Marc Molinaro on Dutchess Families, #ThinkDifferently, and Albany

[Music] Hello and welcome to the pilot episode of what we're tentatively calling the Untodd-Owned Mark Molinaral Project. We're still working on a title so suggestions are welcome but the crux of this podcast will be to discuss stuff that's been going on Duchess County, stuff that's been going on in New York statewide and everything going on in between. My name's Brodigan and I'm joined with the man who makes it all happen. Duchess County executive Mark Molinaral welcome. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. How's Duchess County treating you today? We're doing great. Duchess County in the Hudson Valley, it's a beautiful sunny day and we're doing really well and I know you guys always have a lot going on in the county as you know we'll be discussing like you know every week or every couple weeks depending on how the schedule goes and I figured for the first episode we could start with the fact that at the end of last week you declared it's family month in Duchess County. Tell us about that. Yeah we're working in partnership with iHeartRadio who really is putting a focus on the family for the month of May and listen every month is family month but the goal of this particular effort is really to get families you know interacting with one another we spend a lot of time on our cell phones and on our computers and at work and iHeart Media along with Duchess County has proclaimed May family month in the hopes that you know we encourage families to you know play board games get out to a movie or dinner together put down the cell phone talk at the dining room table but also to get out into the community and you know this but Duchess County has some some great assets are you know great historic sites like FDR and the Vanderbilt active farms so we're you know you can pick your own throughout the county and of course our parks the Duchess Rail Trail the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and the Great Walkway over the Hudson so we're encouraging families to get out and enjoy some time together put down the electronic devices my son says and and spend some time with one another yeah and I know while not part of a Duchess County family wants since it's next month I know you also have the think differently dash coming up of course the walkway in the Hudson get to talk a little I mean first of all I know it's a popular hashtag that you use a lot why think differently means so much to you and you can tell us a little about the dash well think differently is is an initiative we launched about a year ago it is a genuine effort to encourage individuals to embrace respect support and accept all individuals of all abilities with a real focus of breaking down barriers and supporting those with special needs and you know this is important to me personally and professionally but but I'm on the proud power of two wonderful children my daughter lives on the autism spectrum and you know I've had to think differently quite a bit my my wife is really you know helped me to understand that you know Abigail can accomplish certain things if we encourage her but that you know every aspect of life for those with special needs can be a challenge and so we're we're asking and have been asking businesses community leaders individuals to think differently break down barriers make businesses and facilities more acceptable accessible ensure that we're more supportive and appreciative of individuals with special needs as employees as community members as students and as individuals so last year a lock way over the Hudson and partnership with Duchess County launched the lock way marathon we wanted to ensure every runner of any ability could participate but organizing our very first and very successful marathon it was a 5K half marathon and full marathon was was busy enough so this year in partnership with walkway over the Hudson we have expanded the walkway marathon week to weekend and on a Saturday June the 11th we'll be hosting a one-mile special needs run that think differently dash and this is an opportunity for runners of any ability to sign up at a walkway over the Hudson dot org to participate and think differently dash and for those listening who you know may may have a disability or be living with a special need or any individual of any ability can find up to run but we also need running buddies individuals that I hope will run with me and kids like Abigail that again anybody of any ability can can be a running buddy and we hope we we get great turnout it's already been a tremendous success and I think there'll be more that participate and I know we had one interesting story that we put up on Facebook this week and as everyone knows most people would know you got your start in politics as mayor of a small town called Tivoli your initial thought when you found out that Tivoli was invading Canada yeah I guess we should probably explain it but I I was pretty impressed the USA Network is currently in production of a television series that is supposed to launch this fall again on USA and they're using the village of Tivoli and by extension Duchess County as the backdrop for for the television series and they're doing the filming in a small town in Canada so we saw photographs this this past week of Tivoli and Tivoli's invasion of Canada in fact you'll see the businesses the photos of some of the businesses all transformed a village of Tivoli businesses and there's a beautiful village of Tivoli welcome sign that that actually I had designed when I was mayor of the village from 95 until 2006 and there it is replica in this Canadian town as part of the sad or seen in stage if you will for the for the TV series that's pretty cool I wish the cost of living in the business cost in New York were were such and the tax credits that filming production companies get south of us they were able to get so they could film in Duchess County and we are seeing some of that but in this case I guess Canada was a was a more friendly option for them you know I actually I'm speaking of the cost of living that's the perfect segue for our next question because I'm good like that as people who follow New York politics can see Albany seems to be imploding more that it usually has and if we get avoid being coy your name is occasionally seen in the same paragraph as the numbers 2 0 1 and 8 so it did want to get your take on some of the issues that obviously if it's affecting statewide it's