Transcript
INTRODUCTION
Chairman Brownell, members of the Rensselaer County Legislature, and all of the
residents of our great county, I am both honored and pleased to be presenting this State of the
County message as we celebrate the 225th anniversary of the incorporation of our great county.
This year’s message I deeply feel will touch the pulse of the county to, in a sense, record the
commitment we have toward keeping our great county vibrant. A review of a few of our
county departments and their activities will highlight this, and I am confident will, by example,
show just what we are doing, by attending to your everyday needs, to earn your trust.
Another factor which we will consider is the role state mandates are taking in shaping
and forming our local government as we scurry to assure that our commitment to local
programs is realized at the highest of standards, while at the same time lawfully honoring the
paying of about ninety cents of every tax dollar that our residents are paying across the river to
Albany for mandated services.
STATE MANDATES
To say that stifling mandates have been placed on our backs only recently is inaccurate
at best and irresponsible at worst. The sad fact is that these mandates have been growing over
the years despite recent displays of state awareness to correct this avalanche, an avalanche
which is currently gaining more and more momentum as it snowballs down the hill. This is
witnessed by an increase of nearly 70% of these state mandated expenses to county
government over the past ten years, as compared to a decrease in local spending by nearly 20%
over the same time period. This is despite the fact that, we want to and must acknowledge, our
state legislators and our governor have brought some relief to municipalities. Let me make it
clear that for this we are grateful as well as appreciative. However; unfortunately, the
aforementioned growth pattern shows the frightening aspect of what we are facing, despite
their efforts, and beckons for state officials to continue to cut back on their desires for new or
expanding programs that rely on local property tax dollars for funding.
To name a few recent improvements instigated by the state, the freezing of local
Medicaid costs at $34 million after years of gigantic increases has certainly helped us to keep
local property taxes under the two percent cap and by doing so imposing minimal harm to our
taxpayers. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that New York is one of the very few
states that mandates that their counties participate in the funding for Medicaid at all, the other
states picking up the whole designated share. As well, of those few states that call for a local
contribution, New York has the dubious distinction of still charging the highest dollar amount in
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local share to their counties in the country, in fact more than the local share of all other states
combined!
It is also noted that the state has heard the cry of our residents when it comes to
curbing additional expenses associated with retirement costs, as these costs have declined
slightly due to the state’s institution of new retirement tiers that provide less generous benefits
and therefore require less county government contributions. That is the good news. The bad
news is that there remains a significant cost for 2016 of $12.5 million, double what it was eight
years ago. But, as a testimony to the county’s conservative fiscal practices, as a result of
improved cash flow, according to our Bureau of Finance, the county was able to prepay its NYS
pension bill for the first time at a savings of over $100,000 to our county taxpayers. Regardless
of this, the way the obligations are mounting we will be hard pressed to repeat this outstanding
performance. In other words, more snowfall is still making the potential for an avalanche that
threatens to engulf county government a bigger and bigger threat.
Nevertheless, we are appreciative of the intentions of our state legislators. They are
trying to slow down the pending storm of mandates, but like a spring-like break or a mild
winter, it is only a brief respite, and we must do all we can to ensure that mandates don’t
suffocate local government. As an example, one mandate that we encourage our state
delegation to look at is the Safety Net program that provides long term care for needy
individuals, which formerly was paid for by the state and counties with each contributing 50%
of the costs. A recent change in state law now requires the counties to pay 71% of the Safety
Net bill while the state dropped its share to just 29%. This change, coupled with increasing
numbers of individuals relying on the program, due to an economy which continues to be on
the mend but has not fully recovered, has resulted in record high costs to the county for the
program.
Unfortunately the evidence of the more recent shifting of spending responsibilities to
the counties and therefore our property taxpayers does not stop here, but also includes the
Hudson River Black River Regulating District as well as increased local spending requirements
for indigent defense, and the doing away with the funding used for preventing heroin
trafficking, leaving programs such as these for county taxpayers to fund fully or in part.
