As prepared for delivery

2013 State of the County INTRO Thank you, Bill, for the introduction. Welcome, it is my pleasure to be here to deliver the 2013 State of the County Address. Much has happened in our County in the last year and there is much to report. As we begin, I would like to welcome Onondaga County Legislature. Chairman McMahon, our offices work very well together and it has been a pleasure working with you. I would also like to acknowledge each of the County Legislators who are with us tonight so that you may join me in thanking them for the hard work they do. I would ask that you please hold your applause until the end. In addition to Chairman McMahon, we have: Majority Leader Patrick Kilmartin; Minority Leader Linda Ervin; John Dougherty; Kevin Holmquist; David Knapp;

As prepared for delivery

Danny Liedka; Brian May; Kathy Rapp; Chris Ryan; Derek Shepard; Judy Tassone; and Monica Williams; Thank you all for being here. I would also like to welcome for the first time, Legislators Chet Dudzinski and Bob Andrews. Chet and Bob are the most recent

appointments to the legislature taking over for Bill Meyer and Mark Stanczyk who have both accepted full time jobs in county government. Bill and Mark, thank you for your 52 years of service on the legislature and I look forward to continue working with you. Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and her team are here. The Mayor and I have enjoyed success this year and I look forward to continuing our partnership. Downtown is booming. Last year we talked about the number of cranes in the air, and there are even more this year. You
2

As prepared for delivery

may have heard it before, but our community genuinely has a reputation for getting things done and for working well together. As Senator John DeFrancisco said, [Mayor] Miner has been "excellent" on downtown development. "Theres a ton of construction, a lot of projects started up downtown is being reborn -- [our elected officials are] the most cooperative Ive seen in 35 years of public service. Everyone talks to each other. Everyone tries to work things out. When we

disagree, we disagree, but at least you can tell each other how you feel". Mayor, I agree with your bandmate the Senator -- it has been a pleasure to work with you and your team, I look forward to building on the successes we have had. I would like to recognize some of the county employees who are new since my last State of the County address: Steve Morgan took the job as Chief Fiscal Officer in June of last year and he has been excellent. In addition to managing his departments, Steve is charged with helping to set policy. A great example of the work he does is the recent plan to provide health benefits to retirees through a Medicare Advantage Plan. This approach will provide a richer benefit package to retirees at a
3

As prepared for delivery

substantially lower price. When fully implemented, the County will save $4 million annually. In addition to Steve, we also have new department heads, please join me in welcoming our Facilities Commissioner Duane Owens Veterans Agency Director Corliss Dennis, and; Probation Commissioner Andrew Sicherman I am happy to be working with you all. As I prepare for the State of the County every year it is a good opportunity to reflect not only on where we plan to go, but where we are now and how we got here. While the financial results for 2012 are not quite final, it appears that the County will once again end the year with a surplus. This is great news and I thank the legislature for working with me--- together, weve been very successful. And we remain vigilant. A big part of the reason we are in good fiscal shape is because we adapted quickly to the Recession. As soon as we saw revenue was falling and the number of people in need of help was rising, we refocused on our core mission and drew parameters around food, safety and shelter. We are keeping an eye on the Federal Sequestration and will again take whatever steps are necessary to keep us on firm footing.
4

As prepared for delivery

We know property taxes across New York State are too high. Youve heard a lot about unfunded mandates and the fact that we dont have complete control over our costs. That is why we work especially hard on the local level to keep our own County tax rate low. At $5.28 per thousand, our County property tax rate is lower than it has ever been. Strong fiscal years like 2012 help Onondaga County maintain high bond ratings. According to Moody's Investors Service, only 2 New York

State Counties have achieved a higher rating than Onondaga County.

