Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano, left,
a Democrat,
and Republican Neuhaus sign a
commitment to extend the Heritage Trail
north to Middletown
GOSHEN – The general consensus among elected Orange County officials is that Republican County Executive Steven Neuhaus is doing a good job with county government. He delivered his third state of the county address with an upbeat message Tuesday night in Goshen.
“Orange County is moving forward in a positive way,” said GOP County Legislature Chairman Stephen Brescia. “Spending is down, the economy is robust and our budget is on the right track. These are signs of a well-run government.”
“The county executive conveyed an optimistic message,” said Democratic Legislator Jeffrey Berkman. “I was pleased that Mr. Neuhaus announced his commitment to live up to promises made to continue the Heritage Trail into Middletown and beyond.”
Another Democrat, Roseann Sullivan, has often been critical of the administration, but not after the Neuhaus address.
“It was a good, positive speech on the county executive’s part and I am sure he couldn’t have done any of it without the partnership of the Orange County Legislature. I am very proud of many of the things he pointed out,” Sullivan said.
Republican Legislator Michael Anagnostakis, a fiscal watchdog, is pleased with the direction in which the county is headed.
“It’s amazing when you do things the right way, when you try to run things the right way, the kind of results you can get, and we saw it here today” Anagnostakis said. “The economy is turned around, property values are going up, sales tax, operations are being run right way, so we have cut costs. It’s all heading in the right direction now.”
Port Jervis Mayor Kelly Decker, a Democrat, was also satisfied with what he heard.
“The county is moving in a positive direction and it’s only going to be a trickledown effect coming into the city that is going to feel those benefits,” Decker said.
Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano, another Democrat, said he was pleased that Neuhaus kept to his commitment to fund the extension of the Heritage Trail north to Middletown and take it one step further, south to Harriman.
