State of County

8/12/2019 State of County

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I am proud to say that coming together with this Legislature, we have changed that

kick the can down the road mindset, making the tough decisions necessary to

restore the fiscal health of the county.

Due to the tough decisions we have made over the past two years to reduce the size

of government, improve efficiency, build partnerships with New York State and

grow our economy, we have seen real improvement in our fiscal health.

When I entered office in 2012, I was told that Suffolk County government had

been cut to the bone. That turned out to be false. Today, there are approximately

1,000 fewer staff on the payroll than when I came into office, a savings of $100

million a year for taxpayers. I want to take a moment to recognize our public

employees for the important work that they do. We have some really talented and

dedicated people working in this government and I am grateful for their service.

While we do not have a hiring freeze, we have very tight position control, which

means that positions are only added to the payroll after we are satisfied that an

analysis has been undertaken about the need for that position. I will come back to

that point in a few minutes.

Last year, we approved a partnership between Southampton Hospital, Hudson

River Healthcare and Stony Brook University Medical Center to shift county

health centers over to a private, Federally Qualified Health Center located on the

grounds of Southampton Hospital. This agreement will save Suffolk County

taxpayers an estimated $3.8 million over five years while expanding health

services for East End residents by including additional dental and mental health

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In particular, I want to thank Legislator Jay Schneiderman who represents those

communities for playing a key role in passing this important agreement that

provides better care at a lower cost for taxpayers.

We ended the 25-year saga of the Foley Nursing Home and secured a $17 million

state grant to pay off the debt on the building saving taxpayers $10 million dollars

a year.

We have negotiated contracts that are fair to current employees and do something

unprecedented make future employees more affordable, both by reducing

salaries and having them pay into health care.

For the first time you now have County employees paying into health care and

since I believe that leadership starts at the top I volunteered to be the first

employee in County history to directly contribute to their health care.

Because I do believe in leading by example, I also began my term in office with a

staff 20% smaller than the prior administration and I voluntarily cut my pay by

$22,000 - 3,000 less than the last County Executive - and I will continue to

voluntarily freeze my pay at that level throughout my term.

We have also seen real growth in the health of our local economy. Suffolks

unemployment rate, which stood at 7.2 percent in December, 2012 dropped to 5.3

percent in December, 2013 and our County created more than 18,000 private sector

jobs in that time.


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WATER QUALITY

There is no greater challenge to our future than the water quality crisis that we

must now begin to confront. Nitrogen poisoning of our surface and ground waters

is the greatest crisis this County has faced in a generation.

Water is at the heart of everything on Long Island. It is critical to our health and

our quality of life. The water that we drink is beneath our feet. The water that

sustains our multi-billion dollar tourism industry and is central to our quality of

life, surrounds us. And in the wake of Sandy, we now know more than ever, that

water can also be a threat to us.

I recently released a report, conducted by our experts in the health department

which demonstrated that we have been polluting this precious resource in a way

that has devastated our surface waters-- our bays and river corridors-- caused

negative trends in the quality of our drinking water and left us more vulnerable to

future storms, like Sandy.

For the health of our region today and for the sake of future generations we must

reverse these trends.

To do this we must understand the source of the problem. The primary cause of

this significant decline in water quality is nitrogen. As I have said repeatedly

around this County, Nitrogen is public water enemy # 1.


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The primary source of nitrogen pollutionroughly 70% - is failing Septic systems

and Cesspools on residential property. The fact is that 3 out of 4 homes in Suffolk

County are unsewered. To put this in context, according to the EPA, the average

in the rest of the country is 1 out of 4 homes are unsewered. We are one, single

County and yet we have more unsewered homes here than the entire State of New

Jersey.

I'll quote Walter Dawydiak, our Acting Director of Environmental Quality here

speaking at a water quality hearing, "we have a million and a half people,

approximately 70%, or roughly a million people, who are not sewered. This is

probably the only place in the world with that large a density in this tight a space

where the waste is going into a sole source aquifer immediately beneath us that

we're drinking, and then Walt added in his usual understated way, And this is a

big concern."

Look, while it is important to note that the water coming out of your faucet is

absolutely safe to drink today, there have been alarming increases in nitrogen

pollution entering our aquifer and our surface waters and this threatens our future.

For years, we have seen the impacts of this increased nitrogen pollution. Harmful

algal blooms, closed beaches, brown tide and the total decimation of an iconic

Long Island industry. Just 30 years ago, more than half the clams eaten in the

United States came from the Great South Bay fueling an industry that employed

more than 6,000 people. And now it is all gone and the cause? Nitrogen

pollution.


