[0:00] Good evening and welcome to the
September 1st meeting of the Putnam
[0:02] County Legislature. I'd ask everybody to
please stand for the pledge.
[0:06] Legislator Adnezio, would you lead us,
please?
[0:09] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America, and to the
[0:14] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:19] justice for all.
>> I'd ask you all to remain standing.
[0:22] Legislator Russo, would you lead us in
our legislative prayer?
[0:25] » Sure.
We gather today here together in town
[0:30] I'm doing good work. We seek to
represent fairly and well those who have
[0:35] given us this task. May our efforts be
blessed with insight, guided by
[0:41] understanding and wisdom. We seek to
serve with respect for all.
[0:46] May our personal faith
give us strength to act honestly and
[0:51] well in all matters before us. Amen.
>> Amen. Thank you.
[0:55] I'd ask Clerk to call the roll, please.
>> District 1, Legislator Montgomery.
[1:00] » Here.
>> District 2, Legislator Gouldman.
[1:03] » Present.
>> District 3, Legislator Adnezio.
[1:06] » Present.
>> District 4, Legislator Russo.
[1:09] » Present.
>> District 5, Legislator DiAngelo.
[1:12] » Present.
>> District 6, Legislator Regan.
[1:15] » Present.
>> District 8, Legislator Sage.
[1:18] » Present.
>> District 9, Legislator Crowley.
[1:20] » Present.
>> District 7, Chairman Birmingham.
[1:23] » Here. Our next item of business is
proclamations. I would call on
[1:27] Legislator Montgomery
to recognize Suicide Prevention
[1:30] Awareness Month, and I'd
ask Legislator Montgomery to invite
[1:34] anybody up who might be here to
join us in this proclamation.
[1:37] » Thank you, Chairman. [clears throat]
Thank you. I think we have today here
[1:42] Marla Baylor from the co-chair of the
Putnam County Suicide Task Force, Megan
[1:48] Costello, co-chair of the Putnam County
Suicide Prevention Task Force,
[1:53] and Maria Aidone, the Executive Director
of the American Foundation for Suicide
[1:59] Prevention Hudson Valley Westchester
chapter. Welcome. Thanks for coming out
[2:05] on this rainy night for this important
topic.
[2:10] We have a a beautiful
proclamation here that our legislative
[2:15] clerks wonderfully put together. I'll
paraphrase a little bit.
[2:19] Suicide is a significant public health
issue that affects individuals and
[2:23] families, co-workers, schools,
communities across the nation with
[2:28] lasting emotional, social, and economic
impacts.
[2:31] Suicide is preventable and through
education, awareness, and early
[2:35] intervention, and access to
compassionate support, lives can be
[2:39] saved and hope can be restored. Whereas
every member of our community has a role
[2:45] in promoting mental wellness, reducing
stigma, encouraging help-seeking
[2:50] behaviors, and supporting those who may
be struggling with thoughts of suicide
[2:55] or experiencing a mental health crisis.
Whereas Putnam County is committed to
[2:59] strengthening suicide prevention and
Putnam County during Suicide Prevention
[3:04] Awareness Month, we encourage all
residents to learn the warning signs of
[3:08] suicide, engage in open and caring
conversations about mental health,
[3:13] support those who may be struggling, and
become familiar with available in local
[3:17] resources, including 988 Suicide and
Crisis Lifeline. Now, therefore, be it
[3:23] resolved that the County of Putnam ex-
the Putnam County executive and the
[3:27] Putnam County legislature do hereby
proclaim September 2026
[3:31] as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in
Putnam County, and we call upon all
[3:36] residents, businesses, schools, health
care providers, community organizations,
[3:41] local agencies to participate in Suicide
Awareness Prevention Month,
[3:46] and do activities and work together to
promote hope, encourage connection,
[3:51] reduce the stigma surrounding mental
illness, and support efforts to prevent
[3:56] suicide.
Um suicide uh is I just want to
[4:01] highlight why this work is so important
and and why it matters here in Putnam
[4:05] County um and to present this heartfelt
proclamation to you all
[4:10] » Thank you.
>> cuz you do the work and the really hard
[4:12] work and um
the amazing work that you have
[4:18] uh
stepped up this year alone and what I've
[4:20] seen. So, this issue has touched uh
my own life in in way too many ways that
[4:27] I want to talk about um
and it has affected far too many
[4:31] families and I believe we have some here
today and I'm sorry for your loss. Um
[4:37] I'm particularly proud that Putnam is
moving beyond awareness and toward real
[4:42] prevention. Our [clears throat]
Department of Social Services and Mental
[4:45] Health through the Suicide Prevention
Task Force and the LOSS team is working
[4:50] collaboratively with our health
department, uh the Veteran Service
[4:55] Agency, the Youth Bureau, the schools,
law enforcement, and the coroner's
[4:58] office, and community partners. The LOSS
team now provides immediate outreach to
[5:04] families after suicide. And Putnam was
just selected for a new state funding to
[5:09] expand our rural suicide prevention
work. This
[5:13] matters profoundly, especially for our
veterans, our law enforcement officers,
[5:20] and our first responders. Not only
because of the rates of suicide are much
[5:24] higher for those dedicated service
members, but also it is they who
[5:29] experience these tragedies from
perspectives most of us never see and
[5:34] I've witnessed firsthand um the response
that they and the care that they give to
[5:40] our Putnam residents. I've often felt
hopeless not knowing what more can I do,
[5:46] but there is so much more we can do. Um,
I was really encouraged this week, just
[5:50] the other day, to be sitting on a call
about the Bear Mountain Bridge
[5:54] Authority, and they're doing this $93
million
[5:58] renovation restoration to the bridge.
Um,
[6:01] but they'll incorporate
climate
[6:05] climate deterrent fencing as part of
their rehabilitation work. And the
[6:09] workers even will
get um
[6:14] suicide prevention workshops. So, the
guys that are actually just doing the
[6:19] construction work are obligated to take
these prevention programs. So,
[6:24] prevention is becoming part of how we
plan and build, and that's what I hope
[6:29] we recognize this month is that suicide
prevention isn't one department's
[6:34] responsibility. It really just takes all
of us, and thank you for your hard work
[6:39] and being on the front line.
>> Would you like to say anything?
[6:43] » You said a lot.
>> Yeah.
[6:45] » Yeah.
>> Thank you very much.
[6:47] » You touched on a lot of really important
things, you know, that as part of the
[6:51] prevention and post-vention work that we
do here in the community.
[6:54] Um, I guess we're happy just to have the
awareness about suicide prevention
[6:58] month, and um
when we talk about suicide, we elevate
[7:02] the conversation, it just raises
awareness, and to your point, everyone
[7:06] has a role to play in making our
community suicide safer.
[7:09] Um, I would just challenge everyone in
the community, if you haven't already
[7:12] taken any type of a what they would call
gatekeeper training for suicide
[7:15] prevention, something like safe talk or
talk saves lives or um
[7:20] uh question, persuade, and refer, which
which also be QPR. Um, please do that
[7:25] because it will help you recognize
someone who may be at risk for suicide
[7:28] and help you know how to put them in
touch with suicide prevention resources.
[7:33] We've had a lot of professionals come to
those trainings over the years, and the
[7:35] feedback we have gotten from them is
that it didn't just help them in their
[7:38] line of work, but um when they're with
their family members, you know, they
[7:42] were at a barbecue and they were talking
to a cousin and you know, they asked
[7:45] them, "Are you thinking about suicide?"
and they said, "Yes." Um and I also just
[7:49] want to take the opportunity to dispel a
myth that if you ask someone if they're
[7:52] thinking about suicide, um that does not
put the idea in their head. So, for
[7:56] people who are afraid to bring that up,
you know, as a topic of conversation, um
[8:00] please ask. You know, most people um are
looking for someone safe to be able to
[8:04] talk to about what they're struggling
with and to know that someone is there
[8:07] and that they're not alone. So, um
I just also want to put in a plug-in, um
[8:13] you know, call to action for everyone.
We're going to have our local Out of the
[8:16] Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk here in
Putnam on October 18th. It's going to be
[8:20] kicking off right outside in the parking
lot down there. So, we hope that
[8:23] everyone will join us that morning. I
think we're kicking the program off at
[8:26] 10:00 a.m. So, if um you can please show
up and you know, share with your friends
[8:31] and neighbors. Again, you know, we want
the issue to be visible, you know, we
[8:34] want people who um have either lost
people to suicide or you know, maybe
[8:38] they're struggling um to know that
they're not alone and that there's a
[8:41] community here that cares about them and
is, you know, ready, willing, and able
[8:45] to support. So,
Anything you guys want to ask?
[8:48] » I just want to say thank you. Um in my
position with AFSP, I cover six, seven
[8:53] counties and I use Putnam County as an
example to the other counties and what
[8:57] they do for suicide loss, how they work
with the Medical Examiner's Department.
[9:02] So, kudos to the the loss team in
Putnam. They're amazing and and thank
[9:06] you for all your support. And as Megan
had said, there is education available.
[9:11] Um
suicide prevention is for everybody. You
[9:13] do not need to be a mental health
professional to save a life by suicide.
[9:18] So, [clears throat] I recommend
afsp.org. You can find free information,
[9:23] connect with me if you want to bring a
training to your constituents. I could
[9:26] do it over Zoom. We don't charge for
anything and thank you.
[9:30] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[9:31] » Thanks for doing the hard work. I know
that you do.
[9:35] » [applause]
[9:42] [snorts]
>> Thank you, Legislator Montgomery, and
[9:44] thank you to our county agencies and
community organizations for the great
[9:47] work you do. Um,
you're part of what makes Putnam County
[9:50] so special, particularly in such
in areas as this. So, thank you very
[9:55] much. And thank you, Legislator
Montgomery.
[9:58] Uh, next item is item four, acceptance
of minutes. We've got three sets of
[10:02] minutes there. They do not require a
vote. Uh, next item is item number five,
[10:07] a correspondence from the county
auditor. Uh, there have been no
[10:09] erroneous assessments approved uh for
the month of August. Next, we're going
[10:14] into
pre-filed resolutions. The first
[10:17] resolution, the first excuse me,
committee up is the Rules and Enactments
[10:22] Committee chaired by Legislator Sage.
Amy, would you lead us through your
[10:25] agenda?
>> Uh, thank you, Chairman Birmingham. On
[10:29] behalf of the Rules, Enactments, and
Intergovernmental Relations Committee,
[10:32] and on behalf of Legislators Birmingham
and Goldman and myself, I'd like to
[10:35] bring forward agenda item 6A. This is an
approval for litigation settlement uh,
[10:41] for Calista Malstrom v. Putnam County.
