New City, NY, – County Executive Ed Day was sworn in today for his third term amid a socially distanced but celebratory crowd in the Auditorium of the Rockland Fire Training Center in Pomona. The swearing in ceremony was also streamed live to the Rockland County Government YouTube page:https://www.youtube.com/c/RocklandGov
County Executive Day was sworn in by Acting Supreme Court Justice and Family Court Judge Sherri Eisenpress while his fiancé Donna Pascucci and friends and family looked on. Numerous people participated in the ceremony, including Daniel Moscato, Chief Advisor to the County Executive and Deputy County Executive Guillermo Rosa.
After taking the Oath of Office, the County Executive detailed the successes of his two prior terms:
Righting the Fiscal Ship – Rockland was the most fiscally stressed county in New York State and faced a $138 million dollar deficit in 2014.
County Executive Day said, “Through conservative budgeting and with a strong focus on economic growth we have completely reversed our fortunes. Today, we have a multi-million-dollar surplus, and we are working to rebuild County government to prepare for future challenges. We will continue to improve government finances because it is YOUR money, and we will not stop working to protect it while investing in a bright and sustainable future. And we are doing it without the double-digit property tax increases of the past.”
Revitalizing Rockland’s Economy – Responsible and sustainable development has resulted in over $8 billion in ratables added back to the property tax rolls.
“While we’ve attracted many new jobs to Rockland, we are equally focused on helping our residents to take advantage of these opportunities. The strategic partnerships we have created between government, local colleges and the private sector are one of the keys to our success. These partnerships ensure that our residents have access to training programs that link directly to the good paying jobs in the sectors where we are seeing the most local growth like advanced manufacturing, healthcare, biomed and tourism, said County Executive Day.
Preserving Rockland’s Future – The Rockland Codes Initiative (RCI) has successfully fought illegal housing and fire safety issues while the County is once again investing in green spaces and programs.
County Executive Day said, “In the six years since launching this program (RCI) we have received more than 7,400 complaints and issued more than $2 million in fines for violations of the Rockland County Sanitary Code. We have turned slumlords into real landlords so the folks living here are safer as are our volunteer firefighters who so often are called upon to respond. We have transitioned to green electricity, utilizing 100% US generated wind power while saving taxpayer dollars. We’re protecting green spaces by investing $10 million to preserve open space around our County and will continue to look for ways to protect our natural environment.”
The County Executive credited the successes of the last eight years to the hard work of government employees and the support of the County Legislature. He also thanked the 73% of Rockland voters who returned him to office and detailed his priorities for the next four years which included:
- Continuing the modernization of County facilities
- Expanding focus on community health and mental health
- Utilizing American Rescue Plan Act funds to support residents and businesses
“I appreciate you allowing me to continue the job I started, the renaissance of Rockland County. I first got involved locally as a civic association president because I wanted to improve my community and make Rockland a place where our young people want to stay and a place where they can afford to. Now we are finally fiscally healthy but know that we will not engage in expedient short cuts. I will not kick the can of necessary improvements down the road to future generations. Whatever needs to be done we will do and keep that off the backs of our children and grandchildren. We will continue down the path we have forged together. The path of fiscal responsibility, responsible economic growth and protection of our precious resources and natural environment. While we are not near the finish line yet, I have no doubt that we will cross it together,” concluded County Executive Day.