Sarah Trafton reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the new Greene County in Coxsackie is costing taxpayers more, even if Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden is putting the new charges in a different budget column. Because of the jail that is under construction, Greene County taxpayers now have to pay $12,360 annually to count birds on the property. Quenzer Environmental LLC, of Selkirk will take the money out of the county to conduct a bird count, invasive species monitoring, and vegetation analysis at the new jail site. “I can’t believe we pay $135 per hour for a bird watcher,” Catskill Republican Michael Bulich said. Groden said he will make it look like the new cost does not come from the jail project that some called unnecessary. “I will not be charging this to the jail capital project,” he said. Instead, anyone tracing where the county's spending goes will find it in the general fund. The size of the jail varied during the approval process, growing larger after legislators voted to approve the project. At the least, Greene County taxpayers are on the hook for a $39 million bond at 2.49 percent interest and another $8.1 million in county funds, plus the related projects that are in the general fund. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.