GOP leader disputes comptroller’s interpretation of $25 million stadium issue

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Dutchess Stadium in 2021 - now known as Heritage Financial Park. Copyright Mid-Hudson News

POUGHKEEPSIE – Republicans and Democrats in Dutchess County government are disputing each other’s claims of how the county legislature’s vote to rehabilitate Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill was approached.

Seventeen members of the county legislature approved $25 million in funding for improvements to Dutchess Stadium, a county park, prior to the budget vote on Thursday.  Democrat Randy Johnson (City of Poughkeepsie) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the plan.  The additional spending was added to the 2023 county budget which is approximately $588 million.

During the debate over the budget amendment on Thursday, Democratic Minority Leader Yvette Valdes Smith argued against the plan, saying that the financially substantial investment was kept secret by the Republican majority until after the two public hearings on the budget had already taken place.

The Democrats noted that Comptroller Robin Lois, the top-elected Democrat in the county was not made aware of the plan until Thursday, and Lois confirmed that to Mid-Hudson News.

Moments after Thursday’s meeting began, Lois sent an email to the lawmakers. “A project of this magnitude deserves public comment and the normal legislative process and review as all other projects.  Adopting this amendment will remove that legislative and public oversight,” Lois wrote. “This last-minute amendment will be perceived poorly as an effort to avoid proper public oversight on an already contentious and controversial project.”

Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver responded to the attacks by Democrats on Friday, saying, “The Democrats clearly do not understand the process as their claim that this was improper because it wasn’t included in the Capital Improvement Plan was corrected by the County’s Budget Director during the meeting.”

Democrats say the amendment should have been added to the Capital Projects Plan prior to public hearings on the budget.  “To be clear, this project was included on our 2022 Capital Plan and removed from the 2023 Capital Plan because funding was being approved during 2022,” Pulver said. “Their claim that I circumvented regular process is laughable,” he said, noting that amendments offered by Democrats went through the same process.

Republican Majority Leader Will Truitt (Hyde Park) implied that the Democrats were not telling the truth.  On Friday afternoon he said, “Legislative leadership of both caucuses (Valdes-Smith, Atkins, Pulver, Houston, and myself) met on Monday evening to discuss this amendment funding proposal at length.”

Truitt, who offered the amendment on Thursday, took aim at the county’s fiscal watchdog. “Comptroller Lois has been in discussions about this process for over a week. The claim by the Democratic Caucus that people were blindsided by this is simply not accurate,” he said. “This budget amendment went through the same process that everything else goes through, which Comptroller Lois herself reluctantly admitted was legitimate.”

 




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