3,589; Village of Chateaugay, $680; Constable, $5,865; Dickinson, $4,614; Duane, $1,402; Fort Covington, $3,902; Franklin, $13,047; Town of Harrietstown, $32,765; Village of Saranac Lake, $4,513; Town of Malone, $36,105; Village of Malone, $9,490; Town of Moira, $4,641; Village of Brushton, $323; Santa Clara, $4,481; Town of Tupper Lake, $19,644; Village of Tupper Lake, $3,473; Waverly, $1,771; and Westville, $5,190.

OTHER ACTION

In other recent business, legislators:

▶ Accepted a low bid of $18,775 from Trak Engineering for a new card system for the computerized-fleet fuel system at the County Highway Department.

▶ Reappointed Lee Trudeau to a four-year term on the Franklin County Community Services Board, to expire Nov. 5, 2015, and Dr. Ira Weissman and Janice Fitzgerald to four-year terms on the board until Oct. 1, 2015.

▶ Created a temporary position, not to exceed a year, for buildings and grounds superintendent, to be filled by Donald Gagnier at a base salary of $50,000. The position will be abolished upon the return, retirement or resignation of Robert Dupra, who is out on medical leave.

▶ Reappointed Department of Social Services Commissioner Lesley Lyon to a new five-year term in office, to expire Nov. 16, 2016. The 2011 salary is $72,472, and the salary range for the position will be no less than $25,000 and no more than $85,000 a year.

▶ Reappointed Mark J. Moeller to a two-year term on the Franklin County Workforce Council, to expire Nov. 4, 2013.

Email Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com