Hein: “… things have to change”
STONE RIDGE – Innovation and boldness are not enough, said Ulster County Executive Michael Hein, in his 2016 State of the County address, delivered Tuesday night at SUNY Ulster. He called upon legislators to join him in a revolution of reinventing government entirely, from soup to nuts.
“The system is broken at its core, and taxpayers at every level are at risk,” Hein warned. “The truth is, the system is totally unsustainable, and things have to change,” he said.
To protect the taxpayers, the county executive said he is willing “to put everything on the table.” Hein invited everyone to join him and examine each and every service, to decide who is best equipped to provide it. “We have to disrupt the entire system, because it will collapse if we do not, and the taxpayers will be the ones that suffer. The entire system has to embrace fundamental change,” he said.
Hein noted that the state has proposed a $20 million challenge grant to help municipalities reinvent sustainable government. He said that working together with his colleagues in the legislature can reinvent the entire system.
In an interview afterward, Hein denied that his remarks were specifically referencing ongoing talks between Ulster County and the City of Kingston, over re-negotiation of the sales tax revenue sharing. Kingston stands to potentially lose a significant portion of its revenue stream.
The rest of Hein’s speech, traditionally an annual combination of pep talk and status report, covered highlights from the previous year. Taxes and spending are down, job growth is up, and there are more services than ever before; the state of the county is strong.
Other topics covered were last year’s opening of the Kingston center of SUNY Ulster (KCSU); the new war memorial; the $30 million infrastructure project; rail trail compromise; and various environmental milestones.
Future challenges targeted by the county executive include creation of a long-term solid waste policy; location of the new family court building; and finding a site for the new fire training center. Hein also called for mandating big-chain pharmacies to accommodate drop boxes for old discarded medicine.
Hein also said he wants to fight the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline project, and reign in so-called “bomb trains” carrying crude oil through the region by rail. Smaller “Air B&B” hospitality businesses need regulation, he added.
Another new issue raised concerns the state’s Entertainment Tax Credit, which kicks back 10 percent of post-production tax expenses to film studios. The benefits, designed to help upstate communities, excludes Ulster, something Hein called unfair and absurd. Reform of this exclusion could bring billions to the local economy. Actress and director Mary Stuart Matheson, who lives in the Hudson Valley, was present at the speech to underscore the importance of this issue. She wishes to open a film studio in the area, but investors are frustrated by denial of the tax incentive.
