Audit & Finance Committee approves grouped financing authorizations, bond resolutions, contracts and capital items

The Albany County Audit & Finance Committee on June 26 approved a series of grouped financing authorizations, bond resolutions and contract actions covering capital projects, equipment purchases, and administrative contracts.

Financing authorizations and grouped capital items: The committee approved grouped motions to authorize financing for capital projects. Items 5–8 were moved and passed as a group; items 11–17 were also grouped for approval. Commissioner Lisa Romando presented the capital financing request for the 2025 capital plan, noting most projects repeat prior authorizations and that a new category this year sets aside money for pedestrian and sidewalk improvements and rail‑trail repairs.

Bond resolutions and equipment funding: The committee approved a bond resolution authorizing up to $1,000,000 to acquire food service and distribution equipment for the Department of Residential Healthcare Facilities at Shaker Place. Presenters said some existing equipment will be stored and retained where useful; new purchases include heaters, warmers and refrigeration that allow a return to fuller on‑site dining operations.

Information‑technology and data center projects were approved in related bond/resolution items. Committee material references a $1,900,000 authorization to support court voice/telephone replacement and data center work; a separate information services request described additional network and server upgrades and replacement of end‑of‑life desktop computers (staff noted roughly 40–50 machines need replacement and that Windows support deadlines require timely upgrades). The record includes both a $650,000 additional capital request (presented as supplemental financing for an information‑services project) and a $495,000 bond resolution listed on the agenda for information services; committee approved the items as recorded in the meeting minutes.

Contracts and administrative actions: The committee authorized a contract for real property title‑search services used in the interim tax foreclosure process; the vendor is the incumbent, described as the low bidder and an MWBE firm. The clerk's office staff explained the vendor conducts searches for addresses in the public record and sends required notices by certified mail as part of the tax‑foreclosure workflow.

Tax lien cancellation: The committee considered and moved a resolution to cancel unenforceable delinquent property tax liens from 2018 on two Albany Housing Authority properties (74 and 86 Morten Ave). County staff explained the properties were public housing authority parcels and therefore should have been exempt from property taxation; the bills were erroneous and beyond the statute of limitations for the county's ordinary correction of errors process. The committee moved the resolution accordingly.

Cybersecurity, EMR and data handling: During discussion of the information‑services items and residential care facilities, staff described the facilities' use of a cloud‑hosted electronic medical record system (PointClickCare) and said data are encrypted in transit and at rest and that nursing‑home staff are implementing additional user access controls. Staff noted that breaches can occur at various points in the health‑care and insurance ecosystem and advised that affected individuals may receive notice and credit‑monitoring offers when incidents occur.

Votes at a glance: Committee minutes show motions for grouped items and individual bond/contract items were put forward and recorded as carried (meeting transcript records motions and unanimous committee responses for the listed items).