MALONE — Franklin County’s amnesty program that allows delinquent taxpayers to catch up on their overdue property taxes without interest has proven so successful county leaders plan to extend it for an additional month.

County legislators, during a Thursday morning work session, agreed informally to push the deadline for the amnesty program from its current date of June 30 to July 31. A formal vote is scheduled for the next full Legislature meeting on June 18.

Legislators are also considering extending a companion program that allows property owners who have not yet paid their 2020 taxes to do so without interest or penalty until the same date.

The agreement came after County Treasurer Fran Perry told lawmakers that 71 property owners have caught up on their delinquent tax bills, resulting in $234,000 in outstanding tax revenues being added to county coffers. An additional 300-plus property owners have expressed interest in the program, Perry said.

Those property owners that have caught up on their taxes are now “completely out of any foreclosure issues,” Perry said.

The county first approved its tax amnesty program in early April in order to help property owners whose livelihoods were impacted by the COVID-19 virus outbreak. The measure was extended until the end of June when it expired.

The companion measure postpones interest on 2020 taxes, as well as the 5% penalty for late payment, until June 22. The county by law cannot waive the penalty completely, but pushing the date on which it will be imposed has something of the same effect, Perry has previously explained.

The June 22 date was chosen because that is the date the state has said it will revoke its STAR exemption for people who have not paid their property taxes. The county measure will not affect the state deadline, Perry noted.

The effects of the COVID-19 outbreak continue to hammer the county’s revenue streams, although the situation is not as dire as is could have been, County Manager Donna Kissane said.

Sales tax revenues continue to lag behind last year, and occupancy tax collections have largely dried up — even though more property owners involved in short-term rental housing have registered with the county, Perry said. The sales tax payments from the state are down nearly 8% percent from the same time last year, she said, and occupancy tax revenues totalled only $3,000 so far for the second quarter. Payments for the quarter are not due until June 20, “It doesn’t look real promising,” said Legislature Chairman Don Dabiew, D-Bombay.

Occupancy tax revenues had been down nearly 10% for the first quarter of the year, Perry said, but other revenues were holding their own. Total revenues for the first quarter of the year were up by about $400,000, but fell off sharply once the pandemic and the accompanying closure of businesses deemed nonessential by the state became the norm, she said.

“We were definitely on an upswing, then everything hit,” Perry said.

Kissane said steps the county had taken — including layoffs and a freeze on most purchases — also helped keep the county’s finances together despite the drop in revenues.

“Our expenditures are also down because of some of the measures we put in place,” Kissane said. However, she added, “We have to be incredibly careful” in case revenues — both state and county — continue to decline.