County Executive Michael Breslin, D-Delmar, will ask legislators in his upcoming budget proposal to shift the burden of compliance with federal voting reforms off the shoulders of taxpayers and back on county coffers.
Last month, area municipal leaders came out in opposition to the county’s proposal to pass down more than $1.8 million in mandates as it looks to come into compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Instead, Breslin is proposing that municipalities pay a total of $615,300 for Election Day expenses related to staffing, transportation, space rental and insurance for new electronic machines. Of that, Colonie would pay approximately $221,500, down from the $680,416 that was originally proposed.
The county would pay the remaining balance of $1,265,266.
Under new HAVA regulations, towns will pay the county for voting services, as Albany takes the reins for voting operations throughout its 12 towns and cities by November 2007. Previously, the towns were responsible for overseeing the voting process. The amount charged back to the municipalities is based on a town or city’s taxable value.
Through HAVA, a legislative reaction to the 2000 presidential election ballot debacle in Florida, states were required to enact new voting guidelines. The state Board of Elections handed down a number of mandates to the counties. One such mandate was that all counties would be responsible for elections. No money was made available to help implement the directive.
I’m pleased it has gone down as much as it has, but I still question the methodology, said Colonie Supervisor Mary Brizzell.
Under the old proposal, Colonie, with more than $7 billion in taxable properties, would have paid 36 percent, or $680,416 of the county tab. Brizzell said she is opposed to the county’s method of charging back to its municipalities using the taxable value method, which would remain as part of Breslin’s most recent proposal.
Under the old plan Colonie was slated to pay $289,734 more than the city of Albany, the second-largest contributor in the county’s plan.
Initially having to cough up more than $680,000 to meet the county charge-back, town officials established the Albany County Voter Tax in their 2007 preliminary budget.
The new town tax is to account for a $24 per year tax increase for homes assessed at $200,000 under the current charge back.
If Breslin’s proposal succeeds, Colonie taxpayers would be paying about $8 per year on a home assessed at $200,000, said Brizzell.
Municipal leaders put the pressure on county leaders in early September to find another way to cover the costs rather than hit communities with tax increases.
After that meeting, representatives from local towns and cities met to discuss their options as they prepared to challenge the charge backs.
In a letter from Cohoes Mayor John T. McDonald to Breslin, McDonald outlined the com-munity leaders’ willingness to pay the cost of Election Day inspect-ors, currently budgeted at $495,300 in the County Board of Elections proposed 2007 budget.
To better the county’s position Breslin jostled for an additional $120,000.
To comply with HAVA, the county will have to add staff and resources to successfully meet Election Day demands throughout the county.
However, Brizzell is questioning why the county has proposed expenses so much more than what Colonie budgets every year for Election Day costs, she said. The town typically budgets $90,000 each year to cover those cost. Even under Breslin’s new plan, the town would still be paying more than $221,000 to effectively do nothing on its part.
Attempts to reach Breslin were unsuccessful.“