Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. called for expanding healthcare and childcare, tackling food insecurity and taking a tougher stance on crime, among other topics, at the 2024 State of the County Address on Thursday afternoon.
Held at Turning Stone, Picente’s address laid out his plans for the future, while touching on past accomplishments.
Picente touted the success of the recent international women's hockey tournament and congratulated the Oneida Indian Nation's expansion plans .
The county executive started his speech with a moment of silence in recognition of Onondaga County Sheriff Lt. Michael Hoosock and Syracuse Police Officer and Rome native, Michael Jensen , who were killed in the line of duty on April 14.
Picente also took a moment in his speech to memorialize the late Steve DiMeo , who had a hand in a good chunk of development in Oneida County. DiMeo's family and staff from Mohawk Valley EDGE were in attendance for the speech, Picente said.
The county executive ended his speech stating how the state of Oneida County is strong and resilient.
"This is the point in the speech where the perfunctory “State of the County is strong” would come," Picente said. "But we are more than that, we are robust, we are solid and most of all we are resilient. Robust, because we are bold in all that we do. Solid, because we have built a foundation of strong fiscal management. And we are resilient because we do not let anything stop our progress."
Here is a look at the top five takeaways from Picente's State of the County speech.
Healthcare
Picente declared that Oneida County is committed to harm reduction and erasing the stigma surrounding substance use disorder.
“These strategies save lives and give time for people to get what they need,” he said. “And this past year, we conducted a series of overdose fatality reviews to assist us in identifying and understanding gaps and weaknesses in our systems that we can improve upon.”
Picente said the full report will be released in the coming weeks, but gave a few takeaways from what was learned and what will be done.
“We will develop a system for lawn enforcement to note risk factors with individuals they encounter and refer them directly to an agency or program,” the county executive explained. “We’ll change how someone is escalated to next-level outreach and create a way for loved ones to report concerns or observations anonymously. And we’ll invest in training for care coordinators as a single point of contact for at-risk individuals to navigate the systems.”
And not just the body but the mind is being considered. Picente said Oneida County must do more to strengthen mental health services.
“We don’t have enough mental health services," he said. "We don’t have enough mental health beds. We don’t have enough mental health workers. And the results continue to be catastrophic,” he said. “Homelessness, substance use, and mental health issues in our children are all because of a broken mental health system.”
The county executive wants to start helping those in need by strengthening mental health services in schools by expanding telemedicine and creating a program to make rapid referrals.
Another is collaboration with agency partners to establish Crisis Residence Centers as voluntary, short-term stay facilities as an alternative to hospitalization.
But more than anything, Picente said they need hands.
“We need more mental health workers. We must create a workforce pipeline, and we’ll look at all options: training, internships, residencies, increased rotations, and fast-track educational programs,” he said. “We cannot just continue to say, “There isn’t enough.” We must change the trajectory, and it starts today."
Childcare
According to a national poll by the U.S. Census Bureau, one in five parents relied on a relative for childcare.
With so many parents needing reliable and affordable childcare, Picente said Oneida County’s Childcare Taskforce worked throughout 2023 to present solutions.
Three strategies were developed, and eight recommendations with 24 separate action items were presented in the report, which Picente said will be available in the coming days.
The three strategies in mind are to improve childcare worker employment and retention, expand childcare capacity, and identify barriers to accessing childcare and eliminate them.
Some of the actions suggested include creating an alternative workforce pipeline, hiring childcare community navigators, and supplying County funds to pay for family daycare start-ups.
Food insecurity
Food insecurity is still a reality for many in the nation, and Picente said it’s no different in Oneida County.
“Unfortunately, there are many families, seniors, and children in this community who know that feeling [of hunger] all too well,” Picente said. “Imagine being a child stricken with hunger and uncertainty, trying to learn in school. It’d be impossible to concentrate, which makes it impossible to succeed.”
Picente said he wants to use low-cost technology to connect those who have extra food with those who need it. Apps can flag locations that want to donate extra food and coordinate its delivery with food banks, religious organizations, and shelters, he said.
“This way, it can go into the mouths of those who are hungry instead of going to waste,” Picente said.
Development
While Fort Stanwix has been a site used by many, Picente found it lacking and that it has been the cause of ire for those wishing to develop Rome’s main street.
When the Fort was first proposed, Picente explained, a retail and entertainment development plan was supposed to surround it and call for stores and other amenities.
“That never happened,” Picente said. We need a development approach to the space surrounding the fort that looks to accomplish what was originally intended 50 years ago. It should complement the fort and attract visitors.”
In Marcy, $2 million is being invested with Oneida County’s partners at EDGE to create new flex space aimed at supply chain businesses. Picente said these businesses are essential to growing the county’s semiconductor industry.
For the near future, Picente said that the county is in the process of a reuse and redevelopment plan of the former St. Luke’s Hospital campus.
“We have begun neighborhood outreach, public surveys, and meetings with stakeholders, and this public engagement will continue,” he said. “I encourage anyone interested to go to the reimagine St. Luke’s website to learn more.”
Crime
Crime continues to be a topic of discussion, and Picente called on the governor and state legislature to fix bail reform, raise the age, and strengthen discovery laws. Until then, Picente said that Oneida County needs to act locally to do what it can.
“We need to create deterrents to criminal behavior and assist law enforcement in gathering vital evidence allowing us to prosecute those who commit crimes in our neighborhoods and commercial corridors,” Picente explained before citing Schnectday, who had done just that by installing over 300 cameras.
Picente said he planned to take executive action with a commitment of $2.5 million to place cameras “...in as many high-crime and high-traffic areas as we can.”
In addition, Picente targeted illegal smoke and head shops and is proposing two local laws to address them.
“I am not talking about legally licensed establishments that have taken the proper steps to run their businesses,” Picente said. "I am talking about the blatantly illegal shops that have sprouted up on every corner in every community. We are going to take action to close them down.”
Picente is referring to shops that sell paraphernalia, such as stickers, at exorbitant prices but include marijuana as a gift as part of the transaction.
Picente said this would give the county the ability to regulate, fine, and padlock places that are, in effect, running illegal marijuana dispensaries.
As for youth violence in Oneida County, Picente said the county is creating a four-year $10 million fund to combat it and invest in programs and initiatives such as after-school programs, mentoring, job opportunities, academic enrichment, and more.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Picente delivers 2024 State of the County address. Here are some takeaways
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