On Tuesday, October 3, Marlborough Town Hall hosted a special visitor: Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger, who chose the town as the site of her 2024 budget address. 

 

Metzger’s proposed $413 million budget for 2024 would maintain property taxes at their existing level while limiting the increase in non-mandated county spending to 1.4 percent. The address at Marlborough Town Hall is part of an initiative by Metzger and her team to reach out to all of Ulster County and follows previous addresses during 2023 in Ellenville and Rosendale.

 

Metzger described the budget as one that allocates resources where they are needed most and responsibly manages county finances. The proposed $413 million represents an increase of $32 million over 2023’s budget, but $9 million of that will be funded from state and federal grants. 

 

“We are in a very strong financial position as a county going into 2024,” Metzger said. The 2024 budget also reserves 20 percent of operating expenditures in a rainy-day fund, the maximum permitted by county policy. And while mandated and contractual spending will show a $17 million increase in spending, Metzger is targeting the non-mandated portion at four priority areas: infrastructure, housing, the environment, and education and other services.

 

To enable the county to better respond to emergencies, Ulster County has proposed a new Government Operations Center on Paradies Lane in New Paltz. Metzger said the county will also invest almost $20 million in 2024 to improve roads and bridges and will add positions to its bridge crews in the Department of Public Works.

 

“These additions will enable the Department to do more work in house, saving taxpayers money,” noted Metzger.

 

In 2024, the county will roll out its latest program for municipalities funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): a $2.5 million program to support solar and electric vehicle charging. This program was proposed by Marlborough Legislator Tom Corcoran. “The county is thrilled to be able to provide this level of support in our communities,” said Metzger.

 

On housing, Metzger’s administration has launched the Ulster County Housing Action Fund using $15 million from the County’s excess fund balance. Metzger and the county legislature also have proposed doubling the county’s occupancy tax, from 2 to 4 percent, and she has proposed the allocation of a quarter of those revenues to the Housing Action Fund. This would equal about $1.5 million each year.

 

“Using occupancy-tax revenues for this purpose makes sense since a lot of this revenue comes from short-term rentals – which have contributed to the housing shortage,” she said. Metzger is also proposing the expansion in the county’s ability to monitor short-term rentals online, sharing this data with local governments to help with enforcement. She also wants to create a Housing and Homelessness unit in the Department of Social Services, which will help people get the services they need in a crisis.

 

“I’m proposing a pilot program to help HEAP [Home Energy Assistance Program]-eligible homeowners and renters access to federal and state resources to weatherize their homes and to install energy-saving appliances,” Metzger added. 

 

Metzger’s administration is pursuing a wide range of initiatives to preserve the environment and counter the impacts of climate change. During her first month, she issued an executive order aligning Ulster County with the state’s Climate Act, and to aggressively reduce emissions. 

 

“The biggest source of county government emissions is our aged and inefficient buildings, which also cost taxpayers a lot of money,” she said. “I propose creating an energy and electrification manager position in the Department of Public Works and allocating $18 million from the county’s excess fund balance to create a Decarbonization Capital Reserve. This funding will support climate-responsible investments in county facilities as old, dirty, fossil fuel-based systems age out.”

 

Metzger pointed to the launch of the Ulster County Climate Corps this summer, an internship program that included 17 young people this summer. She has proposed expanding it to 24 interns for summer 2024.

 

“We are continuing our work to green the bus fleet,” she said. “In August I signed into law amendments to our green fleet policy requiring the fleet to be fully electric by 2035.” This translates to three to five new buses each year, and she has proposed committing 25 percent of occupancy-tax revenues to their purchase.

 

Of note, the 2024 budget proposal proposes $6.9 million in operating assistance for SUNY Ulster, and $21 million in capital funds, to improve campus buildings and reduce energy and maintenance costs. Half of the latter sum would be reimbursed by New York State. It also would enhance wireless internet access in public areas, such as parks, libraries, town halls, and emergency shelters.

 

Metzger highlighted her administration’s new Corrections to Careers program, a partnership with the Carpenters’ Union and Sheriff Juan Figueroa. “This pre-apprenticeship program provides a pathway for incarcerated individuals to become an apprentice with the Carpenters’ Union or another trade of their choice after their release,” said Metzger. “I also want to give a shout-out to the sheriff for his successful launch of a GED program in the jail, with more than 20 individuals participating.”

 

One of the county’s most ambitious new projects is the Community Behavioral Health Center in Kingston, which will contain a crisis-stabilization center. Metzger seeks to allocate $2 million of opioid-settlement funding toward construction and another $1 million in funding to support the first year’s operation. 

 

“In the future, the Center’s operation will be self-sustaining and fully covered by Medicaid and health insurance,” said Metzger. “When the doors open next year, our residents in crisis will be able to get the help they need, 24/7.”