Albany County Legislature accepts state grants for victim services and public defense, adopts Local Law U on officer pay

Albany County Legislature members on Monday approved a series of state-funded grants to support victim services and public defense and adopted a local law adjusting a county officer’s salary during the term of office.

The measures approved include a three-year victim assistance grant from the New York State Office of Victim Services, extensions and awards for public defense programs funded by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and Indigent Legal Services (ILS), and a $49,000 alternatives-to-incarceration award split with the county probation department. The legislature also voted to report Local Law U out of committee and place it on the Sept. 8 agenda; the Legislature adopted the law after a public hearing and committee actions described at the meeting.

The victim assistance funding consists of $829,892 per year for three years — $2,489,676 total through September 2028 — to support direct services for crime victims, according to Amanda Wingle, who presented the request. "This is [our] largest grant, and it contributes a large share of our overall budget," Wingle said, and she said the majority of the funding would pay staff salaries and fringe benefits, with some funding for 24-hour hotline coverage and operational costs.

Judge Harris, presenting multiple items for the county public defender’s office, described routine requests to extend and accept state awards that support after-hours counsel and additional defender positions. He said item 16 requests a one-year no-cost extension for the Counsel at First Appearance program to allow use of previously awarded funds; the program provides around-the-clock legal representation for off-hours arraignments through four rotating teams of attorneys. For item 17, Harris said the county will accept two annual awards of $42,738 from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for enhanced defense services covering salaries for three assistant public defenders for the period April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2026. Harris said no county funds are required for that DCJS award.

On item 18, the Legislature approved a one-year extension of an ILS Distribution 11 grant that supports indigent legal services across Albany County — the public defender, the alternative public defender and the assigned counsel plan — including partial funding for several assistant public defender positions and a part-time assigned counsel administrator. Harris said the extension was requested because the county has had difficulty hiring experienced attorneys and needs more time to utilize the grant funds.

For item 19, the Legislature authorized acceptance of an alternatives-to-incarceration grant totaling $49,000; the public defender’s office will receive $20,000 and the probation department will receive the remainder. Harris said the award is used toward staff salaries.

The meeting also approved earlier-meeting minutes and tabled items 2 through 12 (and item 14) to request sponsors. Local Law U — described at the meeting as a companion to Local Law A (which created a deputy chair position in the county charter) — was reported out of committee with the intent to place it on the Sept. 8 agenda and then adopted by the Legislature during the session. The Legislature’s recorded proceedings show one legislator objected to Local Law U during the final vote.

No county funding matches were reported for the victim assistance or DCJS awards; several presenters emphasized that the awards are state-administered grants. Several legislators offered short procedural questions during the items, and most measures were approved without extended discussion.

Looking ahead, Local Law U will appear on the Legislature’s Sept. 8 agenda as the committee requested; grant awards noted at the meeting carry implementation details handled by the administering offices and state agencies.