The cumulative net result of the state’s actions, or in some cases inaction, and despite
certain reforms as mentioned, is actually an increase in the requirement for state mandated
spending by our county as the net result. The stunning thing for me to understand is that in
essence the state is attempting to force increased local taxing to pay for programs on the backs
of some of the very individuals who are fighting to not be taxed out of their own homes!
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By examples such as those presented, we can unfortunately very easily show the
shifting of mandates and therefore local responsibility onto the backs of the beleaguered local
taxpayers, which allows the state to pronounce their own fiscal house in order, while turning to
those very local taxpayers and proclaiming the county as the raiders of their own private piggy
bank which is apparently their rationale for the overall increased spending. This maneuver is
extremely transparent and I can assure you that this so called piggy bank which constitutes tax
revenue raised, has long since been raided and after the state pilfers it, the county’s use left
after the ravaging amounts to one thin dime of every local tax dollar collected; ten cents of
every dollar being spent on local road and highway maintenance and patrol as well as senior
and veteran activities and programs, and other local programs so essential for our residents.
And to maintain these local programs we cannot forget the local cost efficient methods
and direction we as a county have taken over the years to avoid, as much as possible, the threat
posed by more and more mandates to ultimately decimate our ability to fund local services,
with unfortunately more similar storms forecast on the horizon. And so we need to continue
our call for our state to act in the public’s best interest and provide more meaningful mandate
relief.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT SAVINGS
In contrast, as a county, I am proud that rather than finding ways to spend tax dollars,
we are constantly finding ways to save tax dollars. It is true that this is in large part due to
constantly finding ways to assure that after the mandate bill is paid, we have the revenue to
deliver local services in an expedient and effective way which I feel is the hallmark of our
administration. With this conservative philosophy of local government being the rule rather
than the exception, and supported by our county legislature, we can proudly say that this is the
kind of fiscal accountability that marks our tenure.
Locally, we are indeed practicing consolidation, cooperation and commitment by the
sharing of responsibilities in a more cost effective level to enhance our quality of service
delivery. Our departments and employees take steps on a daily basis to conserve your tax
dollar, by constantly reviewing ways to save money, and deserve much credit in performing in
such a responsible and necessary manner. From engaging the services of a company to more
effectively route the buses for transporting children to services which results in saving $800,000
annually, to outsourcing the physical therapy and occupational services of our nursing home to
save $1.3 million annually, our intent to lessen our fiscal load is obvious. When we talk
improvements in energy conservation, over $750,000 has been saved as a result of efficiencies
that have been implemented with more savings to come, including alternative energy programs
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in the solar and hydro fields. And when we discuss the county frame work and model for
collaboration we mention the commitment and productivity of the Human Services Cabinet
Triage Unit that works with high needs/ high costs families and individuals to help them achieve
self-sufficiency, by making certain that duplication of services is curtailed, and specifically
targeted performance takes first place in our priorities.
When we discuss the internal workings of our county government, I am proud to
mention that numerous steps have been taken through the past 15 years to both streamline
and economize our operations to save precious dollars in the long run. This year, we continue
to exercise this philosophy by implementing, with the cooperative efforts of the county Bureaus
of Research and Information Services and Central Services and assistance from the Chair of our
Legislature, a new phone system for the County Office Building and Courthouse that saved
nearly $125,000 by reusing existing cabling with new technology. As well, we are introducing a
new financial system along with a new human resources and payroll system.
Commitments such as these have allowed us to save nearly $44 million of proposed
departmental spending over the years. As part of that cost saving effort, our Bureau of Budget
continues to work with other departments to hold the line on spending. And we cannot forget
our county employees who, no doubt sensing the belt tightening that we are engaging in as a
county, agreed to negotiated collective bargaining agreements that reduce expenses especially
for new employees.
