The Real Majority Project

DCDOH: MTBE contamination in eight towns across Dutchess this year-- why is it so hard to get DCDOH to tell us what they know re: poisoned water?...

2006-12-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

How many more children must die of cancer here in Dutchess because our county's Health Dept. won't inform the public with the information they know about groundwater contamination across the county?...

Time for a reality check on the "Dutchess Cares" hype now inundating our airwaves-- and askingonce again for our County Executive and our county's Health Department to addinformation to their website about specific MTBE contamination across our countythat they've been well aware of for a while now through their regular testingof public wells...

Our airwaves and newspapers are now inundated with messages from ourCounty Executive and the Dutchess County Health Department about how 'DutchessCares'-- yet our County Executive and our county's Health Department stillrefuse to adequately inform the public with the information they know about groundwater contamination throughout the county-- including serious MTBE contamination foundby the county itself in eight towns across Dutchess this year alone. This informationfrom testing of public wells should be put up online at the county's websitewithout further delay. How many more children need to die of cancer from MTBE herein Dutchess before this happens?...

[See comments just below from Hyde Park's Colleen Berrian (from neighborhoodof Greenbush) on this-- from the "Hidden Poison" series of articles onMTBE contamination of water that the Albany Times-Union did back in April-- it's still online at http://www.timesunion.com/ (click on "SpecialReports").]

This is from "No Easy Fix for $25B Problem" (part of the series above):

[see http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=469397 ]

"Residents in Greenbush, which lies downhill from several gas stations, found out they had an MTBE problem in late 2000. Greenbush residents share the same complaint of most impacted communities: Authorities were slow to notify residents they had a problem, even after one well tested with 700 parts per billion MTBE.
Greenbush resident Colleen Berrian is convinced MTBE made her neighbors sick. Without prompting, she runs through a list: `'A lady a few houses down died of bone cancer. A 17-year-old boy died of a brain tumor. A 4-year-old had a tumor. Another couple on Greenbush Drive both died of cancer. Many pets in the neighborhood have died of cancers. Another boy had leukemia. Up on Bircher Avenue, across 9G, there were a lot of cancers up there. I know a gal who grew up there who said that several people in her family all had brain cancers.'' No health study has been done in Greenbush."

"Arguing that MTBE does not cause cancer is like saying that cigarettes don'tcause cancer. There is absolutely no question that MTBE causes cancer."-- Dr. Myron A. Mehlman, Ph.D. (former head toxicologist for Mobil Oil Corp. and current Mount Sinai School of Medicine faculty member)["Ex-Mobil Man: MTBE Causes Cancer" [7/30/00 Exeter News-letter]

http://www.seacoastonline.com/2000news/exeter/e7_30d.htm ]

See:
"Well Test Bill Faces Hearings" by David Paulsen

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061211/NEWS01/612110321

Three more sources of information:

1. http://www.PetitionOnline.com/cleanh2O
2. Debra Hall's http://www.hopewell-junction-citizens-for-clean-water.org/
3. http://www.toxicstargeting.com/

Curious, isn't it, how the same Republicans in our county governmentwho profess to care about the cost of well-testing refuse to see the merits of resolution I submitted over two years ago suggesting that our county sue oil companies for MTBE contamination across Dutchess (as Suffolk County, Nassau County, Village of Pawling, Town of Wappinger, eighteen other municipalities across NY, and a total of 157 different communities across the country have done already-- some succussfully-- Santa Monica; South Lake Tahoe Public Utility District; see http://www.ewg.org/reports/oilandwater/lawsuits.php ...

See below information I've received through Freedom of Information Act request from our county's Health Department about extensive MTBE contamination well over 10 ppb (ten parts per billion) of our county'sgroundwater found this year in eight towns across the county...

This information from our county's Health Department is in stark contrast topublic statements from Dutchess County Health Department officials about how such contamination of our county's groundwater is "isolated"(!)--and abouthow county residents needn't worry about MTBE contamination of water becauseit was banned from being put into gasoline as of January 1, 2004(!)...

Even Dutchess County Department of Health (DCDOH) Environmental Director Steve Capowski and Dutchess County Water and Wastewater Authority Director ThomasLeGrand themselves have made public statements this year about how highly water-soluble MTBE is-- and how quickly it moves through the ground to contaminate drinking water...

Note as well-- the rule of thumb, generally, has been a measurement of a minimum of 5 ppb MTBE for a filter from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in contaminated neighborhoods like Greenbush in Hyde Park; the listbelow only reflects DCDOH well measurements over 10 parts per billion (ppb)...

Finally, it should also be noted that I'm fairly convinced that all of the businessesbelow where DCDOH has found MTBE contamination have been giving their customers clean drinking water-- bottled or otherwise; his primary concern is thatwith MTBE, more often than not, "when there's smoke there's fire"--my concern is for residences and other establishments nearby in those neighborhoods-- especially given public statements made just this year by Capowskiand LeGrand on how quickly MTBE travels underground...

Without further ado, this below is information I FOIA'd from DCDOH thisfall on MTBE contamination found throughout the county this year-- long after MTBE was banned from being put into our gasoline on January 1, 2004:

[this particular well-test list is what should be put online at DCDOH site withoutfurther delay!]

Beekman:

Clove Valley Deli & Cafe 1/25/06 57 ppb MTBE contamination

East Fishkill:

Archway Plaza 3/27/06 330ppb MTBE contamination
Blue Hill Mind & Body 4/6/06 409 ppb MTBE contamination
Brettview Acres Water Company 9/26/05 12 ppb MTBE contamination
Gulf & Snack Shop 4/18/06 450 ppb MTBE contamination

Fishkill

Potluck 2/3/06 40 ppb MTBE contamination

Hyde Park

Darrows Mobile Park 4/26/06 26 ppb MTBE contamination

LaGrange

Cinnamon Tree Day Care Center 1/17/06 16 ppb MTBE contamination

Pleasant Valley

Gasland Pleasant Valley 3/14/06 39 ppb MTBE contamination
Pleasant Valley Chestnut Mart 4/21/06 40 ppb MTBE contamination
Rudy's Market II 7/26/05 20 ppb MTBE contamination

Rhinebeck

F & D Mart, Inc. 12/13/05 24 ppb MTBE contamination

Stanford

Cobble Pond Farms 3/21/06 14 ppb MTBE contamination

Wappinger

7-11 Convenient Food Store 3/7/06 47 ppb MTBE contamination
Associated Aircraft Group 1/20/05 28 ppb MTBE contamination
Creek Side Plaza 3/15/06 170 ppb MTBE contamination
New Hackensack Plaza 10/11/05 29 ppb MTBE contamination
Rt. 376 Gulf 3/28/06 270 ppb MTBE contamination

Washington

Mabbettsville Convenience Store 3/21/05 66 ppb MTBE contamination
Mabbettsville Dairy Cream 6/2/05 21 ppb MTBE contamination

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Recall this list of more than three dozen different stores, restaurants, and other entities across Dutchess County who have had wells that tested at overthe level of 10 parts per billion MTBE at some point over the last several years, according to Steve Capowski, Director of Environmental Health for the Dutchess CountyHealth Department (the same source for the information above):

Rhinebeck:

Getty Rt. 9/9G-- 6/04...55 ppbF & D Mart Inc.-- 9/02...200 ppb

Amenia:

Wassaic TDDSO-- 8/01...11 ppb

Beekman:

Beekman Square Diner-- 12/02...24 ppb

Clove Valley Deli & Cafe-- 12/02....180 ppb

Sunoco Food Market-- 7/01...16 ppb

East Fishkill:

Archway Plaza-- 5/03...490 ppb

East Fishkill Realty, LLC-- 8/03...37 ppb

Gulf & Snack Shop--1/02...5600 ppb

Jake's Tex Mex 6/03...627 ppb

Fishkill:

Convenient Deli Mart-- 10/03...307 ppb

Potluck-- 7/03...73 ppb

Hyde Park:

Citgo Food Mart-- 7/02...55 ppb

Country Plaza DC-- 11/01...12 ppb

Crum Elbow Apartments-- 3/04...39 ppb

Darrows Mobile Park-- 4/04...59 ppb

Dutchess Co. Auto/Consumer-- 12/01...20 ppb

Georgie O's Restaurant-- 12/03...15 ppb

Hidden Brook Estates-- 6/03...54 ppb

Hidden Plaza (Bell Copier)-- 12/03...24 ppb

St. Peter's School-- 2/02...18 ppb

TNT Furniture Strippers-- 7/03...30 ppb

Touch of Naples-- 5/04...12 ppb

LaGrange:

Cinnamon Tree Day Care Center-- 7/01...58 ppb

Merchants Associates-- 2/03...130 ppb

Page Industrial Park-- 5/01...21 ppb

Rt. 55 Mart, Inc.-- 6/04...110 ppb

Pleasant Valley:

Ennis Parc-- 8/04...14 ppb

Family Circle Plaza-- 10/02...20 ppb

Four Brothers Pizza-- 9/02...10 ppb

Gasland Pleasant Valley-- 2/04...36 ppb

Pleasant Valley Chestnut Mart-- 6/04...130 ppb

Rudy's Market II-- 5/03...56 ppb

Stanford:

Cobble Pond Farms-- 2/02...584 ppb

Wappinger:

7-11 Convenient Food Store-- 5/01...35 ppb

Creek Side Plaza-- 12/02...1600 ppb

Dutchess Medical Arts Building-- 7/04...23 ppb

New Hackensack Plaza-- 3/04...31 ppb

Rt. 376 Gulf-- 3/04...690 ppb

Stoetzel Mobile Home Park-- 7/01...23 ppb

Washington:

Mabbettsville Convenience Store-- 3/04...160 ppb

Mabbettsville Dairy Cream-- 6/04...27 ppb

Tuxis Real Estate LLC-- 4/04...200 ppb

Joel Tyner

County Legislator

Clinton/Rhinebeck

joeltyner@earthlink.net

876-2488

Help make Dutchess Healthcare Access Plan a reality...

2006-12-13T03:46:00.000-08:00

You're all invited to join the CHANGES/Real Majority Project's Eleventh Annual Holiday Interfaith Candlelight Vigil for Economic Justice Thursday, December 21st at 5:30 pm in frontof our County Office Building at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepie!...

We'll be officially kicking off our efforts to get our County Legislature topass a home rule request asking permission from Albany for a Countywide HealthcareAccess Plan for Dutchess similar to the one being implemented on a local level inSan Francisco (see http://SFHP.org )...

Speakers will include Rabbi Paul Golomb (Dutchess Interfaith Council President), Rev. Philip Carr-Harris (current Dutchess Interfaith Council Executive Director), Rev. Gail Burger (former Dutchess Interfaith Council Executive Director), Rev. Luis Perez (Rhinebeck Reformed Church), Michael Ignatowski (Hudson Valley Network of Spiritual Progressives Cofounder), Brian Riddell (Dutchess Outreach Executive Director),Brian Doyle (Chair of City of Poughkeepsie Common Council), long-time community activists Mae Parker-Harris, Ann Perry, Willye Bromfield, and Carola Madrid, PatLamanna (Dutchess Peace Coalition Cofounder), Peter Leonard (Vassar College Field Work Director), and Tom Midgley (of AllianceIBM); Richard Hathaway of PoughkeepsieFriends Meeting and Mar Peter-Raoul of the Marist College Praxis Project have also endorsed this effort and will try to attend (Fred Nagel of the Dutchess Greens has endorsed the effort too but will be unable to attend)...

