Regional and business officials gathered this morning to hear from the head of the Clinton County legislature, the Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor and the city of Plattsburgh mayor on the state of their communities.
This is the third annual “State of the County City and Town” coordinated by the North Country Chamber of Commerce. President and CEO Garry Douglas says it made sense to make a combined presentation. “The county the city and the town each had developed a tradition of doing an annual address on the state of their municipalities and their local governments and their projects and programs. And we thought it would be positive to bring the three together to be presented at one time in one place to encourage the synergies and the perspectives of all three of these key localities which affect the economy of the region so much.”
Clinton County Legislature Chair Harry McManus noted this would be his last report on the state of the county as he is serving his final term as a legislator. He focused on the county’s strategic use of resources to create opportunity. "Clinton County has been judicious with its budgeting over the years as an obligation to our taxpayers and the stable tax rate that we have been able to accomplish has enabled us to fund a variety of programs and projects that have increased the quality of life in the county and that places us in a much better position to compete with other counties for growth and economic development. I’m proud to say the state of Clinton County is certainly sound and we will continue to make strategic use of our resources to create opportunities for the future.”
The report from city of Plattsburgh Mayor Colin Read was less bright as he noted the city is the second-most financially stressed city in the state. An economist by trade, Read used charts to outline the financial challenges city leaders are working to reverse. “We hope to turn this around and the way we’re going to turn this around is like this: we need to keep streamlining government and spend within our means. We need to keep on the trend of reducing expenditures at every opportunity. We need to keep moderating the growth of taxes. We need to keep banging the drum of shared services. And I really hope we can make the city of Plattsburgh just sustainable and with as much good news as we see in the town and the county.”
Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman first acknowledged the tempestuous relationship between the city and town over the past couple of years. “The Mayor and I are mending relationships.”
Cashman then talked about the town’s accomplishments over the past year including work on creating a Smart Growth plan and being named a Green Energy Community by NYSERDA. “The Town of Plattsburgh is always thinking to the future but we do so through the context of understanding and appreciating our past. The landscape of the Town of Plattsburgh is changing in many, many, many ways. Once again the Town of Plattsburgh had over 60 businesses either open or re-invest in our town and this represents approximately over $25 million worth of investment in our community.”
The Chamber will host a legislative breakfast on February 8th to hear reports from state Senator Betty Little and Assemblymembers D. Billy Jones and Dan Stec.
