Archive for category: County Executive

 

In accordance with Public Law 103-308 President Biden issued a proclamation for the American flag to be flown at half-staff on Wednesday, December 7 in honor of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The official proclamation is posted at:

Presidential Proclamation

 

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked our forces at Pearl Harbor and other locations in Hawaii, taking the lives of 2,403 service members and civilians and leading the United States to declare its entrance into World War II. It was a day that still lives in infamy 81 years later.

 

Each year we honor and remember the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  That day changed the course of American and world history.  Pearl Harbor touched many lives, both military and civilian. Although decades have passed since that ill-fated day in December of 1941, it remains as important today as it was over 81 years ago. May God bless our Pearl Harbor survivors, our World War II Veterans and the ‘Greatest Generation.’

 

 

 

 

While the ten-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy brought back painful memories of devastation, it also provided an opportunity to look at all that Putnam County officials and emergency responders have learned in the past decade about keeping the community safe in a disaster, Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell said.

Fourteen monster storms – hurricanes, tropical storms, winter storms and tornadoes — have struck Putnam since Superstorm Sandy tore through the county in October 2012.  These storms brought power outages, road closures and threats to our residents’ safety and property.

“We certainly had a lot of disaster preparedness practice, and with every storm we learned invaluable lessons,” County Executive Odell said. “We managed to keep Putnam residents safe thanks to the county’s Incident Command Team and the fast work of the County Highway Department working with the town highway departments, the local police departments, fire departments and ambulance companies. Different agencies throughout the county and municipalities worked seamlessly together. It was very impressive to watch, and I am so proud of all the county employees and all of our partners in the municipalities who repeatedly performed heroic work for the people of Putnam County.”

County Executive Odell also extended thanks to NYSEG and Central Hudson Gas & Electric for being good partners with the county. In fact, NYSEG has used Putnam County’s storm response model for the rest of the region.

“The lights didn’t always go back on as fast as everyone hoped, but the utilities that serve Putnam County always worked round the clock to get power back as fast as possible,” Odell said.

When power couldn’t be restored quickly, community organizations like the Knights of Columbus, the ELKS Club, the public libraries and more stepped up to help. They set up warming centers and offered charging stations to help those without heat or electricity.

There was a lesson to be learned in every storm. It turned out that the mobilization and coordination between our Health Department and all the municipalities and school districts created a model of cooperation that helped us in ways we could not have anticipated. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the crisis response we developed enabled us to quickly respond countywide with information, data, public testing sites and vaccination sites once the vaccines were available.

“While the pandemic was a completely different kind of emergency, all of these storms helped us develop a system that allowed our first responders, Department of Health and emergency service providers to efficiently set up mass Covid testing and vaccination centers for our residents,” County Executive Odell said. “I have been proud to serve as the Incident Commander for our county who always was ready to rescue and always ready to respond to whatever came our way. I wish all our volunteers safe and healthy times ahead, and I know that as I leave the County Executive’s Office, I leave a county ready to take on anything.

Storms that Impacted Putnam County:

• Superstorm Sandy – 10/28-29/2012
• Tropical Storm Andrea – 6/7-8/2013
• Tropical Storm Bill – June 21-22, 2015
• Winter Storm Jonas – January 20-22, 2016
• Tropical Storm Bonnie – May 28, 2016
• Tropical Storm Cindy – Jun 19, 2017
• Tropical Storm Jose – 9/19-20/2017
• Tropical Philippe – 10/28-30/2017
• Winter Storm Quinn – 3/2/18
• Winter Storm Riley – 3/7/18
• Tornado – Patterson/Kent – 5/15/18
• Winter Storm Harper 1/19/2019
• Tropical Storm Isaias – 8/4/2020
• Hurricane Henri – August 22, 2021
• Hurricane Ida – September 1, 2021

 

Putnam County Announces No Property Tax Increase

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell proposed a $180 million county budget for 2023 that includes no property tax levy increase, a help to homeowners in this time of high inflation.

The proposed budget, presented to the Legislature Thursday night at the Historic Putnam County Courthouse in Carmel, is within the New York State property tax cap and includes an increase of $11.3 million, or 6.3%, over the 2022 budget. It reflects the conservative spending that has been the hallmark of Odell’s tenure and showcases the county’s very strong fiscal position.

“Tonight, our proposed 2023 Budget carries out our vision of laying the groundwork for a better quality of life for future generations, and its implementation will complete our challenge of fulfilling our fiscal and social responsibilities to our constituents,” said County Executive Odell, who will step down at the end of the year.

Odell began her eleventh and final budget presentation “by thanking all the citizens of Putnam County that have given me the honor and privilege of serving you for the past 3,982 days, and I want to let you know that I will continue to do my very best in performing this job that you have entrusted to me right through my last day of December 31, 2022.”