The fact is that county taxpayers already spend millions each year reimbursing local hospitals for health care for the uninsured at the most expensive point-- in emergency rooms-- why not divert some of those millions to help the uninsured have health insurance?...

Fact: County taxpayers pay millions more annually on Medicaid for employees of profitable companies that still pay poverty wages (see Westchester County report on this). Why not move to do what the Republican-led Suffolk County Legislature did over a year ago and make sure those profitable companies help pay for their employees' health care so other responsible businesses and the rest of us don't have to unfairly subsidize such poverty wages?...

The San Francisco Health Access Plan combines both of these common-sense ideas to save tax dollars; "according to San Francisco County Supervisor Tom Ammiano,SFHAP could save taxpayers $8-24 million annually" ( http://www.NewRules.org/equity ).

They've crunched the numbers in San Francisco and found that combining the two ideas above brings in enough revenue for the county and city there to offering the voluntary option of health insurance coverage to local residents at the cost of only $35-a-month premiums for those making between $20,000 and $40,000 a year-- and $200-a-month premiums for those making $50,000 a year-- a bargain...

Sign on to http://www.PetitionOnline.com/duhealth if you think we need the same type of program here in our county-- pass it on!

Note-- the specifics of a plan for our county don't necessarily have to be completely identical to the San Francisco model-- but it's a viable one that provides a good starting point for us to do something real here in Dutchess like this.

Fact: St. Francis Hospital spokesman Larry Hughes stated on his radio show on WHVW 950 AM this summer that the hospital spent $14 million over the last two years alone on care for uninsured patients.

Fact: "Uninsured patients treated at Saint Francis Hospital climbed dramatically from 16 percent in 2000 to 33 percent in 2004. The cost escalated too, up 20.6 percent to $12.9 million from 2004 to 2005 alone. That amounted to 9 percent of the Poughkeepsie hospital's budget."
[from "Soaring Health Costs Leave Many in a Bind" by Dan Shapley Poughkeepsie Journal 3/23/06 http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/NEWS01/603230332/0/NEWS01&theme=NIF ]

Fact: "New York has 2.9 million uninsured residents, who last year cost hospitals $1.7 billion in so-called uncompensated care...$908,000 in 2002 at Northern Dutchess Hospital, $4.1 million at St. Francis Hospital, and $1.7 million at Vassar Brothers Hospital."
[from "New York's Uninsured Need Not Be" by Mary Beth Pfeiffer (9/03 Poughkeepsie Journal): http://www.cdfny.org/News/clips/PoughkeepsieJournalUninsured%20need%20not%20be.pdf ]

This excerpt below from a November 1st report from Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano points out how taxpayers in counties like ours now are forced to shell out millions for health care for workers of profitable companies paid poverty wages... [ http://www.westchestergov.com/currentnews/2006pr/medicaidsurvey.htm ]

"An extensive survey by Westchester County of its employed Medicaid recipients has revealed that many of them are not provided adequate health insurance by their employers and therefore turn to the government for health care -- at an estimated cost to Westchester taxpayers of between $11.5 million and $34.5 million...
It is estimated that it costs about $4,000 a year to provide Medicaid to an adult who is neither disabled nor elderly and $12,000 for a family of four where the main wage earner is covered. Based on these numbers, the county estimates that the total cost to county taxpayers for providing Medicaid to the county's working poor is between $11.5 million and $34.5 million, depending on size of family (this range represents the county?s 16 percent share of the program. The remainder of the costs is picked up by the state and federal governments)...

Based on the total survey results, the following companies were the ten largest employers of individuals receiving Medicaid benefits (and the number of employees involved):

A&P Supermarket (55)
Stop & Shop Supermarket (55)
McDonald's (48)
Mile Square Transportation Inc. (37)
Best Care Inc. (36)
Shop Rite Supermarket (33)
Pathmark (31)
Royal Coach Bus Lines Inc. (31)
Dunkin' Donuts (29)
Personalized Home Care Service (27)"

On that note-- this from the New Rules Project/Institute for Local Self-Reliance... [ http://www.newrules.org/retail/econimpact.html#7 ]

"Hidden Cost of Wal-Mart Jobs - by UC Berkeley's Institute for Industrial Relations, August 2004

California taxpayers are spending $86 million a year providing healthcare and other public assistance to the state's 44,000 Wal-Mart employees, according to this study. The average Wal-Mart worker requires $730 in taxpayer-funded healthcare and $1,222 in other forms of assistance, such as food stamps and subsidized housing. Even compared to other retailers, Wal-Mart imposes an especially large burden on taxpayers. Wal-Mart workers earn 31 percent less than the average for workers at large retail companies and require 39 percent more in public assistance. The study estimates that if competing supermarkets and other large retailers adopt Wal-Mart's wage and benefit levels, it will cost California's taxpayers an additional $410 million a year in public assistance.

Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart - by the Democratic Staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Feb.2004

Although this study uses different methodology than the one above, it arrives at the same conclusion: Wal-Mart's low wages and meager benefits are costing taxpayers. The average Wal-Mart employee requires $2,100 per year in public assistance, including Section 8 housing vouchers, reduced-cost lunches for dependent children, health care programs, and tax credits for the working poor."

On a personal note, honestly, this issue is rather personal for me-- May 29th this year marked the seventh anniversary of the death of my stepfather, Bob ("Piggy") Malstrom from heart attack at 59-- way too young.
Though he worked most of his adult life (twenty years for IBM), he didn't have health insurance at the end, and was too proud to go to anyone for help, though he knew something was wrong with his health; the CPR I gave him in his last dying minutes failed (recall-- http:/petitiononline.com/forpiggy/petition.html).

It's not just Bob Malstrom though...

Fact: In 2002 the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine found in their "Care without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late" study that 18,314 Americans die each year because they lack preventative services, a timely diagnosis or appropriate care. This includes about 1,400 people with high blood pressure, 400 to 600 with breast cancer and 1,500 diagnosed with HIV. Odds are the number of deaths is even higher.
[see http://books.nap.edu/books/0309083435/html/161.html#pagetop ]

Fact: That's over a thousand New Yorkers dying each year because they don't have access to health insurance.
Fact: A 2001 Dyson Foundation/Marist Institute survey found uninsured in one of every four households here in the Hudson Valley. Basic insurance costs for individuals range anywhere from $350 and above per month, while a family plan is over $1000 per month and is too prohibitive for most residents. [ http://www.DysonFoundation.org/resources/resources_show.htm?doc_id=212586 ]

Fact: 80 percent of those without health insurance have jobs or live in working families, according to the Cover the Uninsured Week, a national coalition that includes both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and A.F.L.-C.I.O.
[ http://www.CovertheUninsuredWeek.org ]

Fact: Three years ago an ABC News/Washington Post survey of over 1000 Americans found that 80 percent of us say it's more important to provide health care coverage for all Americans-- even if it means raising taxes-- than to hold down taxes but leave some people uncovered. [ http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/US/healthcare031020_poll.html ]

Fact: "The overwhelming majority [of Americans]-- 75 percent, according to an October 2005 Harris Poll-- want what people in other wealthy countries have: the peace of mind of universal health insurance."
[ http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0818-27.htm ]

Fact: 89% of Americans believe our system of health care is broken. [ http://www.americansforhealthcare.org/media/pressreleases.cfm?pr_id=119 ]

Of course I still support health care reform at the national and/or state levels to cover everyone with health insurance-- but how many more years do we have to wait for this?

Recall-- hundreds of us from across the county came out to the big Poughkeepsie Journal National Issues Forum at DCC earlier this spring to deliberate on health care-- and how the overwhelming, vast majority of those there were decidedly for universal health care-- that's our local mandate right there; failing to act on this is just plain irresponsible.

Letters to county legislators can make this a reality-- at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us and countylegislature@co.dutchess.ny.us.

You never know what might happen if enough of us pull together on this-- tens of thousands of Dutchess County residents need a Dutchess Health Access Plan like the one being implemented in San Francisco; let's not let them down.

Joel Tyner
Dutchess County Legislator, D. #11
Clinton/Rhinebeck
joeltyner@earthlink.net
(845) 876-2488
[for more info on San Francisco model see http://www.SFHP.org and below; also http://www.sfhp.org/about_us/whats_new/SF_HAP_faq.aspx?show=-1 ]

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More from the New Rules Project/Institute for Local Self-Reliance...
[ http://www.newrules.org/equity/sfhealthcare.html ]

San Francisco Universal Healthcare Initiative

"The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the San Francisco Healthcare Access Program (SFHAP) in July 2006 with legislation entitled the San Francisco Health Care Security ordinance. The program would give the city's 82,000 uninsured adults access to healthcare regardless of income, immigration status, or medical condition. The majority of the uninsured cannot afford healthcare, yet earn too much money to qualify for the state public health insurance program, Medi-Cal. SFHAP is not insurance in that it is not portable--residents must be treated within the city limits.

The plan would be paid for with tax dollars, local business contributions and individual enrollment fees that are income-adjusted. The 15% of local businesses that do not currently provide healthcare to employees will be required to pay an annual fee to go towards the program?a provision that has put many from the business community on edge.

SFHAP is a merging of different plans by Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Tom Ammiano. The mayor's Universal Healthcare Council released a report in June with recommendations for the creation and implementation of SFHAP. Shortly thereafter, Ammiano incorporated SFHAP into his Worker Healthcare Security Ordinance. The plan has been enthusiastically received by many-- when the first reading of the ordinance passed on July 18, it was followed by a standing ovation...

The program is voluntary; it is hoped that 15,000 people will enroll when phase one of the program debuts in 2007. If all 82,000 uninsured residents were to enroll in SFHAP, it would cost approximately $200 million per year. The city already pays $104 million annually to cover uninsured care in emergency rooms and clinics. According to Ammiano, SFHAP could save taxpayers $8-24 million annually by requiring employers to share the costs of healthcare..."

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"Newsom Urges Health Care for the Uninsured: Proposal to Cover Health Costs Would Be Subsidized by Taxpayers" by Cecilia M. Vega
[excerpt below from San Francisco Chronicle 6/21/06] sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/21/SFHEALTH.TMP

Mayor Gavin Newsom announced an ambitious proposal Tuesday that would make San Francisco the first city in the country to provide taxpayer-subsidized health care to all uninsured residents, covering services like doctor visits, surgeries and prescription drugs.

San Francisco is home to an estimated 82,000 uninsured residents, who typically go to public clinics and hospitals for treatment. The plan, dubbed San Francisco Health Access Program, would offer people the primary and preventative health care they lack and allow them to access hundreds of doctors in public and private hospitals and clinics.

Efforts to provide universal access to health care in San Francisco have been attempted before but have failed. But Newsom, who is facing re-election in 2008 and has made the topic a cornerstone of his administration, is optimistic that his plan will be implemented beginning next year.

"This is not a pipe dream," Newsom said. "This city is going to be the first city in America to achieve universal health care access."

The plan is not health insurance and therefore differs from other proposals. Those who sign up would have access to care only in San Francisco and, despite paying monthly premiums, would not be covered by the plan if they sought treatment outside the city limits.

The estimated $200 million-a-year price tag, or $2,400 per person, would be paid through a combination of sources, including tax dollars, local business contributions and individual premiums.

