Rensselaer County Ready to Build on Job Creation and Financial Success in 2020
Greetings to friends and neighbors in Eastern and Central Rensselaer County. This column is presented to give residents up to date information and a better understanding of issues being dealt with in county government.
Thanks to the Eastwick Press for giving me the opportunity to provide this column and for their work in reporting on news on the county and community level. The work done by the Eastwick Press is important and we look forward to many more years of your work and reporting.
The big news in county government is the adoption of a budget for 2020 that reduces the county tax rate by 3.6 percent. The budget is the second consecutive budget to reduce taxes and is also the second consecutive budget to be approved unanimously by county legislators.
Along with the tax rate reduction, the budget improves important services. Last year, the county paved 34 miles of roads. This year we plan on paving about 38 miles of roads, the most done in more than two decades. Maintenance and paving of county roads were priorities for legislators who supported expanding funds for roadwork in the 2020 budget.
The budget will also maintain the county’s solid bond rating, which is now at an historic level for the county and help encourage more job growth and creation. The county is seeing the creation of thousands of new jobs, including at projects like Amazon and Regeneron, and seeing very strong returns on sales tax revenues.
The county is readying to construct a new emergency training tower in 2020, with demolition set to begin in winter. The tower is located in Wynantskill on county property just off State Route 150. The new training tower has been needed for about a decade, and once reopened, will ensure adequate training for new generations of emergency service responders.
Also, the budget will continue our efforts to keep residents informed. A long-needed project to update the county website will take place in 2020. The new website will be a companion to the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the county I started when taking office in 2018. We appreciate the many residents who visit these pages and provide input and comments on important county issues.
Thanks for reading. If you have questions, or would like to get in contact with us, you can call the County Executive’s office at 518-270-2900, or visit the county website at www.rensco.com, where there are links for questions and contacts. Best wishes to all for a happy, safe and prosperous New Year!
Editor’s Note: The County Executive has asked for this space for a monthly column directed at the residents of the eastern and central portions of the County and The Eastwick Press is happy to provide it.