Steinhaus:  "balancing anxious thoughts with confidence ..."

POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus addressed the state of the county Wednesday evening in front of 300 businesspeople at a Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce dinner meeting in Poughkeepsie.

During his presentation, the county executive spoke of “balancing anxious thoughts with confidence in the future” in order to achieve a brighter economic future despite the tough times that are ahead.

According to Steinhaus, one of the key problems that is hurting Dutchess County is a decrease in the tax base and sales tax revenue which translates  into less money to pay for services offered by the county.

“We’re challenged by everybody to meet their expectations but yet our financial resources are declining,” he said. “We’re trying to be as innovative as we can, be as creative as we can, and work with technology to increase our efficiency.”

Steinhaus emphasized a need to be proactive towards economic development and job creation. “Dutchess County still has a solid core foundation of business infrastructure,” Steinhaus said adding that despite job shrinkage, struggling local small businesses, and increased global competition. “We think our diversification strategy and our strategies to both work with recruitment for new companies coupled with retention and expansion, those are the right strategies.”

“We know there’s tough times,” said Steinhaus regarding this upcoming year. “We understand what families are going through and businesses are struggling with, but we’re optimistic and we’re hopeful.”