One of the benefits of a strong bond rating is the countys ability to borrow money at very low rates. In 2012, we issued $51.4 million in General Obligation bonds at a true interest cost of 2.70%, our lowest rate in recent history. With people in need of work and the county in need of capital improvements, seized the opportunity we had with the low cost money available. Weve seen though especially at the federal level that borrowing money without a plan for how you will pay it back can very quickly cause a crisis. That is why I am happy to tell you that Onondaga County is once again leading the way in financial management. In cooperation with the legislature weve set aside $5 million of our fund balance to account for the spike in debt payments we know will
5

As prepared for delivery

come to pay for new capital projects which the county deferred in recent years. The County has a healthy fund balance money which belongs to taxpayers but it is a non-recurring source of funding and by applying it to a non-recurring expense, we will continue to stay healthy. PAUSE Sales tax receipts are also up in the county and that is due in large part to the increase in visitors. There are many reasons why visitors are finding our community attractive. Our downtown area is being

revitalized by development, Syracuse University and Chancellor Nancy Cantor continue to engage the community and anytime you can pack more than 35,000 into the Carrier Dome and sell out the Syracuse Crunch game on the same Saturday afternoon, you must be doing something right. But we also have for the first time in a long time a new entertainment destination. As a community, we partnered with the Pyramid Companies in the 1990s to build Carousel Center and then again on its recent expansion, DestiNY USA. The basic assertion to the taxpayers from the beginning when Mayor Tom Young first proposed the deal was that the increase in sales tax receipts would more than offset the waiver of property taxes.
6

As prepared for delivery

There has been confusing information about the deal but, I am here to tell you that project is, in fact, spinning off millions of new sales tax dollars to our city and to our county. Today, Destiny is open and thriving and our whole community is benefiting. Its not just

taxpayers who benefit, in 2013 more than 5,000 people will be employed at Destiny and 400 more continue to work in construction jobs related to the project. Much of the sales tax growth we are seeing is generated specifically by Destiny and is from people who are visiting us from outside our area. This slide shows where US shoppers came from during one recent week. DestinyUSA is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to advertise our region in Canada and across New York State. Recent projections show that 23 million people will visit DestinyUSA in 2013 and the community is seeing the benefit which was promised long ago. There are also collateral benefits to having DestinyUSA as an attraction. Destiny helps us attract conferences and conventions generating both room taxes and sales taxes. As you may have heard, Onondaga County was chosen as the site of the 2018 US Bowling Conference. This event will attract 80,000 visitors. Major thanks are due to County Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon for his work securing this exciting opportunity for our community. Along with the Convention and visitors
7

As prepared for delivery

bureau, Ryan has been campaigning heavily for us and even traveled to Texas personally to make the pitch to them directly. Thank you Ryan and thank you to the Convention and Visitors Bureau for making this a reality. Another conference we are working is the direct result of the very successful Save the Rain Program. I never imagined 4 years ago when we came up with the name Save the Rain that it would become a nationally recognized program. We are now working with Judith Enck, EPAs Regional Administrator for New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, to host a national Green infrastructure conference here in Syracuse. As you may remember, Onondaga County was chosen by EPA as one of 10 green infrastructure partners. We are inviting the other partners to a convention here to learn from each other and share what we know with communities following our lead after all where better to have a green infrastructure meeting than at a convention center with a green roof? Save the Rain has been wildly successful and it is thanks in large part to the hard work of Deputy County Executive Matt Millea, WEP Commissioner Tom Rhoads, the hard working men and women of our Department of Water Environment Protection and the many outside contractors who are working very hard on behalf of Onondaga County.
8

As prepared for delivery

In 2012, we advanced many high profile Save the Rain projects: Work began on the construction of a wetland treatment system along Harbor Brook on Syracuses west side. When complete, the wetland will passively treat thirteen million gallons of polluted storm water that now flows untreated to Onondaga Lake. In fact, we are simply

restoring a wetland system that was filled in years ago when we failed to appreciate that wetlands serve as natural filters for our water resources. And, unlike sewage treatment plants, that use a lot of electricity, you dont have to plug in a wetland.

