The best part of serving the community is helping out constituents and connecting them with solutions.

When a Route 9G resident spoke to me over the summer about how her culvert clogged during the winter, flooding and freezing her driveway, I urged her to contact me when it happened, take photos and we could petition the state for a fix.

This morning I got a text and went to investigate.

Sure enough, the culvert was clogged and water 4 inches deep was flowing across her driveway. If this continued there would be a thick sheet of ice if the temperature dropped. And the driveway was already significantly eroded.

The output end of the culvert had little flow so the other end seemed the more likely culprit.

The opening is buried but I can hear a little water trickling. That suggests the opening may be obstructed. Before we ask the state to remedy the situation, we need to figure out what’s wrong.

So about 15 minutes of shoveling, chopping and poking later, I had cleared up the problem.

Turns out this time it was mostly ice and snow. Last year it was a car bumper from an accident on 9g jammed deep inside that the homeowner’s son was able to extract.

Before we ask the state to replace the culvert with something bigger, we’re going to try to prevent plows from burying the culvert’s entrance and see if that solves it next time around.

Dutchess County faces many challenges but two crises rise above the rest: climate change and opioids. The proposed 2020 budget did not go far enough to address these key problems and so I voted NO on the 2020 budget.

The Molinaro Administration would like us to believe they are doing all they can to fight the opioid epidemic. But more people died in Dutchess from opioids in 2018 than in any other year while deaths statewide decreased.

It has taken years to get medically assisted treatment (MAT) into our jail to help those suffering from addiction. Former addicts who were receiving prescription suboxone on the outside have been unable to continue their treatment if arrested – forcing them to go through painful withdrawal in their jail cells. And people interested in starting treatment while being held on bail are still unable to do so.

Our county’s Stabilization Center still has no on-site prescriber for people who arrive seeking help with an opioid abuse disorder. And phase 2 of the project which was supposed to bring more of those services under the same roof was scrapped after phase 1 construction was mismanaged.

Are we making progress? Yes. But when you’re facing a crisis, baby steps forward is not enough.

On climate change, the county continues to nibble around the edges. A few solar panels here, a couple of hybrid vehicles there while what we need are aggressive goals for decarbonization. We should be setting an example that other municipalities can follow.

Every year Molinaro’s commissioners and department heads come before the legislature during budget time with the same script: “We have all the people and money we need, we are doing everything possible, all is well.” Privately, they tell us that we need more mental health beds and more help for our neighbors struggling with addiction.

Molinaro likes to say his budget represents his values. Instead of prioritizing our needs, Molinaro’s 2020 budget begins and ends with his political goals: a budget that delivers the half-a-penny cut to the property tax levy as promised during his campaign while protecting the expensive PR operation in his office (whose budget has increased 3-fold) and the 13% raises for himself and his fellow county-wide electeds. Everything else must fit into that number and his department heads all know to publicly toe the line or lose their jobs.

Thank you to the people of Red Hook and Tivoli for sending me back to the County Legislature for another two year term. The final margin after absentees were counted was a 642 vote margin (59%-41%).

On Halloween, my opponent sent a mailer, paid for by the New York State Republican Committee, with numerous lies and smears and misleading statements about my record and actions in the legislature.

Normally I would not dignify such trash with a response, especially coming from someone who has not bothered to attend a single legislative meeting.

However, one claim in particular – that I should have ignored the concerns of a highly-respected veteran and that I am anti-veteran – is so disgusting I cannot let it go unanswered.

Nelson Eddy Rivera (USN, Retired) served our nation and county with honor and distinction. For 18 years he served as the Director of Veterans Services in Dutchess County until his retirement in early 2017. In all my discussions with leaders in our community and the county, I never heard a bad word about Mr. Rivera.

When Mr. Rivera contacted some of us in the legislature and strongly recommended AGAINST the appointment of the young veteran that had been put forward as his successor, I listened. He told us that he had expressed his concerns to the administration during the search process for his replacement and been ignored. He told us that other, far more qualified and experienced candidates were available yet this young man had been chosen for the top spot.

I urged my Republican colleagues to delay the vote so they could also hear from Mr. Rivera and so we could all have more time to consider the situation. They refused even a short delay to consider further what might be best for our veterans and forced an immediate vote, appointing him.

While I wish the new director nothing but success and will offer him nothing but support in his efforts to help our veterans, I stand by my decision to vote NO on his appointment given the circumstances.

