Legislator questions $300,000 Proctors payment as county approves public benefit service agreements

The Schenectady County Legislature on Dec. 22 adopted Resolution 201-25, authorizing various public benefit service agreements. During the presentation, a legislator asked specifically about a $300,000 payment to Proctors and how the county uses that money.

A member asked, “I noticed that we give 300,000 to Proctors. What is that money used for?” The presiding member said the item had not gone through committee and deferred to county finance. An unnamed county official responded that the payment is part of an annual arrangement with Proctors to support tourism-related activities; some tourism work has shifted to Discover Schenectady but Proctors remains an economic engine for the area. The official said a portion of the funding is paid from bed-tax collections and that state statute requires bed-tax revenues to be used for tourism, arts and historic preservation.

Following the clarification, the legislature approved Resolution 201-25 by roll call (13 aye, 2 excused). The transcript records the clarification but does not provide additional written detail on the agreement terms, the specific use of the $300,000 line item, or a department-level budget breakdown; those details were not specified in the meeting record and should be confirmed with county finance or the resolution text.