Work was also completed on Phase 1 of the Connective Corridor project. I was honored as our community was recognized by the United States Green Building Council for our communitys close collaboration on this project. I applaud Chancellor Cantor for her leadership on this transformative project and thank her for agreeing, very late in the design process, to allow us to include Save The Rain in the project design. Today, when you drive down East Genesee Street, in addition to wonderful green bike lanes, youll see rain gardens, new tree plantings, and parking areas paved with porous asphalt, all helping in our efforts to clean and protect Onondaga Lake.

As prepared for delivery

I encourage all of you to visit our new Save the Rain website. Last year, we launched an updated and improved site that includes all of the details of every Save the Rain project, including technical drawings and project specifications. The public owns these projects and we take great pride in ensuring that this information is accessible and available to those that want to see how we are investing their tax dollars.

Im very pleased to announce that we have completed work on the War Memorial Water Reuse project and that in doing so; we won a $750,000 grant from New York States Environmental Facilities Corporation to help offset the cost of the project.

We were successful in securing these funds because this unique project uses state-of-the-art treatment technologies and demonstrates that storm water can be reused as a resource rather than simply dumped in a sewer. Instead, were capturing and storing rain water off of the War Memorials roof, treating it on site and using it to make ice for the Syracuse Crunch. This year, well expand the use of the system to help with irrigation at the Everson Plaza and around the War Memorial.

Our Save the Rain program is not a responsibility that we take lightly. 4 years ago we were given an opportunity to do things differently, and
10

As prepared for delivery

we have an obligation to do the job well, share our story and help other communities share similar success. And there are many communities seeking to learn from our experience. To the chagrin of his family, Deputy County Executive Matt Millea has visited eleven communities in the past two years to tell the story of how we Save the Rain in Onondaga County. I appreciate very much Matts willingness to be our ambassador - it has been a very valuable investment. I am equally appreciative of Matts wife Lori who holds down the fort (with these three little guys) while Matt is away--telling our story and earning invaluable good will and grant money to help his adopted hometown become a better place for all of us to live. Our success brings visitors, students and admiration to our community. Ive said it before and I mean it quite literally, from way over here in Onondaga County, we are changing the world. In fact, Matt was invited to speak at the White House at a national green infrastructure summit. And just a few weeks ago, the White House listed Syracuse as a model community for advancing Green Infrastructure among several very large, high profile cities. We should all be proud of what Save the Rain has accomplished and excited about what lies ahead.

11

As prepared for delivery

And, if you will indulge me for one final point on Save the Rain, I am extremely proud to announce that Onondaga County has been selected to receive the 2013 United States Water Prize for Save the Rain from the U.S. Water Alliance which honors individuals, institutions, and organizations that have made an outstanding achievement in the advancement of sustainable solutions to our nations water challenges. As we work to strengthen and expand our water economy in Central New York, we can have no better marketing tool for our community than to have national organizations like the U.S. Water Alliance recognize and promote the proud reality that we are in fact national leaders in protecting our valuable water resources. A great partner in our effort to clean Onondaga Lake is Honeywell. As you may know, Honeywell is spending 450 Million dollars to do its part. There has been much activity on the site and Honeywell recently opened the Onondaga Lake Cleanup Visitors center where the public can see its progress firsthand. Thank you to everyone at Honeywell for all that you are doing. PAUSE We have exciting work taking place on the other side of the lake as well.

12

As prepared for delivery

Democracy was born on the shores of Onondaga Lake. Five nations came together to form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and they are a key part of our regions history. We have formed a public/private partnership with the Onondaga Historical Association, the Onondaga Nation, the Friends of Historic Onondaga Lake, LeMoyne College and Syracuse University to create the Haudenosaunee Heritage Center at Saint Marie Among the Iroquois. Planning is already underway and will continue throughout this year to tell the story of the Haudenosaunee history in relationship to our community, state, nation and the world. It is an important story to tell and this partnership will ensure it is told accurately. #PAUSE In June of last year, the Syracuse Onondaga County Planning Agency released an updated development plan for Onondaga County. Its available at future.ongov.net and I encourage you to read it. This plan, a successor to the Countys 2010 Development Plan, was crafted with the input of planning professionals, community stakeholders, many public meetings, polls, surveys and extensive community outreach. Its interesting and I think compelling that what came out of this process is very similar to the 2010 plan.
13

