Cunningham delivers State of the County address

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — County chairman Chris Cunningham delivered his annual State of the County address on February 27, and told the audience of some 200 people that “Sullivan County is moving forward.”

In past addresses, Cunningham has used the occasion to introduce new initiatives such as the planned green tech park at Sullivan County Community College. This year, speaking at the government center, Cunningham proposed the creation of a “Council of Governments.”

The council would be a collaborative effort among the county, town and village governments to “promote cost-savings agreements, decrease duplication of services among municipalities and spend taxpayer dollars more efficiently.”

The council would be based on one that has been formed in Tompkins County, home of the City of Ithaca. Among the subjects the Tompkins council has investigated are ways to reduce health insurance costs to governments, methods to control deer populations and means of attracting more voluntary emergency providers.

Cunningham touched on a variety of topics during the 45-minute speech, most of which have been dealt with in depth by legislators. At several points, Cunningham pointed to the progress of county manager David Fanslau and his efforts at restructuring the county finance departments in a way that Cunningham said is leading to “greater fiscal responsibility and transparency.” Cunningham also noted that legislators acted on Fanslau’s advice to form a Capital Planning and Budgeting Committee to pave the way for funding upcoming capital projects, such as the new county jail and the phase-two expansion of the county landfill.

Touching on a couple of bright spots, Cunningham said the county unemployment rate for 2006 at 4.8 percent was well below the 5.3 percent of 2004 and the 5.8 percent of 2005. He said also that agriculture remains the largest industry in the county, and that Sullivan County gained five new farms last year for a total of 385 working farms whose products generate more than $675 million annually.”

On the issue of gaming, Cunningham, who is personally opposed to casinos in Sullivan County, said he continues to “represent the consensus of the legislature, which has pledged its support for these projects.” Regarding the Mohawk casino at the raceway, he said, “We remain optimistic that the project will move swiftly through the next phase and will be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. We are closer than we have ever been to having a casino in Sullivan County.”