When Michael Hein took office as the first county executive of Ulster County, he had an ambitious agenda ”“ rebuild the government from the ground up.
Political patronage, cronyism and nepotism would no longer be tolerated.
He set out to remake county government by building nonpartisan alliances and reducing the size of government.
Nearly two years later, 155 county positions have been eliminated and Hein”™s proposed 2011 county budget contains no tax increase.
“We can no longer afford to be the largest employer in Ulster County,” Hein said.
A restructuring of the Public Works Department has resulted in cost savings and the reduction of 36 jobs through attrition, layoffs and early retirement incentives.
In a one-on-one interview with HVBiz, Hein heralded the accomplishments so far derived from his streamlining of government services, but said they would not have been realized without forging bipartisan partnerships.
Economic development was a disjointed effort, Hein said. He worked to coordinate the disparate agencies so that a developer could find a central point of contact.
He said had there been a single contact, Colony Liquor and Wine Distributors L.L.C. would not have relocated to Greene County along with its 200 workers.
He touched on the team effort in his message for the proposed 2011 budget.
“Because of our team approach to economic development, Gillette
Creamery has stayed in Ulster County. Along with Amthor
International, they have relocated to the Gardiner Business Park. These two moves resulted in over $7 million in private investment. That is $7 million in private investment taking place during some of the most difficult times in our county”™s history. It also means the addition and retention of over 100 jobs between them.”
Hein said that the moves he had made so far in “breaking down walls” has reshaped county government.
“We”™re charting the course and setting precedents,” Hein said. “We”™re poised for the future.”
Hein said he held the line on funding for economic development in these difficult times because creating more jobs is important to everyone.
He cited the great effort exerted in developing Tech City in Kingston, the former site of a major IBM plant. He ticked off the accomplishments and said today there are more than 2,000 jobs on the site. He said in addition to the growing manufacturing sector, small business cannot be overlooked.
One shining example in that respect, he said, was helping Joe and Tobi Gabriello realize their dream of opening a restaurant and inn in Gardiner.
Hein said the Gabriellos asked for assistance from his office concerning obtaining Department of Environmental Conservation permits and approvals in a timely manner. Hein said the reworking of agencies helped bring something not usually associated with government ”“ speed.
The result in the case of the Gabriellos is the Tuthill House at the Mill Restaurant on the Tuthilltown Gristmill property.
Acknowledging the difficulties small businesses were experiencing in obtaining credit in 2009, Hein, who formerly had worked in the financial sector, suggested creating a banking consortium to help alleviate the credit crunch.
Called the Credit for Success program, Hein enlisted eight banks to each kick in $150,000 to create a pool of money for businesses that fell below traditional lending guidelines. The setup allowed banks to share the risk, rather than letting one shoulder the burden of a bad loan. The consortium consists of Catskill Hudson Bank, Empire State Bank, Provident Bank, Rondout Savings Bank, Sawyer Savings Bank, TD Bank, Ulster Savings Bank, Walden Bank and the New York Business Development Corp., which served as an administrator as well as a lender.
The program caught the eye of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer who suggested that it go statewide. The New York Business Development Corp. along with the National Association of Counties also like the program so much that they awarded Hein with the Chairman”™s Leadership Award and 2010 Achievement Award, respectively, during this past summer.
