Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Catskill Town Board voted on Dec. 5 to settle with Walmart over a tax dispute. Walmart wanted to lower their real estate tax assessment, and in the settlement the town agreed, reducing the assessed value of the Catskill store from $10.5 million to $8.8 million in 2024. The vote to settle was 3-to-2, with Dawn Scannapieco and Paul Vosburgh, Jr. voting against the settlement. Scannapieco said, “I feel like big businesses like Walmart receive so many breaks as it is, and a lot of small businesses could benefit more.... The revenue needs to be made up somewhere, and it’s going to be our hardworking citizens that have to make it up.” The story does not say just how much less the Walmart tax bill will now be. Catskill Town Assessor Audrey Higbee said, “It’s a pattern for them to file every three years against small towns.... It’s an opportunity for them to reduce their property values.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.