SOUTHERN DUTCHESS – Four towns in Southern Dutchess County have voted to form a single consolidated assessing unit. Each town presently handles the property tax assessment function, but a consolidated effort would save money.

The town boards in Fishkill, Beekman, LaGrange and Wappinger have also voted to submit an application for a Local Government Efficiency Grant.

Beekman Supervisor Daniel French said that $400,000 would be used to launch a joint office.

 “The ability to build office space that would be a shared office area for this consolidated assessing unit,” he said. They would also purchase equipment including a hybrid vehicle and provide for some educational opportunities for staff to information residents how the new system would work for them.

In Beekman alone, French said the savings with a joint assessing unit would be about $35,000 per year.

The next step is for the towns to apply for grant money to begin to put the project together.