As prepared for delivery

Both plans agree that there should be a priority placed on development in areas served by existing infrastructure. Both plans agree that our community cores, the City of Syracuse as well as our fifteen Villages, are vital to the long term health of our community. And, both plans stress the importance of preserving our rural landscape and the viability of our $140 million agriculture economy. I understand that our draft plan has resulted in some debate and even a little resistance. Debate is good, lets continue to discuss the pros and the cons of what weve proposed. I want to assure everyone in Onondaga County however, that this plan was developed with the best interests of our taxpayers, the future residents of Onondaga County and our children in mind. I recognize that there are strong and vocal national opponents to the notion of Sustainability and Smart Growth. Please keep in mind that they may not all be aware of the fact that we are struggling to pay for the infrastructure that we already have in place. They do not share my concern about the potential for a $90 million upgrade to the Oak Orchard waste water treatment facility should development continue north of Route 31 unchecked by sound planning. And I they do not appreciate that there is a cost to poor planning and that that cost often
14

As prepared for delivery

does not make itself known for a generation or more and is often times exponentially greater than the initial investment.

As a matter of fact, in an effort to balance the rhetoric from the outside, lets look at what an expert on Onondaga County thinks about the value of good planning and smart growth. this: Onondaga Countys goals include a vibrant, growing economy, a high quality of life, and fiscal strength. Our strategies in response to change require cost-effective infrastructure, sustainable development practices and stewardship of our environment. Onondaga Countys policies for investment and land use call for investment in existing communities, preservation of infrastructure and transportation assets, sustainable urban and suburban settlement patterns, and protection of rural economy, agricultural land and access to natural resources. Please take a look at

I think that it is important to be very direct and very blunt about where I hope this plan goes from here.

15

As prepared for delivery

My administration stands ready to work with the legislature to advance a final development plan that reflects these priorities and ensures that we are not burdening future generations with the costs of poor planning and bad decisions made today. Development can and should continue in Onondaga County, its important to our economy. The cost of this development should be borne, however, by those advancing these projects, not the unknowing taxpayer. And this cost can be reduced when it occurs in areas already served by existing infrastructure. In this scenario, everyone wins. New development happens, we are not burdened with the cost of new infrastructure and our tax base grows rather than feeding upon itself.

With that said, we can call the plan anything you like. I am open to an honest and forthright debate about our plan and how it might be improved upon. On this I think we all agree; supporting development that provides net positive tax revenue is vital to stabilizing taxes and fostering future economic development. In an effort to further these priorities, I will once again submit to the Legislature a proposal to authorize funding for our Sustainability Pays initiative.
16

As prepared for delivery

SMALL PAUSE I would like to recognize many of our towns and villages for the efforts they have taken to foster sustainability. The towns of Cicero, Clay, Dewitt, Lysander, Marcellus, Skaneateles and Van Buren as well as the Villages of Baldwinsville, East Syracuse, Marcellus and North Syracuse are to be commended for their commitment to sustainability. Each of these municipalities voted to opt in to the Real Property Tax Law section 485-a; which exists solely to promote sustainability in our urban cores. Congratulations to each of you and thank you to the Onondaga County Legislature for voting unanimously in favor of 485-a and a more sustainable future. And thank you to the Legislature also for supporting our request last year to provide $1 million for Farmland Protection in 2013. The

countys new Agriculture Council is hard at work and we are happy with its direction. One of the specific tasks I gave the Agriculture Council was to help ensure that county government is working to promote and preserve Onondaga County's strong farming community.

According to the United State Department of Agriculture, Onondaga County has 692 farms, occupying 150,000 acres of farmland. The market value of agricultural products sold is $140
17

As prepared for delivery

million, with the average farm producing almost $200,000 worth of crop and livestock sales. I also charged the Council with the task of helping to develop strategies and programs to promote local food regionally as well as strengthen and enhance connections between the Countys urban core to rural, agricultural areas.

