As a former volunteer firefighter and EMT I have been privileged to serve with members of law enforcement, fire, and EMS and respond to hundreds of emergency calls. I know from personal experience the crucial contributions our first responders make.
This experience uniquely positions me to interface with our emergency service providers in county and local government, as well as our partners from the state and federal government.
Putnam County government already fills a vital role for our community and our emergency service workers through providing advanced life support (ALS) paramedic services, basic life support (BLS) emergency medical services, training, coordination, dispatch services and more.
As your County Executive I serve with a desire to improve upon these important services and…
- Listen to the experts on the ground, empowering them with the tools and resources they need to do their job and get home safely to their loved ones
- Honor our region’s rich history in being home to thousands of first responder and military families
- Continue our commitment to our military veterans & support the Honor Roll on Lake Gleneida.
In my first year as County Executive, we delivered and…
- Enacted a new true 10% property tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers
- Secured $1.3 million for a new Fire Training Center
- Advanced the long awaited radio project for our local emergency service agencies
- Saved the county from a bad paramedic contract inherited from the previous administration. We put out a timely Request for Proposals (RFP) and brought in a new reputable provider and had no disruption in service.
The volunteer fire service not only provides for our communities’ well-being; they also save our taxpayers nearly $4 billion annually, per a study produced by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY). Without volunteer firefighters, property taxes would rise by nearly 27% on average state-wide!
On the state level, as your former Assemblyman, I
- Helped lead the fight to successfully expand sorely needed cancer coverage for our volunteer firefighters (Chap. 334, 2017).
- Co-Sponsored legislation to help volunteer fire departments providing EMS services to recover costs from health insurance plans as opposed to increased property taxes (A534, 2021)
- Co-Sponsored legislation enabling county and local governments to provide a true 10% tax exemption on property tax assessments for active volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers (Chap. 670, 2022)
- Passed legislation that made it a crime to intentionally obstruct a firefighter from performing emergency medical care (Chap. 124, 2017)
- Supplied grant funding to support our local police agencies (SAM Grants, 2018, 2021)
As your County Executive, I will continue to stand up for our police, first responders and military veterans.