Day sworn in on New Year’s Day
POMONA – Rockland County Executive Edwin Day took the oath of office on Monday for his second four-year term” saying the county was in “full blown crisis on numerous fronts” when he was first elected.
“We had a $138 million deficit, we were the most fiscally stressed county in New York.” Day told the attendees at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona. “Our bonds were near junk and people were reeling from years of double-digit tax increases fueled by an endless tax-and-spend cycle.”
He said in four years, the city’s deficit has been eliminated, spending has been cut, taxes have stayed within the state property tax cap, the county’s bonds have been upgraded five times and are in the A range.
Just as important, Day said the county’s economy is “booming,” unemployment is at record lows and new businesses have added more than $5 billion in new ratable over the past three years.
Day promised to strengthen government accountability and combat corruption with a newly established county auditor and he had a warning for “greedy developers and slumlords… We will not let you victimize those unable to defend themselves or risk the lives of our volunteer firefighters or destroy this county that we cherish.”
