Just
a sampling of what's been accomplished in a very short time
by our Democratic Administration
Economic development -
Job Creation
- Attracted $114 million in new
investment to Schenectady.
- Created 697 new private-sector jobs
through the combined County/City/Metroplex unified economic development
initiative.
- Replaced an ineffective and costly
"alphabet soup" of 35 economic development agencies with a
cost-effective, results-driven, successful County/City/Metroplex
economic development initiative, saving taxpayers $300,000 in 2005.
Intergovernmental
Cooperation
- Signed a historic shared-service
agreement with the City of Schenectady
for city vehicle maintenance under which the City saves $1 million per
year and the County saves $80,000 per year.
- Established a countywide energy
purchasing cooperative which saved taxpayers $60,000 on the cost of
heating fuel for government buildings.
Smarter,
more
efficient county government
- Doing more with less, a reduction of
20 positions in county government employment will save taxpayers more
than $900,000 in 2005.
- Established the first Canadian mail
order prescription drug plan in New York state, companion domestic mail
order program and a county employee waiver system for benefits will
save taxpayers $2 million in 2005.
- Eliminated the personal use of county
vehicles and cell phones by county employees as "perks" saving
taxpayers $200,000 in 2005.
- Reformed the Public Defender's Office
and established a Conflict Defenders Office saving county taxpayers
$300,000 in 2005 while ensuring all county residents are treated fairly.
- Established
a consolidated County Legal department under the County
Attorney saving taxpayers $500,000 through
aggressive collection of outstanding debts owed the county, consumer
protection violation fine recoveries, and limited use of outside
attorneys.