Governor Paterson Announces Upcoming Date for Public State of the State Town Hall Meeting in Broome County

Governor David A. Paterson today announced the dates of three State of the State Town Hall meetings that he will host in the next week. The meetings will be held in Johnstown, Auburn and Binghamton, and will be open to the public. On January 5, Governor Paterson announced that he would hold a series of town hall meetings across Upstate New York to give the public a chance to discuss New York's fiscal crisis and the themes of the Governor's State of the State address. The first of those meetings was held in Watertown on January 11.

"Now is the time for State government to take action and confront the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression. It is equally important that we take the time to hear directly from New York residents about their concerns as we move to address these problems," said Governor Paterson. "The opinions and suggestions I have heard during these town hall meetings have helped to shape state policy, and I look forward to hearing from more New Yorkers as we move forward in this unprecedented time."

Governor Paterson will continue to travel throughout Upstate New York, and will hold additional town hall meetings and other public events as part of his State of the State tour. In addition to these stops in Fulton, Cayuga and Broome Counties, Governor Paterson plans to hold State of the State Town Hall meetings in Western New York and the Finger Lakes region. The time and location for those meetings will be announced at a later date.

The Binghamton town hall will take place at the West Gym at Broome Community College, 901 Upper Front St. on Wednesday, February 4. Attendees should enter through the North Entrance. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m., with the event scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Those wishing to attend any of the above meetings are asked to RSVP on the Governor's website at www.ny.gov/governor/townhalls. Those wishing to submit questions or comments may do so at the same address. For all town hall meetings, seating is limited and will be provided on a first come first served basis.

Special Projects Committee Update

SCNYED Special Projects Committee
Meeting Notes – 1/9/09

Present: Joe Sellepack, Cindy Gordineer, Joe Slavik, Allison Alden, David Karre, Michelle Napolitano, Ron Charsky

Group discussed specific issues relating to doing a study on the “economic and social issues of Broome County”. Joe S. mentioned that it was important to quantify services and their value to citizens, as well as savings to local governments. Allison discussed issues that relate to these factors, including:
- Direct employment
- Purchasing by organizations
- Value-added services
- Quality of life
- Savings to governments
- Social impact
A significant discussion ensued concerning the possibility of using graduate student interns from BU’s Public Administration program, of which Allison is a member. Students should be paid a “modest stipend” for their work and it was agreed that there seemed to be significant interest from several local foundations to support such an effort. It was also noted that the project, when finished, would community co-owned so that all could use it. It was also agreed that it was a significant project, requiring much in depth work and likely a good amount of time (i.e. – it won’t be a one-semester, fast job).

It was agreed that the project is very worthwhile and needed and should go forth. Next steps identified were:
- put together project outline / concepts. Need to develop:
o goals
o purpose
o timeframe
o budget
- need a student involved in the planning process (Katie McDonald was mentioned as being very interested in this).
- we need to work on framing the “right questions”
- quantify basic data from Form 990
- identify question we want answered by the study
- get BU buy-in – Allison will work on this by around Feb. 2
- Joe S. – will talk with Andrew Marietta about using CCSNYS for blogs and consultant help for further discussion

Next meeting of the group has been scheduled for Feb. 13 at 8:30am at Broome County Council of Churches.

David Karre, “reluctant temporary recorder”.

Generation G: Generosity Not Greed

Trend Watching offers their February briefing, which focuses on Generation G. What does the G stand for? G is for generosity, not greed. This briefing explores the new trend of giving and sharing and how businesses need to be aware and adapt.

SCNYED Program Committee Update

Committee chair Dick Squire provided the following update from the SCNYED Program Committee, which met on January 14:

Meeting with Press-Sun & Bulletin

• Jennifer contacted Calvin Stovall he is canvassing his staff to determine date in late January early Feb.
• She will notify all and ask Andrew to forward to all SCNYED members for RSVP.

March 10 Forum on Executive Director working with the board:

• Dick confirmed Jewish Community Center as site.
• Bob still trying to follow-up with his consultant (not available till 1/19/09)

Back-ups suggested include:

• Phil Ginter
• Jim O’Hara
• Pete McGinn
• We will talk with presenter about format. Discussed was soliciting questions in advance, possible use of panel discussion moderated by presenter, or tips and suggestions by presenter. Challenge is the 45-minute time limit of Forum.

June 9 Forum on Motivators for Staff other than Cash:

• Site will be AVRE
• Bob to get name and contact HR person at Lourdes as possible presenter
• Sharon Chesna mentioned as possible back-up. Noted that we may specifically want an HR trained person

September 8 Forum on Going Green

• Possible resource NYSERTA or Assembly person Donna Lupardo
• Jennifer to check with Donna for ideas for a presenter
• Focus will be on beginning steps in going green in office and facility operations (not things like building renovations / construction, etc.)

December 8 Forum on Foundation Funding

• Bob’s initial contact with Judy Peckham, she discouraged idea of panel

Next meeting: Brief follow-up after Steering committee on 2/10 (Dick will not be present); Next full meeting 2/24/09 at 9:00 AM at Urban League

Editorialists give some insights about their regions - and hopes for new senator

Soon, Hillary Rodham Clinton will vacate her Senate position to become U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Gov. David Paterson will then appoint a Senate replacement. Upstate communities are rightly adamant the new senator pay attention to their concerns, which often are overshadowed by the political power of New York City and other downstate regions.

The Poughkeepsie Journal editorial board reached out to editorialists across upstate, as well as to Journal readers and online posters, to get their thoughts on these issues - and to find out what the new senator needs to know about upstate. Read the full editorials here, which also feature an editorial from the Press & Sun-Bulletin.