POUGHKEEPSIE –  The nine Democratic legislators in attendance Monday night voted against the $650 million 2026 county budget, despite voting in favor of an amendment to restore several positions to the District Attorney’s Office, with Minority Leader Yvette Valdés Smith saying she supported the amendment because it affects public safety.

The 15 Republicans, using their last few weeks as the majority party in the legislature, voted in favor of the spending plan.

Valdés Smith is likely to become the Chairperson of the legislature in January following the widespread victories of the Democrats in November.  The Dems will hold 15 seats and the Republicans will have 10.  Normally a two-year term, the recently elected lawmakers are up for re-election in November as the state moves to even-year elections.

Democrats also voted for an amendment offered by the minority leader to double the funding for the Housing Trust Fund and funding for REV250, which will celebrate the milestone birthday of America in 2026.

Explaining the “no” vote on the budget by the Democratic caucus, Valdés Smith said “The County Executive’s budget does not adequately address the affordability crisis that our residents are facing. While Democrats in our caucus passed meaningful amendments to help residents, the overall County Executive’s budget is lacking and we must do better.”

For the second year in a row, Legislator Chris Drago (D-Stanford), unsuccessfully offered an amendment to increase funding to address the EMS crisis.  “We cannot continue to ignore an EMS system that is failing communities across Dutchess County,” he said.  “My amendment would have given towns the tools they need to expand ambulance service and would have finally started the work of creating a coordinated countywide EMS plan- something our own studies, the State Comptroller, and our municipal leaders have repeatedly called for. It also recognized that we must begin taking the profit motive out of saving lives by strengthening municipal ambulance services instead of deepening our dependence on a single private provider.”

The budget will now go to the county executive who can sign or veto the budget and/or individual amendments.
The Budget Override meeting and the Adoption of the Tax Levy meeting will take place December 17, 2025, in the Legislature’s Chambers on the sixth floor of 22 Market St.  in Poughkeepsie.


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