Ulster County committee raises agency bonding cap to $60 million, approves contract amendments

The Ways and Means Committee on Sept. 10 approved amendments to a proposed contract that change the agency bonding cap to an aggregate $60,000,000 and adjust approval and notice requirements.

The committee voted to amend and then adopt the resolution as amended after discussion about oversight, notice procedures and the contract's indemnification language.

Committee members and staff said the revision raises the aggregate cap from prior drafts and requires any bonding in excess of $60,000,000 to receive prior approval by a majority vote of the full legislative body. A staff member explaining the changes told the committee the packet includes highlighted proposed language and that the bonding definition now requires approval for any aggregate value exceeding $60,000,000. "The cap has now been listed as $60,000,000 where it was previously 40," the staff member said.

The staff member also said proposed edits strike sections 2.05 and 2.06 and clarify notice and bonding procedures. The committee agreed to add the clerk of the legislature as the county's agent for notice so the clerk receives copies of documentation related to bonding proposals. Committee discussion also clarified that the process to approve bonding over $60,000,000 would involve introduction and passage of a resolution detailing amount and purpose so legislators have information before voting.

Members debated oversight triggers for aggregate bonding. "I could see raising that up to 2,000,000, 5,000,000, or even 10,000,000," said Legislator Collins, noting the county's prior cap discussions and asking for a safeguard above daily operational amounts. He asked why a higher cap was necessary if the county does not carry liability on bonds. A staff member answered that while the enacting statute provides protections, a year-by-year net service fee could make the county responsible in some years and that the contract continues to provide the legislature a budget review in August with 30 days for recommendations.

The staff member described the changes as the product of months of negotiation and multiple meetings, saying the draft represents a compromise reflecting differing views about the cap. The staff member said the agency would agree, subject to board approval, to a unilateral indemnification provision requiring the agency to indemnify the county under standard contract language.

Committee members also asked for clarifying language on section 5.04 (noninterference), and were told the provision is not intended to curtail public officers'legal duties. A proposed sentence would clarify that noninterference does not impair officers'obligation to discharge duties required by state law, the Charter of Ulster, or the committee's rules of order.

After discussion, a motion to amend was approved and the resolution was adopted as amended. A committee clerk announced the final tally included three "no" votes; the motion passed and the resolution was carried.

The committee record shows the changes were previously reviewed by the Energy and Environment Committee and returned to Ways and Means for final action. The committee also directed that the clerk be added as the recipient of required notices under the contract.

Going forward, the committee and staff said they will circulate the redlined language to members and confirm the contract text reflects the unilateral indemnification, the clarified notice agent and the noninterference clarification.

The contract amendment was approved by the Ways and Means Committee and will proceed to the full legislature for further action.