The Next Four Years

On January 3, 2022, it was my honor and privilege to take the sacred oath of office to serve as your Rockland County Executive for the third time. I am overwhelmed by the faith and trust placed in me by the 73% of Rockland voters who cast their ballots for me on Election Day, thank you! We have shared in some incredible successes over my last two terms in office:

Righting the Fiscal Ship – Rockland was the most fiscally stressed county in New York State and faced a $138 million dollar deficit in 2014.

Through conservative budgeting and with a strong focus on economic growth we have completely reversed our fortunes. Today, we have a multi-million-dollar surplus, and we are working to rebuild County government to prepare for future challenges. We will continue to improve government finances because it is YOUR money, and we will not stop working to protect it while investing in a bright and sustainable future. And we are doing it without the double-digit property tax increases of the past and in fact there was zero property tax increase for 2022.

Revitalizing Rockland’s Economy – Responsible and sustainable development has resulted in over $8 billion in ratables added back to the property tax rolls.

While we’ve attracted many new jobs to Rockland, we are equally focused on helping our residents to take advantage of these opportunities. The strategic partnerships we have created between government, local colleges and the private sector are one of the keys to our success. These partnerships ensure that our residents have access to training programs that link directly to the good paying jobs in the sectors where we are seeing the most local growth like advanced manufacturing, healthcare, biomed and tourism.

Preserving Rockland’s Future – The Rockland Codes Initiative (RCI) has successfully fought illegal housing and fire safety issues while the County is once again investing in green spaces and programs.

In the six years since launching this program (RCI) we have received more than 7,400 complaints and issued more than $2 million in fines for violations of the Rockland County Sanitary Code. We have turned slumlords into real landlords so the folks living here are safer as are our volunteer firefighters who so often are called upon to respond. We have transitioned to green electricity, utilizing 100% US generated wind power while saving taxpayer dollars. We’re protecting green spaces by investing $10 million to preserve open space around our County and will continue to look for ways to protect our natural environment.

All of these successes of the last eight years are due to the hard work of government employees and the support of the County Legislature. But our work is not yet finished. Over the next four years, we will be focusing on:

• Continuing the modernization of County facilities
• Expanding focus on community health and mental health
• Utilizing American Rescue Plan Act funds to support residents and businesses

I appreciate you allowing me to continue the job I started, the renaissance of Rockland County. I first got involved locally as a civic association president because I wanted to improve my community and make Rockland a place where our young people want to stay and a place where they can afford to. Now we are finally fiscally healthy but know that we will not engage in expedient short cuts. I will not kick the can of necessary improvements down the road to future generations.

Whatever needs to be done we will do and keep that off the backs of our children and grandchildren. We will continue down the path we have forged together. The path of fiscal responsibility, responsible economic growth and protection of our precious resources and natural environment. While we are not near the finish line yet, I have no doubt that we will cross it together.