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In His State of the County Address, Latimer Asserts That Westchester is Weathering the Storm

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October 23, 2020

By Robert Kimmel–

Speaking to a small physically-distanced audience from the Board of Legislature’s chambers, Thursday night, Westchester Executive George Latimer allowed that “storm clouds still hang over us; we know this squall is far from over,” but then said, “but I am here to tell you tonight that the State of our County is fierce. We are our county, every single one of us, and we are imaginative, and resourceful, and we will not let any storm, no matter how heavy the rain or how vicious the winds, claim victory over us. Ever.”

Latimer identified various projects the County created to overcome the economic and health hardships created by the pandemic. “We set aside ten million dollars in funding to create an initiative to support small businesses and nonprofits facing challenges due to COVID-19. Westchester County Business FIRST: Financial Investments for Recovery and a Sustainable Tomorrow, is a new grant program designed to offer immediate financial relief to organizations in Westchester that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic,” the County Executive explained,

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“While all of our county departments rose to the task during the COVID pandemic, I especially want to thank all of the workers of the County Health Department,” Latimer said. He singled out a trio of public health nurses who were involved in diagnosing the first cases in New Rochelle, noting “they weren’t scared; they didn’t hesitate.”

“We worked with the county’s school districts to help meet their needs. We made changes on the financial side, and further opened the lines of communication with the municipalities so that all decision-makers were getting the information they needed,” he stated.

“When it came to reopening in the fall, I created a Working Group to Assist Local School Districts with the Reopening Transition and to provide assistance and public health support to protect our schools, teachers, staff and most importantly our students,“ he said.

Latimer thanked Governor Cuomo for agreeing with legislation proposed by the County that allowed towns to waive penalties for the late payment of county taxes. Latimer also expressed his appreciation to county officials and the Board of Legislators “for working with me to do what is best for County residents.”

He mentioned the development of the Westchester Food Security Initiative, “which provided four million dollars in additional support to food pantries, restaurants and food delivery services through four different programs,” filling “…an unprecedented need for food assistance for families who are struggling in Westchester County,” a need that is expected to grow in the coming months.

“We are balancing the desire of those who want to enjoy the outdoors along with the priority of stopping the spread of the virus…by opening up our parks including Westchester County-owned golf courses.”

“In the thick of the COVID pandemic response, we were further tested by a crisis of the soul, the murder of George Floyd in May, and what that means for our society and what that means for our future,” Latimer said. “As I have said from the beginning, that man was murdered. But, we are not going to let him die in vain,” he declared.

“Between George Floyd’s death and the hate incidents County-wide surging, I announced the formation of a police training reform group of various stakeholders to review procedures and policies at the County Police academy.” Acknowledging that “it isn’t really realistic for a white man to try to channel what is being felt in the black community or any community of color,” Latimer added, “What it is important for me to do, given my responsibilities, is to have an appropriate governmental response so that it is not just about the rally of the moment, it is about what we can do as a government to improve.”

Latimer reviewed legislative moves and projects initiated by the county over the past year not directly related to the pandemic, including the one-million-dollar reduction in the 2020 County property tax levy. “This was the first time in almost a decade that a County Executive had proposed a budget that reduced the County property tax levy,” he said.

Noting that there have been no job cuts or layoffs, Latimer stated, “Additionally, the County Capital Program supports over 2,000 permanent jobs within the County, which comes at a critical time when the region’s economy has been negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic.”

Other actions introduced or reinforced during the year were “Reestablishing the Urban County consortium and the Community Development Block Grant Program; breaking Ground on the Memorial Field Reconstruction Project in Mount Vernon; Furthering Fair and Affordable Housing in Westchester; Creating a robust Census outreach and awareness campaign, and Funding for various environmental initiatives, and a Food Scrap Recycling Program.”

The County Executive stated that $300,000 in State grants to Westchester for the county-wide Shared Services Program helped the project by “finding ways to save taxpayer dollars by sharing resources, technology and areas of expertise.”

Latimer also spoke of the recent approval by an acting U.S. Attorney General of actions taken by the County to improve its jails, specifically a rehabilitation program instituted whereby “inmates who are also students receive their high school diplomats while in custody.”

He brought up the election, noting that the county “released a four-point program aimed at offering assistance to the State-directed Westchester County Board of Elections in advance of Election Day 2020.”

That program assists with “…additional polling place inspectors, replacement polling sites and promotion of early voting,” the County Executive explained.

Latimer closed by returning to his storm metaphor: “We yearn for the raging storm to calm. We long for still waters. The challenges we face are many and great, and they will take time, but I’m vowing to you – they will be met.”

To see the complete State of the County address, go to: Watch the State of the County Address – VIDEO

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