Albany Count y unveils $733M budget plan
Proposal holds taxes steady, allows for legal services, bail measures
Albany County Executive Daniel Mccoy unveiled his $773 million budget proposed for 2020 to legislators and department heads Wednesday, highlighting the adjustments being made to accommodate indigent legal ser vices and bail reform.
“We’re not raising your ta xes for the seventh year in a row. We rolled up our sleeves,” he said. “This is a budget again that is fiscally sound; no gimmicks, no one-shots.”
County homeowners will see a nominal decrease in their ta xes again this year, Mccoy said. The ta x rate will be $3.51 per $1,000 equalized assessed value, a rate that has decreased since 2014 when it was at $3.95.
The proposed budget includes 30 new positions in the public defender’s office, which will be funded through $3.5 million coming from the state and increases contingency accounts to prepare for the need for more resources in the district attorney ’s office and other departments to be affected by bail reform, McCoy said.
While funds to provide legal ser vices will continue to f low from the state for years to come, the county executive said bail reform impacts are unclear.
“It ’s affecting my probation department, the district attorney ’s office, the law department, children youth and family, so we put in positions where we could. The rest is just a g uess, so I’ve put some money into the contingency fund,” Mccoy said. “Until we see how this is going to fully implement, it ’s tough.”
The budget includes at $250,000 commitment for the Albany County Land Bank, about $25,000 for the U.S. Census count, and 2 percent raises for all non-union workers.
The Legislature now will go through the full budget and propose any changes.
Albany Democrat Wanda Willingham, who chairs the legislature Audit and Finance Committee, said she’s looking forward to working with Mccoy on the 2020 budget.
“I am happy to see that the county is stepping up to the plate to provide more programs for our youth and addressing social issues such as g un violence and drugs,” she said in news release. “There are some things we have to look into, such as the impact internet sales ta x will have on residents, but the fact that this year ’s budget has no ta x increase is a ver y good sig n.”
Minority Leader Frank Mauriello also was pleased to learn there is no proposed ta x increase but noted that the Legislature was able to secure a more significant decrease in the 2019 budget and will aim to do so again.
“Our priorities continue to be the same as last year — a budget that spends only what it needs to spend to provide quality ser vices to the people of Albany County,” he said in a statement.