Albany County approves series of sheriffs office grant agreements and budget amendments

At a meeting of the Albany County Legislature, members unanimously approved a package of agreements and 2025 budget amendments for the sheriffs office covering inmate-reimbursement funds, traffic-safety grants, 911 operations and interoperability funding, mental-health grants for first responders and violence-reduction funding.

The package included authorization to accept $52,002.84 from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to reimburse the county for housing criminal aliens; approval of the 2025 STOP-DWI plan and a related $572,000 agreement; amendments to spend a $500,000 congressional grant to support a shelter-related project at the jail; and a range of public-safety communications grants and extensions intended to keep 911 and radio systems operating.

Sheriff Campbell, who presented most of the items, said the DOJ reimbursement "is just asking permission to receive $52,002.84. We had budgeted $25,000." He explained reimbursements vary by year and that the payment covers per-diem costs such as food and medical care for inmates the county already has in custody. On the STOP-DWI plan, Campbell said the $572,000 supports DWI enforcement, checkpoints, victim-impact panels and cost-sharing with municipalities.

Several items dealt with 911 technology and operations. The legislature authorized an agreement with the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services for the 2024 Public-Safety Answering Points (PSAP) operations grant (amount described in the meeting as "$2.35" for 2024) and approved an…