>> Thank you. Any discussion?
[10:48] All in favor?
>> Aye.
[10:51] Moving on to agenda item 6B. This is an
approval for amending resolution 94 of
[10:57] 2026 regarding the designation of the
official newspaper.
[11:02] Uh, we are designating a back up no um,
publications um, in case the our
[11:10] original
official newspaper is unavailable so
[11:14] that we can
get our um,
[11:17] legal in the newspaper as required by
the charter.
[11:22] » Thank you. Any discussion? Legislator
Crowley.
[11:24] » I just want to say thank you to the
committee and the other legislators for
[11:28] entertaining my resolutions so that we
can get important things passed that
[11:32] have been stifled in the past and adding
to it and make sure that we are
[11:36] continuing to do the people's work and
get get these get these laws and and tax
[11:41] savings like the gas uh thank god it
wasn't affected, but you know, make sure
[11:45] that they're they're done on time so
that the people get the savings or
[11:47] accounts.
>> Great.
[11:49] Any further discussion, Legislator
Montgomery?
[11:51] » Thank you, Chairman. Um I think I just
wanted to make a brief comment since I'd
[11:56] offered some uh alternative language
during the Rules Committee discussion. I
[12:00] think this resolution is a practical
compromise. It reflects how people get
[12:05] information today, not 40 years ago or
no, 100 years ago when the law was
[12:11] established, [laughter]
while still making sure we meet all of
[12:14] our
legal notice requirements. Um
[12:19] the law does not require newspaper
publication or where it does not require
[12:24] newspaper publication, we can we can use
the county website, which is faster,
[12:30] more efficient, more accessible. Um and
where it does require a newspaper, the
[12:34] Putnam County Press remains our
designated official newspaper, but we
[12:39] now have a clear backup and it can't uh
if it cannot meet the publication
[12:44] deadline, the press.
So, and more importantly to me, the
[12:47] resolution also recognizes the value of
our local newspapers, the Highlands
[12:52] Current and the Maybrook News in making
sure county information actually reaches
[12:59] people
throughout Putnam County. So, the goal
[13:02] here was never simply to choose one
newspaper over another. It was to
[13:06] protect the county legally, to avoid
miss deadlines, and at the same time
[13:10] give the public the broadest practical
access
[13:14] to county notices. So, I think this
resolution accomplishes that.
[13:19] » [clears throat]
>> Great. Thank you. Any other comment from
[13:22] my colleagues?
Seeing none, all in favor?
[13:25] » Aye.
>> Aye.
[13:27] » Thank you. Agenda item 6C. This is an
approval for a local law.
[13:32] Excuse me. I'm in Excuse [clears throat]
me.
[13:35] Fighting a cold.
>> [cough]
[13:37] » Amending chapter 55, section 55-12 of
Putnam County Code
[13:43] entitled Board of Ethics establishment,
qualifications of members, appointment
[13:47] of members, terms of office.
This is one of those items that actually
[13:52] um
was a We passed previously. We were
[13:56] unable to um
get it put into law because of the
[14:00] newspapers and we thereby
went back to the drawing board and made
[14:05] a few changes.
Um we added um
[14:09] some transparency measures.
One being an an
[14:13] an application process that allows their
uh
[14:16] applications to be submitted to the
legislature.
[14:20] Um
we made sure that
[14:23] these are uh we made sure added language
to be sure that these are actual
[14:28] nominations that these uh
entities will be making
[14:32] and um specified uh full legislature
will be making
[14:38] um
a
[14:40] nomination in case uh we don't have a
minority chair.
[14:45] Few of the changes.
>> Right. Thank you. Any comment from my
[14:47] colleagues?
Legislator Gouldman.
[14:50] » Thank you, Chairman.
Um even though I have some issues with
[14:54] uh some of this, I do understand that a
functioning ethics board is needed here
[14:59] in Putnam County.
Currently, there are two members of this
[15:03] board. That means it's non-functioning.
I'm glad that we got rid of the
[15:07] political party bosses getting involved
with uh an ethics board. There's really
[15:12] no place for that on an ethics board.
Where it should not be.
[15:17] Uh there are other issues like giving
the chair of the legislature nominating
[15:21] two seats. It should not be the chair,
it should be the full legislative body.
[15:26] And not allowing a member to be
appointed who's an employee or not
[15:32] when I'm looking at the whole picture
right here.
[15:34] One of the current board members at the
this time is a former Putnam County
[15:41] personnel director who served on the
board while he was personnel director.
[15:46] And everyone will agree, I'm sure
everyone will agree, that
[15:51] he in that position he was probably the
best personnel director in the county,
[15:56] the state, and in the country probably.
Um to leave out this type of individual
[16:03] when I'm looking at the total mix of the
county and I think we should. Even
[16:08] though I have issues with this, I
understand we need an ethics board and
[16:11] I'm not going to hold this up, so I'll
be supporting it.
[16:15] » Thank you. Any other comments?
>> I would just add to echo Legislator
[16:18] Sage, um it's almost fortuitous that the
newspaper publication wasn't made
[16:23] through no fault of ours. Uh it was just
a
[16:26] time in the year when they didn't have a
weekly
[16:29] um
publication and that's why it didn't get
[16:31] printed. Um
but it gave us an opportunity to revisit
[16:34] and improve it and for those reasons
that you pointed out I I think that uh
[16:39] was fortuitous.
Um
[16:41] seeing no other comment, I would ask for
a roll call vote.
[16:46] » Legislator Adnesio? I'll be recusing
this evening due to pending matter.
[16:52] Legislator Crawley?
>> Yes.
[16:54] » Legislator D'Angelo?
>> Yes.
[16:56] » Legislator Gouldman?
>> Yes.
[16:59] » Legislator Montgomery?
>> Yes.
[17:01] » Legislator Reagan?
>> Yes.
[17:03] » Legislator Russo?
>> Yes.
[17:05] » Legislator Sage?
>> Yes.
[17:08] » Chairman Birmingham?
>> Yes.
[17:10] » Motion carries.
>> Thank you, Legislator Sage. Our next
[17:12] committee up is the Health, Social,
Education, Environmental Committee
[17:15] chaired by Legislator Montgomery. Nancy?
>> Uh sure, on behalf of the health
[17:20] committee members, Legislators Adnesio
and Russo, I present item 6D,
[17:26] a $173,195
[17:29] budgetary amendment for the Early
Learning Centers
[17:33] 4410 program, which is a specialized
program serving a small group of
[17:38] students with specific staffing and
student to staff requirements.
[17:44] Um this
budgetary recognizes program revenue and
[17:48] appropriates those funds for the related
costs, primarily care at private
[17:52] institutions, transportation, and other
operating expenses. And there is no
[17:57] fiscal impact to the county in 2026 or
2027.
[18:03] » Thank you. Any discussion?
Legislator Reagan.
[18:07] » Thank you, Chairman. I have a question
through the chair to Legislator
[18:11] Montgomery. Based on what we discovered
last week in the distribution of funds,
[18:17] especially with the Early Learning
Center here, can we be certain that the
[18:21] funds being allocated here is going to
the Early Learning Center and will be
[18:24] spent for the children as as desired?
>> I don't think we'll know until we get
[18:30] the receipts, but I mean, I'm pretty
confident. I can't imagine that they
[18:34] would be spending it on another anything
else.
[18:37] » I imagine you and I will follow up on
that. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.
[18:41] Thank you. Any other comments?
Seeing none, all in favor?
[18:45] » Aye.
>> Aye.
[18:48] » Um
Sorry.
[18:52] See next. Okay.
>> [laughter]
[18:54] » 6E. On uh on behalf of Legislators
Adnesio and Russo of the Health
[18:59] Committee, I present 6
E.
[19:03] I'll wait.
>> E. Yes.
[19:04] » E.
>> Yep.
[19:05] » Um budgetary amendment for the Early
Learning Centers 40 4410 program, uh
[19:13] special Is that Am I do Am
>> No, no, this is the special care private
[19:17] institutions.
>> Yeah, sorry.
[19:19] » No problem.
>> So, I make a motion to move that.
[19:22] » Thank you. Any discussion?
All in favor?
[19:26] » Aye.
>> Thank you, Legislator Montgomery. Next
[19:29] we have up the Personnel Committee
chaired by Legislator Ednusia. Tony?
[19:32] » Thank you, Chairman Birmingham. On
behalf of Legislators Russo, Sage, and
[19:36] myself,
I make a motion to approve the emotional
[19:41] support animals. This was discussed in
committee.
[19:44] This will be allowing therapy dogs at
the Children's Advocacy Center.
[19:48] And I am full support of this, allowing
a therapy dog at the center to calm and
[19:53] comfort children who are experiencing
anxiety during stressful experiences.
[19:59] And I really
am very happy to see this move forward
[20:02] this evening.
>> Thank you.
[20:05] Any discussion?
Legislator Montgomery.
[20:08] » I'm really happy to support this. I'd
like to expand this throughout the whole
[20:12] county, and I'll just go on record by
saying I guess I'll be doing some
[20:15] research to see what other counties do
as far as allowing therapy dogs. I was
[20:20] really disappointed
um a couple of years ago when we banned
[20:24] dogs from all county buildings other
than service dogs. I think, you know,
[20:28] regardless if it's a therapy dog um or a
service dog, therapy dogs specifically
[20:34] can provide a great resource and fun and
change the whole vibe of any
[20:40] institution, which I think is sometimes
sorely needed for morale. Um I think
[20:46] sometimes, without us knowing, we do see
therapy dogs being or not even therapy
[20:51] dogs, adoption dogs being brought into
county buildings.
[20:55] Um and that's always fun. So, we're
we're uh
[21:00] It happens here, and some of us are
breaking the law.
[21:05] » Well, um I would concur with you. I I I
don't think I'm the only one in the room
[21:09] who would remember Judge Hickman
bringing in a black lab
[21:13] to the county courthouse and it was
always a
[21:16] lab is of course a very gentle animals
and it did kind of
[21:21] make it feel more homey and and I do see
the
[21:24] liability issues perhaps but
yeah sometimes the rules can get a
[21:28] little too stringent but this is
certainly separate apart from that this
[21:32] is certainly more welcoming a step in
the right direction anyway.
[21:35] » So thank you for that.
>> Any other of my colleagues have any
[21:38] comments?
Seeing none all in favor?
[21:40] » Aye.
>> Aye.
[21:42] » Thank you Legislator Adnezio. Next we
have the Physical Services Committee
[21:45] chaired by Legislator Goldman. Bill?
>> Thank you Chairman. On number 6G we have
[21:49] a budgetary amendment 26A068.
