(Riverhead, N.Y.) – Suffolk County Clerk Judy Pascale today released the 2009 annual revenue report which highlights a continued decline in state, county and town revenues.

Total revenue in the County Clerk’s Office declined for the fourth straight year by 19% to $227,505,997.06 in 2009.

“Since the peak in 2005, revenue in the County Clerk’s Office has steadily decreased and can be directly correlated to the decline in the real estate market,” stated Pascale.

The largest decreases in revenue were from Mortgage Tax, Transfer Tax and the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Tax.  Mortgage Tax, which is a 1.05% tax on mortgages, decreased by 21% to $98,445,126.26 in 2009.  The impact is felt both locally and in Albany, since nearly half of the collected mortgage tax is distributed to Suffolk’s towns and villages, and the other half to Albany.  Additionally, New York State Transfer Tax, a .25% tax on the sale price of homes, totaled $44,532,987.02 in 2009, or 26% less than in 2008.  Also, the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Tax, a 2% tax on the sale price of homes in Suffolk’s five east end towns, dropped by 29% to $40,236,598.93 in 2009.

All ten towns in Suffolk County saw a reduction in Mortgage Tax except Smithtown, which increased slightly by only 1% to $4,817,217.58.  East Hampton, Riverhead and Southampton all saw Mortgage Tax decrease by over 30% and Babylon, Islip and Shelter Island realized over a 20% loss.  Brookhaven dropped by 19% and Huntington realized the smallest decrease of only 4%.

Additionally, all five East End towns saw a decrease in Peconic Bay Community Preservation Tax.  Southold and Riverhead both saw decreases of over 40%, East Hampton and Shelter Island decreased by over 30%, and Southampton decreased by 24%.

“The decrease in land record revenue is directly attributed to low home prices and limited money for borrowing.  While the Transfer Tax, Mortgage Tax and Peconic Bay Community Preservation Tax all dropped significantly, the County Clerk’s Office still recorded 157, 290 land records, just 5% fewer than in 2008”.

“While the real estate market continues to lag, my office has seen a tremendous increase in Supreme Court lawsuits as well as foreclosure related filings.  This year was a record breaking year in terms of lawsuits and foreclosures initiated in the County Clerk’s Office,” commented Pascale.

Index numbers associated with filed lawsuits increased from 46,143 to 50,836 in 2009.  This can mostly be attributed to the increase in foreclosure filings which rose from 9,400 in 2008 to 12,808 this past year. Foreclosure judgments also rose significantly from 1,918 to 2,799.  However, judgments of divorce nearly remained the same at 3,716 in 2009.

Additionally, Small Claim Assessment Reviews Petition filings reached an all time high of 36,619 in 2009, a 24% increase over 2008.  Small Claim Assessment Review Petitions are filed as an appeal from local town assessment review boards.

Sole proprietorships and partnerships declined slightly in 2009 from 19,977 to 17,576.  Additionally, applications for U.S. Passports dropped from 715 to 608 in 2009, possibly an indication people are traveling less.

“While overall revenue in the Clerk’s Office has declined significantly, my office continues to be one of the top revenue producers for the County.  At a time when total revenue is down by 19%, the Clerk’s Office still turned over $16,308,911 to the County’s general fund, which is 45% higher than in 2008,” stated Pascale.

“The County Clerk’s total revenue is reflective of 2000 and 2001 totals.  The question for the experts will be whether the economy continues to lag in 2010.  A good indication may be whether the County Clerk’s revenue slides back towards that of the late 1990’s or they begin increasing slightly.  Only time will tell,” concluded Pascale.