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In short, if we can put those 200,000 households into a sewer district or install

another advanced wastewater treatment system, we will have largely solved our

water quality crisis.

The fact that the solution to this issue will run into the billions of dollars and take

years, if not decades to implement, has served as a convenient excuse for

inaction. But, by working together, beginning this year, we can take the first steps

to solve this problem.

The first step is that we must improve coastal resiliency. In the wake of Sandy, we

understand that pollution into the Great South Bay which primarily enters through

river corridors has eroded our coastal defenses and left us more vulnerable to

storms. Rebuilding these coastal defenses, in addition to the important work we

must undertake to secure our barrier islands through the Fire Island to Montauk

Point Reformulation Plan is critical to protecting our communities. And on that

point, let me say to my colleagues at every level of government we must come

together to rebuild the dunes on Fire Island as quickly as possible.

Thanks to scientific research and Governor Cuomos NYS 2100 Commission, we

know that tidal wetlands play a critical role in slowing waves and protecting

communities from storm damage. Yet in the Great South Bay, we have lost most

of our natural defenses and sustained nitrogen pollution means that we are unable

to rebuild them. Studies show that we lost approximately half the wetlands in the

Great South Bay between 1954 and 2001 and conditions have only worsened since

then.


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This year, we will create a roadmap to solve the problem that analyzes on a

household-by-household basis which homes we should sewer, which need

improved single-home systems and which can be part of neighborhood clustered

projects. This analysis will make recommendations based on conditions including,

groundwater and surface water modeling, proximity to existing wastewater

infrastructure, soil conditions, depth to groundwater, and other factors to guide us

as a County in making the best possible investments going forward.

For many homes in less dense areas, the most efficient option will be improved,

single-home wastewater treatment systems. The good news is that there are more

than 17 systems that can cut your households nitrogen pollution by more than half

over a traditional septic system. The bad news is that there are no approved

technologies for advanced single-home systems in Suffolk County. Yet.

That is why this month, I have directed the Suffolk County Department of Health

to give manufacturers throughout the nation the opportunity to demonstrate their

technology in Suffolk Countyat no cost to taxpayersso we can test these

systems in local conditions and approve systems this year.

Why would manufacturers just give us their products? Because with more than

360,000 unsewered homes, Suffolk County represents the largest single market in

the country for improved single-home wastewater treatment systems.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

While we protect our environment we also need to grow our economy

We need to Create sustainable economic growth - and the measure of our success

in this effort will be this - can we Reverse the Brain Drain that has plagued our

region for more than 20 years now. For the past two decades we have been losing

our young people at an ever accelerating pace.

To put this as simply as possible, you cannot build a strong economy with broad

based prosperity if you cannot retain or attract young, high skilled, high knowledge

workers. In today's interconnected global economy where people and businesses

are less attached to specific locations than at any time in human history, the

success of any region will be based on its ability retain and attract young people.

Let me be clear about something, the brain drain represents a failure of government

to do the things necessary to make our region attractive to the young creative class

that is necessary to power an innovation economy.

We must reverse the brain drain.

So how do we do it? The answer is actually pretty simple - we must once again

become THE place that young people want to be, as we were for much of the 20th

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For too long in our region we have assumed that young people and businesses

would always want to be here because of all the incredible assets and natural

beauty that we have in Suffolk County. That despite the problems we have and the

governments failure to remedy them that people and businesses would always

want to be here. Well we now know that this is not the case. As a region we need

to get our act together and make ourselves more competitive in attracting that

young creative class. I want to thank the President and CEO of the Long Island

Association, Kevin Law, who has been a leader in efforts to reverse the brain drain

in our region.

So how do we become that place again? We build upon the assets we have to

deliver the things that young people want and need. I have a plan for that called

Connect LI.

We build quality, affordable rental housing in our downtowns that provides the

housing that young people need in an environment in which they want to live, with

restaurants, entertainment, shopping, parks and jobs all within walking

distance. As an added bonus, building housing in and around our downtowns also

strengthens our small businesses by expanding their natural customer base. That

means more vibrant downtowns, more jobs and a broader tax base that benefits us

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We invest in transportation strengthening the connections between downtowns and

other places that young people need and want to be like job centers, colleges and

universities, research centers, and parks and recreational spaces. The great news is

we have a robust transportation network that already exists in Suffolk County,

three lines of the LIRR that stretch across our County. The bad news is this rail

network moves entirely in an east west direction making it impossible to easily

move around this County without getting into an automobile.