This is from the Department of Public
[21:55] Works. We have a check in the amount of
$4,793.60
[22:01] which was received in 2024
from the Progressive Insurance in 2024
[22:07] of which $350 was supplied the DPW's
revenue line to offset a collection fee
[22:14] charge and the balance was placed in
deferred revenue for the future. The DPW
[22:20] Commissioner has requested these funds
be made available.
[22:25] » Thank you. Any discussion?
All in favor?
[22:29] » Aye.
>> Aye.
[22:30] » Thank you. Item number 6H. We have an
approval for a grant application for the
[22:35] community
residency economic sustainability and
[22:39] technology program. This is from the
Bureau of Emergency Services facilities
[22:44] repairs. It is for $100,000 administered
by the Dormitory Authority.
[22:50] » Any discussion?
Seeing none all in favor?
[22:54] » Aye.
>> Aye.
[22:56] » Thank you. Item number 6I. We have an
approval for a previously authorized
[23:01] funding from PIN 8761.
5.
[23:06] for Stone Ridge Avenue at Drewville Road
the intersection project. We are doing
[23:12] this resolution to reconnect the project
labor agreement.
[23:17] » Thank you. Any discussion? Legislator
Crowley.
[23:20] » I just want to say thank you. I'm glad
that the powers approved on this. This
[23:23] is going to make for safer travel
for our residents to get to the
[23:27] hospital. It's going to
give
[23:31] people that are either in the you know
law enforcement first responders or
[23:36] people that are just taking family
members to get there.
[23:39] Safer routes of traffic and just just
make it a much nicer road and you've
[23:43] been there recently it's it's not not
the best way to get to a hospital. So
[23:47] I'm glad that the federal government
approved it and that we got where we are
[23:51] and I can't wait to see the project in
and hopefully be completed in in a good
[23:56] amount of time.
>> Thank you indeed
[23:58] for those of you of us who have been
there the sight lines depending on where
[24:02] you're coming in at that intersection
can be a bit challenging. So thank you
[24:04] for that. Any other comments?
Seeing none all in favor?
[24:08] » I.
>> Thank you Legislator Goldman. Next we
[24:11] have the audit administration committee
chaired by Legislator
[24:15] Crowley.
>> Thank you Chairman Birmingham on behalf
[24:19] of myself Legislator Reagan and
Legislator Russo I'd like to move item
[24:23] 6J which is the approval of the fund
transfer 2016206.
[24:28] That's the Department of General
Services cover chargeback for vehicle
[24:32] leasing in the county departments. This
was item seven in the audit committee.
[24:37] Um
can look it over we talked about it.
[24:41] And it is in the amount of 48,600
dollars.
[24:47] » Thank you. Any discussion?
Seeing none all in favor?
[24:52] » I.
>> [clears throat]
[24:55] » Item number 6K is the approval and
authorization of legislators to attend
[24:59] September's New York State Association
of Counties conference. This was agenda
[25:03] item number eight at the Audit and
Administration meeting. This is a
[25:07] conference that happens twice a year for
people that aren't familiar with it.
[25:11] They offer different breakout classes
and different things that are coming
[25:15] down from mandates from Albany and five
out of the nine legislators seem to be
[25:20] attending this year.
>> Thank you. Any discussion?
[25:25] All in favor?
>> Aye.
[25:27] » Thank you Legislator Crowley.
Next we're on to the Budget and Finance
[25:32] Committee which consists of all
legislators and I chair that committee.
[25:34] We have
three items before us this evening.
[25:37] First one is item 6L, approval sunlight
and public disclosure requirements in
[25:42] connection or relation to the county's
fund balance allocation procedures.
[25:47] Um
I'll move it on behalf of the committee
[25:51] but I'd first like to give a little
context to this.
[25:54] I may have sounded like a broken record
the last few years.
[25:57] Last year and a half I've been back on
this legislature.
[26:01] I really have a concern about the way
our fund balance is being allocated. As
[26:08] of December 20, excuse me, December
31st, 2024 we have a total fund balance
[26:13] of almost $191 million.
And that is separate and apart from our
[26:18] 2025-2026
operating budget of $205 million. So
[26:23] it's almost approaching the amount of
our operating budget. And there's a
[26:29] certain entity called the Government
Accounting Standards Board. It's an It's
[26:33] a national board. They put out
statements every year or every
[26:36] frequently. GASB 54 was put into place
in 2012.
[26:40] That was a statement that allowed a
county legislature such as ours to
[26:45] delegate our ability to allocate fund
balance to the chief fiscal officer of
[26:49] the county which of course is our
Commissioner of Finance.
[26:53] Um
again, that went into effect in 2010 for
[26:55] the first 2 years of that statement.
This legislature
[27:00] um allocated fund balance. And then in
2012, um and I was on the legislature at
[27:06] that point, I probably voted for it.
Um we delegated that power to the
[27:10] Commissioner of Finance.
But our amount of fund balances changed
[27:14] dramatically since that time. In 2012,
our fund balance was about $38 million.
[27:20] That's not a little bit amount of money,
that's a lot of money, but it certainly
[27:24] was nowhere near the hundred almost $191
million we have today. So for the last
[27:29] 14 years, it's been
um
[27:32] in the purview of the County
Commissioner of Finance.
[27:35] Um
and this resolution is not a reflection
[27:38] on any of the three that have served in
that position since that delegation took
[27:42] place. But I think because we are
getting to a point where there's so much
[27:47] fund balance, and we've been there for
quite a while, and I said this in
[27:50] committee when I returned to this
legislature about a year and a half ago
[27:54] after having left it at $38 million in
2012 to find out it was almost a hundred
[27:58] at that point, $176 million before we
got the 2024 audit, where it's now
[28:04] almost $191, I almost fell out of my
chair. That That money's being allocated
[28:09] by one person
outside of public scrutiny. And if we
[28:14] take this ability back to this
legislature,
[28:17] not going to say we're always going to
get it right, but at least we'll do it
[28:20] in public, and it'll be subject to
public scrutiny and public comment. So
[28:25] that's some of my impetus behind putting
this forward.
[28:30] Again, there's two things that I think
we have a problem with, and we're we're
[28:33] getting into the budget season coming up
in the next 6 weeks or so.
[28:37] Um from the legislature standpoint,
we have these what I will call
[28:41] artificial allocations. We have
allocations that are put into the fund
[28:46] balance that are the same allocations
year after year after year, whether it's
[28:51] a capital fund that's been sitting at
roughly about $15 million for the last
[28:56] four or five years, unspent, unreturned
back to the county residents.
[29:01] I'm not a big fan of tax and hoard, but
I'm also not a big fan of tax and spend
[29:04] either. So, I think
whatever decisions we make once we
[29:09] reassume this power assuming it passes
tonight and
[29:12] receives the county executive's
approval, if it's not vetoed, I think we
[29:17] can have those discussions about the
appropriate and proper ways to allocate
[29:21] fund balance, and those discussions will
be made in the public with proper public
[29:25] scrutiny. So, I've probably talked
enough about this from my perspective,
[29:29] so I'll open it up to my colleagues if
any of my colleagues have any comments
[29:34] or questions. Legislature and Nisio.
>> I think just to put it in simple terms,
[29:38] we are going to return to status quo
restoring the county's prior practice.
[29:43] » Thank you.
Any other comments? Legislature Crowley.
[29:46] » I just for people listening, I think
it's important for them to understand
[29:50] the difference between restricted and
unrestricted funds, so if you'd just let
[29:54] me have a moment.
>> Restricted funds are grants, programs
[29:57] created and funded by law for specific
purposes like forfeiture assets, stop
[30:01] DWI, opioid settlement funds, capital
project funds, trust fund,
[30:06] um
it's in accordance with GAAP, debt
[30:09] service fund, and then unrestricted
would be purchase on orders for
[30:14] subsequent year expenditures,
retirement, capital projects, tax
[30:17] stabilization, insurance, post
employment, callable bonds, state aid,
[30:22] disaster recovery, judgments and
settlements. So, I just think people at
[30:25] home who are watching, I wanted them to
understand the difference between
[30:28] restricted and unrestricted funds, so
they when they're looking at it, they
[30:31] understand what what and what it's being
assigned to and kind of where the money
[30:35] falls.
>> Indeed, that's a good point. The the two
[30:38] buckets, if you will, restricted and
unrestricted,
[30:41] out of the about 191 million
right now, I'm going to be off a little
[30:45] bit, but out of that 191 million, it's
only about 23 million that's restricted.
[30:50] The balance of that is unrestricted, and
some of that is allocated, but again,
[30:54] hopefully we'll come back and as a
legislature and and make some other
[30:58] appropriations, or maybe just God forbid
return it to the taxpayers.
[31:03] I'm looking forward to at least having
that discussion if not actually doing
[31:06] it, which I'm inclined to do so. Thank
you. Legislator Crowley. Any other of my
[31:11] colleagues have any comments?
Legislator Reagan.
[31:15] » Thank you, Chairman. While I'm sure many
of my colleagues perhaps feel the same
[31:18] way, I wish that the person proposing
this resolution would explain it in
[31:22] greater detail to us. I want to express
my support for this legislation.
[31:28] » Thank you. Sure.
Legislator Montgomery.
[31:32] » I didn't understand that. You were
looking for more detail from him?
[31:36] » Well, [laughter] I could give I could go
on if you'd like. I mean
[31:39] » Yeah.
I appreciate I
[31:42] » That was a Tommyism. Okay. [laughter]
I think he was being sarcastic.
[31:46] » I have a comment.
>> Legislator Montgomery.
[31:49] » I appreciate Legislator Ed Nimmons'
sentiment that this is really
[31:53] simply about sunlight. Our fund balance
is vastly larger than it was when this
[31:58] policy was adopted in 2012, right? So, I
believe decisions involving that much
[32:04] public money should happen openly,
right? So, with the legislature and the
[32:09] public like able to see and understand
them. And maybe Dan needs to talk some
[32:15] more about it.
>> [laughter]
[32:17] » I'll spare you.
Any other legislators have any comments?
[32:22] On this, I'd like to ask for a roll call
vote, please.
[32:25] » I was just going to add Thank you. We
also have to I will let I just covered
[32:29] to you. We also acquired a lot during
COVID doing to ARPA due to ARPA and the
[32:34] Wafer settlement. Um so, there was a big
jump in in our revenue there, too. So,
[32:39] that's that's something to know.
>> Indeed.
[32:41] Thank you. Roll call vote, please.
>> Legislator Adnesio.
[32:45] » Yes.
>> Legislator Crowley.
[32:47] » Yes.
