Delaware County supervisors elect Tina Malay chairman, approve routine appointments and resolutions

The Delaware County Board of Supervisors elected Supervisor Tina Malay as chairman and completed the board’s annual organizational actions — including election of a vice chairman, clerk of the board and budget officer — at its meeting to organize for 2025.

Malay took the oath administered by County Clerk Haley Gransberry and addressed the board, saying, “This is my ninth year as chairman and my 24th year as a member of this board, serving as supervisor for the town of Urbana.”

The organizational meeting placed county leadership and committee assignments for the coming year. Malay announced committee and board appointments and reappointments across county advisory boards, including members for the Industrial Development Agency, Planning Board, Health Services Advisory Board, Soil and Water Conservation District and youth and tourism advisory boards. Malay also highlighted the county’s recent projects and programs as context for the board’s work going into 2025.

Why it matters: Organizational meetings set the county’s leadership for the year and confirm who will make committee assignments, sign county documents and guide priorities. Several of the items approved at the meeting — budget amendments, transfers and capital project authorizations — have immediate budgeting or contracting implications for county departments.

What the chairman said: In remarks after her election, Malay summarized county operations and accomplishments the board will oversee in 2025, noting the county’s waste and infrastructure programs and interagency collaborations. She told the board, “We have the only municipal composting facility in New York state,” and described county programs including a county-owned solid waste facility that does not charge residents for disposal, a bridge program transferring responsibility for bridges larger than 20 feet to county Department of Public Works (DPW), a county GIS and drone program used for search-and-rescue and infrastructure mapping, and a watershed affairs office that coordinates locally and with New York City watershed matters.

Appointments and recognitions: Malay reappointed and appointed supervisors and community members to terms on advisory boards and commissions (terms and appointees were read into the record). The chairman also recognized the late Jim Thompson’s service to the county’s economic development efforts and noted recent state-level recognitions for county department heads.

Resolutions and votes: The board considered and adopted 20 resolutions, most by voice vote and several by roll call. The measures included reappointments (board of elections commissioner, public defender, IT director and others), designation of county newspapers and depositories, budget amendments and transfers for sheriff’s, probation and other county departments, payment authorizations for machinery rentals and construction change orders, and authorizations for transportation projects that may be eligible for federal or state aid, including Bridge NY funds. The board approved a proclamation marking the New York State Association of Counties’ 100th anniversary and authorized hiring an outside third‑party vendor for pending litigation matters after brief questions about insurance coverage.

Discussion on outside vendor for litigation: Resolution 19 authorized the county to hire an outside third‑party vendor for pending litigation matters. A supervisor asked whether the county’s insurance had definitively declined coverage; the meeting record states the answer was that insurance coverage was “still pending.” The board approved the authorization by voice vote.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 1 — Reappointment, commissioner of board of elections — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 2 — Reappointment, director of information technology — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 3 — Appointment, director, office for the aging (or similar office) — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 4 — Reappointment, public defender — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 5 — Appointment, STOP‑DWI coordinator — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 6 — Reappointment, director of veterans’ services — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 7 — Appointment, youth bureau director — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 8 — Designation of county newspapers (pursuant to county law) — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 9 — Designation of depositories for county funds — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 10 — 2024 budget amendment/transfer, sheriff’s office — adopted (roll call) Resolution 11 — 2024 budget amendment/transfer (partnered items) — adopted (roll call) Resolution 12 — 2025 budget amendment/transfer, probation department — adopted (roll call) Resolution 13 — 2025 budget amendment, acceptance of Friends of Recovery/dedicated funds for mental health — adopted (roll call) Resolution 14 — Payment of machinery rentals, DPW — adopted (roll call) Resolution 15 — Change order No. 4, Arbor Hill Road bridge replacement (Little Delaware River) — adopted (roll call) Resolution 16 — Authorization to implement/fund a transportation project potentially eligible for federal/state/Bridge NY aid — adopted (roll call) Resolution 17 — Authorization to implement/fund a transportation project potentially eligible for federal/state/Bridge NY aid — adopted (roll call) Resolution 18 — Proclamation for NYSAC 100‑year anniversary — adopted (voice vote) Resolution 19 — Authorization to hire outside third‑party vendor for pending litigation matters — adopted (voice vote; insurance coverage reported as still pending) Resolution 20 — Payment of audit — adopted (roll call)

How decisions were made: Many routine personnel and administrative items were approved by voice vote; several budget and capital items were taken by roll call at the request of supervisors. The record shows no final votes failing; each listed resolution was carried as announced by the chair.

Meeting follow-up: Malay said standing committee assignments will be distributed at the next board meeting scheduled for Jan. 22. At the end of the meeting, a supervisor requested an attorney‑client consultation; the record shows the board acknowledged the request and characterized it as an attorney‑client consultation rather than an executive session.

Sources: Proceedings and roll‑call statements from the Delaware County Board of Supervisors organizational meeting to organize for 2025.