Maria M. Silva reports for the Times Union that the Ulster County Legislature approved a $411.9 million budget for next year on Dec. 6. That budget includes a $30 million spending increase, while keeping property taxes flat and reserving 20 percent of operating expenditures for a rainy day fund. There is a little funding for the affordable housing crisis in the budget, with Ulster County’s Housing Action Fund getting 25 percent of the county’s $1.5 million motel and short-term rental tax revenues. Meanwhile, there is $20 million in the budget for road and bridge improvements. Read more about this story in the Times Union.