If you didn't know any better, you'd think that Lester Freeman and Jackie Jenkins-Cox are sore losers.

That's because Freeman and Jenkins-Cox haven't attended an Albany Common Council meeting since Sept. 16, three days before their narrow losses in the Democratic primaries were sealed by absentee ballots.

Even though they haven't shown up to work in two months, they are still being paid. The council has 15 elected officials, one representing each ward, and they earn about $20,000 annually.

Their constituents, who live in some of Albany's most poverty-stricken neighborhoods, are essentially left without a voice; Freeman represents the 2nd Ward, which includes the South End, and Jenkins-Cox represents the 5th Ward, which contains West Hill and Arbor Hill.

Their terms are officially over at the end of December. To be sure, it's not impossible that there are some extenuating circumstances here, but Freeman and Jenkins-Cox could not be reached.

When asked about their colleagues' absences, council members didn't seem to know where they've been.

"I've been on the council 16 years and I've never seen this before," said Carolyn McLaughlin, Common Council president, who previously held Freeman's seat and supported his opponent, Vivian Kornegay "We haven't received any calls. Each week I've been looking for them to show up."

But if what some council members think is true — that they decided to just stop coming to meetings — is there any recourse?

"There is a process, and it might come up at our next caucus," said Richard Conti, the council's president pro tempore and representative for the 6th Ward.

According to New York's Second Class Cities Law, the council may declare a member's seat "vacant by reason of absence," as long as three-fourths of the council members vote that way and the "delinquent member has had an opportunity to be heard in his defense." That member must first be absent for at least two months.

Freeman and Jenkins-Cox hit that two-month mark after not attending last Monday's meeting, where the 2014 budget was passed 10-3.

County budget debated

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The Albany County Legislature is coming up on its budget vote soon, and at last week's Audit and Finance meeting committee members amended the budget and found enough savings to fund the county nursing home through 2014.

County Executive Dan McCoy has proposed funding the nursing home until June 30 since coming to an agreement with county lawmakers to transfer control of the facility to a local development corporation, which has yet to be created.

"If the LDC comes through, then the funding from the nursing home will just be savings," said Albany Legislator Raymond Joyce.

Some of that money was found by reducing proposed raises, including the requested salary for Christine Quinn, who has a pending felony drug charge and was penned in the budget at $111,000 for 2014 in her new position as chief information officer, which was lowered by Audit and Finance to $99,000.

Quinn had previously earned $106,000 annually as the former deputy county executive.

"That was a compromise because half the legislators are saying they believe in second chances and the other half says she should be fired," Joyce said. "I'm sure it will generate a lot of debate."

Public hearings will be held 7:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Legislative Chambers at the Albany County Courthouse.

Members of the Audit and Finance committee also decided not to grant raises to themselves or their fellow legislators. The amended budget will go up for the final vote on Dec. 5.