Albany County legislators are battling over the budget process in the wake of the Monday, Dec. 7, budget approval.
Albany County Legislator Richard Mendick, R-Selkirk claims there have been changes in the adopted budget by unknown county officials, that falsely identifies it as one passed by the County Legislature,
He said there are 11 differences between the two documents. The budget passed 27 to 12. Mendick was one of the dissenting 12.
Mendick alleges a `dangerous game of bait and switch` with tax money and said that close to $2 million in reserve funds, not approved by the legislature, was added to balance the budget.
`Having reviewed the budget passed by the Albany County Legislature and the one given to me by the Democrat Majority, I have determined that the changes made are deliberate,` said Mendick. `I am calling for the Legislature to investigate these deceptive actions. Someone has falsely presented this budget as the one approved by the Legislature and it’s not. We must find those responsible for this action and hold them accountable and I am calling for a special bi-partisan legislative committee to investigate this situation.`
Mendick said the executive has the ability to make certain changes under the county charter, but after a budget is voted on by the legislature, there are no provisions in the charter allowing for legislative changes.
He charges that close to $2 million in reserve funds was added in an attempt to correct budget deficiencies. He is concerned this is a `planned maneuver to deceive both the County Legislature and the taxpayers,` according to information form Mendick’s office.
Albany County Majority Leader Frank Commisso, D-Albany, who chairs the audit and finance committee, responded to the allegations, stating Mendick is an `unwitting county Legislator [who] needs to acknowledge a lack of understanding of the process before seeking headlines.`
Other members of the finance and audit committee also disagreed with Mendick’s take on the situation.
`On the night of the vote by the Legislature, he knew that we needed to balance the budget before sending it back to the executive. He helped identify a mistake that needed to be fixed. Now he’s pretending it’s criminal to balance the adopted budget. That doesn’t make any sense to me, said Gary Domalewicz, D-Albany, a member of the audit and finance committee in a statement.
Commisso said Mendick is calling responsible finance, inappropriate.
`On top of it all, Mendick identified a mistake to staff that needed to be rectified and then cries foul when the mistake is fixed. Mendick is complaining about presenting the executive with a balanced spending plan, something necessary and understandable by anyone who understands accounting,` Commisso said in a statement.
Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners said his office helps balance the budget after it is passed on from the legislature to the executive, and it is not abnormal to make sure expenses equal revenue.
He said the legislature works with an abbreviated document during its meeting to adopt a tentative budget, and sometimes there are discrepancies between that document and the actual budget, which is hundreds of pages long.
`There were errors in it that were corrected,` he said.
Conners said Mendick’s interpretation of the process is in error, and it is `absolutely not,` the case that there was any intentional deception.
`I don’t think it’s correct or accurate,` he said of Mendick’s accusation.
Mary Duryea, a representative of Albany County Executive Mike Breslin, said Breslin’s office was forwarded a copy of the official budget, and is considering a veto. Breslin has until Saturday, Dec. 12 to make a decision on the veto.
She said she could not comment specifically on the Legislatures procedure in forwarding a tentative budget.
`That’s really an internal process between the members of the legislature,` she said.
She acknowledged, though, that the executive budget office did notice some differences between the budget forwarded from the Legislature and the spreadsheet used at the meeting.
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