So we need to make north south mass transit connections that will truly link our

downtowns, colleges, research centers and parks. We need to implement Bus

Rapid Transit systems that can easily connect the different branches of the

LIRR. A great example of where we are focused on doing this is Nicolls

Road. At one end of Nicolls Road you have Stony Brook University - an

institution of Global Significance. The LIRR stops at the university - you can link

the LIRR stop and the Stony Brook Campus to the Selden Campus of Suffolk

Community College just to the south on Nicolls Road. Continuing down Nicolls

Road you can then link the Ronkonkoma Hub and Long Island MacArthur

Airport. Now you have the Ronkonkoma and Port Jefferson branches of the LIRR

linked. Continuing south on Nicolls Road you can link up with Patchogue Village

which has been a regional model for downtown and economic revitalization. Now

you have all three branches of the LIRR in Suffolk County linked in a north south

direction. We can make connections like this in other areas of Suffolk County like

the Route 110 Corridor and the Sagtikos Parkway.


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Suffolk County Community College is another crucial component of our Countys

economic development future under the leadership of its innovative President, Dr.

Shaun McKay. Suffolk Community College has partnered with local industry and

offers both degree programs and workforce development and training programs to

meet local business needs. The college is hosting a major International

Badminton Tournament this summer which will draw athletes from around the

world and boost our local economy. We are working with the college in pursuing

opportunities tied to Governor Cuomos transformative StartUp NY program. Dr.

McKay often speaks about educations ability to transform lives. He is proving

that as a partner in our regions growth, the College can help transform our

economy as well.

This year, we will keep the progress going.

We will work with our colleagues in Babylon to complete Phase 1 of Wyandanch

Rising and get Phase 1a and Phase 2 moving.

We will work with our colleagues in Brookhaven to begin work on the

Ronkonkoma Hub.

We will work with our colleagues in Islip to begin work on the Heartland project.

We will advance Bus Rapid Transit systems on the 110 corridor, the Sagtikos

Parkway and Nicolls Road.

We will begin study for a comprehensive East End Transportation Plan.


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We will work with Governor Cuomo to locate NY StartUPs in our downtowns.

And we will advance a Transit Oriented Development near Republic Airport in

anticipation of double track.

We will also continue the progress we are making for some of our most iconic

industries, supporting efforts to enhance Suffolk Countys improved agriculture on

the east end and supporting the right of New York fishermen to catch their fair

share. I joined Governor Cuomo in September in support of his push for increases

in the flounder catch for New York fishermen and we have made major progress.

These industries are not only important and vibrant sectors to our economy, but as

someone like Legislator Krupski knows these industries are part of our

heritage. Al knows because he is a 4thgeneration family farmer and the first

farmer to serve on the Suffolk County Legislature.

I want to thank Deputy County Executive for Economic Development Joanne

Minieri and IDA Executive Director Anthony Manetta for their partnership on

reforming the IDA and implementing a comprehensive economic development

agenda for our County. In the two years prior to their arrival, the IDA closed on 5

projects, in the past year the IDA has closed on 24 projects which represent 4,300

jobs retained, 1,400 new jobs, $43 million in payroll into our local economy and

$232 million in new capital investment.


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GOVERNMENT REFORM

When I took office two years ago I made government reform a top priority and we

have made significant progress. But if we're going to have the resources to invest

in water quality, if we're going to grow our economy and create high paying jobs,

if we want to reverse the brain drain then we need to continue our efforts to reform

this government.

Governor Cuomo has done this at the state level. Albany was once regarded as the

most dysfunctional state government in the Country. But thanks to the Governor's

leadership that has all changed. In a very short period of time, Governor Cuomo

turned that around, delivering on time budgets, adopting pension reform, lowering

state taxes and putting a cap on local property taxes.

We have been doing the same thing here in Suffolk County. We have streamlined

the government, consolidated departments and eliminated outdated functions. We

have made performance management and Data Driven Decision Making

Cornerstones of this administration.

Prior to my administration taking office, the culture in this government was when

you see a problem you immediately hire more people and spend more

money. We've changed that. Before we spend more of your money we look at the

function, we examine the processes and determine if there is a better way to do

it. Throwing more money and resources at an outdated and inefficient process is

just a waste of taxpayers money.


