MountVernonToday.com

The City Will Plan for Watershed Management and a Water Trail.

MOUNT VERNON, NY – Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr. announced that the City of Mount Vernon New York was awarded a New York State Department of State grant of $92,937 to prepare a Hutchinson River Revitalization Plan to establish regional strategies for community and waterfront revitalization, and include preliminary planning for watershed management and a water trail.  This grant was issued though the New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council project and the Consolidated Funding Application process established earlier this year. Each Regional Council was made up of local business, labor, education, and community leaders, commissioned to develop an road map in order to set their own priorities for economic development.

“We are pleased that Governor Cuomo, the Mid Hudson Regional Business Council and the Department of State recognize that Hutchinson River’s physical attributes are worthy of both protection and promotion. The funding provided through the grant will facilitate the city’s efforts to establish strategies for community and waterfront revitalization that will economically and environmentally benefit Mount Vernon and the Lower Hudson Valley,” said Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr.

For more information on the Regional Economic Development Council awards, log on to nyworks.ny.gov or log on to our website at www.cmvny.com.

Idoni Utilizes Grant to Eliminate Filing and Maintenance Costs of Inactive Files.

WHITE PLAINS:   The Office of the Westchester County Clerk has been awarded a state grant that will eliminate the expense of storing large volumes of inactive records in offsite storage facilities.   The grant from the New York State Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF) will improve the overall records management system of the Clerk’s Office by doing away with the redundancy of storing files that are already digitally imaged and available electronically to the public.  The savings in storage costs and greater efficiency are but a few of many positive outcomes resulting from the awarding of this grant.

“Legal files make up the majority of records maintained by the County Clerk’s office,” began County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni in describing his office’s process of docketing, imaging and storing hard copy files. “Maintaining over forty eight thousand (48,000) boxes of records at an annual cost of $7.25 per box stored at the County Records Center is expensive and inefficient. With the help of this grant, we can continue our transition from a traditionally paper focused office to one that is digitally-based across all services,” stated Idoni.

The grant provides funding to eliminate the storage and related expenses for a discreet set of mostly inactive legal files dated from 2002 to 2004.  By eliminating storage, transportation and maintenance needs, staff resources can be reallocated to support other initiatives, such as electronic filing, which will greatly improve the overall services the office provides to Westchester County residents.

LGRMIF is funded through a small twenty-five cent state surcharge on all documents recorded in County Clerks’ offices throughout the state.  The funds are then converted into competitive grants awarded to preserve New York State history and heritage.   Since becoming County Clerk, Idoni’s office has received two LGRMIF grants to make Land Record maps available online and to more quickly access matrimonial judgments for litigants seeking them.  “We are grateful to once again receive a LGRMIF grant to help us continue to provide even more efficient services at a substantial cost savings,” concluded Idoni.

The Office of the Westchester County Clerk, which is located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in White Plains, is open between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.  For more information, call 995-3080 or visit our website at www.westchesterclerk.com.

Event at Yonkers’ Riverfront Library to draw attention to the need for adoptive and foster parents.

The Heart Gallery, a traveling photographic exhibit created to find “forever families” for children in foster care, comes to Yonkers' Riverfront Library at Larkin Center on Wednesday. County Executive Robert P. Astorino and others will officially open the three-day exhibit at 2 p.m.

This is the 7th year that the county, through the Department of Social Services, has participated in this nationwide effort designed to increase the number of adoptive families for children needing permanent homes in the community. Photographs of local children who are in need of a home will be on display.

“The goal is literally to give a face to these children in need,” said Astorino. “And by doing so, help find loving homes for them.”

As of November 2011 there were 224 children in Westchester County who were eligible to be adopted. Thirty one of these children were adopted on Adoption Day last month,  as part of the national adoption month celebration.

“The need is always there,” said Astorino.

He urged people who might be interested in becoming an adoptive or foster parent to call United Way’s help line 2-1-1 for more information.

Others expected at Wednesday’s opening include:

·        Kevin McGuire, the county’s commissioner of Social Services

·        Judge Kathie Davidson, the supervisor judge of the Family Court for the 9th Judicial District

·        Leora Neal, an adoption specialist with the state’s Office of Children and Family Services

·        Mary Keene, a foster/adoptive parent.

The photographs may also be found at westchestergov.com/socialservices.

Targeting a Zero Percent Tax Increase for Westchester.

White Plains, NY – The members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) are ready to welcome, once again, citizen participation and assistance during the process to adopt a 2012 County budget that includes a zero percent increase in the County tax levy and protects the County’s Triple A bond rating.

The announcement comes on the eve of the County Executive’s 2012 budget presentation. Last month, the County Executive stated that the budget his Administration was preparing would include a 5% increase in spending, but made no mention of how this figure was calculated.

“The people of Westchester deserve an open and transparent budget process with ample opportunities to examine and debate the numbers,” said BOL Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers). “To protect the County’s excellent bond rating, the Board of Legislators will work to pass a budget for next year that does not increase the County tax levy, and the way we’ve kept on the right track in terms of fiscal responsibility is by listening to what county residents have to say and making appropriate decisions regarding smart spending and cost-cutting to help save taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.”

The Democratic legislators agreed that because Westchester’s taxpayers are struggling with the burden of high property taxes, it’s vitally important to again provide effective and real tax relief, as it did last year when the BOL adopted a bi-partisan budget that cut the County’s tax levy an historic 2.2 percent, more than double of what the County Executive proposed.

“We cut over $30 million in spending and transitioned into retirement over 250 workers to accomplish our tax decrease last year, so we know the hard work that budgeting entails,” said BOL Vice Chairman Lyndon Williams (D-Mount Vernon). “We’ll come through again for Westchester taxpayers—with their help.”

When the BOL adopted the cost-cutting 2011 Budget, it confirmed that Westchester was moving in a smart and responsible direction with its financial obligations. This was after numerous public hearings and department-by-department budget presentations that were streamed ‘live’ and then archived online at the BOL website (www.westchesterlegislators.com).

Thousands of Westchester residents and business owners attended the open meetings on the 2011 budget that the BOL hosted, and were able to participate in the decision-making process from Day One.

Public hearings for this year’s budget have already been announced by the BOL.

“Maintaining a strong financial position for Westchester will help the County save money when bonding for much needed infrastructure projects, and it will also help attract and create new jobs here,” said BOL Majority Leader Peter Harckham (D-Katonah). “We’re committed to working with again with the people of Westchester, and let them see how every dollar is spent and accounted for. This isn’t something that should be accomplished behind the closed doors of the County Executive’s office.”