In April, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to require individuals to carry health insurance or face financial penalties. San Francisco's plan would not be mandatory and assumes people without other coverage will volunteer to chip in for the coverage.

"To treat chronic health issues, to treat ear infections and strep throat so they don't get really bad and end up in the emergency room ... ultimately that's what most people want," said Nathan Nayman, executive director of the business lobby group Committee on Jobs and a member of a task force created by Newsom to study and devise the health care plan.

Individuals who earn $50,000 a year, or 500 percent of the national poverty level, would pay $201.25 a month in premiums under the proposed San Francisco Health Access Plan, Newsom said. Those who make between $19,600 and $40,000 a year would pay $35 a month. The figures are comparable to what individuals pay for insurance under private providers, industry experts said.

"This is about the people in the middle," Nayman said. The plan applies only to those people whose incomes are too high to qualify for federally subsidized health care under Medicaid...the proposal introduced Tuesday is backed by a broad coalition of business groups, labor unions, health care providers and members of the Board of Supervisors...

Newsom proposes a voluntary program and predicts that businesses opting to join to provide their health care to their workers probably would spend about $30 million. Meanwhile, the city would chip in $104 million annually by redirecting funds that it already pays to cover the cost of treating those uninsured who visit emergency rooms and clinics. The rest would come from premium payments and other sources.
But today the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss legislation introduced by Supervisor Tom Ammiano that would require every business with 20 or more employees to contribute $1.60 an hour into health care savings accounts that the city could use to in turn provide health care to the uninsured...

Ammiano's measure could be merged with the mayor's plan, making the employer contribution mandatory rather than voluntary...

Under Newsom's plan, all adult city residents would be eligible, regardless of employment, immigration status or pre-existing medical conditions. Children in San Francisco already have access to government subsidized health care.

Newsom said the plan is not meant to take the place of private health insurance. It would, however, offer a means of treating people without insurance so they don't rely on hospital emergency rooms for care.

The plan would be administered by the San Francisco Health Plan, which currently provides health insurance to more than 50,000 low-income city residents and who receive care at city public health clinics, city-supported private nonprofit health clinics and most city hospitals, including city-owned San Francisco General Hospital.

Participants in the new program essentially would join the existing San Francisco Health Plan. They would receive a medical card and could seek treatment from more than 400 primary care providers in the network and at nearly all private and public hospitals in the city.

Everything from emergency room stays, physical therapy and psychiatric care to radiology, allergy tests and prosthetics would be covered. Dental care and fertility and cosmetic procedures would not.

"San Francisco," Newsom said, "is moving forward to fulfill its moral obligation."

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From http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/healthpolicy/sf_security_ordinance.pdf ...

The San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance

What does it do?

The San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance creates a Health Access Program(HAP) that will offer comprehensive healthcare services to uninsured San Franciscans and their employers at a reasonable cost. The program will emphasize preventive care that keeps people out of emergency rooms by providing regular checkups, performing screenings and managing chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure. The ordinance also sets a "minimum health spending requirement" for medium-sized and large businesses. This helps level the playing field for the majority of businesses that already pay for their workers' coverage and discourages companies from dumping even more of their workers into the taxpayer-financed public health system. By establishing an affordable Health Access Program for the uninsured, the ordinance helps better guarantee access to care for all San Franciscans. By requiring medium-sized and large businesses to pay their fair share, the Health Care Security Ordinance will help reduce the taxpayers' burden to shoulder the costs of caring for uninsured workers.

The Health Access Program-- what is it?

The Health Access Program will replace San Francisco's current system for taking care of the uninsured. Employers and individuals will be able to enroll in the program for an affordable monthly fee. The cost of the program will be subsidized for low- and moderate-income individuals and small- and medium-sized businesses. The Health Access Program will assign individuals to a primary care doctor, nurse or medical assistant at one of the City's public or nonprofit clinics, deliver acute care and specialty services through a network-- including San Francisco General Hospital and the city's nonprofit hospitals-- and cover prescription drugs and home health care. By expanding access to health care, rather than creating an insurance program, the City can maximize the funds it receives from state and federal programs, including Medicare. However, the structure of the plan will not cover services residents receive outside of San Francisco.

What services will participants get that they don't get now?

The HAP will place an increased emphasis on preventing illness by providing an integrated package of primary care, hospitalization services, specialty care and prescription drugs. These services will be more highly coordinated, easier for participants to navigate, and will allow enrollees to have a "medical home"-- a place they can go for primary care. One of the goals of the program is for patients to be able to get primary care early in their illness, rather than emergency care later on. That said, the HAP is not an insurance program but rather an integrated package of health care services available only inside San Francisco County.

How do people enroll in the HAP?

The uninsured will be able to be enrolled in one of two ways:

1) individual enrollees could pay a premium, set according to an income-based sliding scale;
2) employers could enroll their employees as a group, by paying their premiums.

The Department of Public Health will develop the rules and regulations governing enrollment-- including rules to discourage employers who currently provide health insurance from dumping their employees into the Health Access Plan.

How much does it cost?

The Department of Public Health has estimated that the program would cost about $201 per enrollee if it were implemented today. If all of San Francisco's 82,000 uninsured residents were to enroll in the HAP, the total cost would be about $200 million. To finance the program, the City will contribute $104 million that it currently spends onthe uninsured; the remaining costs will be borne by individual enrollees and businesses that enroll their employees. If fully enrolled, premiums and co-payments (mostly from higher income individuals) would make up about $60 million of the total, and business premiums would raise another $30 to 40 million. The program is expected to reap another $10 million through increased federal cost-sharing.

The minimum health spending requirement-- what is it?

The Health Care Security Ordinance will require medium-sized and large employers in San Francisco to spend a minimum amount per employee per hour on health care for their workers. Large companies (100 or more workers) will be required to spend a minimum of $1.60 an hour per employee on health care services. For a full-time employee, this is equivalent to 75 percent of the average amount that the 10 largest counties in California (other than San Francisco) spend on individual health coverage for their employees. This rate will go up 5 percent in 2007, 5 percent in 2008, and 5 percent in 2009. From 2010 on, the rate will be indexed once again to 75 percent of the 10-county rate. Medium-sized companies (20 to 99 workers) will be required to spend a minimum of $1.06 an hour per employee on health care services. For a full-time employee, this is equivalent to 50 percent of the average amount that the 10 largest counties in California (other than San Francisco) spend on individual health coverage for their employees. This rate will go up 5 percent in 2007, 5 percent in 2008, and 5 percent in 2009. From 2010 on, the rate will be indexed once again to 75 percent of the 10-county rate. Small companies (fewer than 20 workers) are exempt. Non-profit organizations with fewer than 50 employees are also exempt, as are non-profit job-training programs.

Which employees does it cover?

Companies will have to meet the spending requirement for all workers, except for managerial, supervisory, and confidential employees who earn over $72,450 per year. Employees who are eligible for Medicare and/or CHAMPUS/TRICARE (veterans' benefits) are also exempt (so that they continue to receive those benefits). Employers will pay on hours worked by part-time as well as full-time workers, up to a cap of 172 hours per month. This avoids any incentives to cut employees' hours in order to avoid the requirement. To be a covered employee, an individual must work a certain number of hours per week. This threshold is set so that businesses can more easily anticipate for whom they need to make contributions, and so that there is no incentive to adjust workers' schedules in order to evade the ordinance. This requirement is phased in: during 2007, a worker must work 12 hours per week; during 2008, a worker must work 10 hours; from 2009 on, a worker must work 8 hours. Workers who verify that they receive health services through another employer (either as an employee, or as a spouse, domestic partner, or child of another person) and who sign a voluntary waiver will also be exempted. This opt-out can be revoked by the worker at any time.

What are employers required to spend money on?

Health care expenditures are defined as "any amount paid by a covered employer to a covered employee or to another party on behalf of its covered employee for the purpose of providing health care services for its employees." This includes, among many other options:

1) insurance;
2) contributions to a public program for the uninsured (i.e., the Health Access Program);
3) health savings accounts;
4) direct reimbursement to employees for health expenses.

The Health Care Security Ordinance gives employers a choice as to how to spend this money-- it does not require employers to buy health insurance or to pay money to the Health Access Program. These are just two options for meeting the spending requirement.

Why are the minimum health care spending requirement and Health Access Program so closely linked together?

Without making medium-sized and large businesses pay their fair share of health costs, the Health Access Program would fail. Many businesses that currently provide health coverage to their employees might drop that coverage and force their employees onto the public health care system. Conversely, without the HAP, medium-size businesses would have few affordable options for meeting the health spending requirement. One way to meet the minimum health care spending requirement will be to enroll uninsured employees into the HAP. The financing model for the HAP assumes that the payments required of businesses under the ordinance will be sufficient to enroll that employer's eligible workers in the HAP. At $1.06 an hour, employers with between 20 and 99 workers would be paying $182 per month for a full-time employee and $91 per month for a half-time employee to enroll those workers in the Health Access Program.

Why place a minimum health care spending requirement on employers?

The minimum health care spending requirement will help maintain the current base ofemployer-sponsored health insurance while also securing the resources necessary for the City to offer the Health Access Program. The minimum health care spending requirement will significantly diminish the incentive for employers to drop their employees' existing health care coverage and dump them into the HAP. The vast majority of San Francisco's employers currently provide health care coverage for their employees. If these employers were to drop that coverage in response to the HAP, the City's health care system as well as its budget would be swamped. Creating a floor for health care spending by medium-sized and large businesses will help ensure that these businesses maintain employer-sponsored health care coverage for their employees, while at the same time securing the additional resources necessary to offer the Health Access Program from those employers who aren't currently doing their fair share.

Isn't this unaffordable to smaller businesses?

No. Small businesses are exempted entirely. And among businesses that are covered by the minimum health spending requirement, the vast majority already pay for their workers' health care. In fact, 83 percent of all workers at companies of 20 or more employees have employer-sponsored health coverage. It is a small minority of businesses that don't provide coverage. The Health Care Security Ordinance levels the playing field for those businesses that are already doing the right thing, and reduces their competitive disadvantage. Moreover, the ordinance will provide a steeply-discounted program for medium-sizedbusinesses to enroll their uninsured workers. For a full-time employee who works 40 hours, the $1.06 spending requirement amounts to just 50 percent of what other employers pay for individual coverage. For part-time employees, it's even less-- because this is an hourly spending requirement, an employer would pay just 25 percent for a half-time worker. This makes the program much more affordable for restaurants and other businesses that rely heavily on part-time workers. Finally, the spending requirement is phased in over several years, allowing companies to plan ahead of time. For the first three years (through 2009), the spending requirement will rise by a fixed 5 percent per year. Each year thereafter, the rate will be pegged to the 10-county survey amount. For businesses with 50 or more employees, the spending requirement does not go into effect until July 1, 2007. For businesses with 20 to 49 employees, it doesn't go into effect until March 31, 2008.

If this is so affordable, won't businesses dump workers into the HAP?

In addition to the disincentives to dumping created by the minimum health care spending requirement, the Department of Public Health will set enrollment rules to restrict crowd out. If there is a problem, DPH will have the flexibility to revise regulations accordingly.

Why not just require businesses to pay directly into the HAP?

Federal law (ERISA) prohibits state and local governments from doing this. Moreover, it is good for employers to have a choice as to how they meet the spending requirement. What option is best will vary for both workers and businesses.

