Top officials from several Hudson Valley and Catskill conties covered a wide range of issues

POUGHKEEPSIE – Taxes, mandates, and economic development crossed municipal boundaries Monday morning as top officials from all area counties came together for the annual Pattern for Progress President’s Day breakfast in Poughkeepsie.

In Dutchess County in 2009, foreclosures were up 35 percent compared to 2007, and the tax base, ratables have declined $1.6 billion for the second consecutive year, said County Executive William Steinhaus.

Putnam County Executive Robert Bondi  expressed his concern for the 10 percent decline in sales tax revenue seen in the county over the last year and the deficit that will come as a result before moving on to the MTA tax.

“One of the concerns that affects my neighbor to the North, Bill Steinhaus, and our county in Putnam to the south is the lack of infrastructure that MTA has in our communities.”

Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef said that what makes managing the budget at the county level such a daunting task are the mandates being handed down from state level government.

“It just drives us crazy when we make decisions at the local level and the state people can’t get out of their way.”

Ulster County Executive Michael Hein spoke highly of shared services agreements between municipalities that have already proven effective in Ulster County as well as the creation of banking consortiums to provide loans and lines of credit to local small businesses without the use of taxpayer dollars.

Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Jonathan Rouis told the more than 380 people in attendance that Sullivan County is doing everything it can to reduce costs and implement fiscally sustainable practices. “We must continue to review our operational structures and identify areas where we can combine our efforts and improve our efficiencies.”

While speaking on behalf of Orange County Executive Ed Diana his Chief of Staff James O’Donnell explained that Orange County is sharing its neighbors’ pain with a 5% decline and an $8 million dollar loss in sales taxes and an $11 million dollar loss on property taxes.  

Westchester County finds itself in the same boat with its loss of revenue as it tries to avoid a $60 million dollar budget deficit come 2011, said Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett, but is also under consent order from a federal court to deliver at least 750 units of fair and affordable housing in 31 of its communities within the next seven years. He said that although this consent order was given as a punitive action it may actually turn out to be an advantage in the long run.

The general consensus was that the Hudson Valley needs to work together to promote economic development on a regional scale. The panel had made it clear that job growth and retention is crucial not only to the state but specifically the Hudson Valley. They agreed that unnecessarily taxing businesses is the wrong thing to do and what is essential is getting small businesses through the credit crunch that is preventing them from thriving.

According to Pattern for Progress President Jonathan Drapkin, “For the Hudson Valley to survive and prosper in the next decade it will require building bridges across county lines, across town lines, across village lines, from the business community to the environmental community, and unions must be a part of this to decide how they will be able to go forward.” Drapkin stated that it is the development of this kind of trust and cooperation that is essential to lifting the burden of the economic crisis.