Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach is leaving his post in less than two weeks. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne spoke with Auerbach about his new role in New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office.
Auerbach will serve as deputy comptroller for the Division of Local Government and School Accountability.
Evan Gallo is the son of former Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo. Auerbach’s impending departure comes just a few months after Democrat Mike Hein left the Ulster County executive post to lead the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Democrat Pat Ryan won a special election April 30 for county executive. Auerbach says he did not want to leave before that special election.
Auerbach, who is in his fourth term, says there are accomplishments that stand out.
Conversely, he has concerns as he leaves.
In his state role, Auerbach will head the division responsible for monitoring the finances of local governments and school districts. He will manage auditing and budget reviews, training local officials, assigning fiscal stress scores to local communities, and studying issues facing local governments.
He will direct seven regional offices and a staff of more than 300.
The day after the announcement that Auerbach had accepted a position with the state, Democrat March Gallagher, who once served in the Hein administration and is the president and CEO of Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, said she would run for the county comptroller post.
