Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. called for expanding health care and child care, tackling food insecurity and getting tougher on crime in his 2024 State of the County address Thursday afternoon.
Picente's speech at Turning Stone touched on past accomplishments and laid out plans for the future.
Mr. Picente touted the success of the recent international women's hockey tournament and congratulated the Oneida Indian Nation on its expansion plans.
County leaders began their speech by observing a moment of silence in memory of Onondaga County Sheriff's Lt. Michael Husock and Syracuse police officer and Rome native Michael Jensen, who were killed in the line of duty on April 14.
Mr. Picente also took time during his speech to honor the memory of the late Steve DiMeo, who was a significant part of Oneida County's development. DiMeo's family and Mohawk Valley EDGE staff attended the speech, Picente said.
The county executive concluded his speech by noting how strong and resilient Oneida County is.
“This is where the speech becomes a perfunctory 'we are strong,'” Picente said. “But we're much more than that. We're tough, we're solid, and most of all we're resilient. We're tough because we're bold in everything we do. We're solid because we're bold in everything we do. , because we've built a foundation of strong financial management. And we're resilient because we won't let anything stop our progress.”
Here are five key takeaways from Picente's State of the County address.
health care
Mr. Picente declared that Oneida County is committed to harm reduction and eliminating the stigma surrounding substance use disorders.
“These strategies save lives and give people time to get what they need,” he said. “And last year, we conducted a series of overdose death investigations to identify and understand gaps and weaknesses in the system that could be improved.”
Picente said the full report would be released in the coming weeks, but he offered several takeaways from what he learned and what to do next.
“We are going to develop a system where law enforcement looks at risk factors in people they encounter and makes referrals directly to authorities and programs,” the county executive explained. “We are changing the way we escalate someone to the next level of outreach and creating a way for loved ones to report concerns and observations anonymously. We are also creating a way for people at risk to navigate the system We will also invest in training our care coordinators to provide a single point of contact.”
And it takes into account not only the body but also the mind. Picente said Oneida County needs to do more to strengthen mental health services.
“We don't have enough mental health services. We don't have enough mental health beds,” he said. There is a shortage of mental health workers. And the consequences remain devastating,” he said. “Homelessness, drug use, and children’s mental health issues are all caused by a broken mental health system.”
County leaders want to strengthen school mental health services by expanding telemedicine and creating rapid referral programs to begin helping those in need.
The other is working with agency partners to establish Crisis Residence Centers as voluntary short-term accommodation alternatives to hospitalization.
But most of all, they need manpower, Picente said.
“We need more mental health workers. We need to build a talent pipeline and will consider all options, including training, internships, apprenticeships, increased rotations and accelerated education programs.” said. “We can't keep saying 'not enough'. We have to change course, and that starts today.”
Childcare
According to a national poll by the U.S. Census Bureau, one in five parents rely on relatives for child care.
Because so many parents need reliable, affordable child care, the Oneida County Child Care Task Force worked throughout 2023 to come up with solutions, Picente said.
Three strategies have been developed and eight recommendations, including 24 individual action items, are set out in the report, which Picente said will be published in the coming days.
The three strategies we have in mind are improving recruitment and retention of childcare workers, expanding childcare capacity, and identifying and removing barriers to accessing childcare.
Proposed measures include building an alternative workforce pipeline, hiring child care community navigators, and providing county funding to start family child care businesses.
food insecurity
Food insecurity remains a reality for many people in the country, and Picente said Oneida County is no exception.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of families, seniors and children in this area who know what that feels like. [of hunger] That’s more than enough,” Picente said. “Imagine a child trying to learn at school while being hungry and anxious. It becomes impossible to concentrate and succeed.”
Picente said he wants to use low-cost technology to connect people who have surplus food with those who need it. He said the app can flag locations where you would like to donate additional food and coordinate deliveries with food banks, faith-based organizations and shelters.
“This way, we can get food to the hungry without it going to waste,” Picente said.
development
Although Fort Stanwix was a place used by many people, Mr. Picente felt there was a deficiency there, which was a source of anger among those who wanted to develop Rome's high street.
Picente explained that when the fort was first proposed, a retail and entertainment development plan would surround it and build stores and other amenities.
“That never happened,” Picente said. We need a development approach to the space around the fortress to achieve what was originally intended 50 years ago. It should complement the fort and attract visitors. ”
Mercy is investing $2 million with EDGE's Oneida County partners to create new flex space for supply chain businesses. Picente said these businesses are essential to the growth of the county's semiconductor industry.
Looking to the near future, Picente said the county is moving forward with plans to reuse and redevelop the former St. Luke's Hospital campus.
“We have begun neighborhood outreach, a public survey, and meetings with stakeholders, and this public engagement will continue,” he said. “We encourage anyone interested to visit the Rethink St. Luke’s website to learn more.”
crime
Crime continues to be a topic of discussion, with Picente calling on the governor and the state Legislature to amend bail reform, raise the age and strengthen discovery laws. Until then, Oneida County needs to do what it can locally, Picente said.
“We need to establish deterrents to criminal activity and support law enforcement agencies in gathering critical evidence to prosecute those who commit crimes in our neighborhoods and commercial areas,” Picente explained. Schnechtdei cited installing more than 300 cameras to do just that.
Picente said he plans to spend $2.5 million and take administrative action to install cameras “as much as possible in high-crime, high-traffic areas.”
In addition, Picente has proposed two local laws to target and combat illegal smoking and head shops.
“I'm not talking about a legally licensed facility that has taken appropriate steps to operate a business,” Picente said. “I'm talking about the blatantly illegal stores that are popping up in every corner of every community. We're going to take steps to shut them down.”
Picente is referring to stores that sell stickers and other paraphernalia at exorbitant prices, but include marijuana as a gift as part of the deal.
Picente said this would effectively allow counties to regulate, fine and padlock locations operating illegal marijuana dispensaries.
Regarding youth violence in Oneida County, Picente said he is creating a $10 million fund over four years for the county to combat violence and invest in programs and initiatives such as after-school programs, mentoring, employment opportunities and academic enrichment. He said that