This initiative has been a tremendous success. I offer a special thanks to co-chairs Paul Nojaim, David Knapp, Kay Hilsberg and all the council members for your hard work. PAUSE You may have noticed that for the second straight year our region has had more success than any other with Governor Cuomos Regional Economic Development Council Competition. We were recognized for having the best overall plan and for having the best outcomes for two years in a row. Thank you to Chancellor Cantor and CenterStateCEO President Rob Simpson for leading this effort. And the Regional Council isnt the only good economic news in our county. Our own department of Economic Development led by Mary Beth Primo has had a great year as well.
18

As prepared for delivery

Our Onondaga County Civic Development Corporation (which we call OCDC) and our IDA facilitated $194 million in private capital spending in Onondaga County; The first business to qualify for our IDAs new adaptive reuse PILOT is Bitzer Scroll. We created the new PILOT in 2012 to encourage the redevelopment of Onondaga Countys existing industrial infrastructure and ultimately raise the value of commercial properties across the County. BITZER Scroll expanded its Onondaga County presence to accommodate its growing R&D and manufacturing needs. BITZER relocated to the vacant John Deere building and over the next five years, will add 56 new well-paying jobs. In other good Economic Development news, OCDC assisted with the issuance of $142.7 million dollars in bonding for St Josephs Hospital to significantly expand and modernize its facilities on the North side of Syracuse. And, Southern Wine & Spirits of Upstate New York is nearly doubling its warehouse and distribution facility in the Town of Salina, cementing its position in Onondaga County.
19

As prepared for delivery

OCIDA and Sysco Syracuse closed on a PILOT Agreement for Syscos $20 million expansion and renovation of its distribution center in the Town of Van Buren and consolidation of its Western New York operations to its Onondaga County facility. Tessy Plastics, in the Town of Elbridge, worked with OCIDA on its 100,000 square foot manufacturing expansion to accommodate its growing plastic injection molding operations, bringing Tessys approximate number of employees to 725. And last year, the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Lysander began to operate under the terms of a new 15-year PILOT approved by OCIDA and the Legislature, the Town of Lysander, and the

Baldwinsville School District. Thanks to the new PILOT, AnheuserBusch Inbev agreed to invest more than $7 million in its canning capacity in its brewery. Teamsters Local 1149, which represents about 90% of the brewery's work force said it best when they proudly announced that "This is the first significant bump we've seen in five years. Thanks to a tremendous level of cooperation and collaboration
20

As prepared for delivery

between State and local government, the Baldwinsville school district, AB InBev management, and the Teamsters union, we are seeing more beer production and more jobs here in Onondaga County. " The good news on the job front is thanks to a smart team of people in our Economic Development office who listen to businesses about what they need and then respond effectively. Also in the last year, in cooperation with officials in Cayuga, Oswego, and Madison counties, we set up the Foreign Trade Zone under a modern, flexible framework and I am pleased to share with you that just a few weeks ago, the US Department of Commerce approved a reorganization of the Countys long dormant Foreign Trade Zone. Foreign Trade Zones can help businesses reduce costs which can lead to more competitive U.S. operations, thereby helping to maintain U.S. activity and jobs. By helping local employers remain competitive, zones can contribute boosting employment opportunities and encourage increased investment in U.S. facilities. PAUSE As you can see, we have had great accomplishments on the Economic Development front, and to be even more successful, we need to

21

As prepared for delivery

continue to lower property taxes and make government more affordable. We know we need to continue to modernize our system of government and that by doing so we can save money but there is still real resistance to change andat least sometimes there is still a fear of the uncertainty. A vote to consolidate can mean big change and people want to know what happens when you take the leap of faith and do something like abolish your local police force. To address that uncertainty, I think there is value in looking back at the Clay Police Merger: Believe it or not, this year will be the 5th anniversary of that consolidation. The public heard much about this proposal at the time, but as is often the case, we didnt hear much about what happened once the story was out of the news. So I have a report today that I think is meaningful and might be helpful when weighing consolidation decisions in the future. The Clay Police Merger was a resounding success. In 2008, we conservatively projected that the savings to clay taxpayers would be about $1.1 million in the first year. The actual savings were over $1.3 million. At the time, Clay leaders projected the 10 year savings to be $18 million and recent projections put that number closer to $30

