December 4, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rensselaer County Minority Legislators Support 2019 Budget, but Questions Remain

While the Minority Office supported the 2019 budget, important questions remain unanswered.

At the 2019 budget request meetings held in the summer the Minority Office requested the Sheriff create a special budget code for the 287(g) program, to specifically track how many undocumented persons have been taken to the County jail, how many are being held now, and any and all expenditures and revenue associated with the program.

“This is simply unacceptable that the Sheriff ignored the budget request. The County residents have a right to know how 287(g) impacts their tax dollars. The Sheriff is accountable to all residents and transparency is a must!” stated Deputy Minority Leader Cindy Doran.

 “In discussions with the Sheriff, leading up to his signing the 287(g) agreement, we were told that this program would be a substantial source of revenue for the County, possibly in the millions. We have not seen any revenues or expenses identified in his budget.  We would like to see them in future budgets, as well as total openness with all statistics associated with this program,” said Minority Leader Peter Grimm.