>> Legislator D'Angelo.
[32:49] » Yes.
>> Legislator Gouldman.
[32:51] » Yes. Yes.
>> Legislator Montgomery.
[32:53] » Yes.
>> Legislator Reagan.
[32:56] » Yes.
>> Legislator Russo.
[32:57] » Yes.
>> Legislator Sage.
[33:00] » Yes.
>> Chairman Birmingham.
[33:01] » Yes.
>> Motion carries.
[33:03] » Thank you. Item 6M, approval resolution
requesting an audit by the office of the
[33:07] New York State Comptroller to audit the
county's fund balance. I'll move that on
[33:10] behalf of the committee. Uh, just a
little color on this one as well. Uh,
[33:14] it's almost a companion or uh, hand it
goes hand in hand with 6L.
[33:18] Because we have so much money in our
fund balance, uh, that's taxpayer money,
[33:22] um,
I'd like the state comptroller to weigh
[33:26] in. Now, we can't command that the state
comptroller do not it. I should be clear
[33:29] about this. This is merely a request,
um, and uh, you know, this will also
[33:35] accompany a letter from me, as the
resolution says, to request that
[33:39] specifically. But, what I want to do is
is well, I and if this passes, what we
[33:44] all want to have happen is for the state
comptroller to give us some guidance as
[33:48] to what is a reasonable amount of fund
balance. Now, the comptroller has never
[33:53] in his, um,
reports on other counties or
[33:56] municipalities fund balanced
said what a reasonable amount is. That's
[34:00] he's he's said that's not his job, and I
would agree with him. But, at least
[34:03] perhaps they could give us some pointers
as to how much is a reasonable amount,
[34:07] how much is too much. I happen to think
191 million is too much. That's not
[34:12] being returned to the taxpayers. And,
uh, also I I'd like the comptroller to
[34:16] drill down into not only the
what I call the artificial allocations
[34:21] with respect to our fund balance, um,
again, which is
[34:26] almost $82 million as of December 31st,
2024. I suspect that number's going to
[34:32] go up higher once we get to 25 audit,
which will be coming out in a few weeks.
[34:36] That number is probably going to be a
lot higher. And again, those allocations
[34:40] are made
today
[34:43] outside of public purview. We only get
to see them at some point, sometimes 18
[34:47] months after those are made. Those
allocations. So, I want some input on
[34:51] that
um as well as I'd like a discussion, and
[34:55] this is a little bit off topic, but a
lot of our fund balance, you may have
[34:58] seen the memo I put out yesterday to the
Commissioner of Finance, to which she
[35:02] responded today,
we're locking up a lot of our fund
[35:05] balance in investments that have
breakage fees. In other words, we are
[35:08] investing money
uh our fund balance, which is allowed,
[35:12] there's nothing wrong with that. The
General Municipal Law Section 11 allows
[35:15] for that. But a lot of these
um
[35:18] investments come with breakage fees, so
that if we need the money, we're going
[35:21] to have to pay penalty to get it back
before maturity. Um and again, that's a
[35:26] a power that's delegated to our
Commissioner of Finance by the charter,
[35:30] so a resolution can't undo that. But um
I'd like to have the
[35:34] controller look at that as well.
Um those uh we got a list of about $2
[35:39] million breakage
breakage fees if we were to get out of
[35:42] our current certificates of deposit. So,
before maturity, some of which go out
[35:46] for three or four years.
So, that is a significant amount of
[35:50] money being taxpayer money being tied up
um in investments, making money, yes,
[35:56] but not going back to the taxpayers. So,
those are just some of the things that I
[36:00] I hope the controller looks at. Again,
he's it's [snorts] his job, and he can
[36:04] do it or not, but I I think we have to
be on record to ask him to at least take
[36:08] a look at it and give us some some
advice. So, that's my uh thoughts on
[36:12] that. Do any of my colleagues have any
thoughts on this this item M?
[36:17] » Legislator Montgomery.
>> That's something I'll never
[36:21] get get comfortable with is is
I guess investing public money. I know
[36:26] it's done. I know, I mean I've
been a member of not-for-profits where
[36:30] we do it, but we're taking like donors'
money, so we're taking the public's
[36:33] money
and investing it.
[36:36] » Yeah.
>> Like whatever. Um but to me, like you,
[36:39] these resolutions go together. One
increases transparency in our own
[36:43] process and the other just invites
independent review of that process, so
[36:48] I'll be supporting it.
>> Thank you.
[36:51] Legislator Adnauseam.
>> Thank you. I'm in favor of requesting an
[36:55] audit by the state controller. These
audits examine fund balance,
[36:59] spending, and disbursements, and the
audits are intended to improve fiscal
[37:03] management and strengthen
accountability.
[37:06] I believe this audit, if it gets done,
if they agree to do this, will help
[37:10] protect our taxpayers and hold
government accountable.
[37:14] » Thank you. Any other legislator?
Legislator Sage.
[37:20] » Um you've said it over and over again.
This is taxpayer money. This money
[37:23] belongs to the people. I think
they know better how to spend their own
[37:28] money. We need to slow the siphon of uh
government money
[37:33] um when we have plenty of it.
And we also need to be good stewards of
[37:37] taxpayer dollars. Um we can't
[clears throat] shove it in a mattress.
[37:40] We have to invest it in
savings so we can accumulate growth for
[37:45] the taxpayer. Um our commissioner is
very conservative with our taxpayer
[37:49] money.
But we need to be even more conservative
[37:52] in taking that money from the taxpayer.
Um the the
[37:57] we can't keep taking money from
taxpayers.
[38:00] Like when last year we had so much
discussion about lowering the tax rate
[38:05] for
uh sales tax
[38:08] for um
people [clears throat] in Putnam County.
[38:11] We ended up
not winning our our battle. We ended up
[38:14] giving more money to the municipalities
instead of giving it back to the
[38:16] taxpayer.
It's time that we start slowing the
[38:21] siphon of tax money to the government
and giving it back to the people who are
[38:25] actually paying it. I mean, it's their
money, it's coming out of their pocket.
[38:29] They need to pay for groceries and gas,
and um I think it's important that we
[38:32] have a plan going forward um where we
can be responsible in
[38:39] taxing and taking money from people.
So, I'm very much in favor of this.
[38:45] » Thank you. Any other legislator have any
comments?
[38:48] Seeing none, I'll ask
for a roll call vote, please.
[38:53] » Legislator Adnesio?
>> Yes.
[38:55] » Legislator Crowley?
>> Yes.
[38:57] » Legislator D'Angelo?
>> Yes.
[38:59] » Legislator Gouldman?
>> Yes.
[39:01] » Legislator Montgomery?
>> Yes.
[39:03] » Legislator Reagan?
>> Yes.
[39:05] » Legislator Russo?
>> Yes.
[39:06] » Legislator Sage?
>> Yes.
[39:08] » Chairman Birmingham?
>> Yes.
[39:10] » Motion carries.
>> Thank you. The last item for the Budget
[39:13] and Finance Committee is item five,
excuse me, six N, approval,
[39:16] reaffirmation, and implementation of
Resolution 304 of 2025, authorizing the
[39:21] immediate expenditure of remaining funds
for food insecurity.
[39:25] Um I'm moving on behalf of the
committee, but I'd like to turn it over
[39:27] to Legislator Montgomery, who is the
original sponsor for this, if you're
[39:30] ready or
>> I think so.
[39:32] » Okay.
>> What I What I learned today is that this
[39:34] is a very complex issue and difficult to
explain. I was on the phone with the
[39:38] press today and trying to help them
understand and not confuse it with
[39:43] Resolution 221 of 2026, which we passed
last month, and they're two completely
[39:48] different resolutions. Um
Do you want the long version?
[39:53] » Sure.
>> All right. So, in November 2025, during
[39:57] the federal shutdown, I I want to
preface
[40:00] I want to preface this with a couple of
things. One, this is a really good
[40:03] example of why the previous two
resolutions needed to pass, because this
[40:08] is one of those things that um
wasn't we weren't aware of it
[40:14] explicitly, let's say. So,
and and two I'll probably disagree with
[40:19] Legislator Sage in how that money should
go back to the taxpayer. This is one of
[40:23] those solutions to how the money should
go back to taxpayers. I didn't agree so
[40:29] much with the reduction of sales tax. We
have a lower sales tax rate than
[40:34] an average of what, 66% in the in the
country?
[40:39] Um well, we're in the 66%. So, we'll say
that. But,
[40:44] um lowering the tax rate could be or
giving money back to the taxpayer could
[40:49] be done in many more ways like services,
which we um desperately need in this
[40:55] county in some areas. So,
uh in November 2025
[41:01] during the shutdown, this legislature
approved resolution 304 with the county
[41:05] executive's approval transferring
150,000 into three specific agency
[41:10] contributions.
$75,000 for the United Way, 50,000 for
[41:15] Putnam CAP, and 25,000 for Cornell
Cooperative. All addressing our food
[41:20] insecurity SNAP crisis.
That shutdown ended quickly, and the
[41:26] county executive advised us that the
eligible expenses would be reimbursed
[41:31] through November 14th.
Um
[41:35] so, in essence, those agencies only had
a couple of days to spend that money.
[41:40] So, he said that any unspent funds could
remain encumbered and available should
[41:45] we face another similar federal funding
interruption. Um
[41:50] we subsequently learned that none of the
$150,000 authorized by resolution 304
[41:56] was ultimately distributed. So, I want
to make one thing especially clear. This
[42:01] is completely separate from the
additional 150,000 we placed into the
[42:07] 2026 food insecurity program
um during the budget process we put in
[42:14] sub contingency.
So, the need that prompted resolution
[42:19] 304 has not disappeared. In fact,
federal snap changes now being
[42:25] implemented are placing new pressures on
families and families directly in Putnam
[42:30] County. Our data shows the increase in
clients at food pantries and the
[42:37] desperate need for food security. Social
Services departments and food food
[42:43] providers are calling me every day. So,
Feeding New York State reported that in
[42:47] June nearly 200,000 New Yorkers had lost
access to snap over the preceding year
[42:53] and that food banks were already seeing
longer lines and increased need. So,
[42:58] tonight we're doing two things. First,
we're reaffirming that resolution 304
[43:02] still matters and that its purpose was
never fulfilled. And second, through the
[43:07] accompanying budget transfer, we are
putting the $150,000
[43:11] back into those three agencies so the
money can actually be used for food
[43:16] insecurity. So, I appreciate that the
County Executive and the Finance
[43:21] Commissioner have now worked with us on
the budgetary
[43:24] to make this happen. It really comes
down to one thing very simple. The
[43:28] legislature appropriated these funds in
2025 for food insecurity. The need still
[43:35] exists arguably more urgently now and I
want to see those dollars finally put to
[43:40] work to help Putnam County families.