22

As prepared for delivery

million over 10 years. These savings are real and Clay taxpayers are the beneficiaries. I appreciate that voters in Clay took the bold first step and I hope that by sharing the 5 year results, we can encourage taxpayerswhen given an opportunity to vote on a consolidation referendum-- to vote in favor of a more modern and efficient local government. We know from the Clay story that there are millions of dollars in savings if we can only muster the courage to change the way we do things. Taxpayers will

feel the results in their wallets and we will lower costs to businesses to encourage even more job growth. But Clay residents are not the only ones benefiting from government modernization; we do have towns and villages across the county Id like to commend for their creativity. Van Buren, Salina and the Village of Baldwinsville are sharing a comptroller. The Memphis fire department merged with the Warners Fire Department Geddes and Solvay are now sharing a codes officer The City of Syracuse and 6 other municipalities merged their purchasing operations with Onondaga County saving hundreds of thousands of dollars for taxpayers in the County.
23

As prepared for delivery

Our purchasing department, led very capably by Sean Carroll is also providing service to 20 fire departments. And to make sure Sean is kept very busy, he has also consolidated auction services for 32 political subdivisions generating nearly one million dollars in revenue that can be used to offset taxpayer expenses. And remember, consolidations dont always have to be completed within the County. In January we announced a new partnership Oneida County is contracting with our Medical Examiners Office and eliminated its own system of Coroners.

PAUSE Under the leadership of Ann Rooney, we are taking a look at all of our human services. We know we can do better for the children and families of our community. We want to support youth in their own homes, schools and communities, and give them the opportunity to succeed and prosper as adults. Our plan for 2013, which I will present to the legislature during the budget process, is to start from scratch. Rather than too many separate departments in the human services arena, we plan to

24

As prepared for delivery

coordinate and consolidate our efforts, so that we will ultimately have a Department of Children and Family Services, a Department of Adult Services and a traditional Department of Social Services to administer our public benefits in addition to the departments mandated by the state. This realignment will be more customer and prevention focused, but will also have the added benefit of being administered financially through one system, again, saving taxpayers money. You have heard me say many times that we cannot expect to get our social service costs under control unless and until we break the cycle of poverty plaguing too many families in our community. One effort that is accomplishing this goal is Say Yes to Education. I can say with confidence that our collaboration with Say Yes to Education and the Syracuse City School District is producing results. Over the last year, the Wallace Foundation made a multi-million dollar investment in Say Yes; and I attended a funding meeting at the Ford Foundation where Say Yes was celebrated as the future of urban education. I attended meetings with the United Negro College Fund in an effort to convince them to join the other private colleges which provide free tuition for Say Yes graduates. The U.S. Secretary of

Education, Arne Duncan, had this to say about our community:

25

As prepared for delivery

What you have done with the Say Yes to education plan, I think is phenomenal what Syracuse has done is absolutely amazing and has implications for a national model The future is very bright and it is with deep gratitude that I thank the local foundations and businesses for contributing to the Say Yes endowment. Just last week, Bob and Sue Congel announced their generous gift of $100,000 to Say Yes. While they usually make

philanthropic donations anonymously, they agreed to let me highlight their generous, personal donation in an effort to encourage others to do the same. PAUSE Because the county charter requires that I deliver the state of the county please let me turn to a more technical response for a couple minutes. I caution you that the following can be a little dry but it offers a good analysis of where we are: To confirm our belief that we are headed in the right direction, we now have an independent outside source. The New York State Comptroller has adopted an evaluation system for municipalities across the state. Called the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System this program seeks to identify local governments that are in fiscal stress. There are two major components of the monitoring system a financial indicator and an
26

