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Saratoga County veterans director details services, funding needs and new state tax exemption
Summary
Frank McClennon, director of Saratoga County Veteran Services, told the Veterans Affairs Committee the county served about 479 rides to VA appointments in 2025, supports a peer program funded just above $200,000, and warned a new state property-tax exemption for certain disabled veterans will take effect in October and could affect municipal budgets.
Frank McClennon, director of the Saratoga County Veteran Services Agency, presented the agency's annual report to the county Veterans Affairs Committee on March 4, outlining service volumes, funding sources and new legal changes affecting disabled veterans.
McClennon said Saratoga County's veteran population is “hovering just above 14,000” and emphasized the local economic impact of connecting veterans to benefits: “VA total expenditures in Saratoga County was in excess of $142 million,” he told supervisors, adding that roughly $69 million represents direct payments to beneficiaries.
Why it matters: McClennon urged supervisors to support programs that link veterans to federal benefits, saying the result is better service for veterans and reduced local taxpayer burdens. He also highlighted several county programs — transportation to VA appointments, a peer-support program and an emergency veterans trust fund — that rely on limited county and grant funding.
The county-run veterans transportation service, McClennon said, fills a gap for ambulatory veterans…
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