gonna affect Duchess County one article came out about New Yorkers leaving the state for states for states with lower taxes and this one statistic was shocking 41 of the 50 upstate New York counties I actually lost population over the course of the past five years I'm not I'm not sure how they to find upstate because I know that's another contentious debate for podcasts at the other time but I mean your issues thoughts in the article and like what can we do to like you know fix it and turn things around yeah you know the article highlights what's been the sad history at least recently of of New York state as a whole and that is we've we've led the nation an outward migration certainly we've done we've seen significant number of seniors millennials and young people younger leaving the state for more affordable options and that has been an unfortunate reality that really has hindered both the quality of life and economic recovery statewide and you know while there's been efforts and I you know I give people a lot of credit for at least uh. acknowledging there's a problem uh. what we what we haven't done is is truly identify the problem in the problem remains the fact that's the state government is involved in every aspect of our lives uh. it taxes uh. it borrows and it spends more than it can and it assumes in many cases uh. the state government that uh. it is the answer uh. to the problems confronting us when in reality what I think New Yorkers want and I know what duchess county residents want they want a responsive and responsible government they want a lower cost of living and a higher quality of life and there are ways to get there without devastating services or eliminating uh. or or or reducing uh. the quality of life we we have and and that is to identify efficiencies to really confront the undercarriage or underpinnings of state government every dollar we spend ought ought to be uh. explained that ought to be justified we ought to prove some sort of outcome and if we can't then we aren't doing our job uh. in protecting the taxpayer and uh. what we've done in duchess is consolidated government uh. you know we uh. actually shrunk our workforce to the smallest uh. in thirty five years uh. with only three layoffs in in five years uh. that uh. you know i feel for those in three individuals but i acknowledge that uh. in a substantial downsides of government we've been able to maintain services without devastating workforce uh. and uh. we've been able to provide tax reductions in fact the largest uh. tax levy reductions in fourteen and sixteen year years respectfully these last two years uh. and still provide a high quality service and i think we're new york is is off track in many ways is that we we are governing by headline instead of getting into uh. the real detail of making new york state government more efficient more effective and less costly for taxpayers and if we do that new york in compete and i i just choose not to give up on new york uh. or uh. uh. on our ability to fix the problems we have and it's it won't it's a little it's an election year tech every year's an election year but i've got this there's been a lot of focus obviously uh. on the presidential race we do have a lot of uh. state and local races that are up this year and i know you've been on the road a little bit you're in suffocates week uh. with for something in dean marie you're going to be in central new york tomorrow uh. it as you've been moving around the state like outside of outside of dutch is why what what are you hearing from some of the voters of the people you've been talking to you know it's fine i hear the same the same thing or wherever we go uh. and that is that uh. the cost of living is too high taxes are too high and that despite even the most earnest and efforts uh. by the governor and the state legislature there's a feeling that new york is failing and and if that is the perception and by some of the data the reality that has to be confronted and it cannot be confronted by speeches uh. n_p_r_ uh. it's got to be confronted by a real willingness to get under the hood uh. and fix the way in which we do business but i've heard in all parts of dutch's county i've heard in all parts of the state of new york but what's fascinating to me is that there still is an absolute desire to see us get it right that despite uh. the corruption that taxpayers in residency despite the dysfunction that they see they still have hope uh. that new york can do better and i believe it can i believe that we can absolutely do better uh. and uh. you know this year as it's uh. you know it's an even number year uh. you know i'm focused on uh. governing dutch's county providing the service i promise to provide in in the most honest and effective way but at the same time i think a message uh. needs to get across the state that we need to demand more from our elected officials we ought to expect more from our elected officials and that we need members of the state assembly members of the state senate who understand uh. that new york uh. needs to challenge itself to be more effective more efficient and less costly for taxpayers before we let you go for the of for the week any closing thoughts well you know it's just as listen i am i i've always uh. loved public service uh. you know my my job uh. is really at as an employee of a nearly three hundred thousand residents who called that just county home and uh. in any opportunity we can i can to uh. uh. to talk about our successes to identify where we're uh. you know looking to to improve uh. but most of all to provide uh. good and decent public service i'm going to take so it's a nice opportunity talk with you i hope people are uh. you know ultimately listen because i think the message uh. uh. that i hope to send and and we are sending i think to our actions in dutch's county is that uh. you know we we do have high expectations for ourselves we work for the people of this community and ultimately i think uh. we can uh. in fact uh. improved the way in which we do business and sure that uh. the resident of dutch county residents in citizens of new york uh. have hope and faith uh. in their government again let's leave it there i miss the county executive thank you you've got it any time uh. and thank you everyone for listening uh. to keep tabs on what what the county executive is up to what that just counties up to you can follow on facebook follow on twitter follow an instagram and we'll talk to you next week you