As prepared for delivery

environmental indicator and each component is broken into subgroups. The State comptroller has assigned points to each indicator and then weighted the categories to give an accurate indication about the fiscal health of a municipality. We think its a valuable exercise to run the county through the analysis and heres what we found: The way the system works, the lower the score, the stronger your fiscal health. The maximum number of points a county can be given on the financial side is 29. The County was given two (2) points in the area of fund balance. To achieve a perfect score, the state comptroller wants to see a general fund balance which exceeds 20% of total expenses. For Onondaga County, that would mean a fund balance in excess of 147 Million Dollars. While some have said our fund balance is too high, financial managers would like to see it even a little bit higher and for that we were assigned two (2) points. Given the 50% weighted value of that

measure, Onondaga Countys score is 12.5%. On the other financial indicators, the county scored very well:
27

As prepared for delivery

We have not run a deficit in any of the last three (3) years and earned zero points Our cash exceeded our liabilities and our cash as a percentage of our monthly liabilities scored zero points We issue no short term debt and have not issued any in the previous 3 years, which is excellent Our personnel and employee benefit costs are well within the healthy range and we scored no points there either, and finally; Our debt service as a percentage of our revenue is very low. With zeroes in every category except fund balance, the county scored a total of 12.5%. A score of 65-100% is significant financial stress 55-65% is moderate financial stress 45-55% is susceptible to financial stress A score below 45% is indicates that the municipality is not in financial stress With a total of 12.5%, we are well under the threshold and can safely say that on the financial side, Onondaga County is fiscally sound.

28

As prepared for delivery

The other major category is environmental and there are a possible 27 points which can be scored. Heres how things look in Onondaga County: With our population up in the last census and our median age growing only slowly, the county scored zero points. And while our child poverty rate is below the NYS average, the rate of change earned us one point, with a 10% weight associated with the point, Onondaga County is at 2.5% With our property values growing, we score another zero; and our unemployment rate trending down and our overall unemployment rate staying below the state average, we earn two (2) more zeroes. The only other place we get a point added is in our total number of jobs. The county lost 249 jobs between 2010 and 2011. With our own staff reductions in county government, we are probably responsible for that number and will accept the ding. With another 10% weight for that point our total has grown to 5.83%. The countys limited reliance on federal and state aid relative to our overall budget and our ability to stay well under our constitutional tax limits earns us zeroes.

29

As prepared for delivery

And finally, the fact that our sales tax receipts exceed the consumer price index earns us our final zero for a total of 5.83%. Again: A score over 65% is significant financial stress 55 is moderate financial stress 45% is susceptible to financial stress And below 45 is indicates that the municipality is not in financial stress The 5.83 is far below any indication that we suffer from fiscal stress. And with an abundance of caution, we even called the State Comptroller and asked him to check our numbers which he did. There should be no surprises when the state reports the fiscal health of local municipalities. There will be few if any that are able to claim a more solid financial footing. I'd like to conclude on a brief personal note. When I asked voters to allow me to take on the job of County Executive in 2007 I told them that I wanted to make Onondaga County a place where all of our children could thrive. You've given me the last 5 years with an incredibly talented and generous team of professionals. I've surrounded myself with the most loyal, hardworking group of people
30

As prepared for delivery

anywhere and I ask only that you judge us on our accomplishments. My husband Marc is here tonight with our oldest son. Jack was 12 when I started the job and he is now a high school senior making plans for college. I will be eternally grateful that you gave me the opportunity to work hard and make this the kind of place he might choose to live on his own someday. While we certainly have more work to do, I can say confidently that we are, in fact, headed in the right direction. Like a lot of parents, I'd walk in front of a bus to do what's best for my kids----and trust me, on some days it feels quite literally as if I have.--

But when I reflect on the last 5 years, I do see good things. I'm proud to call CNY my home and I thank you for the opportunity to be your County Executive.

With that, good night. We will be back at it tomorrow.

31