And shame on my opponent to claim Mr. Rivera’s concerns should not have been heard and to suggest that anything other than the best interests of our county’s veterans was in my heart. I would suggest that those who refused to hear out Mr. Rivera are the ones who should be asked these questions.

I fought all year to get true Independent Redistricting for Dutchess County, to end the corrupt gerrymandering of our legislative districts. With today’s signing, the change will go before the voters in November 2020 for an up-or-down vote. It would have been far better to have it before the voters THIS November but our work was delayed to make sure that didn’t happen. 10 years ago Independent Redistricting was passed and then repealed by the Republicans after the elections were over. We must not let history repeat itself.

Good news, bad news! Bad news is that Gregg Pulver kept our law off the agenda in June for no good reason. Good news is that the so-called independent advisory group on redistricting has reversed course and endorsed a commission instead of just a committee.

On Monday, June 10, the Dutchess County Legislature voted 13-12 to provide 12.5% raises to county-wide electeds and 6% raises for county legislators, passing a resolution put forward by Chairman Gregg Pulver (R-Pine Plains).

When asked on Thursday how the 3% per year number was arrived at despite inflation being below 2%, Chairman Pulver admitted that “The 3% number came up quite frankly because we’re now giving a county-wide elected official a 3% salary [increase] next year and the year after which would be the comptroller. We voted two years ago to raise the comptroller’s salary… So that’s where the 3% came from.”

“There is no reason cited for the amount of the raises aside from the fact that they gave the comptroller that raise back in 2017 and there haven’t been raises in awhile,” said Legislator Kristofer Munn. “I would want to see a cross-county comparison on total compensation before considering raises.”

Current compensation packages including medical, insurance, pension contribution, car allowance:

• County Executive: $191,973.41
• Sheriff: $182,113.20
• County Clerk: $149,558.87
• County Comptroller: $126,526.53

“I only regret we did not have one more vote to oppose this baseless measure,” said Munn.

Like term limits and his local law to weaken disclosure rules, Pulver put forward the salary legislation without any warning or discussion across the aisle.

Salary increases will take effect beginning January 1, 2020.

On Thursday, June 6, the Budget & Finance committee of the Dutchess County Legislature considered and passed a resolution from Chairman Gregg Pulver (R-Pine Plains) to provide 12.5% raises to county-wide electeds and 6% raises for county legislators. The vote was 8-4.

When asked on the floor how the 3% per year number was arrived at despite inflation being below 2%, Chairman Pulver admitted that “The 3% number came up quite frankly because we’re now giving a county-wide elected official a 3% salary [increase] next year and the year after which would be the comptroller. We voted two years ago to raise the comptroller’s salary… So that’s where the 3% came from.”

“There is no reason cited for the amount of the raises aside from the fact that they gave the comptroller that raise back in 2017 and there haven’t been raises in awhile,” said Legislator Kristofer Munn. “I would want to see a cross-county comparison on total compensation before considering raises.”

Current compensation packages including medical, insurance, pension contribution, car allowance:

• County Executive: $191,973.41
• Sheriff: $182,113.20
• County Clerk: $149,558.87
• County Comptroller: $126,526.53

Voting in favor of the measure were legislators Pulver, Will Truitt (R-Hyde Park), Don Sagliano (R-Pleasant Valley), Joe Incoronato (R-Wappingers Falls), Donna Bolner (R-LaGrange), Tom Keith (R-Town of Poughkeepsie), Barbara Jeter-Jackson (D-City of Poughkeepsie) and John Metzger (R-East Fishkill).

Opposing the salary hikes in committee were legislators Munn, Hannah Black (D-Hyde Park), Randy Johnson (D-City of Poughkeepsie) and Nick Page (D-Beacon).

Like term limits and his local law to weaken disclosure rules, Pulver put forward the salary legislation without any warning or discussion across the aisle.

The resolution moves to the full 25-person board on Monday, June 10 for final passage.

Incumbent legislator Kristofer Munn has received the endorsement of the Dutchess County Independence Party as their chosen candidate as he seeks re-election as Red Hook and Tivoli’s representative in the Dutchess County Legislature.

“After 16 months in office and compiling a track record of hard work and results, I am pleased that the Dutchess County Independence Party has chosen me as their candidate,” said Munn.

In 2017, Munn sought and won the nomination of the Independence Party in his first run for office.

Those registered in the Independence Party can cast their vote of support for Kris in the primary on Tuesday, June 25, 2019.

Please consider a donation to our campaign.