District 38
Charles Houghtaling

ALBANY COUNTY – Charles Houghtaling has been in the Albany County Legislature for more than two decades, and, for the past 13 years, has served as its chairman. In his position as chairman, he said, he has striven to be "reasonable," and to "work with people on both sides of the issues."

He is running unopposed for a seventh term.

Houghtaling, 74, lives in Feura Bush, where his family has run Houghtaling’s Market for nearly 30 years. He serves the 38th District of the legislature, covering all of Westerlo and the southwestern corner of New Scotland.

He is a 50-year member of the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Company, and has served on the board of the Albany County Soil and Water District since 1984, and is a member of the Capital District Local Development Corporation.

After serving on the town board in New Scotland, where he has lived most all of his life, Houghtaling said, he was asked to run for the legislature.
"It’s an area I know a lot of people," Houghtaling said of his district.

Through the years, he said, he has worked extensively with fire companies and ambulance services, as well as with farmers.
In representing rural areas, Houghtaling said, he considers the issues that concern those communities. "In rural areas, we have different problems than in the big cities," he said.
In the upcoming term, all of the legislators will be looking "very carefully" at the budget, said Houghtaling. "It’s a serious problem."
The county government, he said, really supplies many things. "This year will be a hard year," he said, citing the rising costs for health care and fuel. "It’s going to be a serious year of looking at the budget," he said.

County issues

Regarding the size of the legislature, Houghtaling does not believe it should be scaled back.
"There’s plenty of places with less members," he said. Having fewer members would mean that each member would have to represent more people, he said.

Currently, he said, Albany County legislators each represent roughly 7,500 people.

The position is not a full-time job, he said, and, with fewer legislators, there wouldn’t be enough time to talk with residents and address all the issues facing the various districts.

The legislature has very active committees, said Houghtaling. Those committees take a serious look at all the issues that come before them, he said.
"I think it ends up costing as much or more," he said of the costs associated with scaling back the number of members. "I think we do quite well," said Houghtaling.
The county sales tax "has to be kept," he said.

The legislature has held hearings and invited representatives from the all the municipalities in the county to speak about the sales tax, he said. No one said they didn’t want it, Houghtaling said.
The tax "is one of the fairest methods" Everyone pays it," he said, adding that even tourists from out of state pay the tax while shopping in Albany County.

Regarding agriculture, Houghtaling said that he doesn’t believe the county needs to take any further steps toward maintaining farmland.
"I think the best thing we did was pass the law," he said. "We’ve got to support the farms that we have."

Houghtaling said that he feels the role of preserving farmland rests with the towns.
Regarding the county nursing home, Houghtaling said, the legislature will need to hold meetings and discuss it. "It’ll take some looking," he said.
The nursing home, he said, is under the directives of the state. "I think it’ll go forward," he said, adding, "I don’t think anyone is exactly sure at this time."
Houghtaling said that the legislature does not deal with the day-to-day things. It hasn’t yet dealt much with the proposal for a convention center that would serve as a joint city, county, and state facility, but, he said, "it could well work out."
The process for the project is "only just beginning," Houghtaling said.
Houghtaling is not in favor of shared services, he said. "Voters on the Hill," he said, referring to Berne residents, showed they didn’t want to lose their sense of community.
"Water might take some joining in of municipal forces," Houghtaling said.
He added that he hasn’t read much about shared services being a good accomplishment. "I wouldn’t jump aboard without looking at some figures," Houghtaling said, adding that impact from residents is crucial as well, as they are the ones who pay taxes.
"I’m always glad to speak to the people," Houghtaling concluded.