Thanks.
[43:44] » Thank you. Any discussion?
[43:49] I'm sorry, legislator at Nuzzio then
legislator Gouldman.
[43:51] » Okay, yes. I'm absolutely in favor of
this moving forward.
[43:55] Many people don't realize that here in
Putnam County there are so many people
[43:59] struggling.
Not only the households that fall below
[44:03] the poverty level, but we have a
hardworking families, our veterans,
[44:08] seniors, people dealing with
many medical costs.
[44:12] I've been involved first hand in Putnam
County as I partnered with Second Chance
[44:15] Foods
during COVID, which is
[44:19] 5 years?
Yes, we had a weekly distribution at the
[44:24] church, Mount Carmel Baptist Church, and
everybody came.
[44:27] And we put the food in their car, and I
want to say that it's still going strong
[44:32] today.
There is still a weekly Wednesday
[44:35] distribution for the people in need, and
there's so many people in need in Putnam
[44:39] County.
So, I'd like to give more money,
[44:42] but I'm happy to see this move forward
this evening.
[44:45] » Thank you. Legislator Gouldman.
>> Thank you, Chairman.
[44:49] Uh Putnam County is one of the 25
richest counties in the United States.
[44:54] But, there are residents who do fall
between the cracks.
[44:57] Even though many of us are doing well,
34% of the county residents live from
[45:02] paycheck to paycheck.
That's really really not good.
[45:06] Uh this is a drop in a bucket. I'm glad
we're doing this. Uh but, these
[45:10] individuals are our neighbors, our
friends, and whatever we can do moving
[45:15] forward will be very helpful to our
friends and to our neighbors. So, I'll
[45:18] be supporting this.
>> Thank you. Any other discussion?
[45:21] Legislator Sage.
>> Thank you. I see the need for this. Um
[45:26] I saw the need for this when we passed
this originally.
[45:29] Um I was
flabbergasted because I thought the
[45:33] legislature passed it. It was signed by
the county executive. There was a press
[45:37] release that I see that I that I copied
uh saying that this will this is going
[45:42] to go out to our um
>> [clears throat]
[45:45] » uh United Way and the Cornell
Cooperative, and they've been working
[45:48] with other agencies to uh
use this money, and then come to find
[45:53] out
in a memo that was written to Legislator
[45:57] Montgomery that
uh I'm announced to me that it had never
[46:00] been spent. It was taken back, and it
went back into the fund balance at the
[46:04] end of the year.
So, I I don't know how that happens. How
[46:08] does that happen with the with the
legislature appropriates the money and
[46:11] then all of a sudden it just doesn't get
appropriated
[46:15] in the middle of the night and a week
later it's back into the fund balance.
[46:18] I'm I'm
I was just flabbergasted by the whole
[46:21] thing.
Um I'm glad we're making it right. I
[46:24] understand maybe there were some
technicalities, maybe the government
[46:28] would reopen, but we still had
appropriated the money to go to these
[46:31] not-for-profits and they had expected
it. I used to run a not-for-profit and
[46:34] that was um you know, you you you you
live your life based on these small
[46:39] amount of funds that come to you. So,
I'm I'm happy we're doing it. I'm happy
[46:42] we're
trying to make it right. Um I just have
[46:45] the questions about how it happened to
begin with and I'm upset by that.
[46:50] » Thank you. Any other legislator
Legislator Russo?
[46:53] » Thank you.
I 100% support this.
[46:57] Um
I cook monthly for my local soup kitchen
[47:03] and feed
um anyone who comes in and it's not
[47:07] always someone who needs it
financially. It's the um
[47:14] the
locals that want someone to talk to.
[47:17] They don't
you know, want to cook for themselves.
[47:21] They want to someone to just sit and
listen to them.
[47:25] Um I know we do have a huge need in
Putnam County.
[47:29] Um the only thing I would say is that I
did think this kind of got squashed
[47:35] because the government opened back up
and we weren't going to fund it, but I'm
[47:39] happy that we figured it out and the
money's there for
[47:43] these agencies to help feed
people that need it.
[47:48] » Thank you.
Any other discussion?
[47:50] » I just have to clarify one uh go ahead.
I just said
[47:54] » Legislator Crowley.
>> I'm I'm glad that we're doing this.
[47:57] It's It's needed. People are struggling.
I'm going to echo Legislator Russo. I I
[48:03] think the
stipulation that that was in there was
[48:07] due to federal funding and it was It was
the executive order from President Trump
[48:11] that that in the government reopened.
So, I think that's where we're missing
[48:15] the [snorts] part where why it didn't
get funded. I'm glad we are funding it.
[48:19] There's never going to be enough money
to, you know, give people
[48:24] so I'm glad it's happened but I that is
where where it got stuck and I'm glad
[48:29] that it was
brought to our attention again and that
[48:32] we're
past hopefully passing it this evening.
[48:36] » Thank you. Legislator Montgomery.
>> Yeah, I just I would like to clarify a
[48:39] couple of things. One regarding that
memo that was sent to me. Any memo is
[48:44] sent to the entire legislature. It was
that infamous November 18th memo
[48:51] that did say that this money will remain
encumbered for this [clears throat]
[48:55] purpose despite
the federal government reopening snap.
[49:00] So, this money supposedly had been
encumbered for this purpose and my point
[49:05] is that this crisis has not gone away.
It's only gotten worse.
[49:10] And I do have something else to say but
I can't remember what it was but
[49:14] » [laughter]
>> if you look at the original October
[49:18] 31st, 2025 letter of necessity where
this was laid out to us by the
[49:23] [clears throat] county executive, there
was no indication ever that it was going
[49:28] to be contingent on the government
government reopening snap. That's what I
[49:33] wanted to say. I just remembered it.
>> Good point. Thank you.
[49:37] Legislator Russo and then Legislator
Council has a comment
[49:41] » Reagan.
>> Reagan. I'm sorry. Reagan.
[49:45] » We look alike.
>> [laughter]
[49:47] » Thank you, Chairman.
>> [clears throat]
[49:50] » Far be it from me not to say the
uncomfortable part of the conversation,
[49:53] but and I hear them from all my
colleagues here and many of you as a
[49:57] matter of fact walked the walk by going
out and participating in these programs
[50:01] and seeing frontline firsthand the need
that's out there, but
[50:06] I I can't help but I can't let the
opportunity go by without pointing out
[50:11] that some of the issues with SNAP
programs and other ones that have
[50:16] transpired have revealed tremendous
tremendous amounts of fraud and
[50:21] malfeasance and some of that shakeout is
not a concern at this point because
[50:26] we're going to fund this and we're going
to fund what should have been funded
[50:29] last year,
but I do want to keep our antenna up to
[50:35] ensure and I think that we are with
these three individual nonprofits we're
[50:39] working here right here, but they're
working with right here. But we can't
[50:42] not pretend that there is sometimes
unfortunately massive issues with
[50:49] distribution of money's when it comes to
SNAP and other benefits. And in that
[50:54] same vein, if we are and I'll we all
call out myself, if we are going to call
[50:59] out fraud and abuse of the system when
it comes to those who are accepting
[51:05] benefits,
we have to look at that ourselves and
[51:09] and I I can't help but think that
there's some of us here that feel that
[51:13] way pertaining to last year's
resolution. There there was money that
[51:17] we both thought was allocated, we
thought it was going to feed people, we
[51:21] thought it was going to three upstanding
organizations that were going to ensure
[51:26] that
almost every part of that dollar gets
[51:29] onto somebody's plate and that didn't
[clears throat] happen. So, I'm going to
[51:33] take the moment here to point it out
say, if I'm going to yell about fraud on
[51:36] the back end, I can't not point it out
when I see it on the back end in my own
[51:40] organization. Thank you, Chairman.
>> Good point. No, that's very well taken.
[51:44] Fraud and and abuse is something we
always have to be on guard of.
[51:49] We we're hearing about that every day in
the news,
[51:52] fraud and abuse, but we have something
that the federal government does not
[51:55] have. And that's Michelle Sharkey.
I've seen our county auditor. I've seen
[52:00] our county auditor turn back vouchers
for paper plates that were bought not on
[52:03] contract. So, rest assured and and in
addition to these three organizations
[52:08] being completely upstanding and
outstanding,
[52:11] we're we're well served by Michelle. So,
thank you for that. Let's leave council.
[52:15] » I think also there's a legal important
legal point to be made with respect to
[52:19] this also because our initial resolution
that was passed for these funds was
[52:24] taken as an emergency measure. It was
therefore eligible to be reimbursed had
[52:29] it been spent. So, there was a fiscal
impact to the fact that this money was
[52:33] not spent as we had appropriated because
now with this measure this is not under
[52:38] emergency circumstances. It is not
eligible for reimbursement. So, had that
[52:42] money been spent, we would have had it
back and when we passed this measure, we
[52:46] would have had a zero fiscal impact,
you know, because this measure would
[52:50] have been in fact funded it would cuz
instead of us having to fund it twice.
[52:55] » Good point. Good point on that. Thank
you. [clears throat] So, you know
[52:58] whether a comment or last for roll call
vote vote on 6N.
[53:03] » Legislator Adamec.
>> Yes.
[53:05] » Legislator Crowley.
>> Yes.
[53:07] » Legislator D'Angelo.
>> Yes.
[53:09] » Legislator Gouldman.
>> Yes.
[53:10] » Legislator Montgomery.
>> Yes.
[53:12] » Legislator Reagan.
>> Yes.
[53:14] » Legislator Russo.
>> Yes.
[53:16] » Legislator Sage.
>> Yes.
[53:17] » Chairman Birmingham.
>> Yes.
[53:19] » Motion carries.
>> Thank you. Next item we have is other
[53:22] business and the first item is item 7A
which I think is a Michelle, correct me
[53:27] if I'm wrong, a fiscal
companion to to this. It's the actually
[53:32] the moving the 150 to uh
to the appropriate lines.
[53:37] Since it hasn't come out of committee
officially, I'll move it and
[53:41] Legislator Montgomery, you want to
second since it
[53:43] » Second.
>> Okay, any discussion? This is simply the
[53:46] fiscal part of that.
Going to this legislator
[53:50] » I excuse myself from the all of the
other business.
[53:54] » Including this?
>> Uh just yeah, I'll anything to do with
[53:57] uh
the sheriff's department civil
[53:59] department I'm recusing me.
>> Sure. This item 7A though has to do with
[54:03] just the fiscal
>> This is a transfer. I'm sorry.