This consistent approach to local spending and subsequent economizing has been the
rule rather than the exception since I first assumed office, which was 14 years prior to the state
calling for the documentation of the services that we have long provided in conjunction with
our municipalities and the efficiencies that we have implemented in order to provide services
as effectively and efficiently as possible, but yet fiscally responsible. I applaud the governor’s
intention when he calls on municipalities to demonstrate savings of 1% annually through shared
services and government efficiencies, to qualify for the state’s property tax freeze credit law,
and bask in the realization that imitation certainly does flatter. It is a fact that his
pronouncement endorses the pattern of conduct that many counties, including Rensselaer,
were already engaging in and has given us the opportunity on a statewide basis to demonstrate
this fact. As an example, here in Rensselaer County, our efforts exercised over a vast number of
years, have resulted in more than three times what the governor calls for. Again, hats off to the
state for hopefully learning from the ongoing way we have conducted our business of
government in our county, and we look forward to them exercising the same form of economic,
constituent-driven government in the future.
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COUNTY GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
At this juncture, I thought that it would be insightful to take a short tour of some of our
county departments so that you can better understand what it is that we do to keep local
government flowing by serving the public, as well as the self imposed frugality that
accompanies it. These departments and their employees represent the very core of county
service, and I feel that as the recipient of your hard earned tax dollar, it is only proper and
indeed mandatory to report to you by example just what we do, particularly as it applies to
getting the most for your dollars that we possibly can by stressing cost efficiency.
As one of the counties in the state that despite rising costs is still maintaining a nursing
home, our Van Rensselaer Manor has introduced many cost-saving measures to keep our heads
above water. Over and above our employed staff physicians, we have contracted with an
outside agency to supply additional clinicians with the emphasis being to keep residents out of
the hospital. These nurse practitioners are charged with the responsibility of detecting
potential medical problems sooner, a practice which has often been the difference between
keeping the residents at the Manor and sending them to the hospital, with better care and
lower costs the result. As we talk about hospital admissions, we should note that since 2010
our “all cause” hospital readmission rate has dropped almost three fold. When we mentioned
energy improvement measures earlier, it is appropriate to say that as the implementation of
such programs stretch out, the Manor is also benefitting. And as we consider the operation of
the Manor, we find that payroll and benefit costs are down just over $1 million, due to a
reduction in overtime expenses as well as reduced salaries and health insurance costs for new
hires based on the previously mentioned new labor contract.
The Manor seems to be proving that quality and conditions can improve, while still
remaining cost conscious, and also in working toward this end, benefits from the cooperation of
other departments. One such effort occurred when our Bureau of Research and Information
Services spent countless hours working to stabilize the wireless network installed in the client
areas at the Manor used to facilitate electronic medical records and the prescribing and
distribution of medicines.
Much was said about co-location of county agencies being a key to streamlining services
in a cost efficient fashion. With the grouping of Probation, Youth, the Department of Social
Services, and the addition of twice a week access to Mental Health, as well as to the
departments of Health and Employment and Training once a week, in our triage effort we have
already seen improvements, both service-wise and cost-wise.
Serving nearly 13,000 veterans and their dependents in 2015, numerous community
outreach programs have been conducted as those who served us learn of earnings, benefits
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and services. One can only speculate as to how many veterans are kept out of more costly
programs in the long term, costly both to the county and themselves as individuals, financially,
emotionally, and medically, if it was not for the fine work accomplished by our Veterans Service
Agency. Monthly compensation or pension awards received by veterans and their families
through our office totaled nearly $400,000 last year, while nearly 6,000 veterans were
transported to necessary VA medical appointments by our vans.
We continue to serve those who served.
