By Doug La Rocque
In her address this past week to the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce, Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino said there is definitely a current culture of “jobs looking for people” in the county, and for this the assembled business owners at this gathering deserve much of the credit. [private]She pointed to the fact that unemployment in the county has dropped to four percent from a high of nine percent just four years ago. She told the business community gathered for the address that they have created optimism and enthusiasm as well as fostering “a pro-business environment that encourages new business as well as expansion.”
Jimino also pointed out the County continues to encourage and nurture the positive impact our local academic institutions have made “to keep pace with the demands of industry, that in turn encourages our youth to stay and make our county their home, thus broadening our tax base.” As an example of this, she pointed to Hudson Valley Community College’s plans for the 15-million-dollar Gene Hass Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills. It is expected that when built, HVCC will graduate 1,200 students skilled in manufacturing technologies, that will greatly impact the county’s economy by creating $275 million in salaried jobs in the future. It is further estimated that 95% of these graduates will remain in the Capital Region.
Jimino also pointed to a number of positive economic steps that highlight the integral part small enterprise plays in the success puzzle of our county. Among these she listed the partnership between the Center for Gravity and HVCC which is now leasing close to ten thousand square feet in Troy’s Quackenbush Building for emerging technological start-up businesses. Recent Economic Development Council awards to Brown’s Brewery in Hoosick Falls and the Sustainable Aquafarm in Berlin, which has already started to advertise for jobs, were also on the Executive’s roll of recent accomplishments.
Jimino also celebrated the County’s bedrock industry, agriculture, which continues to grow. In this regard, she mentioned a farm-to-school program in concert with Capital Roots, the Troy based non-profit promoter of community gardens and produce distribution for healthy living, which works with schools to produce locally grown specialty crops for their lunches. Another highlight was the successful application for funding for six projects in Rensselaer County under the state’s Farmland Protection Program that helps assure the viability of farming and the availability of a fresh local food supply. The latest projects, when completed, will protect over 7,000 acres of prime farmland.
Other highlights in Jimino’s address included the 21-million-dollar enhancement to the county 911 emergency systems, which includes upgrades that provide radio coverage to virtually all parts of the county. The increase in maintenance of county roads and bridges, due in part to the county’s share of the licensing fees from the new Rivers Casino. She noted this results not only in an increase in safety for the traveling public, but also contributes to economic development, “which in turn expands our opportunity for new sales and property tax revenues as well as the potential for additional jobs.”
On a more somber note, the Executive also talked about the heroin problem facing all communities, and the formation of the County Heroin Coalition, which puts the issue right on the table for discussion and action. “Ignoring problems and hoping they go away, does nothing for our community or their residents. This is not a secret that must be hidden, it is an urgent problem that needs our critical focus and attention, and with the people throughout our communities already stepping up to be active in this regard, I am confident that we will confront and conquer this waster of both lives and dignity.”
The Executive’s comments also turned toward the PFOA contamination of both municipal water supplies and wells in Hoosick and Petersburgh. “Often times, a crisis brings out the best in all of us, and such was the action of our County Health Department, that, despite the lack of federal or state regulations specific to PFOA, promptly stepped up to the plate and delivered by working with communities, from conducting testing to rallying Capital Region business to donate bottled drinking water, and in Petersburgh’s case specifically, helping to install filtration systems.”
Taking On The Governor As she has done in many of her State of the County addresses, Jimino excoriated Governor Cuomo for the expansion of state mandates on local governments, most times without or with very limited state funding to pay for these programs. This has created a situation that “allows the state to increase their programs with absolutely no fiscal accountability, as they turn a blind eye to the local taxpayers. In turn, as the state clears their fiscal responsibility, this funding shift allows the Governor to chastise the local counties of New York for spending more and more, and as mentioned, blame them for causing New York State to have among the highest local taxes in the country.” The Executive calls it a fact that state mandated costs to local taxpayers have increased by 73% over the last 11 years, while the County is spending 8% less on local programs since 2006.
Jimino calls it sadly necessary to mention the irony of Governor Cuomo’s call for the State to spend 163 million dollars to open the doors of secondary education to families who report less than $125,000 in income, while ignoring the law that makes it clear that a certain amount of funding must be allocated to benefit the community colleges across the state. “This includes HVCC, and due to this, we are budgeting an additional $200,000 in the 2017 County Budget to overcome the state’s dereliction of its funding duties.” She also pointed out that recent legislation was passed by the state legislature to have New York State pay costs the counties now incur for indigent legal defense, only to have it vetoed by Governor Cuomo.
The Executive wound up her address by saying the county has many good programs and has certainly derived much from our partnership with all government entities including the state. “However, we have to somehow convince the state that our constituents are their constituents as well and that their wallets and purses must be taken into consideration.”
She says state government must make adjustments and begin to consider the cost of their programs. “Our local county taxpayer funded piggy bank is broken, and soon there will be little left in the form of local county tax dollars at the current rate of mushrooming mandates.” [/private]