Final State of the County Town Hall

For anyone who was planning to attend Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro's final 2022 State of the County Town Hall, you are going to need to adjust your plans. The Town Hall has been rescheduled for Monday, May 23rd, starting at 5:30 pm. The event will be held at the American Legion in the Village of Wappingers Falls (7 Spring Street). This is an opportunity for residents to hear about the highlights of the State of the County, along with having their questions answered. This town hall follows two previous forums- one in Pleasant Valley and one in Red Hook- held earlier this month.

State of the County Address

On April 20th, 2022, Molinaro presented his 2022 State of the County Address at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains. The address was attended by residents, business and nonprofit leaders, local and state officials. Molinaro said that a budget gap of $40 million left behind from his predecessor has been turned into a $60 million surplus in the county's fund balance.

In the realm of mental health, Molinaro announced a new partnership with Westchester Medical Center and MidHudson Region Hospital that will establish the "Center for Excellence for Behavioral Health. This will create several new beds for inpatient services.  Dutchess County will allocate $3 million for the new services and WMC has committed 60 new staff members to the region, focusing on mental health services.

Housing was another major topic in the address. Dutchess County is dedicating $20 million in ARP funds to invest in several interventions to address housing gaps identified in the 2022 Housing Needs Assessment.

Other important topics that came up in the address include Dutchess County law enforcement, improved equipment for first responders, and addressing opioid addiction in the county, among others.

You can watch a replay of the event below:

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