As we concentrate on service, and along with our desire to assure the self-sufficiency of
our residents, thus cutting down on government funded programs at a savings to all taxpayers,
our One Stop Center hosted a series of on-site employer recruitments. As well, as a result of
the previously mentioned triage unit 170 individuals either directly referred by Social Services
and Probation or those who took it upon themselves to walk in after visiting the other
departments received job readiness training, job coaching or other services due to this
collaboration and the co-location of these services. All totaled, One-Stop saw over 12,500
customers this past year, a decrease over the previous year due to a steady job growth, no
doubt in relation to the growth fueled by high tech companies and related industries in our
Capital Region. However, there still remains the problem of the question of meaningful wage
growth, because many families are working harder and falling behind. So while we continue to
see a decline in the unemployment rate the number of people seeking assistance from the
county remains higher than was the case before we entered into the recession. Caseloads for
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Safety Net, and Food Stamps are 20%, 96% and 32%
higher respectively than they were only 8 years ago. In other words, many are settling for
lower paying jobs thus there remains the continued pressure on supplemental social services
that obviously cost local taxpayer dollars. Again, although pundits might say our economy is
improving, they somehow forget to mention that although there are more people employed,
meaningful wage increase has not improved.
As we talk about the collaborative efforts of the county all working toward serving our
residents as thoroughly and as economically as possible, we cannot forget the county
Department for Youth working with the state Office of Children and Family Services to put in
place the Quality Youth Development System to gauge performance and effectiveness of
allocated funds. Along with firmer fiscal accountability, it also encourages the use of youth
development principles that help them achieve the assets and skills that support a positive
transition to self-sufficiency. This is certainly a wise investment in our future as a solvent
county, not to mention that of our youth.
As our review of some of the inner workings of our departments continues, we next
stop at our Unified Family Services Department for the Aging, where among other items of
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interest, we note that working toward keeping our 31,000 county seniors in their homes as long
as possible is a key goal. To this end, and at least partially offsetting the costs of mandatedriven property taxes in the process, our delivery of home meals in 2015 was up about 13%
over the previous year. When we combine this with the increase of 15% of meals served over
the same time period at our senior centers, we get a fairly accurate barometer of where our
economy really stands, and the subsequent accompanying increased pressure on local services
during these times of greater need.
Showing that cooperation with other municipalities is alive and well, as we review our
Highway Department and Department of Engineering, we note that much assistance was given
to local municipalities in maintaining town owned roads and structures, which has been our
continuing custom. Oftentimes collaboration on projects where equipment and manpower
resources were shared to provide more economically efficient local services to the local
taxpayer occurred, an excellent example of the sharing of services.
Work continues on our public safety capital project which also demonstrates our sharing
of services. Financed through state grants we successfully competed for and our own bonding,
our 911 communications system is undergoing a massive upgrade, making it better and more
efficient. Among numerous improvements, generally speaking, this will allow police, fire and
emergency agencies to speak to each other on the same system during the times of
emergencies. Additionally, the new communication system will have the ability to interconnect
between Rensselaer, Albany and Saratoga counties and will accommodate next generation 911
including texting and the transmission of videos. This is a positive step toward protecting and
aiding our residents, and is another fine example of working with other counties and their
respective agencies in a common purpose, and constitutes a win-win, both in safety and
equipment cost savings due to consolidation.
Additionally, when we talk safety, we should note that particularly during these volatile
times, we are looking hard at the safety of the public and our employees in county owned
facilities and will soon unveil conclusive actions, to supplement those measures currently in
place to address this critical issue.
As we discuss the safety of our residents, their health goes hand in glove with this topic,
and I am pleased that our county Department of Health is always on the alert for detecting
disease trends that threaten our residents, and act promptly in their defense. Examples of this
are tick-borne illnesses, which dramatically increased in 2015. The Health Department
response was to immediately intensify their efforts in continuing to educate the public and
medical providers regarding tick-borne illnesses which, by their action, no doubt has been
instrumental in earlier detection. It should also be noted that with the West Africa outbreak of
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Ebola last year as well as the Zika virus in Central and South America more recently, we became
immediately involved in similar disease activities.
