“While Governor Hochul’s address offered a few welcome policy prescriptions, her time in office has thus far failed to adequately address the affordability crisis squeezing the middle class and driving the highest outmigration rate in the nation. For her proposals to be taken seriously, the governor’s wish list must be paired with concrete steps to ensure that greater days of progress and prosperity are ahead.

“Last week, I offered some of Putnam County’s own action items to the state labor commissioner when she presented a preview of the Governor’s state of the state. These much-needed solutions include improving the overall tax climate for both individual and business payers, protecting our local share of Medicaid funding for those who need it, finally guaranteeing parity of benefits for families who suffer loss from stillbirth, fixing deteriorating and increasingly dangerous state roads, repealing the regressive and unfair new congestion tax on our working commuters, and addressing workforce shortages which lead to interruption of critical services for our seniors, veterans, and other residents.

“I strongly encourage Governor Hochul and her administration to take up these concerns in earnest during state budget negotiations. In the meantime, Putnam County will continue to present ourselves as a leader in cost-effective and efficient government that maintains a high quality of life for residents while cutting taxes and achieving robust economic growth.”