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The Performance Management team I put together in my office under the

leadership of Deputy County Executive Tom Melito has been doing just that. The

team has produced tens of millions in savings and revenues for the County in the

past year and a half. They launched a new Traffic and Parking Violations Agency

in less than a year and operated it without taxpayer subsidies, something other

municipalities have taken years to accomplish. Their work exemplifies our

approach to managing government.

This approach has been successfully demonstrated by our Clerk, Judy Pascale.

When there was a backlog in the Clerks Office, Judy and her team analyzed the

problem and then worked collaboratively with my office on solutions.

By working with Civil Service to redeploy some county workers and strategic use

of overtime and technology, the Clerks Office not only eliminated a backlog, they

forwarded $20 million to the General Fund in 2013all without adding additional

staff.

This is an unprecedented milestone and a prime example of what we can

accomplish when we work together to collaboratively serve our mutual

constituents.

This is the same kind of analysis that is going on right now in the Health

Department where we are looking at the way we process permits, with the goal of

reducing the time it takes to approve a permit in half. After undertaking this

analysis to know that the process is as efficient as possible, then, and only then,

should we look at whether or not there is need for additional staff. It never makes

sense to throw additional staff at broken processes.


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Supervisor who is now leading County government, perhaps there is no better

partner for me in this effort than a longtime County official who is now leading the

largest Town government in Suffolk County, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed

Romaine, who has been a forceful advocate on the issue of shared services.

Working together, we have already implemented a shared service to provide

enhanced support for Brookhaven veterans by stationing a Suffolk County

Veterans Service Officer at Brookhaven Town Hall several days a week.

With the support of the Suffolk County Legislature, Supervisor Romaine and I just

implemented a shared service to place additional bus shelters on County roads and

split revenues between Brookhaven and Suffolk County.

And along with Legislator Sarah Anker, we are also looking at an initiative to

utilize Brookhavens groundbreaking status as the first Long Island town to

undertake single-stream recycling, in order to improve recycling at County

buildings and also helps Brookhavens bottom line. And my hats off to Supervisor

Romaine for that achievement.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Perhaps in no part of our government is the effort to improve efficiency as

important as it is in law enforcement where inefficiency means that criminals

remain on our streets.


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And part of our approach to policing must be to reduce recidivism. As Ivenoted

in the past, it costs $18,000 a year to educate a child, but nearly $100,000 a year to

put him in jail. That is why Deputy Police Commissioner Risco Mention-Lewis is

mobilizing the resources of nearly every branch of our government and engaging

communities, in order to stop programs from operating in a vacuum and to work

together to combat recidivism.

I also want to thank the new chair of the Social Services Committee, Legislator

Monica Martinez for devoting her efforts to this critical issue. Among the services

were providing are a first of its kind jobs fair for rehabilitated criminals. Because

the best way to keep someone from reoffending is to make sure they have a job.

We are blessed in Suffolk County to be home to some of the most dedicated

volunteer fire fighters and first responders in the nation. And it is critical we

support them with the best technology to help save lives. Last month, I announced

the implementation of the Suffolk County PulsePoint Application. Suffolk County

is the first community on the East Coast that is using this app which empowers

CPR-trained residents by sending an alert to their smart phone, letting them know

they are near someone in cardiac arrest who is in need of life-saving assistance. I

thank the thousands who have already signed up and I encourage others to take a

moment to download this life-saving application.


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We are also a County which stands by our veterans. In the last year, our Suffolk

County Veterans Service Agency, led by Tom Ronanye, helped Suffolk County

Veterans obtain $26.9 million in claims awards. Outside this chamber, is a

painting of one of Suffolks heroes, Joseph Dwyer, a US Army combat medic who

lost his battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In his name and in his

memory, we began the Joseph P Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Program to give our

returning veterans the kind of support that Private First Class Dwyer never had.

More than 700 Suffolk veterans have been helped by this program, and I want to

recognize a key to its success, Marcelle Leis, a retired 24-year Air Force veteran, a

mother, a wife and a Peer Facilitator who through Suffolk Veterans Services, is

making sure that Suffolk veterans know you are not alone. Thank you Marcelle,

and thank you to all who serve our nation.

CONCLUSION

Over the past two years, I think back to where we were, what we have gone

through together, and where we are today.

We have been through wildfires, Superstorm Sandy, an historic blizzard, and this

winter, it seems like a new snowstorm every week. We have been through the

worst fiscal crisis in our Countys history, and though were not out of the woods

yet, we do see daylight ahead. And we will continue to make progress without

piercing Governor Cuomos property tax cap.

We are a stronger Suffolk County than we were just two years ago, and we are on

the brink of so much more.


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Documents

State of County