Our Health Department and County Attorney’s Office have also been working with the
Towns of Nassau, Schodack and Stephentown as well as the Berkshire Planning Commission in
Massachusetts with regard to the proposed Northeast Direct (NED) pipeline. We have shared
our extensive list of environmental, health and safety concerns with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC), the sole entity responsible for approving or disapproving this
pipeline. We have also applied for and received intervenor status before FERC, so that we can
continue to be the voice for our residents and businesses that could be negatively impacted by
the construction and operation of the pipeline and associated compressor station.
We also continue working with our communities as other health issues arise. A
particularly relevant recent example occurred as a result of a resident finding PFOA in the
Hoosick Falls water supply in August of 2014. As many of you are aware, our Health
Department assisted the village of Hoosick Falls in gathering information about this chemical
compound from state and federal sources, reviewing information the Village was using to alert
the public and helping to identify a course of action for getting it out of the public water supply
with a new filtration system. We are grateful that the state and federal government are now
fully involved in the situation and as a result of their initiatives health studies are underway,
alternative water sources are being considered and individual filtration systems are being
installed in homes with private wells. Most importantly, the people in Hoosick Falls and the
Town of Hoosick are taking comfort that this problem will be thoroughly addressed.
Unfortunately this same contaminant has also been found in the water supply in
Petersburgh and we are now involved in testing water from private wells in the area
surrounding the suspected source of the pollution and have delivered bottled water donated by
Hannaford to the residents of the town who have been advised not to drink the water or use it
for cooking. We continue to be available to assist the towns, village, state and federal
governments in any way possible to assure the impacted residents and businesses that due
diligence is being brought to bear to resolve these drinking water problems.
Another health problem, as most of us realize is the proliferation of drug usage and
what it is doing to ruin the lives of so many of our residents. To counter this problem, Sheriff
Pat Russo and myself, with our county Mental Health Department, the Hudson-Mohawk
Recovery Center and Alkermes, Inc. have announced a program last month, to help break the
cycle of drug addiction, by having jail inmates voluntarily sign up to receive education,
counseling, and access to Vivitrol, a non-addictive medication taken after one “de-toxes”, that
blocks the ability to feel the high associated with alcohol or opiate use. This will be
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administered shortly before release and will be continued in the community with drug
counseling.
As we mention the potential harm associated with drugs, I am as aware as you are
about the use of heroin by people, primarily young people, in our communities. To this end, we
will hold a community conversation about the problem of opiates and establish a countywide
coalition to address this from educational, preventive, treatment and law enforcement
perspectives. Already our Health Department has been providing trainings in partnership with
Catholic Charities on opiod overdose prevention using the lifesaving drug Narcan and
anticipates doing even more this year as more groups become aware of how heroin use is
affecting us all. This is a community problem that no one can turn their back on, and my county
departments have already pledged their continued full participation.
Also in the area of criminal justice, our Public Defender and Conflict Defender offices
continue to work with the state’s Office of Indigent Legal Services to improve our
representation for those who are unable to pay for their own defense. Having been successful
at applying for state grants to cover the entire cost, we are now providing counsel at first
appearance and we have been able to reduce our attorney caseloads.
When it comes to keeping the county’s fiscal head above water allowing us to deliver
our local services, no one believes for one second that county departmental savings alone will
singlehandedly offset the state demands for ninety cents of every one of our local tax dollars.
Our three prong attack to control and protect our local service delivery is number one in
continuing to try and make the state see that although we are appreciative of our local state
delegations’ work to deliver some mandate relief, it is really just the start for what is needed.
What we really need is a change in philosophy in Albany, from the current philosophy of the
liberal spending of other people’s money, with no direct accountability. The second prong is to
continue to find ways for us as a county to save operational dollars to assure that despite the
state’s healthy appetite, our living frugally, will still afford us the ability to maintain our local
services in an effective manner.
