The Albany County Legislature has unanimously approved County Executive Dan McCoy’s $847 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
All 39 county legislators agreed McCoy's financial plan is a sound one. 23rd district Republican legislator Paul Burgdorf of Latham says the budget includes a nearly 4% tax decrease for residents, marking 11 consecutive years of tax-reduced budgets.
“I think the budget is still a bit fat, and I think there's money in there and more money that could be made available to taxpayers, but I do commend the County Executive for his fiscal stewardship of keeping us in a tax cut environment. We had a series of probably 15 budget meetings in October and November. It's not an easy process, but I'm glad we came to a very good resolution for the taxpayers in Albany County,” Burgdorf said.
McCoy initially presented the budget proposal on October 7. It reduces the effective tax rate to $2.73 per $1,000 in assessed property value for 2025, down from $2.84 per $1,000 this year and a more than 30 percent reduction over the last decade. It focuses on investments in underserved communities, with $800,000 going to expanding county programs and services to support addiction recovery.
Democratic Majority Leader Dennis Feeney represents the 29th district, the Town of Guilderland. Feeney hails the spending plan.
"It's a budget that I think provides not only relief to the taxpayers, but it has all the ingredients in there to maintain the services that we have always provided to the residents of the county. So I think it's a fair budget all the way around. It's something that you know all both sides of the aisle agreed on, and we felt it was a very fair and concise budget," said Feeney.
Minority Leader Frank Mauriello of the 27th district, a Colonie Republican, could not be reached for comment. He issued a statement critical of the budget process, saying in part "The fact that our Conference received the final figures on such short notice at recent Committees speaks volumes about the serious lack of transparency in our government." At the same time Mauriello praised the budget - "because it puts more money back into the hands of everyday residents."
Feeney noted the inclusion of $1 million for a Housing Trust Fund, addressing the national and local housing crisis.
"We know that housing is a major issue, and it's something that we're trying to address," Feeney said. "This trust fund, we hope, will be able to really start to address that issue. It's a challenge in not only in Albany County, but across the country and across the state. And I think we just felt that something like this could assist people in finding housing, that it's a good thing to try to do."
28th district Republican legislator Mark Grimm represents the Carman Road area of Guilderland and a portion of South Colonie. He points out the budget includes a nearly $21,000 raise for the Albany County District Attorney, clarifying that DA salaries in New York by law align with the compensation of local judges.
"The district attorney salary across New York state is set by state law," said Grimm. "They get whatever the judges get. So there has to be a consistency between what local judges get and the district attorney gets. We have a new DA coming in, so we're anxious to hear what he has to say about what he thinks his requirements are. And of course, that's something that we can negotiate and deliberate on, depending on what he says and depending on the answers that we get."
DA-elect Lee Kindlon, who promised an audit of the office during his campaign, is gearing up to take the reins from David Soares after two decades.
"So we've actually started the transition planning, and so we have some space over at 112 State Street," Kindlon said. "We're talking to as many people as possible, because I want to make sure January 1 at 12:01, we've got our hands on the wheel, and the DA's office of Lee Kindlon is as responsive as possible. How we actually get into the administration of the office. I do think it's important as we transition that we are held accountable to the voters. I mean, that's one of the reasons I ran, and that's one of the reasons I think I won. So I want to make sure that people know where their tax dollars are going and that they're going towards effective programs that keep us all safe."
Legislature Chair Joanne Cunningham could not be reached for comment. In a statement she praised the “bipartisan effort” that resulted in the budget's unanimous passage.
