KINGSTON – As Patrick Ryan was seeking the office of Ulster County executive, he spoke to government, community and business leaders about how to bolster economic development.
“They really wanted to see a new direction of how we are doing community development,” he said.
So Thursday, Ryan took action by creating a department of economic development, elevating it from an office in the planning department.
“We, as an executive branch and a legislative branch are aligned and working together to take our economic development efforts to the next level,” he said.
Ryan said the county will take a broadened approach to economic development by including more than just job creation. Job creation is a priority, but so is how workers and their families can afford to live in the county.
“When we think traditionally about economic development, we think about the number of jobs, how has the number of jobs grown, what does unemployment look like,” he said. “We really have to broaden what we mean as economic development.”
Ryan created the county’s first ever department of economic development, and bipartisan support in the legislature accompanies this action.
“This an optimistic new day for the economic future of Ulster County,” said Legislator Brian Woltman, a Kingston Republican. “Our new department of economic development will support economic growth, attract business, facilitate increased private investment and development here in Ulster County.”
Woltman may be excited about how business and investment can benefit, but lawmaker Lynn Archer, a Town of Rochester Democrat, is also happy about the possible impacts for workers and their families.
“The most important thing is workforce development, ensuring we have people ready to take on the new jobs and that we are providing jobs that are family sustainable wages,” said Archer. “And I think that is really important.”
