Ulster County three-year phase in of election costs totals over $1 million

KINGSTON – Ulster County’s phased in assumption of local election costs has saved municipalities over $1 million.
In 2015, the first year of the county assumption of costs, it picked
up one-third of the $411,289 election cost. In the second year, 2016,
the county picked up two-thirds of the $696,301 costs and in 2017, the
county assumed the entire $445,721 expense.
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County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach, who tallied up the costs in a new report, said they will likely be higher in the new year.
“We are going to have a federal primary in June and we will have a state primary in September and then a general election in November and that doesn’t preclude maybe a special election in some of the areas throughout Ulster County that may come up as a result of an assembly member leaving his position,” Auerbach said.
That Assembly position was held by Peter Lopez who was recently appointed as the federal EPA’s New York administrator.
Kingston Mayor Steven Noble said with the county’s full takeover of the election costs, “we have been able to focus on preserving and delivering high quality essential services to our local residents.”