Lawmakers shuffle some budget money, reject comptroller’s request for $86,000
KINGSTON, N.Y. » The Ulster County Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee approved a series of amendments to the proposed 2018 county budget on Monday to reflect legislative priorities, but it did not alter the bottom line of the $324 million spending plan.
Overall, the changes shifted the allocation of $485,642 within the budget proposed by County Executive Michael Hein, said county Budget Director Burt Gulnick.
“It was moving money around within the budget,” he said. “At the end of the day, the tax levy remains the same.”
The committee increased county funding for four not-for-profit organizations that provide services under a contract with the county. Arts Mid-Hudson will get a $6,000 bump in funding; Court Appointed Special Advocates will receive an additional $2,950; the Ulster County Library Association will get $5,000 more; and The ARC of Ulster-Greene will get $5,000 more.
In each case, the funding will allow those agencies to provide services in addition to those already provided to the county.
But legislators rejected a request by county Comptroller Elliott Auerbach for an additional $86,000 to return to his office the position of a confidential secretary, which was eliminated in the county’s 2017 budget. The elimination of that position was one of several cuts totaling roughly $100,000 to the comptroller’s budget made by the Legislature. Hein had proposed roughly $200,000 in cuts to that office.
In December 2016, Auerbach called the cuts a “vendetta” by Hein and county lawmakers. He then went to court to seek a restraining order that would have stopped the county’s 2017 budget from taking effect, but
“It was moving money around within the budget. At the end of the day, the tax levy remains the same.”
— Budget Director Burt Gulnick
a judge rejected the request.
Three months later, a judge dismissed an Auerbach lawsuit that challenged the cuts to the Comptroller’s Office.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Gerentine cited Auerbach’s attempt to force the county to pay for his legal fees in connection with that lawsuit as one of the reasons he opposed the increased funding for 2018.
“He’s supposed to be protecting the citizens of Ulster County,” said Gerentine, R-Marlborough.
Gerentine also said he found lacking Auerbach’s explanation for needing the position, saying he believed the comptroller could find someone to answer phones and make copies for less than the eliminated amount.
Auerbach has said he is the only elected countywide official without a secretary.
Lawmakers on Monday also authorized the transfer of money within the budget to cover the cost of a contract settlement with the Ulster County Staff Association; eliminated four positions within county government that long had been vacant; and moved $120,000 to the county’s contingency fund, based on a recommendation by the county’s budget consultants.
The full Ulster County Legislature will vote Wednesday on the final $324 million budget, which calls for a 0.28 percent decrease in spending from the adopted 2017 county budget and a 0.25 percent decrease in the county property tax levy.