High Priced Albany Consultant Wins, North Greenbush Taxpayers lose in Comprehensive Plan Rewrite

The North Greenbush town board finally decided to update the town’s outdated 2009 Comprehensive Plan (which it does not appear to follow in its planning and zoning decisions) this year. Comprehensive plan updates do not run cheap so the town turned to the Colonie based LaBerge Group for assistance in securing the necessary funds.  The problem is the only funds that LaBerge has secured have ended up in its own pockets. Here’s a guide to the confusing funding process. At its April 2023, the town board approved a resolution to pay LaBerge $1,000 for a Hudson River Valley Greenway Planning grant to fund the comprehensive plan update. This type of grant is capped at $10,000 and requires a  matching contribution of at least 50% from the municipality.  The Hudson Valley Greenway awarded the $10,000 and North Greenbush then agreed to a $12,650 match using town funds, more than the 50% required.  And where was all this money going? Back to LaBerge to pay them to complete a Consolidated Funding Application grant to fund an update to the Comprehensive Plan. Other consultants I’ve spoken with agree that almost $23,000 is a pretty steep for this kind of grant. North Greenbush taxpayers should be scratching their heads Maybe this explains why LaBerge has generously donated to the North Greenbush Republican Committee-$1,000 in 2021 and $750 so far this year.