Health care costs are soaring-- doesn't this create huge liability for the City in the future?

Health care inflation is currently leading some businesses to dump their workers into the public health system-- so that taxpayers are increasingly footing the bill for irresponsible employers. By creating a floor for health spending, the Health Care Security Ordinance actually reduces the City's exposure to this trend. The costs of the Health Access Program will rise over time with inflation, as will premium rates. The program will utilize best practices from around the country to contain costs while providing quality care. The spending requirement is in turn indexed to actual employer healthcare spending in California. As a result, employers will continue paying their fair share for health care over time and the City will be able to meet its ongoing obligations.

Has any one else done this?

Many different jurisdictions are experimenting with health care reform, including the States of Massachusetts and Maryland, the Cities of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as many others. The San Francisco ordinance has the broadest reach of any local health care reform effort and is being studied closely by other jurisdictions.

Update on county budget: recycling initiative gets out of committee; crucial new info below from Diane Jablonski...

2006-11-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

[Note crucial information below from County Comptroller Diane Jablonski pertinent to what the final levy on the county property tax will be, based on vacancy factorand fund balance; kudos to Leg. Fred Knapp for his tireless efforts on this particularissue; note as well the nonsensical nature of the CountyExecutive's proposed cuts to county funding for Workforce Investment Board andshort-term counseling for troubled youth in Youth Bureau next year in the face of too many of our youth still turning to crime because of lack of programming (recall previous posts to this blog with GET's Rob Lunski's letter and Michael Trimble's and Norene Coller's letters re: EMC as well...Joel (876-2488/ joeltyner@earthlink.net (and don't forget next Wednesday's full board vote on county budget-- your chance to speak out once again on YOUR priorities for our county's budget and tax policy at that meeting Dec. 6th at 7:30 pm before the entire County Legislature on the sixth floor of our County Office Building at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepsie-- pass it on!)]

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For well over a year now I've been pushing to make our Dutchess' recycling law real; last night our county came a bit closer to this. I got unanimous passage last night in our County Legislature's Budget, Finance, and Personnel Committeefor recycling containers to finally be placed in our county parks. The next stepis to make sure that all county office buildings are fully recycling-- and to make sure that all businesses in the county are in full compliance with the county lawthat's been on the books for fifteen years calling on every business to recyclepaper (along with other items). Our county's Recyclables Oversight Committee still needs to be rejuvenated as well.

Our county should also delay no longer in following the examples of Wayne and Yates counties in the Finger Lakes region of the state and recycle all plastics #1 through#7 (instead of just #1 and #2 as we do). Markets have been found here in the Northeastand across the country for plastics #3 through #7, with just a bit of effort. Studies have also proven that communities that allow recycling of all plastics greatly increasethe collection of plastics #1 and #2.

Finally, making sure that we in Dutchess are doing everything we can to address global warming includes doing as much recycling as possible-- as the official websitefor Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" notes (at ClimateCrisis.net):
'Be sure you're recycling at home-- you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.' [ http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/index3.html ]

Hopefully this is something that will be taken into consideration at the "ClimateChange in New York's Hudson Valley" conference Monday at the PoughkeepsieGrand Hotel put together by the Hudson River Environmental Society and the state'sDepartment of Environmental Conservation, which I'll be attending."[see http://www2.marist.edu/~en04/CCM.HTML ;http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061126/NEWS04/611260322/1008]

For more information on how the Western Finger Lakes Authority recycles all plastics#1 through #7, see:http://www.wfingerlakesauthority.org/?inc=proper_recycling.htm ;http://www.allplasticbottles.com ;http://www.plasticsrecycling.org/market_development/materials_buyers_sellers/index.asp.

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RE: OTHER AREAS OF COUNTY BUDGET...

Kudos to County Legislator Fred Knapp in particular, along with Budget, Finance,andPersonnel Committee member Legislators Roger Higgins, Sandy Goldberg, and Fred Bunnell,for drafting a budget proposal on behalf of the Democratic Caucus that found a sound fiscal way to retain crucialcounty services, lower the property tax levy-- and reject the County Executive'sproposal to force county residents to pay sales tax on clothing and shoes again (see http://www.DutchessNY.gov )...

We actually got every single Republican on our County Legislature's Budget, Finance, and Personnel Committee to vote last night for what is, in essence, a Democraticbudget (BFP Committee vote took place after 9 pm after over eight hours of wrangling)...

Originally the G.O.P. on the BFP Committee wanted to go along with County Exec'sproposal to make county residents pay sales tax on clothing and shoes again; we got them turned around on this...

The fact is that the sales tax has been proven to be just as regressive as the propertytax by various economists like folks from the Fiscal Policy Institute, Citizens for Tax Justice, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. 80% of New Yorkers now actually pay more in sales taxes than they do in property taxes; seehttp://www.ITEPnet.org/wp2000/ny%20pr.pdf ...

County Comptroller Diane Jablonski recently provided us with this analysis below re: vacancy factor for 2007-- crucial information about approximately $5.4 millionbeing left over at the end of the year in the county budget's payroll accountwhich would automatically roll over to add to the fund balance (this information convinced Leg. Fred Knapp, Minority Leaders Roger Higgins and Sandy Goldberg, andthe entire Democratic caucus to come to the conclusion that more of the fund balancethan currently proposed should be used to lower the property tax levy on homeownersin 2007; Knapp led drafting of Democratic proposal):

"I ran a report pulling in positions, temp help, straight time Overtime, andOvertime for the whole county through 11/29. The original budget for 2006 was $93,546,998;the amended budget was $100,525,070. YTD we have expended $83,972,328.81 with $16,553,741.19left. (84%). The Current month transactions for November is $7,416.636.78 (2 payrolls)...Thereare 3 more payrolls for the year. Dec 1, Dec 15, and Dec 29. -- approximately $11,124,954if I determine an average payroll by dividing the November number in 2 and multiplyingby 3. That would make the YE total of $95,097,282-- leaving a balance in those lines of approximately $5.4M."

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I continue to work on (hopefully with your help out there!) building support across the county and in the County Legislature to make the common-sense budget initiatives below reality sooner as opposed to later:

[contact countylegislature@co.dutchess.ny.us to make 'em reality sooner!]

1. Reject the County Executive's proposed cut to county-funded senior home care--"mostseniors prefer home care or assisted living to nursing homes" (from http://www.NursingAssistants.net). See page 127 of the County Executive's Tentative Budget for 2007-- it reportsthatthere will be 1,094 less county-paid home care visits to seniors next year-- thisis unconscionable and inexcusable. Period. [Also-- providing enough home care for seniors in our county saves tax dollars because Medicaid reimbursements for nursing home care won't be so high (keeping seniors cared for at home is obviouslyless expensive than in nursing homes-- besides usually being much more comfortablefor them).]

2. Reject the County Executive's proposed cut to short-term counseling for at-riskyouth-- page 159 of the County Executive's Tentative Budget reports that there will only be funding next year for 84% of the short-term counseling for youth inthe county's Youth Bureau budget compared to this year's funding. [See http://www.FightCrime.organd much more on this below; read the papers-- there obviously are still quite afew troubled youth still getting into trouble; also read Kara Singleton's letterto the editor from this week's Weekly Beat on the currently inadequate levelof programs for kids in our county now (I actually used to work with Kara years ago in the 90's at Community Family Development).]

3. $100,000 Scholarship fund at Dutchess Community College for fire and rescue squadvolunteers across the county (keeping volunteers saves tax dollars compared to paidfire; I've contacted DCC on this; currently-- unfortunately-- no such programnow exists; this should change).

4. Restore funding for corrections officers training to 2002 level (Jail AdministratorGary Christensen spoke of the need for this during Budget, Finance, and PersonnelCommittee review of the county budget earlier this month-- this should save money on claims from CO's being hurt on the job and provide for a safer workplace for all concerned).

5. Restore funding for an independent Environmental Management Council-- insteadof a new "Environmental Programs Coordinator" (see pertinent letters belowfrom EMC folks like Michael Trimble andNorene Coller); also see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SaveEMC .

6. Save tax dollars by stopping chronically mentally ill homeless county residentsfrom cycling in and out of local hospital, jail, and mental hospital-- start "housing-first"program setting up such individuals with their own apartments and support services(Westchester cut their homeless population in half this way with Pathways to Housing;New York City, San Francisco, and Chattanooga have found success with this programas well; Jail Administrator Gary Christensen told county legislators recently thereare five to twenty homeless county residents in our Jail).[see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/House1st ; http://www. PathwaystoHousing.org ;http://www.pathwaystohousing.org/html/housing-study.html ;http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/special_reports/2005/story/5608661p-5591116c.html?current_report=mentally_ill]

7. Implement a bail loan fund like Tompkins County's-- and ALL common-sense alternatives to incarceration suggested by our county'sCriminal Justice Council-- such as housing for electronic monitoring of county residentscurrently without homes, and additional probation officers and social workers forexpanded and expedited juvenile electronic monitoring, court reporting, mental healthscreenings, and drug treatment programming.[see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ATIs ; also some information on some of this in the County Executive's budget message at http://www.DutchessNY.gov ; note--kudos to Leg. Fred Bunnell for his success in getting electronic monitoring/housingoption into county budget amendments package passed last night; for bail loan fundsee:http://www.ithacanet.org/Orgs/OAR/oarfiles/geninfo.htm . More funding for re-entryprogramslike Peter Young Housing Industries and Training (PYHIT.com), Lancaster County's(PA) Job Court, and Harlem's Community Justice Center Parole Re-Entry Court would also save muchmore that initial investment; see:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6161848 ;http://www.courtinnovation.org/demo_parole.html .]

8. Fully fund (with $100,000) our local microenterprise loan fund (GET: Gatewaysto EntrepreneurialTomorrows)-- currently the only funding GET has for actual loans to budding microentrepreneursis the $35,000 it now shares with a similar nonprofit in Westchester County.[see http://www.GetHudsonValley.org ; http://www.MicroBizNY.org ; letter below from GET's Lunski himself]

9. "Shred-Mobile" to combat identity theft (as in Westchester County)[see http://www.westchestergov.com/currentnews/2006pr/Shredmobile.htm ]

10. Adds to Consumer Affairs website-- list of ten worst businesses; firewood warnings(as in Suffolk County).[see http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp3.cfm?dept=3&ID=20 ]

11. List of restaurants without trans fats on county Health Department website (asin Westchester County; our County Legislature's Clerk has agreed to send outmy letter to area restaurants on this, but agreement has not been forthcoming thusfar from the Health Dept. to put results up on their website).[see http://www.westchestergov.com/Health/TransFat/TF.htm ]

12. Prescription drug take-back program with local pharmacies to protect drinkingwater (as in Maine)-- at least a pilot program/forum should be possible in 2007.
http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Senatedemsall&id=25170&v=Article

13. Interactive map on county Health Department website of MTBE/other groundwatercontamination [with links to information from NYSDEC, Albany Times-Union, and ToxicsTargeting.com][see http://www.timesunion.com/TUNews/SpecialReports/HiddenPoison/index.aspx http://www.ToxicsTargeting.com ]

14. Alternative non-salt de-icing materials for county roads to protect drinkingwater (as now in Rhinebeck-- thanks to Highway Superintendent Kathy Kinsella)
[see http://www.ecostudies.org/road_salt.html ]

15. Help Dutchess County Arts Council with new capital projects fund for Center for the Performing Arts, Mill Street Loft, etc. (I've been pushing hard for this within the Democratic caucus).

