Let’s talk about mistakes. Do they happen? Undeniably. But we are measured by how we respond when they occur.
In February 2026, the Putnam Valley Town Board accidentally passed a property tax relie resolution with inverted wording. Rather than restricting an exemption to seniors earning less than $58,400, the text stated the opposite.
Councilman Christian Russo — citing advice from the New York State Association of Towns, which he had consulted — and local civic watchdogs pushed for an emergency hearing to correct the text before the March 2 filing deadline.
At the time, Town Supervisor Alison Jolicoeur downplayed the issue as a non-substantive “typo,” relying on legal counsel’s assurance that the legislative intent would still stand. Although the senior tax relief was ultimately passed, signed, and adopted with the error intact so as to not disrupt the filing cycle, the administrative misstep drew public criticism of the new supervisor’s legislative oversight.
Laws are not upheld by good intentions. Adopting laws properly into town code is basic governance. Yet this substantial error still has not been acknowledged or corrected, even seven months later.
A strong, transparent leader would have addressed this immediately. Why leave an error sitting in our town’s books?
This is not acceptable, and it should be fixed.
William Gouldman, Putnam County Legislator