Once again in this race for county executive, my opponent is making accusations that are based on opinions—not facts. Her statements even contradict her own actions.
Approval Process for the Northeast Logistics Center
- The Northeast Logistics Center proposal is not a county project.
- Neither Putnam County Government, as an entity, nor I, as County Executive, have any jurisdiction with the project.
- The private developer is seeking approval from the Town of Southeast to build the facility on Pugsley Road.
- The private developer also needs approval from the NYS Department of Transportation for changes to Route 312 and I-84, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation for the environmental impacts.
- The proposed five-acre land donation would be for the Center for Discovery Autism Center to provide essential services for child and adults with special needs, should they wish to partner with Putnam County.
Titan Concrete
- My opponent claims to care about the effects of noise, traffic, and air pollution on residents, but the Town of Kent, for which she is the town supervisor, allows Titan Concrete to operate a concrete-mixing plant which abuts residential homes on Minello Drive and is directly across from residential homes in the Hill and Dale Community.
- The Hill and Dale Property Owners Corp. are suing the Town of Kent because of Titan Concrete.
- The concrete plant emits carcinogenic materials into the air and ground water through its manufacturing process and the cleaning of the trucks.
- Titian Concrete’s cement-mixer trucks increase traffic on Route 52, damage our roadways and expel fumes into a residential community.
- The manufacturing process and the constant truck traffic cause noise pollution and disrupt the home life of families living on Minello Drive.
My opponent’s actions do not correlate with her statement, “A family’s home is often their single largest investment, and their most valuable asset.”
I have been a Putnam County resident for over 50 years. I was raised in Putnam County, I raised my children in Putnam County and I continue to live and work in Putnam County. I value our quality of life and understand that it is the reason that so many people have made Putnam County their home.
As County Executive, I have strived to maintain or enhance the quality of life for all our residents.
Quality of Life Projects and Initiatives
- I have secured millions of dollars from NYS for infrastructure projects such as the Morningthorpe Avenue Pedestrian Bridge Project, the Drewville Road Bridge, and the repaving of Route 6 in Carmel
- I have invested in various other roadway projects—including sharing the county’s resources with the Town of Kent to rehabilitate Veterans Memorial Causeway near Gipsy Trail Road.
- Putnam County shares the cost of the SROs (school resource officers) with the school districts to ensure the safety of our children.
- To tackle the opioid crisis, Putnam County is suing Big Pharma for monetary compensation for its fraudulent and negligent practices, which caused immeasurable harm to residents and taxpayers.
- As County Executive, I initiated the funding of Putnam County’s innovative drug treatment court that helps defendants overcome addictions.
- The building of the new Friendship Center of Philipstown and the renovation of the Carmel Friendship Center in Carmel provides seniors access to healthy meals, key resources and socialization.
As County Executive, I understand that property owners deserve to have elected officials who are willing to balance their fiscal accountability to the taxpayers with the social responsibilities to the residents.
Fiscal Responsibility
- Kent is the highest taxed Town in Putnam County—where as Putnam County uses the lowest portion of a tax bill of any County in NYS.
- Putnam County has the lowest portion of a tax bill, at 9%, of any of the 62 counties in NYS. The average county portion is 21.52%. Putnam County averages at 9% and is only 8% of the property tax bill in the Town of Kent. This is based on the budget presentation given by the Town of Kent Director of Finance Yulia Kelly on Nov. 9, 2017.
- Putnam County has maintained its Aa2 Moody’s Bond Rating for 6 years while keeping our budgets under the 2% tax cap.
- Putnam County shares its resources with its local municipalities, including Kent, as well as school districts to reduce redundancies, create efficiencies and lower expenses.
- As the president of the New York Association of Counties, I am fighting to have the 9-1-1 surcharge that is collected by cellphone companies be remitted to the Counties and not to the State, so we can equip our first responders with the interoperability that enhances their safety.
- As County Executive, I promote the development of the Southeast/Danbury and the Carmel/Mahopac Route 6 sewer lines to enhance our commercial corridors, which will increase our rateables and decrease the tax burden of residential property owners.
- Putnam County takes the $3.2 million responsibility of community college chargebacks and $1.9 million for the Board of Elections to meet the requirements of the Help America Vote Act that are mandated for the towns and villages.
- Currently, the County shares services with the local municipalities through the East of Hudson Corporation, with the Sheriff’s Road and Marine Patrols, through the County Clerk’s Records Storage and Management and with inter-municipal agreements with the all the local highway departments and with the Town of Kent for Information Technology services.
I love Putnam County and I am proud of our record. We have worked hard to keep Putnam County’s finances fiscally sound while maintaining our fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers and balancing our social responsibility to the residents. There is more work to be done and I would like to serve you for another four years, so we can continue to move Putnam in a positive focused direction. I appreciate the backing of the Republican, Independence and Conservative parties, which agree that I am the best candidate for Putnam County Executive.