Westchester County Budget & Appropriations Committee Meeting – October 26, 2026

On October 26, 2026, the Board of Legislators’ Budget & Appropriations Committee met jointly with Public Safety & Veterans, Infrastructure & Housing, Legislation, and Litigation committees. The agenda called for a 10:00 AM start; discussion continued until the final adjournment at 12:33 PM. Committees approved police academy instructor-service agreements, a regional hazmat grant partnership, three airport lease packages, commissioner-qualification changes, two Law Department local laws, an outside counsel retainer, and routine consent items. No members of the public offered testimony. The agenda lists the chair as Tyrae Woodson-Samuels, while the transcript refers to “Legislator Wilson Samuels.”

Consent Calendar / Routine Approvals

• Approved four sets of committee minutes: October 14 at 10:00 AM, September 22 at 10:00 AM, September 29 at 1:00 PM, and October 5 at 10:00 AM.
• Accepted as a receive-and-file communication a gift from Our Rescue of a one-year Cyacomb Collector License valued at approximately $10,000.
• Received and filed a status report for the planning and flood mitigation program.

Discussion Items

• 2026-493 – Police Academy Instructor Services IMA: Captain Jeffrey Weiss presented a five-year inter-municipal agreement (March 21, 2027–March 20, 2032) allowing outside law-enforcement instructors to teach at the Westchester County Police Academy while remaining employees of their home agencies. He said the county does not reimburse or assume liability for those instructors. One recent 22-week basic course used 487 outside-agency instructor days; firearms instruction is delivered at a one-on-one instructor-to-student ratio. Approved by Budget & Appropriations and Public Safety & Veterans.
• 2026-495 – Regional Partnership Agreement with Dutchess and Putnam: Commissioner Susan Spear explained a $15,000 FY2025-26 PHMSA grant for hazardous-materials transportation preparedness, with a 20% county match satisfied by existing staff time. The state divides funding among 18 partnership regions; Westchester shares one region with Dutchess and Putnam. She noted Indian Point decommissioning remains a planning factor because fuel remains on site and future waste transport could involve hazmat. Approved by both committees.
• 2026-510/511 and 2026-512/513 – Hangar V leases (Interlaken Capital and PepsiCo): Airport officials presented local laws authorizing leases for a portion of Hangar V to Interlaken (20-year initial term) and PepsiCo (5-year initial term). Both leases are $41 per square foot with 3% annual escalation. The tenants take responsibility for all improvements, including structural repairs; the county retains annual inspection rights. The tenants share the campus under a reciprocal license. First-year base rent for each tenant will be approximately $1.8 million, a major increase from the old ground-lease rates. Legislators questioned whether the 3% escalation and long initial terms were aggressive enough; some suggested periodic market reassessments, while the Chair cautioned against overreaching. The public hearing resolutions and local laws were approved by Budget & Appropriations and Infrastructure & Housing.
• 2026-514/515 – IBM Hangar W lease: IBM’s Hangar W lease is priced at $43 per square foot because IBM has exclusive use of its entrance, apron, parking, and hangar space. Its annual rent will increase from about $245,000 to $2 million, with tenant responsibility for all maintenance and structural costs. There is a temporary subleasing provision allowing one HPN-based corporate aircraft to be housed at IBM’s facility for up to 12 months during construction, with subleases to FBO-based aircraft prohibited. IBM also has a 24-month termination right after the 10th anniversary. Approved by both committees.
• 2026-501/502 – Commissioner Qualifications: Deputy County Executive Joan McDonald and Law Department officials proposed eliminating the professional-engineer requirement for the commissioners of DPW&T and Environmental Facilities, arguing the roles now emphasize management, operations, and administration. They noted NYS DOT, NYC, Yonkers, Buffalo, and MTA DDC do not require a PE for equivalent roles, and the Charter Revision Commission supported the change unanimously. Legislators discussed whether the change could lower salary expectations or affect promotion; McDonald said it does not diminish the position and salary would not be reduced. Legislator Puzzle, an engineer, supported the change. Majority Leader Holstein recorded the only no vote in B&A. Approved by Budget & Appropriations and Legislation.
• 2026-519/520 – Defense and Indemnity Actions: County Attorney John Nonna and staff proposed amending Section 158.11 to allow the County Attorney to initiate defense, indemnification, insurance-coverage, and contribution actions without prior board approval, while reorganizing existing exceptions. They said contractors and insurers sometimes refuse to defend or indemnify the county, and CPLR 1007 imposes a 90-day deadline for third-party actions. During discussion, Legislator Barr raised oversight and board-power concerns. The committee adopted an amendment requiring the County Attorney to notify the county board when using the new authority (also added to the county-executive emergency exception). The local law and public hearing resolution were approved as amended by Budget & Appropriations, Legislation, and Litigation.
• 2026-521/522 – Written Notice for Contract and Nontort Claims: Law Department staff presented a local law modeled on the City of Newburgh’s law requiring written notice of contract and other nontort claims before suit, typically within three months. County Attorney John Nonna said it gives early notice and protects against stale claims. Legislator Smith called it a strong posture for the county. Approved by Budget & Appropriations and Legislation.
• 2026-504 – Giannasca & Shook Retainer: Senior Assistant County Attorney Mark Gardner requested authority to retain Giannasca & Shook, PLLC at county expense, capped at $50,000, for a surety dispute on DPWT Contract No. 16-529. The usual outside counsel, Irish Shulman, had a conflict because QBE refused a waiver. Gardner said litigation may prompt the surety to settle, but additional funding could be sought if the case continues. Approved by Budget & Appropriations and Litigation.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the police academy instructor-services IMA and the Dutchess/Putnam regional hazmat partnership.
• Approved all three airport lease packages (Interlaken, PepsiCo, IBM), including local laws and public hearing resolutions.
• Approved the charter-amendment local law removing the PE requirement for DPW&T and Environmental Facilities commissioners; public hearing to be set.
• Approved the defense-and-indemnity and written-notice local laws as amended; public hearings to be set.
• Approved the $50,000 outside counsel retainer for the QBE surety dispute.
• Accepted the $10,000 Our Rescue gift and approved routine minutes and receive-and-file items.