The third prong of attack on keeping taxes lower in the county comes from broadening
our tax base through economic development, and with this mission in mind the county’s IDA
reports that they continue to work for a predictable and stable business environment, with
more than enough room for the expansion of existing businesses and the introduction of new
ones. This in turn will bring more people to our county to live, work, shop, and pay their taxes,
with the effect of taking some of the pressure off our core of residents who we depend on to
continue to fuel our economy. This has been a refrain that I have sung since I took office, and
see no reason to stop now as we continue to fight the noble fight.
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To this end, there certainly has been progress. All totaled the IDA has induced or closed
nearly $350 million worth of projects while creating and/or retaining close to 350 new jobs in
2015, bringing the total over the past ten year period to inducing or closing over $3.6 billion in
projects while creating well over 4,000 jobs.
Among the highlights, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was able to commit to an additional
$100 million investment into their East Greenbush campus this past year. Combined with
2012’s $80 million and over 300 new jobs, Regeneron’s total investment in our county over the
last few years has exceeded $180 million and their employment exceeding 1,000, with more
advances expected as we head into 2016. Other business concerns as well, like Federal Express,
General Electric’s Healthcare digital x-ray imagining facility, to name a few, continue to
generate significant economic benefit to surrounding communities.
Additionally looking down the road, by the end of 2015, the IDA had conversations with
over 30 companies attracted to our area by the strength of our region’s interest and investment
in the nanotechnology, semiconductor, robotics, IT and pharmaceutical industries. This
strength stems in large part from the dedicated efforts of the institutions of higher education in
our region including our own Hudson Valley Community College.
As well, under a Connect Broadband grant, our contractor has at the time of this
address, completed over one third of the infrastructure designed to deliver Internet access to
unserved and underserved areas of Rensselaer as well as Washington counties, areas such as
those found in the cities of Rensselaer and Troy as well as North Greenbush, East Greenbush,
Schaghticoke, Grafton, Brunswick, Poestenkill, Pittstown and Hoosick. Additionally, it is of
special interest to note that our contractor has partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension
under this grant to help promote digital literacy and broadband adoption. The community at
large and businesses specifically will be given the opportunity for free training by a fulltime
digital resource educator. This is a boost for residential convenience and meaningful,
community-sensitive industrial development.
In the area of block grants, the county in partnership with Rensselaer County Housing
Resources, continued administering the county’s eighth round of homeownership grant
funding, totaling some $300,000, in 2015, with 15 low-to-moderate income families expected
to be assisted with down payment and closing cost assistance in various communities across
the county.
And as we talk about community, we cannot forget the bedrock of our economy,
agriculture, as we work with the Agricultural Stewardship Association to protect farmland
through the purchase of development rights program (PDR). From sponsoring a farm transfer
and estate planning workshop in Schaghticoke, as well as coordinating PDR informational
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workshops in Hoosick and Brunswick, preparing applications for submission as Hudson Valley
Agricultural Enhancement proposals, to initiating a new round of PDR pre-applications, and
consulting and guiding the composition of these applications, we have been there working hard
to enhance our farmland protection efforts.
In summary, there is no single magic rifle shot to guarantee a solid local economy. We
must continue to spread our efforts to take advantage of the numerous attributes and diversity
that our county offers.
CONCLUSION
There is little if any doubt in our minds that Rensselaer County must stay on course by
continuing to cut local spending, and concentrate on developing our economy, with an eye
toward broadening our tax base. As well, we must continue to urge our state delegation to
investigate ways to further curb potential mandated programs before they are handed down to
the county. As I have stated, we are pleased at the incidents of relief that have been initiated,
but hope for a solid across the board philosophy for economic discipline to proliferate at the
state level of government, where ramifications of mandated programs are taken into local
taxpayer account. There must be knowledge implanted that only so much can be paid to the
state by our local taxpayers, and that there must be a realization that as tempting as it is to
spend other people’s money with no direct accountability for the costs involved, for the good of
our residents there must be measures of cost containment on the state level.
