Broome County Executive Barbara Fiala’s State of the County address was anything but optimistic about the county’s budget, but has some ideas in mind to deal with the economic crisis.
We are in “the financial fight of our lives,” she said on Feb. 24.
Raising taxes excessively is not an option, however, according to Fiala.
She said the county will be dealing with finances in a new way. By reorganizing the business development and tourism marketing offices so they work together as opposed to separately, Fiala said the county will become more integrated into the community so they can work more effectively.
To increase funds for the county, Fiala said she plans to lease land in the Marcellus Shale for natural gas play. While this may concern many Broome County residents, Fiala said, the county executive office has been gathering as much information as possible to find out how drilling will affect the county’s 200,000 residents and the environment, as well as information on drilling companies and their practices.
Fiala encouraged residents to learn more by checking out the county’s Web site at gobroomecounty.com.
Fiala acknowledged the county’s DWI program as one of the biggest accomplishments of the last year.
According to Fiala, “2008 represents the safest year in Broome County since the inception of the STOP-DWI Program in 1981.”
One person died due to drunk driving in Broome County in 2008.
Another accomplishment was Broome County Security, she added. The Security Division’s fraud detection program saved the county $6 million in the past year.