President Christian meets with village and town officials to celebrate new funding for safety services
SUNY New Paltz President Donald P. Christian visited the New Paltz Village Hall on June 21, 2018, to celebrate a new state budget allocation of $200,000 to the Village of New Paltz, which will help offset the costs of public safety services, like police and fire protection, provided by the village to the College and surrounding community.
The allocation is the result of a successful collaboration between the Village government, New York State Senator John J. Bonacic, New York State Assemblymember Kevin A. Cahill, and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, as well as SUNY New Paltz, to secure funding in the 2018-19 state budget to help the Village sustain needed public safety activities.
“It’s really exciting and important that we’re receiving this additional assistance from Albany to support our police department and our volunteer fire department,” said Village of New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers. “We want to thank Governor Cuomo’s office, Senator Bonacic’s office and Assemblyman Cahill’s office for helping us secure these additional $200,000, which will be used to offset the impact on local taxpayers.
“I also want to thank the SUNY New Paltz administration,” Rogers added. “I feel at every turn, when we’re looking for support from the university, they’re quick to share resources when they can, and make important financial contributions and other contributions toward the town, the village government and the school district.”
“When I think of New Paltz, I think of SUNY New Paltz. They go hand-in-hand.” – Village of New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers
The new funding deepens a mutually beneficial relationship between the College, village and town on matters pertaining to public safety. Local departments provide emergency response and other services to help promote a secure campus environment for students, employees and visitors. The College in turn provides many forms of support to local agencies, including through in-kind fuel donations to local transportation units that total more than 8,700 gallons annually, according to a 2017 Economic Impact Statement.
“We hear from our students that they really appreciate being on a safe campus,” said President Christian. “We know our University Police Department has a lot to do with that, but the collaboration with the New Paltz Police Department, the New Paltz Fire Department, and other services the town and village provide are key to that as well.”
President Christian and Mayor Rogers were joined at the meeting by Town of New Paltz Supervisor Neil Bettez, New Paltz Fire Department Chief Cory Wirthmann ’13 (Biology), New Paltz Police Chief Joseph Snyder, among other members of the departments and College administration.
Also present were Dylan Miyoshi, Hudson Valley regional representative from the office of Governor Cuomo, and Tiffanie Downs, administrative assistant to Senator Bonacic.
Additional information about the allocation of $200,000 of state funds to support public safety in New Paltz is available at the website of Senator John J. Bonacic.