[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6328035,"mediaKeyId","2321738-1e8c9fc95c4257a0f7f7c03bd10f75a5","parentId",2321738,"title","Washington County hears fiscal update; approves Benetech renewal and awards milk bid to Sick Away Creamery","audioSeconds",1150,"startMs",2340370,"endMs",3490634,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2321738-1e8c9fc95c4257a0f7f7c03bd10f75a5&start=2340&end=3490","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2321738-1e8c9fc95c4257a0f7f7c03bd10f75a5/thumbnail_2340370.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6328035/Washington-County/New-York/Washington-County-hears-fiscal-update-approves-Benetech-renewal-and-awards-milk-bid-to-Sick-Away-Creamery","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6328035-f9f8e0b5c3fa127dbdcb24d8943b68ba/orig.mp4?Expires=1775640161&Signature=ZKN2KZ-JZ19EFiYKzuE6NKmNzUO5Rtz5fkOIc14HMHEPm354auMtI33LxjLFD3WRKRRHFVikqgIyRrtETsqxctnXV-IPBo4WkNRgkRIJ4qrK6i53sYWxbGfM6pIUZRJP6tux0~egNrhBpZezvW5VSauWFBXeJ1lbeGQOuVzfn8NJoKbtQ9VOHu0ZM7i9MxxEGx-WKBURgXd-7c1WJziUrwVbOhFEEbMPrkrkYuZPl80jCbmJlr~67AVNDl3W484iH0MOxTdAYrZF6oa-fNm1gDvKksePe3IaIFEw4l2B7ZGlnarWZAiA00SSU5cLBBn8oYkbvE9gqGo3uYqv3Aotyw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Washington County New York","date","2025-02-13T00:00:00Z","article","Washington County officials on Feb. 13 reported the first sales-tax deposit of 2025 was up $362,000 over the prior year, providing early-year revenue strength, but also flagged a general-fund lag and specific overrun risks such as assigned-counsel costs that contributed to an interim $14 million variance being partly attributable to timing and prior-year appropriations.

County administration said about $6 million in revenues are not yet booked and $3 million of a reported shortfall was attributable to surplus appropriations from 2023 that were carried into 2024; after adjusting those items the county described an effective gap of approximately $5 million. Officials singled out assigned counsel as a major ongoing pressure—staff noted roughly $900,000 of the shortfall tied to assigned counsel so far—and said the county would explore settlement and contract remedies.

The board approved exercising renewal options in the county’s existing contract with Benetech, the county’s health-insurance broker and third-party administrator for disability and workers’ compensation services. Under the renewal the per-contract administrative fee will increase modestly: from $12.00 per contract to $12.24 in the first renewal year and $12.49 in the following year; county staff said the change equates to an estimated $2,100 increase in 2025 and an approximate $4,400 increase the following year, with last year’s total fees reported as about $109,907. The board authorized the option period (two additional one-year renewals), telling staff to go to RFP in advance of the later expiration.

County officials credited Benetech with advocacy on complex claims administration and with helping the county capture pharmacy rebates and other recoveries that previous vendors did not pursue aggressively. The renewal vote was put to the committee and carried.

Separately, the board awarded the milk bid used by the sheriff’s office and the county nutrition program to Sick Away Creamery of Troy. Bidders and per-gallon prices discussed in the packet: Sick Away’s bid was $4.19 per gallon; Glens Falls Produce bid $4.49; Instant Whip Eastern bid $4.39. Staff said last year’s milk purchasing totaled about $40,000; because the award was under the $50,000 threshold it did not require a separate board resolution. The lowest responsive bidder was Sick Away Creamery and the award was carried.

The board also approved corrected tax-bill payments and a short slate of real-property resolutions (resolution D among them), and later recessed into an executive session for negotiation and civil-service matters. Motions for contract renewal and the bid award were seconded and carried by voice vote as recorded in the meeting.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Washington County Personnel & Finance Committee Mtgs. - Feb. 13, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","County officials reported a stronger-than-expected sales-tax deposit but flagged budget shortfalls and rising assigned-counsel costs. The board authorized a two-year renewal option for Benetech’s health-insurance broker services and awarded a milk supply bid to Sick Away Creamery for the sheriff’s office and nutrition program.","taxTitle","Washington County, New York","taxId",56999,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6328040,"Washington County Board of Supervisors votes to repeal prior local law that enabled tax-cap override",718,1548450,2266715,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2321738-1e8c9fc95c4257a0f7f7c03bd10f75a5&start=1548&end=2266","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2321738-1e8c9fc95c4257a0f7f7c03bd10f75a5/thumbnail_1548450.jpg","/articles/6328040/Washington-County/New-York/Washington-County-Board-of-Supervisors-votes-to-repeal-prior-local-law-that-enabled-tax-cap-override","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6328040-cc71b60a2b5ad907f3c03ae915168c6f/orig.mp4?Expires=1775640161&Signature=QRaRFNfQZUkMDdLcQ5XQNyCl~V9l6CB1RVNvuesNXaI-3FZRPs5nNEguJTGN3f-qHYeR0C~NmVgZ7fOVgv5uCpoBdq5yvVJFCwGwQkKKoHC-eeIGIZIpMN-nvfCpa4AqbyuLcmYHgUqh1KlVb9rgf3daOm54iX8T-y~K1ARy38cBYQseTMy3kzbTVuFY0286HEueIZ4QGi7J5-YIQ6qXdHtGLezpdvj4KC12v2Q9PgskgyV11c87j4b5UJcRBtNVTvNpj2xjd0cZg8EW-kfcXVkuBxduzAVp5yc-3jLqZs~EqeYUlOWyM7JFFfw1Nw~GwTtutxyWdLcHxQuirOtdXw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Washington County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 13 voted to repeal a local law it had enacted last year that had authorized overriding the New York State tax-cap for the county budget. The repeal passed after supervisors aired concerns that keeping the override in place could expose the county to withheld state aid or other fiscal penalties and could impose unpredictable local sharing costs for child welfare placements and assigned counsel.