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Why funding should not be cut in the 2007 county budget for our county's WorkforceInvestment Board-- see http://www.DCWIB.org ...

"According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey, the education level of the approximate 186,186 Dutchess County residents 25 yearsand According to the national accepted average, 1 out of 5 adults (over the age of 16 and not in school) are functionally illiterate; which means that a person cannot function independently because of a lack of basic reading, writing and/orspeaking skills. When applied to Dutchess County, it can be inferred that there are a number of residents who have attained higher education credentials that are, or would be deemed, functionally illiterate. This is one reason that it is equally important to emphasize the need for skills development and the application of knowledgeas it is to encourage education and lifelong learning."

Page 421 of the County Executive's Tentative Budget notes that county fundingfor the Dutchess County Workforce Investment Board is completely zeroed out for next year-- from $115,000 this year to literally nothing next year (this-- in theface of the Youth Resource Development Corporation and YWCA shutting their doorsjust last year)...

Regarding this past Saturday's Poughkeepsie Journal editorial (and coverage in today's paper)--

I agree that it's a good thing for folks in the community to cooperate with law enforcement officials to address gang activity from the likesof Partners N Crime; you do the crime, you do the time-- fine with me...

But the names of some of the gang members arrested do ring a bell with me; I recall teaching many of them in the late 90's when I was subbing extensively in Poughkeepsie schools...

My point is that if federal, state, county, and local governments invested more in programs for children up front we would save tax dollars down the road-- and stop kids from turning to a life of crime...

It's a point that the folks at FightCrime.org make effectively over and overagain...

Note the letter to the editor just below on this from Kara Singleton that came out in yesterday's Weekly Beat (I worked with Kara at Community Family Developmentback in the late 90's as well; Stefon Singleton was murdered about a year ago)...

Let's stop any more of our youth from turning to gangs-- and let's save tax dollars-- by truly investing in our youth (and our future)....

Our county's new Youth Bureau Director Will Sanchez told me himself this week that such services in our county are still under-funded and that many more program slots are still needed...

[Many in Poughkeepsie and across the county recall how Lincoln Center "back in the day" provided needed recreational activities in the day and evening-- we need something like this again-- badly.]

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From the Weekly Beat...

Positive youth outlets needed

To the Editor:

The increase of violence and the need for beneficial activities for the youth wasa subject that caught my attention during the city's Common Council meeting.Peggy Dennis was a speaker on the safety of the youth in Poughkeepsie. She expressedthe need for after-school activities, youth programs and the increase in deaths of young people. These were great subjects to bring up at the meeting because ofthe urgency.

There should be an increase in extra-curricular programs for youth because withouta place to go kids are using the streets as a hangout. In the streets, youth areintroduced to a rough lifestyle, a way of life that may lead to crime, violence,gangs or even death. Although not every teen that hangs out in the streets is influencedby the very rough way of life, this doesn?t mean that it will not have a significanteffect on the life of an impressionable teen.

There is a necessity for positive activities in the community to counteract the striving temptation of the streets. When there are more activities for youth to participate in, they will not have to look to the streets for entertainment. It will be a great accomplishment for the city to establish a place where children and teens have positively influenced.

The lack of homework centers, study groups, intramural sports and clubs for the youth is working against the community. As a neighborhood, we need to take our childrenfrom the streets and place them in productive programs. The seed has to be plantedinto the lives of youth to ensure that they will not stray to the streets for activity.The Common Council should take the concerns expressed by Dennis and discuss it furtherbecause it is extremely serious. Every minute wasted could be another life lost,or another young person fallen captive to the streets.

Kara Singleton
Poughkeepsie

Current petitions online-- click, sign on, fwd along...

2006-11-27T22:30:00.000-08:00

Four ways to lower our jail population by 97 inmates-- and save $3.5 million a year for county taxpayers...

2006-11-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

[Note: Event being held today in response to misinformation being spread in our county on the issues below (with all due respect, the fact is that jail expansion is unnecessary-- this is proven below); much credit is due to County Legislator Fred Bunnell for his hard work and advocacy on ATI's #2, #3, and #4 below; note as well two more ATI's worthy of emulation here in Dutchess County-- Lancaster County's (PA) Job Court:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6161848 , and Harlem'sCommunity Justice Center Parole Re-Entry Court:http://www.courtinnovation.org/demo_parole.html .]

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PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY 12:30 PM IN FRONT OF COUNTY JAIL--

[Info: 876-2488]

SAVE $3.5 MILLION A YEAR FOR COUNTY TAXPAYERS-- AND LOWER JAIL POPULATION BY 97 INMATES-- WITH FOUR COMMON-SENSE ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION:

-- BAIL LOAN FUND TO SAVE A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND LOWER JAIL POPULATION BY 30 (CHRISTENSEN NOV. 16TH: 30 IN JAIL WITH BAIL OF $1000 OR LESS)

-- SUPERVISED COMMUNITY RESIDENCE FOR WOMEN TO SAVE $1.5 MILLION A YEAR AND LOWER JAIL POPULATION BY 39 (ACCORDING TO CJC)

-- SUPERVISED COMMUNITY RESIDENCE FOR YOUTH TO SAVE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND LOWER JAIL POPULATION BY 12 (ACCORDING TO CJC)

-- ELECTRONIC MONITORING/HOUSING TO SAVE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND LOWER JAIL POPULATION BY 16 (ACCORDING TO CJC)

You're all invited to join us for a crucial press conference tomorrow, Tuesday November 28th at 12:30 pm in front of our County Jail at 150 North Hamilton Street in Poughkeepsie-- to call on our County Legislature to make reality four effective, cost-saving common-sense alternatives to incarceration for certain women, children, and those accused of nonviolent misdemeanors-- before any expansion of our county jail:

1. Bail loan fund-- saving a million dollars a year for county taxpayers;

2. Supervised community residence for women-- saving $1.5 million a year for countytaxpayers;

3. Supervised community residence for youth-- saving half a million dollars a yearfor county taxpayers;

4. Electronic monitoring/housing-- saving half a million dollars a year for countytaxpayers.

See information just below on the bail loan fund; also see below much more on the last three of these four from long-time Criminal Justice Councilmember Sam Busselle and our county's Criminal Justice Council (CJC) Executive Committee May 9th memo to County Legislature Chair Brad Kendall.

Also see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ATIs -- and "Enlightened Criminal Justice Helps Ease Jail Overcrowding" [Poughkeepsie Journal 9/17/06] by SamBusselle here: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060917/OPINION/609170311/1004/OPINION .

Contact our County Legislature now at 486-2100, countylegislature@co.dutchess.ny.us and countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us on these-- and to come out to the annual hearing on the county budget this Thursday, November 30th at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House at 7 pm (on Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie)!...

Recall as well how even Republican state legislators up in Tompkins County answered the request of county officials there like Legislature Chair Tim Joseph to effectively lobby the New York State Commission of Correction to oppose the NYSCOC's unreasonable demand for expansion of their county jail. The fact is that every single Republican state legislator representing Dutchess County has refused to lift a finger to do the same here when our County Legislature's Democratic Caucus asked for the same help here-- in the face of the NYSCOC trying to force an unneeded expansion of our county jail-- an unfunded mandate that would cost Dutchess County taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

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1. BAIL LOAN FUND TO SAVE A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR

Fact: According to Jail Administrator Gary Christensen as of November 16th there were over thirty inmates in our county jail with bail of $1000 or less (meaning local judges had made the decision that such individuals posed no threat to public safety if they could come up with their bail).

Fact: There's a United Way agency called Offender Aid and Restoration in Tompkins County (population 90,000) that now bails out 45 county residents accused of nonviolent misdemeanors a year with such loans, and saves $300,000 annually for taxpayers there-- we could save about a million dollars a year with our population of 280,000. [This can be verified with OAR at (607) 272-7885.]

Fact: The Daily Freeman strongly criticized the G.O.P. majority in our County Legislature last year for rejecting our proposal merely asking our county's Criminal Justice Council to evaluate the feasibility of a bail loan fund here for our county. According to the Daily Freeman, "rather than a knee-jerk reaction, Dutchess Republicans might better address the overcrowding situation at the jail by considering every reasonable alternative to freeing up limited space."

Note-- such a bail loan fund would only be for some of those accused of nonviolent misdemeanors like disorderly conduct, shoplifting, etc. Sadly, many have inaccurately branded a bail loan fund as "giving tax dollars for criminals."[ http://www.ithacanet.org/Orgs/OAR/oarfiles/geninfo.htm#bail ]

Fact: In Tompkins County, much like our county, 75% of inmates sitting in their jail are never convicted or sentenced. Inmates who qualify must have a co-signer on the bail loan (someone who has the assets to pay off the loan, usually a family member-- this is important because it means a commitment must be made by the inmate to their family as well as the county). The forfeiture rate is extremely low (only one or two a year-- better than with most bail bondscompanies).

From the website of Offender Aid and Restoration:[ http://www.ithacanet.org/Orgs/OAR/oarfiles/geninfo.htm ]

"While media representations suggest that all incarcerated persons have been convicted of a crime, those closer to the reality know that over 85% of the people who pass through the jail are pre-trial detainees. In keeping with our mission to ensure that all members of our community, regardless of economic status, race or gender, obtain equal justice before the law, we post bails of up to $1500 for people who are carefully screened and meet our criteria. Since those who have the financial means will post their own bails, our clients are typically the people without means who would otherwise remain incarcerated while awaiting trial. In addition to promoting justice, this program saves the county over $200,000 annually in potential incarceration costs. Each bailee-day saves county taxpayers at least $70."

New Jersey, Illinois, and Rhode Island have had bail funds as well:
http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/089/089003620000070R.html http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/Auditor/98041a.pdf+bail+fund&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/docs/362.pdf+bail+fund&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 http://www.oag.state.ri.us/reports/bailfund1203.pdf+bail+fund&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 .

The Victim Offender Reconciliation Program of New York has pointed out how badly bail funds are needed here in our state ( http://www.bail4u.com/page3.html ).

Read the quote below from Ed Martone, director of Public Education and Policy for the Pennsylvania Association on Corrections-- he endorsed the need for a bail fund there.

"Bail May Answer Overcrowding Problem" by Bernie Mixon[Camden Courier-Post 3/10/04-- excerpt]http://www.courierpostonline.com/specialreports/crisisinjail/m031004x.htm

Seven months before the first inmates would step through the door of the newly builtCamden County Prison, a federal judge came up with a creative solution to five yearsof fluctuating overcrowding.

An order was signed in 1987 that forced county freeholders to set aside $250,000to help bail out the jail's most indigent inmates.

With overcrowding still a problem 17 years later, could such a program be institutedagain that would release inmates charged on minor offenses?

Would it have made a difference for Joel Seidel?

Seidel, 65, was murdered in January in the jail's psychiatric unit by cellmateMarvin Lister, 35, authorities say...

There's no way to know, but Ed Martone, director of Public Education and Policyfor the Pennsylvania Association on Corrections, sees it as a possible option for prisoners not considered a threat.

"One is to have this kind of fund for people who don't pose that kind ofthreat," Martone said. "Another solution is to increase the public defenderbudget so there are enough public defenders to meet with clients on a timely basisand go to bail reduction hearings."