[54:06] » No problem.
>> I apologize.
[54:07] » No problem.
>> I get ahead of myself.
[54:08] » Okay. This is 7A just the fiscal part of
what we just passed in six and
[54:12] » Yes.
>> Um any discussion on this?
[54:15] All in favor?
>> I.
[54:16] » I.
>> Uh next we do have another matter of
[54:20] other business and that is
[clears throat]
[54:22] we received today a letter of necessity
from the county sheriff asking us to put
[54:28] an item on the agenda tonight.
Um
[54:31] I'm I'm going to accept the letter of
necessity and put it on the floor, but
[54:34] even though I do that we'll still need
to move it and second it and have five
[54:38] votes to get it on the floor. So I will
move it uh to put it on the floor. Is
[54:42] there a second? Second. Second. All in
favor of putting this on the floor? I.
[54:46] Okay, now it's on the floor and
abstained one abstention. I'm sorry I
[54:50] should have done a roll call vote on
that. What what do we do a roll call
[54:52] vote vote on it just so it's on the
record.
[54:54] » it?
>> To accept it, yes. Sorry. Legislator
[54:57] Crowley.
>> Legislator Addieglio.
[54:59] » Yes.
>> Legislator Crowley.
[55:02] » I abstain.
>> Recuse. Abstain.
[55:06] » Yep. Yep. Recuse. That's one of those
nights.
[55:10] » Legislator DeAngelo.
>> I yes.
[55:13] » Legislator Goldman.
>> Yes.
[55:15] » Legislator Montgomery.
>> This is just to put it on the floor.
[55:18] » Just to put it on the table.
>> Sorry. Yes.
[55:20] » Legislator Reagan.
>> Yes.
[55:23] » Legislator Russo.
>> Yes.
[55:25] » Legislator Sage.
>> Yes.
[55:27] » Chairman Birmingham.
>> Yes.
[55:29] » Motion carries.
>> Now I will move for discussion the
[55:32] motion itself and I'll just need a
second before we discuss it.
[55:35] » Second.
>> Okay. Now we've got the uh item before
[55:39] us.
Just a quick housekeeping question to
[55:42] both Michelle and Diane, our clerk and
our auditor. Is this a one resolution or
[55:46] are there two pieces to it?
>> There's two pieces, a fiscal part and a
[55:51] and the substantive part. Okay.
>> Thank you. Um
[55:54] Captain, can I trouble you to join us at
the podium and give us a brief um we all
[55:59] did receive the memo from the sheriff,
not only this afternoon, but the one
[56:02] yesterday with respect to the line
transfer. If you could just brief us on
[56:06] uh not only the uh
particulars behind it, but also the
[56:10] timeliness of it and why it needs to be
considered tonight.
[56:13] » Yeah, my name is Dominic Scimone, I'm a
captain with the sheriff's department.
[56:16] Um I oversee the civil unit amongst
other things. Um
[56:21] First of all, thank you for allowing us
to come forward tonight. Um I'll explain
[56:25] the situation and you can kind of see
where I'm coming from. So, in May, we
[56:29] had a retirement of a senior office
assistant. And as you're aware, over the
[56:34] years, office assistants have become
um
[56:39] their their job duties have changed
because they're not drafting letters
[56:42] anymore. They're not proofreading. I
mean, we're using AI, we're using
[56:45] computers. So, when she retired in May,
that's not the right position anymore.
[56:51] We have a fiscal uh need in that room
um in civil and
[56:56] the the position we looked for was a a
low-level
[57:01] um
fiscal person, a count clerk. So, I
[57:03] worked with finance um starting in
April, knowing that the impending
[57:08] retirement was coming.
And um it's a big process, you know,
[57:13] it's a big process to to change a title
um
[57:17] not only in this county, everywhere. Um
but so, we started the process and over
[57:21] the last 5 months, it's it's it's made
some progress, but summer vacations,
[57:26] um
people's baskets, um they didn't see it
[57:30] right away or it got moved to another
part of the desk. Long story short is
[57:34] we're still here, and I still have the
vacancy, and I'm only filling the
[57:39] vacancy now with somebody that's on
modified duty. And that person leaves in
[57:44] October. That's why I was trying to fill
it earlier in the year because there's a
[57:48] training component to it, too.
So, um the position I'm in is that I if
[57:53] we waited until another legislative
meeting in October,
[57:58] we still have to post it, we still have
to have a test, we still have to have us
[58:03] as a Spanish speaker, so we have to have
a proficiency test, then we have to have
[58:07] a background investigation, and I mean,
we won't get anybody until February. Um
[58:12] it's that critical, that position is
that critical because of the the volume
[58:16] of traffic that comes into the civil
unit, and the amount of money that that
[58:20] comes in and out um throughout the year.
So, that's that's the reason we're here,
[58:25] um and it's there's no fiscal impact in
'26 or '27. It's actually it the the
[58:29] salary level is less than what the
office assistant was.
[58:32] So, there hasn't been anybody in there
since May. I can't anticipate even with
[58:36] an approval tonight that we'll have
anybody in there before December. Um
[58:41] that's kind of where we're at.
>> Okay.
[58:42] » And it goes from a senior office
assistant Spanish speaker to an account
[58:46] clerk {slash} account clerk Spanish
speaker.
[58:49] » Great. Thank you. This as as you know
did not come through a committee to my
[58:52] colleagues, so what I'd like to do
before I open it up to all of my
[58:55] colleagues for any questions I might
have, I'd like to start with the two
[58:58] committees that would have substantive
review of this. First, I'd like to start
[59:01] with Legislator Adnezio as chair of
personnel, and then I'll go to
[59:03] Legislator Reagan as chair of
protective.
[59:05] » Thank you.
You know, I think that he fully
[59:09] explained the need for this position,
and I would be in favor of it.
[59:14] » Thank you.
>> Any questions?
[59:15] » Thank you. Legislator Reagan.
>> Thank you, Chairman. Um the delays that
[59:20] would uh possibly be incurred were even
explained better than my understanding
[59:24] tonight, so thank you for coming here
and explaining how quickly
[59:27] [clears throat] we can get out to
February here Uh with all the other
[59:30] circumstances, not just the approval you
need from the legislature. It sounds
[59:35] quite cumbersome. So, that being said,
Chairman, no objections from Protective
[59:38] Services. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Any of my other colleagues
[59:41] have any comments or questions?
Legislator Montgomery.
[59:46] » I welcome them.
>> You answered a lot of my questions, but
[59:49] um
so in March we approved a transfer
[59:52] moving administrative position from BCI
into the Civil Division. Is this the
[59:57] same position?
>> No, that's the Records Clerk.
[1:00:00] » Okay.
Okay. [snorts]
[1:00:02] Um so but the Civil Division already has
a Principal Account Clerk. You already
[1:00:07] » So that So that Principal Account Clerk,
that's that's the higher level position.
[1:00:11] To get accreditation, we have to have
two different positions because of the
[1:00:14] checks and balances. So, we already have
that Account Clerk, but she's also doing
[1:00:18] 25% of the finance stuff, too.
Um
[1:00:21] because we're short there, too. But in
any of that, now that this will allow us
[1:00:25] to have two different account persons in
there to meet the accreditation
[1:00:28] requirements.
>> Okay, so it's about accreditation, not
[1:00:31] so much workload is what I'm What has
changed in the workload?
[1:00:34] » Oh Oh, no, no. The work No, the workload
is there. The The reason it's going from
[1:00:39] a Senior Officer Assistant to Account
Clerk is because there's really a lot
[1:00:42] more money and tracking and deposits and
stuff. I mean, we could go with a Senior
[1:00:46] Officer Assistant, but it's not really
the right position. The accreditation
[1:00:50] looks for somebody that has some
accounting background, and I can't
[1:00:53] really put that in the Senior Officer
Assistant requirements in the job
[1:00:56] postings.
>> Got you. Um one more. I understand
[1:00:59] there's no I think one more. There's no
immediate fiscal impact, but the salary
[1:01:04] grade
Is the salary grade or the future cost
[1:01:08] for the Account Clerk title different?
>> It's less.
[1:01:11] » Okay, it's
Will it change the 2027 anything in the
[1:01:15] 2027 staffing?
>> No. Well, it's going to be less than
[1:01:19] the salary we carry for the Senior
Officer Assistant.
[1:01:21] » Okay.
We've had a lot of changes, staff
[1:01:24] changes in the Sheriff's Department. Um
>> An awful lot.
[1:01:27] » An awful lot. I'd love to see a master
plan at some point.
[1:01:30] » Well, um during the budget when we go
through the budget there's
[1:01:33] we reorganized the whole
presentation of the budget and realigned
[1:01:39] um I don't know if this is the right
time to talk about this.
[1:01:41] » Um yeah, that's a question that the
legislature might come up.
[1:01:43] » So so we realigned a lot of the
positions in the Sheriff's Department
[1:01:47] into five organizations instead of 21.
Um so you're going to see a lot of
[1:01:51] changes.
Um it's it'll be easier to see with the
[1:01:54] budget process.
Happy to meet with you offline just to
[1:01:58] show you, you know, what it was. We
discussed it a little bit in past
[1:02:01] meetings in the other building. Um but
yeah, I'll I'll take
[1:02:05] be happy to show you.
>> will come at budget [clears throat]
[1:02:07] time, you think? The
if you're reorganizing
[1:02:11] » The
So the reorganization part of it takes
[1:02:15] effect January 1st if it's approved by
this the legislature and NFA, you know.
[1:02:21] Yeah, I mean January 1st I'd be to have
to get approval first.
[1:02:24] » Maybe I maybe I'd suggest if you it
might be too preliminary, but if you
[1:02:29] have any background if you have a draft
of it for our September Protective
[1:02:35] Services just so we're not hit with it
in budget.
[1:02:39] » Um I'll defer to um Chair Protective
only because we don't want to preempt
[1:02:44] any I'm sorry.
>> Isn't that part of the County
[1:02:47] Executive's budget that he presents to
the legislature?
[1:02:49] » The tentative budget? Yeah, um I imagine
it would be unless the County Executive
[1:02:54] changes the tentative budget from what
was requested.
[1:02:57] » I just know [snorts] in the past with
departments and department heads we've
[1:03:00] had preliminary discussions before
budget if a if a if a department was
[1:03:05] reorganizing say or there were big
changes in the personnel of the
[1:03:08] department.
>> is mostly this is mostly a financial
[1:03:11] change with moving orgs and munis. It
doesn't really It's not adding anybody.
[1:03:15] It's not increasing anybody. It's just
taking them from one org and closing
[1:03:20] that org completely and putting them in
a different one.