Odell’s disciplined approach to budgeting has reduced Putnam’s debt level by more than $48 million since she took office and completely eliminated short-term borrowing. It has also increased the county’s general fund balance by nearly $49 million during her tenure. Those measures have allowed the county to maintain its high Aa1 bond rating, a designation few counties statewide ever achieve.

Legislature Chairman Neal Sullivan praised the County Executive’s budget proposal.

“The financial stability of the county has never been better, and we are extremely well positioned to withstand any bumps in the economy that may be ahead,” Legislator Sullivan said. “County Executive Odell has invested in areas that matter to our residents and to the quality of life of Putnam County. She has invested in public safety to make Putnam one of the safest counties in the country. She has invested in infrastructure, education and recreational facilities, including the Tilly Foster Farm and Educational Institute and the Putnam County Golf Course so we can all have fun, and have exciting places to take our families and friends right here in Putnam County.”

The 2023 budget proposal anticipates $74.7 million in sales tax revenue, or 42 percent of the budget.

“In March, we presented a sales tax revenue sharing proposal called ‘share the growth’ that we hope will continue the intermunicipal partnership between the County and local municipalities to get vital infrastructure projects done,” Odell told the Legislature and the audience that came out to hear her budget final address. “Recall that earlier this year we proposed, and the Legislature approved, $10 million in combined sales tax and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to spearhead this initiative. Based on current trends, it appears that this initiative can continue in 2023, but it will be up to the future Administration and Legislature to implement it.”

The proposed budget also provides a 3.5 percent cost-of-living increase to employees in its largest union – the CSEA – and in funding to the outside agencies that contribute to the high quality of life in Putnam County – the libraries, the Putnam Arts Council, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Putnam Humane Society and SPCA.

If the proposed budget is approved by the Legislature, it will include almost $46.7 million in real property taxes, the same amount as in 2022. The average county homeowner whose property is assessed at $400,859 will pay $1,250 in county property taxes. The property tax rate per $ 1,000 of assessed value will be $3.12, the lowest county property tax rate since 2009.

The Legislature is expected to vote on a final 2023 budget by November.

As always, County Executive Odell thanked all those who support Putnam County.

At the start of the meeting, green lightbulbs were handed out to the audience without explanation. In her address, Odell noted that the Courthouse will be lit in green for Veterans Day and thanked Guardian Revival, a nonprofit that helps support the mental health and well-being of veterans and first responders, for donating the green lightbulbs.

She thanked the county employees and all of those in her administration who work hard for the people of Putnam every day. But it was her thank you to the county finance director that drew a standing ovation.

“I’d like to recognize that this is the final budget not only for myself but for our esteemed Commissioner of Finance William “Bill” Carlin,” Odell said. “Anyone and everyone who has had the pleasure of calling Bill a colleague, has also had the pleasure of calling him a friend. Putnam County will never know how much dedication and brilliance that Bill has, in his career, brought to us.

“In March 2020 when the state and Putnam County shut down from Covid, we were devasted by the unknown. Bill with his insight kept us not even just above water, but better than that. There is no person that I can say cared more about the fiscal stability and the impact it would have on all of the families in our county than Bill Carlin. I am eternally grateful to you Bill, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve beside you for the good of the people of Putnam County.”

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell joins Veterans Service Agency Director Karl Rohde in urging schools and families to take advantage of an event that will give local meaning to national history and bring students to see the Traveling Vietnam Wall when it visits Carmel this month.

The Traveling Vietnam Wall will be on display at the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park from noon on September 22^nd until 3:00 PM on September 25^th and will be open for visits 24 hours a day.

“This is a great educational opportunity,” County Executive Odell said. “Not only can students see a version of the Vietnam Wall without having to go to D.C., but they will have the chance to meet with local veterans from Putnam County who may have served in the war. It’s a good example to show the students how national history is also local history.”

The Traveling Wall is an 80 percent scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. This visit will include The American Traveling Tribute, a display that features every war America has been involved in from the Revolutionary War right up to today, and a half-size replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This event is a collaboration between the Putnam County Veterans Service Agency and the Putnam County Joint Veterans Council (PCJVC). The PCJVC is a local non-profit Veterans Service Organization.

“We believe that this is an excellent educational and community service opportunity,” Rohde wrote in a letter to school officials throughout the region. “We know it’s early in the school year, but It is our hope that you can present the students at your school with this gift.”

A motorcycle convoy will meet at the rest area on northbound I-684 in Southeast at 3 p.m. on Wednesday Sept. 21 and escort The Traveling Wall to the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park.  Motorcycle riders are encouraged to join.

Buses will be available to transport visitors round trip from Putnam Plaza and the Putnam County Office Building to the park to see the wall.   The buses will run from the Tops Store at Putnam Plaza every hour on the hour from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 22-24. They will stop at the county office building 10 minutes after the hour.  Please see the below Traveling Wall Public Transportation schedule for details.

The closing ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Sunday, September 25, which is Gold Star Mother’s Day, and will feature a concert by The Hudson Valley Council Band.

Putnam County Veterans Service Agency