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One of my goals at the start of this year was to see through to completion the work of the Strategic Planning Task Force that I convened last year. I am pleased to say that the final report of the task force was presented by steering committee chair Fred Beardsley, District 9, to members of the County Legislature at our Sept. 15 meeting.

The task force was charged with providing the Legislature a framework for decision-making. My goal was to develop a strategy that the Legislature could follow in balancing critical needs of county residents within the available resources of county government.

The report reflects thousands of hours of time, freely given by dozens of county residents over several months. They spent many meetings researching and compiling data, interviewing county staff and experts in the field, and debated at length many of the services and programs that county government delivers. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for the time and effort they gave to our community.

The steering committee included Legislators Beardsley, Michael Kunzwiler, Barry Leemann, Greg Osetek, Doug Malone and myself; County Treasurer John Kruk, County Administrator Steve Lyman, and Executive Assistant Phil Church. Legislators Osetek, Art Ospelt, Jack Proud, Phil Vasho, and Kevin Gardner chaired the subcommittees.

When I appointed the task force subcommittees, I asked them to look at some broad policy issues that shape Oswego County government. In order for the Legislature to remain fully involved in this process, each subcommittee was led by a member of the Legislature. The work was broken down into five groups: Financial Forecasting; Mandated and Optional Services; Economic Development; Infrastructure; and Intra-Intermunicipal Consolidation and Cooperation subcommittee.

Each committee submitted reports on their findings. The overall steering committee was responsible for digesting their work and reaching consensus on the subcommittees' recommendations. The final result is a series of broad recommendations gleaned from the reports of the five subcommittees. Some of them are ongoing and some have already been accomplished.

Some of the most important statements are:

• Stabilization of property tax rates is imperative. The 2005 tax rate was kept the same as the 2004 rate. We are working to keep the 2006 rate at the same level.
• Maintain a 10 percent unappropriated fund balance in the general fund. We achieved a fund balance of 10.85 percent in the 2005 budget. We continue to take steps to ensure that this level is maintained.
• Support a uniform sales tax throughout the county. Economic growth benefits all areas of the county. The focus should be on promoting growth in the economy that generates sales tax, not on how to divide a limited sales tax.
• The county should have a cohesive approach to applying for state and federal grants.
• The county should continuously evaluate non-mandated services and provide them only when necessary.
• The Legislature should designate a specific agency or committee to foster inter-municipal cooperation among all levels of local government.
• Funding for authorized agencies should be based on the agency's effectiveness in meeting core responsibilities of the county.
• The county plays a key role in economic development. A favorable climate for business investment includes a well-developed infrastructure, stable taxes, and safe communities.
• The county airport is a valuable resource and an asset for economic development.
• The county needs to take steps to ensure that the solid waste management system continues to be viable over the long-term.

I have asked the Legislature to read and digest the report over the next few weeks, and sent it to the Government Operations and Law Committee for their review. If adopted by the committee, it will go back to the Legislature for their approval in October.