The judge's order was the end result of a 1982 class-action lawsuit filed bythe State Public Advocate's Office on behalf of inmates.

The inmates were protesting overcrowding conditions at the former jail on the sixthfloor of the combination city hall and county courthouse building in Camden.

The bail fund was to be used for indigent defendants accused of nonviolent and non-drug-relatedcrimes...

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2. SUPERVISED COMMUNITY RESIDENCE FOR WOMEN TO SAVE $1.5 MILLION A YEAR

Sam Busselle-- Re: Women's Issues (p. 10)-- "The two day workshop on genderspecific issues resulted in some specific treatment programs for the female populationincluding a residence. Since 1999 the CJC has been recommending a residence forwomen. Such a residence would reduce the number of women in jail, increase the likelihood of a comprehensive habilitation plan, and be likely to return individuals to theworkforce. Funding is now available for a few women and their children. Gaining site acceptance has been difficult. (Assuming a $40/day cost of a supervised residence and a $150/day cost in jail, the taxpayer realizes a $40,000 annual savings per person and a more promising treatment plan.)

We must redouble our efforts to promote this humane and effective alternative. It would be beneficial to publicize the innovative work that the county and non-profitagencies are doing and disclosing the cost of doing nothing. This has served thepublic well when the comprehensive approach to issues of domestic violence was featured with a community workshop and news articles."

CJC Exec Committee May 9th Memo: "Research indicates that women respond totreatment and other programs differently than men. It is important to understandthe key components that women need for success in treatment when developing services for women. In 2005, a Women's Task Force of the Criminal Justice Council was formed to address gender-specific issues. The Task Force sponsored a two-day workshop with technical assistance from the National Institute of Corrections. The Task Force serves as the Steering Committee to implement the action plan agreed upon at the workshop. Gap analysis is being conducted and a plan will be formulated.

Cost: NIC-funded technical assistance. Planning process underway, cost to be determined for program development.

Women's Residential Treatment Program: In 1999, the CJC identified a need for,and designed a program using a gender-specific approach, a residential treatmentprogram for women, women with children, and pregnant women. Mid-Hudson Addictions Recovery Centers, Inc. as the lead agency for this program has searched for a site to develop this residential service. Locations identified in 2005-2005 have notgained approval from local government zoning and planning entities.

Need statement: In 2005, approximately 39 women were identified in the DutchessCounty Jail as pregnant or women with children who could have been referred to thisprogram. In addition, the Family Treatment Court identified approximately 15 pregnantwomen or women with children who could have utilized this facility and 45 womenwith children and 12 pregnant women receiving outpatient treatment services couldhave been referred. These women were at risk of incarceration if they did not followtreatment recommendations.

Cost: New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services will fund capital and operating costs.

Given past difficulties in gaining site acceptance, strong support by communityleaders, local and county government leaders who support effective ATI programsas an effective option for women with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug issues involvedin the criminal justice system is necessary to implement this program."

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3. SUPERVISED COMMUNITY RESIDENCE FOR YOUTH TO SAVE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR

Sam Busselle Re: Supervised Community Residence for Youth (p. 6)-- "This recommendation has been made to the CJC and by the CJC to the legislature since the 1999 report. At that time it was stated that 12-15 jail beds would be saved. There has been nothing since then that has suggested that this residence would be anything but beneficial. It is substantiated in this report based on the number of youth in the Community Transitions day reporting Center who do not have adequate housing. Six years later we are still studying the feasibility of such a residence! Using the estimate of $40 per day for a supervised residence, this would save the county around $500,000per year and as stated in the report: 'not only have an impact on the jail, but also on the rest of the criminal justice system.'"

CJC Exec Committee May 9th Memo: "The Executive Committee continues to recommenda supervised community residence in conjunction with intensive interventions asan alternative to incarceration for youth. As the 1999 and 2005 recommendationsnote, "poor educational experiences, possessing low academic and educationalskills and lack of stable housing" are significant risk factors. Many of theseyouth are referred to the Community Transitions Center (CTC), and it is believedthat housing would enable the participants in the program to be engaged more effectively.Lack of suitable and stable housing has been identified as a major impediment tosuccessful outcomes. Potential participants will be identified at both the pretrialand sentencing criminatl justice stages with an actuarial assessment used at thelatter stage to identify both risk level and needs appropriate to the program.All participants will be court-ordered.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) entitled "Exploration of Need and Justificationfor a Residential Component to the Dutchess County Office of Probation and CommunityCorrections Community Transitions Center" was issued. The contract for programand cost analysis services is currently being developed by the county Probationdepartment. The RFP allocated $30,000 to study the issue of a residential componentfor the Community Transitions Center (CTC). CTC, a day reporting program, providesa wide range of services to a population of primarily young adults. The clienteleconsists of individuals who lack any positive support system at home or in the communitywhile they are participants in CTC and after they leave the program.
It has been proposed that adding a residential component to this program will significantlyincrease the chances of the probationers' success. The County is seeking ananalysis of the past and current populations of those attending our Day Reportingprogram and related jail populations to determine if there is in fact a need fora residential component to the Day Reporting Program. If in fact a population doesexist, what size facility would be necessary and what degree of security, if any,would be needed to successfully administer such a program?

Managing or maintaining the jail population requires both controlling the numberof admissions and readmissions. By targeting the youthful population who representthe chronic offenders and providing them with housing so that they can engage inprogramming designed to lower recidivism, we will not only have an impact on thejail, but also on the rest of the criminal justice system."

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4. ELECTRONIC MONITORING/HOUSING TO SAVE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR

Sam Busselle Re: Electronic Monitoring/Housing-- "At least one of the recommendations (#2 to contract with an agency to provide 16 beds in a supervised existing rooming house) was described as "time sensitive." This program would save the County taxpayers as much as $110/day for each of 16 individuals or $52,800 per month according to the report. (Assuming the "operational" cost per day in jail is $150 cited on page 16) It would also reduce the number and cost of 'housed out' individuals by 25-40%."

CJC Exec Committee May 9th Memo: "The 2005 report notes that the Office of Probation and Community Corrections has had difficulty placing otherwise eligible inmates on electronic monitoring due to the inmate's lack of housing. These inmates are often young, women, and individuals with mental health issues.
In order to meet this need the [Criminal Justice] Council recommends that DutchessCounty fund 16 beds in an existing rooming-house type structure within the County.We propose contracting with a not-for-profit agency to run and operate such a facility.The Dutchess County Office of Probation would oversee this new Alternative to Incarceration program.

This facility would have a staff member on site 12 hours per day, 7 days a week.In addition, the probation department would be available as needed to respond, 24hours per day, 7 days a week through the existing electronic monitoring program.

It is expected that the residents of this facility would attend either existingday treatment programs or be employed. Current staff in the Public Defender adnMental Hygiene departments would provide social work and case management type services to the residents. Length of stay is projected to be similar to the existing electronic monitoring program, ranging from 1 to 6 months. This type of housing arrangement is flexible enough to accomodate diverse populations so that the project could be tailored to any changes in the jail population.

Cost: The cost of running such a facility would include start-up costs of $54,789 for minor renovations and furnishing of the house. In addition we propose enteringinto a two-year contract with a not-for-profit agency for approximately $230.00per annum. This is a cost of around $40.00 per bed per day. Some of the per daycost would be offset through funding from the Social Security Administration andrent charged to residents who are employed.

Funding of this proposal is a priority as cost and feasibility are time-sensitive."

---------------------------------------

More from Sam Busselle (CJC Citizen Appointment) on CJC Executive Committeememo to County Legislature Chair Brad Kendall - May 9th "ATI Cost Analysis":

"Given the importance of the issues discussed in this memo, the urgency of dealingwith the costs associated with 'housing-out' for the jail and the need toinformthe public; it is disappointing that it took three months just to get this documentcirculated to members of the Legislature and the Criminal Justice Council...

It is useful to revisit the 1999 CJC Report to the Legislature whichrefers to the National Institute of Corrections findings that don't seem to havechanged:

-- The jail's population, which has averaged around 350 this year, (1998) includes220 awaiting trial. Roughly 50% of these are charged with misdemeanor (petty) crimesof a non-violent nature and could be housed and held, at little public risk, inless or non-secured settings-- perhaps eliminating or reducing the need for additionalcells. Operating savings would be a bonus.

-- The rate of recidivism of sentenced inmates in the jail is 62% but is running30-40% in community alternatives to incarceration programs. The rate has reachedas low as 17% this past year when community-based ATI were preceded by innovativein-jail transitional programming?"

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The Pretrial Services Resource Center reports there are more than 300 pretrial services programs in place now across the country and points to "A Second Look at Allevating Jail Overcrowding: A System Perspective."
[ www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/bja/182507.pdf ;http://www.pretrial.org/surveyresults.html ]

Also see Dana Kaplan's fact sheet on Cost Effective Solutions to Jail Overcrowding: http://www.realcostofprisons.org/pdfs/jail_reform_natl.pdf .

"The National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) has developeda set of standards for pretrial diversion programs that provide an excellent startingpoint for jurisdictions looking into developing them."
[ http://www.napsa.org ; http://www.pretrial.org/faq.html ]

Re: media reform-- help get the Dutchess County Legislature to pass a resolution asking FCC to protect us from monopolies...

2006-11-25T12:18:00.001-08:00

[note-- see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/MORMedia on this as well; read, sign on, and fwd to all u know!]

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Hey folks...

Late Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 21st) I submitted the resolution below calling on our County Legislature to weigh in on the Federal Communications Commission's review of ownership regulations regarding television and radio stations and newspapers (deadline for public comment on this is December 21st-- possible thru FCC website directly)...

I knew Rhinebeck resident Andi Novick of Northeast Citizens for Responsible Media (Re-Media.org) would be hosting an extremely well-attended public hearing on this issue at the Wallace Center at the FDR site in Hyde Park with Rep. Maurice Hinchey and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps (and she did!); to their credit, fellow County Legislators Diane Nash and Bill McCabe were in attendance as well...

Would you like to help get our County Legislature to pass this resolution below?...

Contact them at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us and countylegislature@co.dutchess.ny.us -- pass it on...

Joel Tyner
County Legislator
Clinton/Rhinebeck
joeltyner@earthlink.net
(845) 876-2488

p.s. Also let us know if you'd like to help us get off the ground a new publication-- "Common Sense for Dutchess County"!...(a bunch of folks who came to the house last weekend expressed an interest, but we could always use more help)...

