Albany County Republican & Conservative Conference Agenda
6/29/23
ALBANY LAWMAKER PUSHES FOR TRANSPARENCY ON MIGRANT CRISIS
Local GOP Legislator Paul Burgdorf Introduces Legislative Package to Address Transparency and Financial Concerns Surrounding the Migrant Crisis in Albany County
ALBANY, NY – Albany County Legislator Paul J. Burgdorf (R-C, Colonie) today introduced a legislative package of bills pushing for much-needed transparency and fiscal planning due to the ongoing migrant and homeless crisis affecting Albany County. The initiative comes as New York City has sent busloads of migrants to County municipalities without proper consultation or coordination, a chaotic process that began at a hotel in Legislator Burgdorf’s district on Memorial Day weekend last month.
“The Biden administration has systematically broken our federal immigration system over the past two-and-a-half years. As it becomes clear they have no intention of fixing it anytime soon, New York City and even municipalities in Albany County have become the latest ‘border towns’ in this ongoing crisis. County Legislators, local officials and the people we represent deserve nothing but full transparency on this issue. We need to know what is happening in our communities. We need to know what the financial impacts will be on County taxpayers as we craft budgets in the upcoming months and years,” said County Legislator Paul J. Burgdorf, Deputy Minority Leader and Member of the Audit and Finance Committee.
One of the bills – the “Albany County Resettlement Disclosure Law” – would require hotels, motels and other venues to notify their local representatives of any intent to house migrants or the homeless. This is an issue especially personal to Legislator Burgdorf, as one of the original migrant buses arrived at a hotel in his district under the cover of darkness on Memorial Day weekend last month.
The other bill would require the County to track the financial impact of migrant settlement within Albany County. As New York City continues sending migrants to at least one municipality in the County, the eventual effect on County taxpayers could be substantial, especially as it pertains to social services and future County Budgets.
According to County Officials, there are approximately 250-300 migrants now in Albany County, with most concentrated in the City of Albany, and a few dozen in the Town of Colonie. New York City’s original plans to send hundreds of migrants to Colonie have ceased at this time.
According to multiple reports, New York City is continuing to work with multiple hotels and motels in the County for the purposes of housing migrants. They have also contracted with for-profit corporation DocGo to provide logistics and security for the migrants.
“The bills I have introduced with my colleagues today will help provide much-needed clarity and transparency. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the City of Albany, the Towns of Colonie or Guilderland, or any other municipality in our County. Our communities have a right to know when migrants or homeless individuals are being resettled in our neighborhoods. At some point, New York City will stop paying, and the County will be held responsible for the continuation of services. If we authorize new funding in our budget, we should prioritize Albany County seniors, veterans, and other safety net-eligible communities first,” concluded Legislator Burgdorf.