Board members debated the rationale and timing for the repeal across an extended public discussion. Several supervisors said the original override vote had been a symbolic or protest action taken in the context of uncertainty about state aid; others said keeping the override in place risked substantial local costs and that the board should avoid making budget decisions driven by political messaging. One board member said the county had already spent advertising money tied to the earlier local law and that repealing it would require additional publication costs.

During the discussion supervisors repeatedly warned that potential local-share costs for placements under state child-welfare agencies or for assigned counsel could be substantial and difficult to project; one supervisor cited an $82 figure for a probation cost and said the assigned-counsel overrun had already contributed materially to the county’s mid-year budget gap. Several members urged caution about mixing county policy with state-level political statements that could produce direct costs to taxpayers.

A motion to repeal the local law was made and seconded; the motion carried on a recorded voice vote

","After extended debate about potential local fiscal consequences, the Washington County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 13 to repeal the local law that had authorized overriding the state tax-cap requirement for the 2025 budget.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6328044,"Washington County personnel committee approves multiple staffing pattern changes, updates employee handbook",1332,106040,1438265,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2321738-1e8c9fc95c4257a0f7f7c03bd10f75a5&start=106&end=1438","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2321738-1e8c9fc95c4257a0f7f7c03bd10f75a5/thumbnail_106040.jpg","/articles/6328044/Washington-County/New-York/Washington-County-personnel-committee-approves-multiple-staffing-pattern-changes-updates-employee-handbook","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6328044-e3226611aa4010fb4e5009e1af0258bd/orig.mp4?Expires=1775640161&Signature=kcoGlPRSkrEa5~YeqPfyjN3TXwrDzknKGd2aG8wg3Qm33-LsMWSDGjMi2FiVecbhMuxcklsYQklYricNJQbekmwzScPQ9xYa2AP4VmB~SMh3vSzemZ9CjyuAzSZd80RRSYnENbwqK9bLcJO5LRjb8twGO3Lu7SuNDazmePe2drOqGybYLg22wVswGbaWPSG88-cBgmOyvWASES5nGROvsrcTENXi11dCGAytM8XagqvE6GahyVxEqTdit1t54MgaQrN4lli1sa4q60nP9pAtdjYr5OE2oqspBfgKuRXvcJ-VUG-La9rIGpow2D5S-aexMxavoxR0AU78EM8syvgTZQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Washington County Board of Supervisors’ Personnel Committee on Feb. 13 approved multiple staffing-pattern changes across county departments and accepted changes to the employee handbook, including clarified rules on supplementing disability pay with accrued or donated vacation time and an addition allowing reimbursement from the forfeiture fund for specified expenditures.

Committee members approved requests to refill and reclassify positions across Aging, Public Safety, the Sewer District, Social Services, Public Health and the Department of Public Works. Among actions recorded, the committee approved replacing one assistant county attorney with a supervising assistant county attorney (an annual pay difference the committee said would be covered this year and would require a roughly $9,100 budget addition next year), reclassifying a DPW heavy equipment mechanic to welder/fabricator after the employee performed welding work, and creating a single staffing line in the Fire Bureau to allow hiring either a fire investigator or an investigator trainee without returning to committee each time.

The committee also approved several public-health staffing adjustments: removing a public health educator and adding a public health program and emergency preparedness coordinator to the title-by-grade schedule, and replacing a preparedness/infection-control coordinator with an infection control/communicable disease coordinator. Public Health’s presenter said the net change would produce about $1,300 in savings for the current year because of retirement and lost longevity pay.

Other personnel motions carried included adding a temporary communication officer position in Public Safety to overlap training for retirements (the position is intended to sunset after training is complete), converting a senior typist position to senior clerk in Social Services following retirement, and adding a youth intern position to the title-by-grade schedule so recruitment can begin.

The committee reviewed proposed employee handbook amendments. The group removed a section that had required employees to use a county-paid phone for non-job-related toll calls and discussed but did not reinsert a one-size-fits-all rule about visitors at desks, leaving that discretion to department heads. The committee approved revised disability and leave language that explicitly allows an employee on disability to supplement disability pay with accrued vacation or donated vacation hours, up to—but not exceeding—their normal gross pay. The change also clarifies that “normally scheduled pay” does not include on-call pay, and that health and dental deductions may be withheld from disability or supplemental-pay disbursements with appropriate notice to the treasurer’s office. Committee members said voluntary deductions such as supplemental life insurance have not been permitted historically because donated time availability can vary pay-to-pay and create administrative collection issues.

Finally, the committee accepted an addition to handbook procedures clarifying that expenditures eligible for reimbursement from the county forfeiture fund will be treated like other final fund expenditures and reimbursed accordingly. The change was introduced after staff reported the district attorney had been using forfeiture funds for certain expenses that were not previously described in the handbook.

Committee motions were made and carried for each item; votes were recorded as unanimous or carried where noted.

The personnel committee adjourned after accepting the changes and scheduling no further follow-up actions on the agenda items.

","The Washington County Board of Supervisors’ personnel committee approved a slate of staffing pattern changes across departments and updates to the county employee handbook, including a revision to disability supplemental-pay rules and a new forfeiture-fund reimbursement provision.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Washington County hears fiscal update; approves Benetech renewal and awards milk bid to Sick Away Creamery

Washington County Board of Supervisors votes to repeal prior local law that enabled tax-cap override

Washington County personnel committee approves multiple staffing pattern changes, updates employee handbook