-----------------------------------------------

[note-- the vast majority of the text below is from http://www.Re-Media.org and http://www.StopBigMedia.com ...(also see http://www.FAIR.org )]

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson once stated, "The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents;there is no safe deposit for these but the people themselves, nor can they be safewith them without information; where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe," and

WHEREAS, much is at stake now in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) review of ownership regulations regarding television and radio stations; the FCC's Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making on June 21st this year launched a process of reviewing media ownership regulations, with the intent of relaxing or abolishing several longstanding ownership rules, and

WHEREAS, currently a single company is prohibited from owning a broadcast television or radio station and a major daily newspaper in the same city, though there are currently about two dozen cross-owned newspaper-broadcast combinations, most are "grandfathered" combinations that existed before1975; the FCC has indicated it might completely eliminate the newspaper-television cross ownership ban in all but the smallest media markets; if this cross-ownership ban is removed, along with other FCC-proposed rule changes, a single company could potentially own the major daily newspaper, eight radio stations and three television stations, as well as the cable television system all within in the same town, and

WHEREAS, currently a single company can own up to two TV stations and six radio stations or one TV station and seven radio stations in a single community, as long as there are at least 20 independent outlets including TV, radio, newspapers, etc. in the market; the FCC has indicated it may weaken this ownership protection and in the largest markets completely eliminate any restrictions on radio/televisioncross-ownership, and

WHEREAS, currently companies are allowed to own two stations in only the biggest markets where there are eight or more stations, but only one of the two stations can be a top-four-ranked station; the FCC has indicated it may change the rule to allow a single company to own two TV stations in smaller markets (those areas with only 5 stations), and the FCC may allow a single owner to control three stations in the country's largest markets, and

WHEREAS, currently a single company can own up to eight stations in the biggestmarkets and up to five stations in smaller markets; it is possible that noncommercial stations will be included in the total count of a market's stations, making it easier for large media giants to acquire more stations in smaller markets, and

WHEREAS, if the media ownership rules are eliminated, the last vestiges of local media competition will be swept away, replacing varied viewpoints with "mediacompany towns"; if the changes are approved, one company could potentially own the major daily newspaper, eight radio stations and three television stations in thesame town; once the digital television transition is completed in 2009-- allowingstations to broadcast multiple signals-- one company could control 12 or even 18television channels in a single city, and therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature hereby requests that the FederalCommunications Commission not weaken media regulations, and that Congress pass Rep. Maurice Hinchey's Media Ownership Reform Act of 2006 (H.R.3302), which would reinstate cable/broadcast cross-ownership rules forbidding any company from owning and operating a broadcast station and a cable station in the same market, limiting the influence of that company on the various media outlets, and which would also restore the Fairness Doctrine, compelling broadcast news outlets to investigate issues thoroughly and present their findings in an unbiased way, and be it further

RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to President George W. Bush, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Chuck Schumer, Representative Maurice Hinchey, Representative Sue Kelly, & Representative John Sweeney.

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Excerpts below from http://www.StopBigMedia.com ...

The Federal Communications Commission is once again taking up the issue of media ownership and deciding how media ownership rules should be changed. As FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has warned: "They screwed it up once. Believe me, they're 100 percent capable of screwing it up again." That'swhy it's crucial for the public to weigh in now...

In 2003, the Federal Communications Commission attempted to loosen media ownership rules that would have unleashed a massive wave of corporate consolidation of radio, television and newspapers entities across the country.The courts sent these rules back to the FCC for a rewrite. Now, as the FCC embarks upon writing new rules, the stakes are even higher:

A handful of media companies dominate what you watch on television. As their influence spreads to other outlets, the diversity of what you see diminishes. Five media conglomerates — Viacom, Disney, Time Warner, News Corp. and NBC/GE — control the big four networks (70 percent of the primetime television market share), most cable channels, as well as vast holdings in radio, publishing, movie studios, music, Internet and other sectors. (To learn more, visit StopBigMedia.com's ownership charts)

Minority ownership — a crucial source of diverse and varied viewpoints -- is at a 10-year low, down 14% since 1997. Today, only 1.9% of television stations are minority-owned.
Over the next few years, television conglomerates will begin broadcasting digitally. This means that in the space it used to take to broadcast the local affiliate of ABC, NBC or CBS, these corporations will now be able to fit six or more stations — ABC-1, ABC-2, and so on. This opens up countless new revenue streams, and indeed, plans are already in the works to have infomercial-driven new channels pump up corporate profits.

The total worth of the publicly owned airwaves that U.S. broadcasters utilize has been valued at $367 billion -- more than the GDP of many nations — but the public has never been paid a dime in return. Now, these conglomerates claim they can't afford to be accountable to the public interest...

Since 1975, two-thirds of independent newspaper owners have disappeared, and one-third of independent television owners have vanished. Only 281 of the nation's 1,500 daily newspapers remain independently owned, and more than half of all U.S. markets are dominated by one paper.

Moreover, the number of radio station owners has plummeted by 34 percent since 1996, when ownership rules were gutted. That year, the largest radio owners controlled fewer than 65 stations; today, radio giant Clear Channel alone owns more than 1,200.

Help make real funding for microenterprise lending in Dutchess a priority in the 2007 county budget...

2006-11-25T12:18:00.000-08:00

[Note-- see http://www.GetHudsonValley.org and http://www.MicroBizNY.org for more on how valuable and cost-effective microenterprise lending is as an economic development tool to create jobs; I've sat down with GET President Enrique Rob Lunski a number of times over the last few years-- we're working together now to try to get some real funding so GET can actually do some microlending beyond the tiny amount they have at their disposal currently for this (see below)...Please contact our County Legislature at countylegislature@co.dutchess.ny.us and countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us on this as well...Joel (876-2488) joeltyner@earthlink.net (This one's an old one for me; brought international pro-microenterprise hunger advocacy group RESULTS to Rhinebeck a dozen years ago for forum based on successes of Grameen Bank; got Dem caucus last December to agree to help me push for $20,000 funding for GET, but G.O.P. rejected.)]

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From Enrique Rob Lunski, Ph.D...
[President of GET: Gateways to Entrepreneurial Tomorrows (790-5004)]

November 21, 2006

Equal access to economic resources and possibilities is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Historical lack of equal access to education, funding and guidance, deny underserved minorities and low income families the chance to start their own businesses and share in the American dream of financial independence. What is needed is a level playfield where businesses can grow based on their own strengths, rather than on economic, ethnic or racial barriers.

GET is a free service to foster entrepreneurship across urban areas in the Mid Hudson Valley region. It fills the gap in existing services by starting its work at the basic early stages of the business ladder: the germination period where ideas are formed. GET's services target underserved minorities and low income families, helping them start their own business through:

* Free confidential consultations and technical assistance
* Business and entrepreneurial training
* Access to regional opportunities
* Individual mentorship
* Micro-loans for business start-ups

Almost two years have passed since GET started operations, first under the umbrella of Marist College School of Management and most recently as its own 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. During this time hundreds of people with many ideas, hopes for a better life and dreams of financial independence have visited GET.

GET has worked on 156 entrepreneurial projects with a total of 166 entrepreneurs. Each project is broken down into one of five categories:

* Latino/ Hispanic-- 18 projects
* African American-- 45 projects
* Asian/ Indian-- 6 projects
* Low-Income-- 57 projects
* Disabled-- 2 projects
* Non-profit-- 2 projects
* Other-- 26 projects

Of these 156 projects, 43 are already in business.

Initial funding came from the Dyson Foundation in the amount of $300,000.00, with the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency contributing $25,000.00.
We are submitting this request in support of our programs and to expand the offering of micro loans to minorities and low income families who want to jumpstart their own business in Dutchess County.

In partnership with Community Capital Resources, a Westchester-based lending organization, we have applied for and received a grant from Empire State Development Corporation for $25,000 to be used as micro loans. Under this collaborative program, we are able to offer business start-up loans up to $5,000.00 and up to $10,000.00 for existing businesses. This amount can only assist 3-5 initiatives. We are requesting additional funding to expand this micro loan fund in Dutchess County, a program which GET can administer from its Poughkeepsie Offices.

At the Annual Pattern for Progress Dinner last month, outgoing Pattern President Mike DiTullo and Pattern Chairman Carl Meyer both referred to GET as one of the best things that has happened in the region in the last few years in terms of economic development.

Mohammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, and credited with starting the micro-loan/enterprise concept summed it up when he said:

"People can change their own lives, provided they have the right kind of institutional support. They're not asking for charity, charity is no solution to poverty...(the answer to)...poverty is the creation of opportunities like everybody else has, but not the poor people, so bring them to the poor people, so that they can change their lives. That's all we are doing. We didn't do anything special; all we did was we lent it to the poor people, and that makes the trick. That makes the change."
(Mohammad Yunus, Nobel Foundation Website)

Yunus founded the Grameen bank in Bangladesh, a bank which today has over a thousand branches serving millions of small business owners, of which more than 90% are women. Perhaps the most significant result of Yunus' lending policies is that over 98% of all loans are repaid.

"Based on a recent analysis of New York State's labor market there are approximately 1.5 million microenterprises operating throughout the state. These microenterprises employ approximately 19% of the state's entire workforce.

Furthermore, a 2000 analysis of the state funded Entrepreneurial Assistance Program (EAP), prepared by Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), demonstrated that each job created through the EAP cost the state only $1,600 and that for every $1 spent on the Entrepreneurial Assistance program, $2 in tax revenue was generated. These numbers are merely the tip of the iceberg and clearly show the importance of the microenterprise sector as it relates to the states economy."( http://www.microbiz.org )

We are asking the Dutchess County Legislature for $100,000.00, in support of the GET program and to fund Micro-Loans in Dutchess County. Of this amount, $40,000 will be used to bring our program, of free technical assistance, training and mentorship, and our six week seminar series "Entrepreneurship for Everyone" to the urban areas with the highest concentration of low income families as identified by the Legislature. GET wants to work with the Legislature in promoting economic development to those segments of the population that need it the most, helping them achieve economic independence and thus reducing the burden of welfare services and delinquency.

The remaining $60,000 will be used to start a Micro-Loan program in Dutchess County to supplement the $25,000 that we are already have to give out. Of the $60,000, 15-20% will go towards administrative expenses to maintain the micro loan program, and to provide technical assistance and training to the entrepreneurs applying for the funding before, and for two years after they start their business.

I thank you for the opportunity to introduce our successful program to you. I am available to come speak to the legislature and or committees as you may see it appropriate. If you need additional information please don't hesitate to contact me.

New Fiscal Policy Institute "One New York" report has much to offer...

2006-11-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

Recall Monday's front-page PoJo article on the new Fiscal Policy Institute report below; note as well-- our County Legislature will be once again voting soon on boundary amendments to Empire Zones in our county (see point #3 below)...

On that note-- this paragraph from the "Make Smart and Strategic Investments" section of FPI's new "One New York" report:

"New York State, its local governments and its public authorities spend three to four billion dollars annually in the name of economic development. But these resources are not used well, with officials throwing taxpayer dollars at companies in the hope that jobs will be created or retained. The same scrutiny being brought to bear on education and on safety net spending such as Medicaid needs to be applied to economic development spending (and all spending for that matter) as well. New York simply can't afford to have any economic development program run amok such as reported recently by the Syracuse Post-Standard. The Syracuse paper documented how under the state's Empire Zones program, over $500 million a year is going to firms that simply reincorporated or reorganized in order to claim their workers were "new" employees."

[see:http://www.syracuse.com/specialreports/poststandard/index.ssf?/specialreports/empirezone.html; also http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Taxpayer !]

It's all at http://www.FiscalPolicy.org ...

The new Fiscal Policy Institute report "One New York: An Agenda for Shared Prosperity" has many excellent suggestions and is a veritable treasure trove of much-ignored facts and information about our state's tax system...

