Auerbach and Hein in happier times after each became
the first elected to their respective positions in
2008, following adoption of a new county charter.
KINGSTON – Fuming over $100,000 in cuts to his departmental budget, Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach filed suit in State Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the county’s 2017 budget from taking effect.
Judge Christopher Cahill refused to grant the request and set January 18 to hear an order to show cause why he should toss out the budget as crafted by County Executive Michael Hein and the county legislature.
Auerbach charged that the 15 percent cut to his budget is an attempt to “deprive Ulster County’s citizens of the independent services they have elected me to perform.”
Hein said he is “not surprised that this frivolous request [for a TRO] was tossed out.’ He said the “bipartisan budget passed overwhelmingly and delivers critical access to services for all the residents of Ulster County; including our veterans, children, seniors and those among us most in need, all while protecting taxpayers.”
Auerbach said the latest budget cuts and those of the past three years “gradually eroding the resources” of his office and are a political vendetta.
“I’m sure it’s based on a series of audits that we have conducted that may have touched a sensitive nerve both in the executive’s office and with the legislature and this is a pattern that we have been experiencing over the last three or four years,” Auerbach said.
Hein said he, as a reformer, “has made great sacrifices within the executive branch of county government [and] I understand that many politicians like the comptroller do not want to tighten their belt. However, I firmly believe that no elected official should be above running a more efficient operation to better serve our taxpayers.”
Auerbach maintained that while his budget has been cut, Hein and the county legislature have increased funding for their offices.
The comptroller said this may be “one of several lawsuits” he files.