These containments should be similar to what we have been doing for years on the
county level. New York State must institute programs of austerity that present solid reform,
rather than attempting to deflect criticism by calling on the counties of New York to curb their
spending which many have already been doing for years. Admittedly, the state has a more
formidable public relations factory, and can no doubt get away with accusing the counties of
having their own private piggy bank to raid. However; to anyone who knows the realities as to
what is really going on, the only question the state can reasonably ask is “what is being done
with the ten cents of every dollar the county has after the state gets done raiding the piggy
bank for their mandated programs?” Believe me, counties are already hard pressed to fund
local programs such as road patrol and maintenance as well as senior and veteran programs
with that one thin dime, not to mention the operation of county departments, some brief
examples having been outlined in this message.
In the meantime, as a county, we have many positives to be justifiably proud of and plan
for the future with a certain amount of duty, challenge and excitement.
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As we expand the triage capabilities of our Human Services Cabinet, I see more and
more people being helped in a targeted manner that not only curbs costs, but is more effective
and helpful to those people. Likewise, I see community conversations about the problem of
opiates being a positive step in public realization. No longer can we stick our heads in the sand,
but must find ways to combat this potential killer of our young people and if not checked, our
communities.
The previously mentioned energy conservation and alternate energy programs dealing
with solar and hydro power for county owned facilities is not only a money saver, but also sets
the tone for our community’s conservation efforts, and I am excited about this challenge as we
enter a crucial era of less energy expended for the sake of future generations.
And of course as mentioned our continued campaign to bring new business to our
county as well as the expansion of existing enterprises, is a key factor in our development.
All in all, we have our challenges and I am convinced that we have the ability to not only
answer them, but to better our county in the process.
Our county spirit and cooperative nature will see us through, led by our residents who
care about the future. As we look back over 225 years of history for this great County of
Rensselaer, we have much to commemorate and much to celebrate because of the traditions of
hard work and caring exhibited by those who came before us and those who continue these
traditions today!
Thank you.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As County Executive, I wish to thank all of my department heads, our employees and my
Deputy County Executive Chris Meyer for jobs well done.
As well, my valuable partners in the County Legislature have helped immeasurably in
keeping our county sensitive to the needs of the residents of our great county. We have not
only held the line on the expenses of county programs, but have kept the quality of services
alive and flowing to the residents of the county. You have dedicated yourselves to keeping
Rensselaer County an ideal place to live, work and raise a family both now and in the future.
To the department heads; you are to be congratulated for jobs well done. You all strive
on a daily basis to act responsibly by putting the county first, and for that I am extremely
grateful.
Aging, Carol Rozbosom; Auditor, Lori Ruffinen; Board of Elections, Larry Bugbee and Ed
McDonough; Budget, Stacey Farrar; Buildings, Tom Biette; Central Services, Charles Wojton;
Conflict Defender, Sandra McCarthy; County Attorney, Stephen Pechenik; County Clerk, Frank
Merola; Cooperative Extension, Bernadine Wiesen; District Attorney, Joel Abelove; Economic
Development and Planning, Robert Pasinella; Employment and Training, Mary Anne Gronau;
Environmental Management, Ann Shaughnessy; Finance, Michael Slawson; Highway, Wayne
Bonesteel; Human Resources, Tom Hendry; Mental Health, Katherine Alonge-Coons;
Probation, Laura Bauer; Public Defender, John Turi; Public Health, Maryfran Wachunas; Public
Information and Operations, Chris Meyer; Public Safety, Kelly Paslow; Sewer District, Gerry
Moscinski; Sheriff, Pat Russo; Research and Information Services, Vincent Ruggiero; Social
Services, Randy Hall; Stop DWI, James Gordon; Tax Services, William Film; Van Rensselaer
Manor, Doug Cosey; Veterans, Peter Goebel; Youth, Pierce Hoyt.
Once again, no acknowledgement would be complete without mentioning all of the
residents of Rensselaer County. Thank you for placing your trust in us to represent you and
your interests.
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