These twelve common-sense ideas below stand out in particular as ones worthy for Mr. Spitzer, Mr. Silver, and Mr. Bruno to pursue:[Saland, Miller, Molinaro, Kirwan, Leibell, and Ball held responsible for these below as well; Cahill already ahead of the curve on much of this]

1. Statewide pension fund open to all working New Yorkers. (p. 46)
2. Restructure HCRA funding so as not to punish companies paying for health care. (p. 13)
3. Reform Empire Zones program to end rampant abuses. (p. 16)
4. Gradually (over the next few years) raise NY's minimum wage to level it was in 1970 (accounting for inflation)-- $8.47 an hour. (p. 37)
5. Make sure the state's Department of Labor investigates industries for labor law infractions. (p. 37)
6. Paid family leave to care for new child or sick family member (similar to California). (p. 49)
7. Pre-kindergarten available to all three-year-olds and four-year-olds. (p. 48)
8. Child care for families up to 275% of federal poverty level. (p. 47)
9. Restore Child Care Professional Retention Program. (p. 48)
10. Reform unemployment insurance to be a real safety net. (p.37)
11. Reform worker's compensation to be a real safety net. (p. 14)
12. Reform Housing Finance Agency away from influence of developers' donations. (p.44)

Note-- the first one listed above (for a statewide pension fund open to all New Yorkers) seems like a particularly good idea...

To wit, then, from pages 45 and 46 of FPI's "One New York" report:

"Pensions are a source of increasing insecurity and cost pressure for all workers. Those who have pensions through their employer are being asked to contribute increasing amounts to it, and those who don't are straining to set up and manage their own 401(k) or similar account.

The governor and the legislature can help by setting up a single fund to which all New Yorkers can contribute pre-tax dollars. The fund might offer options for accounts that offer defined benefits as well as traditional retirement accounts. The cost savings to people making contributions could be considerable, since fees on a large single fund would be substantially smaller than individual accounts. As with the state's common retirement fund for state and local government workers, professional management of a large state fund has shown that returns will be greater than small investors typically receive. Of course, a voluntary state retirement system for all New York workers would in no way substitute for the current system of public sector pension plans."

Your thoughts?...

[will be asking colleagues in our County Legislature to help push Albany on these]

Toll-free number for Governor/Senate/Assembly: (877) 255-9417.

Joel
876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
http://www.RealMajorityProject.blogspot.com

p.s. Let's also not forget some other great suggestions in the FPI "OneNew York" report-- restoring revenue sharing from Albany with municipalities tothe level it was at in the 70's (p. 28), single-payer health care (p. 12), and info throughout the report on restoring fairness and progressivity to our state's tax code by returning it to the structure it had in 1972, with fourteen different income tax brackets between 2% and 15% (instead of the way it is now, with only five income tax brackets between 4% and 6.85%-- a de facto flat tax so that folks making $30,000 a year now pay the same tax rate to Albany as those making $30 million a year)!...see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/FAIRTAX for more...

p.p.s. Finally, check out this paragraph from page 41 of the report:
"The state tax system is now so distorted that the governor and the legislature should undertake a comprehensive review. An essential part of what the governor and the legislature should do, however, is to help localities to reduce property taxes by restoring progressivity to state income taxes. In addition, the state government could give localities more flexibility in how they collect taxes, allowing them to move away from over-reliance on property and sales taxes and instead raising funds through a local version of an income tax. The governor and the legislature should consider giving county governments the authority to levy a "piggyback"income tax for county government purposes. Such a tax could be structured like the income tax that the city of Yonkers is currently authorized to impose. The use of such an option would make a county's revenue system more progressive and place less of the burden on middle and lower income residents." [!]

[note-- see http://www.WorkingFamiliesParty.org on this as well-- the WFP has come out strongly in favor of this option to raise revenues for counties (instead of jacking up county property or sales taxes higher-- or cutting county services)]

p.p.p.s. Don't forget...

Fact: The County Executive has proposed raising an extra $12 million in taxes inthree ways-- re-instating a sales tax on clothing and footwear under $110, continuingthe current 3.75% sales tax, and hiking the mortgage tax from 1% to 1?% (see http://www.DutchessNY.gov ).

Fact: Both sales and property taxes are too high and unfairly regressive, as theyoften bear little relation to our ability to pay (unlike income taxes). 80% of New Yorkers now actually pay more in sales taxes than they do in property taxes. Dutchess County’s homeowners now spend well over half a billion dollars a year on property taxes for school, county, town, village, and city governments, and fire and library districts. 60% of New Yorkers pay more in property taxes than they do on income taxes (see http://www.ITEPnet.org/wp2000/ny%20pr.pdf ).

Fact: Only 40% of New York City’s local tax revenue comes from property taxes because NYC has a local income tax— while across the state well over 70% of local government tax revenue comes from property taxes (because there are no local income taxes, except in Yonkers).
[Maybe it is time to consider a local income tax in Dutchess to slash property taxes!]

Common-Sense County Budget Initiatives...

2006-11-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks...

Free tomorrow (Tuesday) at lunch time for a bit?...

If you are, you're invited to join us at 12:30 pm for a press conference in front of our County Office Building at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepsie-- calling on county government to save county tax dollars the four ways below-- in order to pay for the other common-sense initiatives listed below-- (let us know if you can join us)...

Note as well...

Fact: The County Executive has proposed raising an extra $12 million in taxes inthree ways-- re-instating a sales tax on clothing and footwear under $110, continuingthe current 3.75% sales tax, and hiking the mortgage tax from 1% to 1¼%-- to avoid14% increase in county property tax or massive cuts in county services (see http://www.DutchessNY.gov ).

Fact: Both property and sales taxes are too high and unfairly regressive, as theyoften bear little relation to our ability to pay (unlike income taxes). DutchessCounty’s homeowners now spend well over half a billion dollars a year on propertytaxes for school, county, town, village, and city governments, and fire and librarydistricts. 80% of New Yorkers now actually pay more in sales taxes than they doin property taxes. 60% of New Yorkers pay more in property taxes than they do onincome taxes (see full chart on this at http://www.ITEPnet.org/wp2000/ny%20pr.pdf ). Don't forget-- millionaires here in NY now pay half the state and local taxes that middle-class New Yorkers do as a percentage of income because of what's happened to NY's tax code since Rockefeller in the early 70's (see http://www.FiscalPolicy.org ; http://www.ABetterChoiceforNY.org ).

Fact: Only 40% of NYC’s local tax revenue comes from property taxes because NYC has a local income tax— while across the state well over 70% of local government tax revenue comes from property taxes (because there are no local income taxes, except in Yonkers). [Q: Is it time to consider a local income tax in Dutchess to slash property taxes?]

In ANY case...

Please check out the "best practices" ideas below I've culled from across the state-- and feel free to zip off an email to countylegislature@co.dutchess.ny.us and countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us if you agree with any/all of 'em!...

Pass it on...

Joel Tyner
County Legislator
Clinton/Rhinebeck
(845) 876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
http://www.JoelTyner.org

p.s. You're all also invited to forums I'm holding in Northern Dutchess County on the county budget as a three-year member of our County Legislature's Budget, Finance, and Personnel Committee-- at Clinton Town Hall Nov. 28th at 5:30 pm, at Rhinebeck Village Hall Nov. 28th at 7 pm, and at Rhinebeck Town Hall Nov. 29th at 8 pm; perhaps most importantly, don't miss the official annual county budget hearing Thursday Nov. 30th at 7 pm at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie...

p.p.s. You're all also invited to call in with your thoughts on this or any other issue you might have to "The Real Majority Project" at 437-7178 Sunday nights 9 to 11 pm on WVKR 91.3 FM...

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Without further ado-- here below are the common-sense initiatives we'll be referring to at tomorrow's press conference...

Four Ways to Save County Tax Dollars...

1. Save a million dollars a year by allowing county employees and retirees the option of being reimbursed for prescription drugs from Canada-- as is already the case in Schenectady County and G.O.P.-led Rensselaer and Lewis counties. (Schenectady County now saves a million dollars a year for taxpayers there this way-- with fewer county employees and retirees there than here in Dutchess, no less). [see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SaveOnRx ]

2. Get local report on exactly how much local taxpayers now pay for Medicaid for county residents working at profitable companies like Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts-- towards getting those companies to pay their fair share for health care for their employees instead (such a report has recently been completed in Westchester County).[see http://westchestergov.com/currentnews/2006pr/medicaidsurvey.htm ]

3. Save tax dollars by stopping chronically mentally ill homeless county residents from cycling in and out of local hospital, jail, and mental hospital-- start "housing-first" program setting up such individuals with their own apartments and support services (Westchester cut their homeless population in half this way with Pathways to Housing; New York City, San Francisco, and Chattanooga have found success with this program as well; Jail Administrator Gary Christensen told county legislators yesterday there are usually about twenty homeless county residents in our Jail).[see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/House1st ; http://www. PathwaystoHousing.org ]

4. Implement common-sense alternatives to incarceration suggested by our county's Criminal Justice Council-- such as housing for electronic monitoring of county residents currently without homes, and additional probation officers and social workers for expanded and expedited juvenile electronic monitoring, court reporting, mental health screenings, and drug treatment programming.[see http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ATIs ; also some information on some of this in the County Executive's budget message at http://www.DutchessNY.gov ; long-time Criminal Justice Councilmember Sam Busselle has pointed out that the electronic monitoring/housing option alone recommended by the CJC would save half a million dollars a year for county taxpayers (note-- thanks to Co. Leg. Fred Bunnell for much time and energy devoted to this)]

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Two Ways to Help Revitalize Our Local Economy...

1. Fully fund our local microenterprise loan fund (GET: Gateways to Entrepreneurial Tomorrows)-- currently the only funding GET has for actual loans to budding microentrepreneurs is the $35,000 it now shares with a similar nonprofit in Westchester County.
[see http://www.GetHudsonValley.org ; http://www.MicroBizNY.org ]

2. Have our county's Central Services/Purchasing Department initiate a Small Business Registry so more county contracts can go to local small businesses (such a program has been up and running successfully in Rockland County).[see http://www.co.rockland.ny.us/Legislature/Fried/business.htm ]

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Eight Consumer/Health Initiatives...

1. "Shred-Mobile" to combat identity theft (as in Westchester County)
[see http://www.westchestergov.com/currentnews/2006pr/Shredmobile.htm ]

2. Adds to Consumer Affairs website-- list of ten worst businesses; firewood warnings (as in Suffolk County).[see http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp3.cfm?dept=3&ID=20 ]

3. List of restaurants without trans fats on county Health Department website (as in Westchester County)
[see http://www.westchestergov.com/Health/TransFat/TF.htm ]

4. Prescription drug take-back program with local pharmacies to protect drinking water (as in Maine)http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Senatedemsall&id=25170&v=Article

5. Interactive map on county Health Department website of MTBE/other groundwater contamination [with links to information from NYSDEC, Albany Times-Union, and ToxicsTargeting.com]
[see http://www.timesunion.com/TUNews/SpecialReports/HiddenPoison/index.aspx ; http://www.ToxicsTargeting.com ]

6. Alternative non-salt de-icing materials for county roads to protect drinking water (as now in Rhinebeck-- thanks to Highway Superintendent Kathy Kinsella)
[see http://www.ecostudies.org/road_salt.html ]

7. Quarterly countywide Saturday forums at DCC on sustainability, student government, sex offenders, etc.-- to shed light (and facts)-- not heat on these and other crucial issues

8. Mailing to all county residents on benefits eligible (Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, food stamps, etc.), and known groundwater contamination in county, along with recycling law facts-- and invitation to attend/schedule of County Legislature meetings