Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Ulster comptroller issues URGENT plea to county lawmakers KINGSTON – The Ulster County Legislature will consider a new memorandum of understanding for the county’s URGENT task force and County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach issued a warning Monday night that lawmakers should go slowly before they adopt it, tentatively on Wednesday. Auerbach has concerns about the document suggesting the legislature consult with the county attorneys before approving it. “We see a memorandum of understand that’s retroactive which we are really uncomfortable about, which raises issues of its enforceability and we see a memorandum of understanding that is unclear as to how these funds are distributed and the memorandum of understanding has no provision for the rights of all parties if any other member leaves,” Auerbach said. Last year, the City of Kingston, which had been a member of the Ulster Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team since its inception in 2007, withdrew from the program. This past June, the city sought disposition of outstanding expenses and assets of the program, a reference to the memorandum of understanding’s governing the operation of the program contemplating a sharing of seized assets after processing by the federal government. (Copyright © 2012 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc)