By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-905130.mp3
Albany, NY – Five Capital Region counties have filed suit in State Supreme Court to contest a $4.5 million flood-control benefit assessment levied on them. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties have been billed for operating costs racked up by the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District. The district began as a flood control project in 1919, charged with controlling river water levels. It applied the 4 and a half million dollar benefit assessment against the counties after a federal court ruling eliminated most of its revenues that came from charges made against hydroelectric facilities. Under the approved assessments, Albany County's bill is the largest, coming in at more than $1.7 million. Saratoga County's bill is the second largest.
Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino says as soon as the counties got billed, they circled their wagons. Officials in all five counties have argued that the district is unfairly shifting their operating costs onto already cash-strapped taxpayers. Jimino says she has no intention of paying Renssealer County's $961-thousand dollar fee, which is for the July 2009-June 2010 fiscal year and is due by the end of this month.
The Hudson River-Black River Regulating District board denied the counties' appeals in late March. Glenn LaFave, executive director of the regulating district, says he hasn't yet received official notice of the counties'lawsuit. The regulating district's 4-and a half million dollar funding gap arose from a 2008 court ruling denying the it's ability to bill downstate hydroelectric companies that are outside its geographical boundaries but benefit from its flood-control management. To offset the loss of funding, the regulating district is looking to bill those counties directly within its boundaries. The regulating district recently posted on its website that lack of revenue forced it to lay off 12 employees.