The Allegany County Board of Legislators on May 28 approved three resolutions offered by the Public Safety Committee that accept grant funding and authorize agreements for the sheriff's office, but one of the measures drew a recorded no vote and an abstention related to concerns about unpaid reimbursements from the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA).

The resolutions included: acceptance and appropriation of a 2025 New York Cares Up sustainability grant for the sheriff’s office (Resolution Intro. No. 2-26-25), approval of a state fiscal year 2025 Next Generation 911 grant application to the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (Resolution Intro. No. 2-27-25), and approval of an agreement between Allegany County and the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) to provide courthouse security at the Allegany County Courthouse (Resolution Intro. No. 2-28-25). The three items were presented as having committee approval from Public Safety.

Legislators voted to approve Resolutions 2-26-25 and 2-27-25; both measures passed with 13 ayes and 2 absent. Resolution 2-28-25 (the OCA courthouse security agreement) passed with a recorded tally of 11 ayes, 1 abstention and 1 no, with 2 members absent. Legislator Healy announced he would abstain on Resolution 2-28-25 citing his service on the jury board and noting that abstention was appropriate. Legislator Ricky said he would vote no on 2-28-25, explaining on the record: “the state still hasn't paid us for our current contract that they owe us for the past year at the court. And with the administration in Albany, I have no faith that they'll pay us going forward.”

County Administrator provided a summary of the county’s position on outstanding reimbursements: “I believe the previous contract, they paid all the claims in which we submitted, and I don't believe they denied any claims on that. That contract expired March 31, 2024. They haven't paid anything since April 1, 2024 partially because we haven't executed this contract. So once we execute this, we could submit claims all the way back to April 1, 2024 and receive reimbursement.” The administrator and treasurer also discussed an approximate unpaid amount; one speaker referenced “around 500,000” and another noted the county cannot receive up to $600,000 until the contract is executed.

Board members thanked the sheriff’s office for securing the grants and moved the measures to roll-call votes where recorded counts matched the tallies above. The resolutions were offered by the Public Safety Committee and carried with the noted votes.