Building on the success of her three previous Virtual Town Halls, County Executive Maggie Brooks announced that 8,162 County residents participated in last evening’s community dialogue on her F.A.I.R. plan to end the County’s budget crisis. Combining the attendance from all four forums, 30,933 Monroe County residents have taken the time to participate in this important community dialogue; a figure that is more than double the seating capacity of PAETEC Park. 

“30,933 Monroe County residents took the time to ask a question, or participate in our community dialogue on my F.A.I.R. Plan to end the budget crisis while cutting the property tax rate with no cuts in quality-of-life services,” Brooks stated. “Through this important community dialogue, we have visited every local neighborhood and ensured that our friends and neighbors understand why my F.A.I.R. plan is the best course for our community to achieve true fiscal stability.”

 

The Virtual Town Hall Meeting is an exciting new technology that was created to allow elected officials to have discussions with large constituencies. Last evening’s Virtual Town Hall was the fourth conducted by Monroe County, and a sound file of the meeting can be accessed by the public by logging on to www.monroecounty.gov 

 

Maggie Brooks’ F.A.I.R. Plan (Fairness, Accountability, Innovation and Results) solves Monroe County’s structural deficit for the long-term, with no fiscal impact to the City of Rochester, towns and villages. The F.A.I.R. Plan cuts the tax rate of every property taxpayer in Monroe County. The F.A.I.R. Plan also preserves important quality of life services for the residents of our community, including neighborhood police protection, road and bridge repair, and public parks, while ensuring a balanced County budget for years to come.

 

In addition to these Virtual Town Hall Meetings, residents are always encouraged to contact County Executive Brooks at countyexecutive@monroecounty.gov.

 

The Plan is fair to taxpayers, cutting the Monroe County property tax rate by eleven cents per thousand dollars of assessed value, as a way to reduce the property tax burden. At the same time, the Plan protects and maintains the County’s revenue sharing with towns, villages and the City of Rochester at existing “Morin-Ryan” levels.

 

The Plan allows us to solve the budget crisis, locally. By enacting the Medicaid Swap, enormous Medicaid costs are permanently eliminated for Monroe County residents.

 

The Plan changes the way we pay for local services in Monroe County. Specifically, the Plan will charge-back the local cost of Monroe Community College to local taxpayers based on student residency. The Plan will also adjust the County vehicle registration fee by $10 to fund road and bridge repairs throughout our community. Additionally, the Plan will use record increases in state aid to offset a reduction in County sales tax funding to local schools, so that local school districts continue to get at least the same amount of money.

 

The Plan solves Monroe County’s structural budget deficit for the long-term future. The County’s projected budget shortfall of $102 million over the next two years, most of which is attributed to burdensome Medicaid costs, is completely eliminated.