[1:03:22] » What I might want to do now is just just
narrow us back down to this to this side
[1:03:25] if it's okay, just just so we can
>> woman protective will
[1:03:28] » Yeah, okay. Thank you.
Any other questions for the captain from
[1:03:32] a legislator?
Uh any member of the citizens did not go
[1:03:36] through committee, any member of the
public have any questions for the
[1:03:38] legislature on this matter?
Seeing none, um
[1:03:43] Michelle or Diane, can you walk us
through there's two items here, what is
[1:03:46] the first item we're going to be
considering?
[1:03:49] » 7B is the approval of the ratification
of the Putnam County Sheriff's Employee
[1:03:55] Association MOA. So that has to be
addressed first by the legislature and
[1:04:00] if you approve that, then you will
address and consider the budgetary
[1:04:05] transfer to support
what you approve in the MOA.
[1:04:09] » Okay, so 7B folks is this one and it is
for since this is a position that's part
[1:04:15] of a collective bargaining agreement,
if we are to do this, we need to pass
[1:04:20] this first before we get to the fiscal
part of it. Chicken before the egg or
[1:04:23] egg before the chicken, I guess. So what
we have before us here is item 7B,
[1:04:28] approval ratification of the PCSEA MOA
specific to reclassification of the
[1:04:33] PCSEA senior office assistant to account
clerk uh slash account clerk Spanish
[1:04:39] speaking. I'll move that one on behalf
of the legislature since this is an
[1:04:43] additional, I need a second.
>> Second.
[1:04:45] » Any discussion on this change to our
MOA?
[1:04:49] Seeing none, I'll ask for a roll call
vote.
[1:04:52] » Legislator Adamecio.
>> Yes.
[1:04:54] » Legislator Crowley.
Legislator D'Angelo.
[1:04:58] » Yes.
>> Legislator Gould, uh sorry,
[1:05:01] um Gouldman.
>> Yes.
[1:05:03] » Legislator Montgomery.
>> Yes.
[1:05:05] » Legislator Reagan.
>> Yes.
[1:05:07] » Legislator Russo.
>> Yes.
[1:05:10] » Legislator Sage.
>> Yes.
[1:05:12] » And Chairman Birmingham.
>> Yes.
[1:05:13] » Motion carries.
>> Okay, next I will move item 7C approval
[1:05:17] budgetary transfer 26T 238 Sheriff's
office budget line transfer to fund a
[1:05:22] newly approved PCSEA position of account
clerk Spanish speaking. It's this one
[1:05:27] folks it's your typical
budget change budgetary amendment
[1:05:30] transfer. Move it on behalf of the
legislature. Is there a second?
[1:05:33] » Second.
>> Any discussion?
[1:05:37] Roll call vote please.
>> Legislator Adnezia.
[1:05:40] » Yes.
>> Legislator Crowley, Legislator D'Angelo.
[1:05:43] » Yes.
>> Legislator Gouldman.
[1:05:45] » Yes.
>> Legislator Montgomery.
[1:05:46] » Yes.
>> Legislator Reagan.
[1:05:48] » Yes.
>> Legislator Russo.
[1:05:50] » Yes.
>> Legislator Sage.
[1:05:51] » Yes.
>> Chairman Birmingham.
[1:05:53] » Yes.
>> Motion carries.
[1:05:55] » Captain, thank you for joining us
tonight and and thank the Sheriff for
[1:05:57] bringing this to our attention. We
appreciate it.
[1:05:59] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:06:01] » We'll wait for Legislator Crowley to
come back.
[1:06:17] Thank you. Uh next item is item number
eight. Recognition of the public on any
[1:06:22] agenda item. Uh this is a part of the
uh annual excuse me our monthly meeting
[1:06:26] where we invite the public to join us at
the podium to ask us any questions or
[1:06:30] make any comments with respect to any
item on the agenda. To the extent you
[1:06:34] have any we'd invite you to come to the
podium, state your name and the town in
[1:06:37] which you live, and we'd ask that
in making any comments you address or
[1:06:41] questions you address them to the
legislature. So I'd like to open them up
[1:06:44] to any public comment on any Scott, join
us please.
[1:06:55] » Evening all. Scott Seaman, Town of
Southeast.
[1:06:58] First in regards to the suicide
prevention awareness month, thank you.
[1:07:02] As we all know this is pending and it's
throughout the area. Everybody has
[1:07:06] somebody affected. and I would point out
the need for the stabilization center
[1:07:10] again.
Hopefully, this is something that the
[1:07:12] county can move on. This would be
something that can definitely help in
[1:07:16] this category.
[1:07:20] » [snorts]
[1:07:24] » Sorry, I just
>> No take your No rush. Take your time.
[1:07:29] » And we talked in the
fund balance allocation procedures,
[1:07:35] I would ask also, since we really wanted
to bring this out in the open, um
[1:07:41] just to really dig it out more. If we
have approximately say 190, and of that,
[1:07:46] let's say 30 is actually not
unrestricted, it's restricted. So, now
[1:07:50] we're at 160, which is I agree is still
way too much money. You know, in the
[1:07:54] schools, like we have 4%, and that's it.
You can't go above that. Now, everything
[1:07:59] else is restricted,
different reserves, pay downs, and I
[1:08:02] know there's a lot of talk about
benefits for employees and all these
[1:08:05] things. This can be different
allocations
[1:08:08] for these type of items, cuz you never
want to use these to fund a budget line
[1:08:12] to anything, cuz as it goes out, now you
don't have the money, and that will be
[1:08:16] hit on your budget. But if we can break
out more of this information, and also,
[1:08:20] while the waiver settlement, COVID, and
there were certain items,
[1:08:25] a lot of items that you look at as is
pointed out by the sheriffs, there's a
[1:08:29] any number of unallocated, allocated,
but unhired positions. You know, what
[1:08:35] percentage of that is the money? So, now
you can really look, and as you go on
[1:08:38] through various studies
in this area, a lot of these type of
[1:08:42] positions are
under offered. So, that's why they're
[1:08:46] not being filled, because they're not
proper for the area. Uh being waged
[1:08:50] between Westchester and Fairfield, we
all have the same problem finding the
[1:08:54] right people for the compositions based
upon the money. So, the more breakout
[1:08:58] you can have, uh probably the easier the
process.
[1:09:02] And I would just uh
question you to be a little leery on
[1:09:06] putting it now into the legislator while
you have the oversight to it. Having
[1:09:13] your financial officer who's trained
covered in E&O, all these items to
[1:09:17] properly do it. And when you do your
yearly audit, a lot of these funds are
[1:09:21] going to be, for lack of a better
phrase, swept into the unrestricted
[1:09:25] account. Is that going to change now if
it's coming into you? Maybe it would be
[1:09:29] better if uh either audit or budget um
somebody from that office offers you a
[1:09:34] breakdown of this is how much you've
allocated, this is how much we spent. So
[1:09:38] you don't get caught unawares or all
this money that's sitting there for um
[1:09:44] funding for food programs. You can say,
"Hey look, there's 100,000 allocated,
[1:09:48] zero spent." Then you can highlight some
items. Obviously it's putting more work
[1:09:52] on you, but maybe that's more of a
benefit to you cuz then you're going to
[1:09:56] have actual numbers as opposed to "Oh,
we have all this money, we don't know
[1:09:59] what to do." You have something to base
that on.
[1:10:03] Once again, I hate volunteering more
work on other people, but it's just to
[1:10:07] get you the information that maybe
would, you know, help.
[1:10:11] And [clears throat] then in regards to
the audit, if this is something you're
[1:10:14] going to ask, um I'm assuming that the
county has an auditor and has a
[1:10:18] breakdown, maybe it's better to handle
that in-house just to get you the
[1:10:21] numbers while you're waiting for the
controller. I mean, the more eyes
[1:10:25] looking at this, the better cuz if you
do put this out to the controller and
[1:10:30] how many counties are there out there?
You know, maybe um when someone goes to
[1:10:34] the conference, they can sit down with
all the other counties and go, "What are
[1:10:37] you guys keeping in your reserve
accounts? How are the line items? How do
[1:10:40] you set up your restricted versus
unrestricted?" Just once again, get
[1:10:44] everybody here more information so you
have more to gauge it on cuz they are
[1:10:47] not going to tell you you know, I've
read some of those where they're not
[1:10:50] going to tell you what to do.
But you know, so it's hearing from other
[1:10:53] people might be beneficial.
And then any anything in regards to food
[1:10:58] insecurity, and I spoke about this last
time. You know, thank you. Bring this
[1:11:02] up. It needs to get out. This needs
something that needs to continue.
[1:11:06] Uh a couple weeks ago, the United Way
Alice report was released. And if you
[1:11:10] really want to see
this differences in between and these
[1:11:14] are people that have income, have
assets, have jobs, but they can't afford
[1:11:18] high cost of rent, high cost in area, a
lack of the proper income jobs. They
[1:11:23] also have restrictions due to child care
and other items. You can really see the
[1:11:27] disparity between these items, and this
could really help and open your eyes.
[1:11:31] And by going through people like Second
Chance Foods, United Way, uh Putnam CAP,
[1:11:35] I've been working with them for years.
These are people that know the
[1:11:38] community, are invested in the
community, and can also look out for
[1:11:41] your funds to make sure they're done
properly. So, I would ask, you know, to
[1:11:45] continue this and set this up in any way
you can.
[1:11:49] And as always, you know, you thank you
for what you're doing. And um
[1:11:54] I'm just Keep it up. If there's anything
we can do, you know, either through the
[1:11:57] school or myself, please let us know.
>> Thank you.
[1:12:00] » Thank you, Scott.
>> Thank you very much.
[1:12:02] » Any other member of the public have any
comments, questions? Please join us.
[1:12:05] Welcome.
>> Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Um
[1:12:07] so, my name is Nicholas Tell, I'm a town
of Patterson resident. Um and the reason
[1:12:11] I'm here, I think it was item 6C.
[clears throat] I just wanted to commend
[1:12:14] you all on uh on passing that. I've been
following um what's been going on with
[1:12:18] the Board of Ethics
um pretty closely. I'm also a
[1:12:21] prosecutor, I'll say that um in Dutchess
County. I've prosecuted um
[1:12:27] various government officials, including
elected officials. Just tried one uh
[1:12:30] over the summer. Um he was convicted.
He's no longer in office. Um but I've
[1:12:34] been following this, and
it just bothered my mind that Putnam
[1:12:38] County did not have a a Board of Ethics.
