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County Executive Thomas Santulli
Dear Friends:
On the following pages you will see a series
of charts & graphs that paint a picture of a Chemung County Government that is meeting the needs of its citizens
in the face of significant fiscal hardship.
As the graphs on these profile pages clearly
demonstrate, Chemung County weathered a fairly severe economic storm in 2001. The total number of persons gainfully
employed in the county was down slightly from the previous year, dropping from 44,900 to 44,000 at year-end. Likewise,
our sales tax revenues dipped from a record high $20.6 million in 2000 to $19.6 million in 2001. At the same time,
our unemployment rate spiked to the highest level in eight years, reaching 6.6% at the end of December, up from
4.1% at the end of 2000.
While many area employers struggled during
2001 to regain the momentum they had enjoyed from the early 1990's until the national economic downturn took hold
in late 2000, there was still some very positive activity to report. Vulcraft of New York, Inc., a subsidiary of
Nucor Steel, one of the nation's largest steel companies, completed its new $50 million facility in the Town of
Chemung and commenced operations here. When fully operational, the plant will add 300 new jobs to the local economy.
Likewise, during 2001 SYNTHES-USA, a maker of bio-medical orthopedic implants, selected Chemung County as the home
for its new $11.5 million manufacturing plant that will eventually add another 300 employment opportunities for
area residents. These developments bode well for the community as a whole as efforts continue to further diversify
the local economy over the long term.
For our part, Chemung County remains committed
to continuing its pursuit of planned economic growth and development while preserving the quality of life that
residents of New York's Southern Tier so cherish.
The County Legislature and I take great pride in the fact that we have not increased the amount of the county real
property tax levy in 10 years. However, the effects of the recent economic turn
down, coupled with our escalating post September 11th, 2001 security expenditures, and the staggering burden of
State mandated expenses including the Medicaid program, have now left us with no choice but to seek additional
revenue. As a result of these forces, which are completely beyond our control, we have found it necessary to finally
follow the course of action taken several years ago by our neighboring counties to increase our local sales tax
from 3% to 4%, effective December 1st, 2002. At the same time, I want you to know that we are aggressively moving
to constrain spending whenever possible to help meet this unprecedented challenge. While I fully expect the next
several years to be a trying time for county government, I remain confident of our ability, and our commitment,
to provide high quality services to the public in a cost effective manner.
I hope that you find this publication informative.
If you should have any questions about county government, please feel free to contact me at at (607) 737-2912 or
email me at tsantulli@co.chemung.ny.us.
TOM SANTULLI
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