Hein: “Socially responsible”
KINGSTON – Saying his proposed 2019 budget lowers county property
taxes for the seventh year in a row, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein,
Thursday, took the wraps off his $328.8 million spending plan.
Hein has built into the budget a plan to provide the same level of healthcare
insurance coverage to the county’s 1,300 employees and their families,
but at a lower cost.
He has developed a partnership with Ellenville Regional Hospital to provide
faster response and care for opioid overdose victims.
In an effort to stem the tide of generational poverty, Hein noted he introduced
his Brighter Future Initiative just days ago.
The county’s new restorative justice and community empowerment center,
which he proposed last year, will be up and running within the next few
months, he said.
Hein expects to merge Kingston bus service with the
county’s by next July
The merger of the City of Kingston’s bus service with Ulster County
Area Transit is targeted for next July 1, Hein announced and it will include
free service for Kingston residents within the city during the transition
period; free service for SUNY Ulster students to anywhere in the county;
and free service to all active duty and veterans of the US armed forces
to anywhere in Ulster County.
The spending plan also includes $1.88 million from the New York City Department
of Environmental Protection to improve parking for the Ashokan trails.
With Ulster fast becoming a Mecca for the arts, Hein said he would double
the county’s arts funding allocation and he proposed a new Creative
Economy Division in the Department of Economic Development.