Um so, I'm glad that this uh seems like
[1:12:43] a step forward to to getting that back
into place. And I also just commend you
[1:12:47] for being more involved with the PICs. I
thought it was a little crazy that um
[1:12:51] you know, the county executive was the
sort of sole pointer. Um, I think it's
[1:12:55] great that you guys will be more
involved with those appointments. I
[1:12:57] think and anything that we can do to
protect,
[1:13:00] uh, you know, and prevent tyranny and
and bad government conduct is a good
[1:13:05] thing. So, thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Thank you.
[1:13:08] Any other member of the public have any
comments or questions?
[1:13:12] » [clears throat]
>> Seeing none, we'll move on to the next
[1:13:13] item, uh, item number nine, recognition
of legislators. Uh, legislators, go
[1:13:17] around the room here. Legislator
Crowley.
[1:13:20] » Um, I'd like to speak, uh, regarding uh,
9/11. So, 25 years ago on September
[1:13:25] 11th, 2001, our nation changed forever.
Here in Putnam County, September 11th
[1:13:30] was not something that happened
somewhere else. We lost neighbors,
[1:13:33] friends, first responders, and members
of our own community. 25 years later, we
[1:13:38] continue to honor them and stand with
the families who still carry that loss.
[1:13:42] Across Putnam County, we gather at
different ceremonies in different towns,
[1:13:47] but for the same reason, to remember. We
remember those we lost, honor the first
[1:13:51] responders who ran towards danger, and
those who became sick, still become
[1:13:55] sick, or are sick, or uh, lost their
lives in the years that followed.
[1:14:00] As a new generation grows up with no
memory of that day, it is our
[1:14:04] responsibility to tell them not only
what happened, but what happened
[1:14:07] afterwards. Americans came together,
neighbors helped neighbors, communities
[1:14:12] stood together as we were reminded
that what unites us is far greater than
[1:14:17] what divides us. 25 years later, our
promise still remains the same. We will
[1:14:21] remember their names, we will tell their
stories, and we will never forget. God
[1:14:26] bless our 9/11 families, our first
responders, Putnam County, and the
[1:14:29] United States of America.
Um, there will be several, uh, 9/11
[1:14:34] ceremonies throughout the county from,
uh, all over in Cold Spring to
[1:14:39] Patterson, but the two that I'm going to
acknowledge are the, um, one at 8:30
[1:14:44] a.m. at the Donald B. Smith campus held
by our Youth Bureau and then right
[1:14:48] across the street at Spain Cornerstone
Park it starts at 7:00.
[1:14:52] Um, it's a candlelight vigil. It's
beautiful. Um, but again, they are all
[1:14:57] over in every single town. More so this
year than any other year and let's never
[1:15:02] forget.
>> Thank you.
[1:15:04] Legislator, I'm just going around.
Legislator Reagan.
[1:15:07] » Thank you, Chairman. Um,
so fortuitous that tonight we we had the
[1:15:10] proclamation about suicide prevention
and I'm glad the captain is still
[1:15:13] sitting here cuz I want to acknowledge
the Putnam County Sheriff's office for
[1:15:18] an incident that transpired within the
last week, which is walking the walk.
[1:15:22] We've talked here about setting a
culture, trying to set up suicide
[1:15:28] prevention and in a scenario where a
person was perched on the western side
[1:15:32] of the county about about to kill
themselves.
[1:15:35] Our deputies traversed the woods of the
area, found that person and spent
[1:15:41] upwards I think of 2 hours or more
talking that person down, right? So,
[1:15:45] there was a a circumstance where the
culture, the leadership and the members
[1:15:50] of the Putnam County Sheriff's
Department had the right mentality and
[1:15:55] and
>> [clears throat]
[1:15:56] » and the agility to get climb up a
mountain and find this person, thank
[1:15:59] God, right? But, that all aspects of
suicide prevention we've talked about
[1:16:04] here and there's some great people that
were up here with Legislator Montgomery
[1:16:07] before and the work they do is amazing,
but I wanted to take a moment uh, during
[1:16:12] this particular portion of tonight to
recognize Putnam County Sheriff's office
[1:16:16] who again walked the walk when it comes
to suicide prevention and did everything
[1:16:21] and beyond to make sure that that person
was uh, went home safely that night. So,
[1:16:25] thank you, Captain and thank to your
department for for walking the walk.
[1:16:28] Appreciate what you guys do.
>> Thank you.
[1:16:32] Legislator DeAngelo.
>> Yes, well, Legislator Crowley, um, thank
[1:16:35] you for very touching statement on uh,
recognizing um, 9/11 and
[1:16:40] also you uh, Legislator Reagan, that was
great work uh executed by the Sheriff's
[1:16:44] Department. Great job. Um I did just
want to say relative to to item 6C, I
[1:16:49] wanted to kind of commend us all as a
legislature. Um in my short time here
[1:16:53] and in the years that I've been
following it, this was one of the first
[1:16:58] times I saw kind of a uh I guess we'll
call it a controversial issue and
[1:17:04] and a consequential issue that we all
kind of came together despite
[1:17:07] um
some outside forces pushing back. Uh I
[1:17:11] think we did good work. We we It was
bipartisan work and and we did something
[1:17:14] that I think is going to have real
lasting and meaningful effect uh for the
[1:17:18] public. So, I just wanted to
kind of pat us all on the back for that.
[1:17:22] » Thank you.
Thank you. Legislator Russo.
[1:17:25] » Thank you.
Um
[1:17:28] I just want to say, you know, suicide
awareness month, anybody can call 988.
[1:17:36] Didn't sound right.
Um
[1:17:39] and reach out cuz people do care.
Um
[1:17:44] And then it's
it's sad. I can't believe it's 25 years
[1:17:50] of 9/11.
I remember where I was um and I know
[1:17:55] many people that were lost that day and
are losing their lives since.
[1:18:01] So, I want everybody to remember and
never forget.
[1:18:06] Um and [clears throat] there are plenty
of um events that day to come.
[1:18:13] Remember, you know, remember everybody
who was lost and
[1:18:20] never forget.
>> Thank you.
[1:18:25] Legislator Gouldman.
>> Thank you, Chairman.
[1:18:27] Um schools of course Putnam County are
heading back to school. I would like to
[1:18:32] remind drivers to be especially vigilant
uh for
[1:18:36] uh pedestrians
uh before and after school hours.
[1:18:40] Throughout the last decade, nearly one
in four child pedestrian fatalities
[1:18:45] occurred between the hours of 3:00 p.m.
and 7:00 p.m. So, please drive safely. I
[1:18:51] would also like to wish all the kids
going back to school have a wonderful
[1:18:55] year.
Um, do well, study, meet new friends,
[1:18:59] and have a great year.
Also, uh
[1:19:03] just in a few days, we're going to be
celebrating, not celebrating, we're
[1:19:07] going to be honoring 25 years since
9/11.
[1:19:11] I'm sure everyone in this room
remembers,
[1:19:14] uh, when that occurred.
I remember I was, and uh, I'll never
[1:19:19] forget that till I till I pass.
Um, at that time in my life, I was
[1:19:25] actually a board member of the local Red
Cross in the city, and um
[1:19:31] I tried to go down to the pit to help,
but they weren't allowing
[1:19:36] basically non-police officers and
firemen to go down there. So, I didn't
[1:19:40] get that opportunity to do that. But,
uh, please remember
[1:19:45] that day, and uh
I always will.
[1:19:49] Saturday, September 19th, is Putnam
Valley Town Day. It will be held in the
[1:19:55] Putnam Valley Town Park, 156 Oscawana
Lake Road, from the hours of 2:00 till
[1:20:01] 9:00 till 10:00, whenever it's over.
It's a great community event, please
[1:20:05] stop by.
That's it. Thank you.
[1:20:08] » Thank you.
Any other comments?
[1:20:10] » I do have a comment because I I this is
the focus tonight has been on suicide
[1:20:14] prevention. I I I guess I want to give
an update, and it's a unfortunate
[1:20:19] update. Um, you'll recall our
conversation around the funding for
[1:20:24] mental health resources, and um, me
attempting to at least keep one of our
[1:20:29] resources open, but unfortunately
because of misunderstandings and um
[1:20:35] incorrect comments made at that meeting
um and not understanding elected
[1:20:41] officials not understanding the laws in
their own towns and the Padavan laws um
[1:20:47] the Rose House is closing and there's
surmounting pressure on them to close um
[1:20:53] and I did a lot of work on that. I I you
know, some of the issues apparently were
[1:20:57] code violations and
I I don't know that ambulance calls are
[1:21:02] a code violation, but that's one of the
reasons is the number of calls and I you
[1:21:07] know, on me I I collected the data and
the number of calls to to that area is
[1:21:13] no different than the number of calls to
my neighborhood. In fact, my
[1:21:16] neighborhood there are more calls um
emergency calls, sheriff's calls. I live
[1:21:21] in a crazy neighborhood, but anyway
>> [laughter]
[1:21:25] » So yeah, I'm I'm I'm not I obviously I
can't let it go and it's a sore subject
[1:21:30] and I'm it's really unfortunate
especially since we're talking about
[1:21:34] suicide prevention and here we have this
one resource that had no problem for 10
[1:21:39] years, but because of comments made at
one meeting, then we have problems. So
[1:21:44] I'm upset and I'm able to say these
things. I have to just um
[1:21:48] end it
not being so angry about that and I'm
[1:21:51] able to say these things because I stand
on the shoulder of giants and we lost
[1:21:57] one giant in Philipstown
um 103-year-old
[1:22:02] Elizabeth Todd Healey who was a lifelong
resident and one of my mentors.
[1:22:08] Um she passed away at her home on August
15th. Her involvement in the local
[1:22:12] community is legendary. Her dedication
to family and to community service was a
[1:22:17] driving force in her life and she was a
great example. She was an inspiration to
[1:22:22] me and to the world around her including
her family and her graciousness is a
[1:22:27] wonderful example of kindness to her
fellow humans.
[1:22:32] Thank you. Well, she'll be greatly
missed.
[1:22:34] » Thank you.
Any other comment?
[1:22:37] Uh along those lines, um since our last
meeting, we lost a uh former colleague
[1:22:43] of ours uh from District 2, Billy Lee
Crowder. Uh he served as a county
[1:22:47] legislator from Putnam Valley from 1982
to 1983.
[1:22:51] Uh died uh within the last month at the
age of 92.
[1:22:56] Uh he served honorably not only on this
legislature, but also in various town
[1:23:00] commissions and committees. And uh with
that, what I'd like to do is uh make a
[1:23:04] motion to end this meeting in his
memory. Do I have a second?
[1:23:08] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[1:23:09] » Aye.
>> Aye.