Issues Committee Reports
IC Reports September 2026
PREAMBLE
On September 22, 2026, the CCDC approved three Issues Committee reports: (1) A proposal for making more housing that is affordable, (2) an update on healthcare in response to the budget passed by Republicans and (3) a summary of the latest report on the status of affordability in New York and Columbia County.
These reports are interrelated. None of the problems can be fully addressed without addressing all of them. We include recommendations for increasing state and local income, assuming funds from the federal government will not be reliably forthcoming. We must interrupt the cycle of economic decline we are in and develop solutions to the problems of housing, healthcare and overall affordability. We offer suggestions. Some may work, some may not. But we must try, and if something does not work, we must replace it with another idea.
Housing Update
· Columbia County is experiencing a spiraling deficit in housing affordability.
· All 23 municipalities in the County pledged to participate in the NYS Pro-Housing Community Program requiring them to increase housing stock to qualify for grants.
· In the absence of reliable federal funding, we recommend two ways to increase state funds to support increased housing:
o A real estate transfer fee of 1.5% to 2% of the amount over the previous year’s median sale price ($485,000 in 2025), collected from the purchaser.
o A non-primary residence fee based on a sliding scale of the amount over the previous year’s median sale price.
· Both fees require approval of the state legislature. The real estate transfer fee requires approval of voters, and the non-primary residence fee requires approval of the Board of Supervisors.
Healthcare Update
· Due to Republican cuts in Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act NY had to give up its Essential Plan, which provided cost-free care to households with incomes under 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
· Now, under its Basic Program, NY can give provide cost-free coverage to those with income under 200% of the FPL, including some lawfully present immigrants (about half those previously on the Essential Plan).
· Despite this, Columbia County will still lose as many as 4,000 of its current 14,000 Medicaid enrollees and over 1,200 of its more than 3,400 Essential Plan. Many will wind up uninsured and have medical debt.
· Many residents will lose SNAP benefits, too. Poor nutrition will cause health to deteriorate.
· How will added costs will be apportioned between the State and the County? How will we pay for the care of NY’s neediest with the federal government refusing to do so?
· Increased NYS income taxes targeted to the ultra-wealthy, the very group that received the largess of the federal government, does not seem unreasonable to consider.
ALICE Summary
· ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but not enough to afford the actual cost of living in their county.
· Almost 40% of households in Columbia County cannot afford the basic costs of living according to ALICE criteria.
· This is an underestimate because ALICE undercounts housing costs where there is a shortage of affordable housing, as there is in Columbia County.
· About 5,000 people in the County rely on SNAP benefits each month (previously called food stamps).
· This many people going hungry and unable to afford the basic costs of living in Columbia County is not morally acceptable.