For Immediate Release
“It is my honor to inform you that the state of our county is strong and it is resilient.”
Legislator Mark Olson was in the audience as Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon started his 2025 State of the County Address with that statement, before spending an hour detailing the progress the county has made on a number of important issues and sharing details of what’s to come.
“I like the County Executive’s optimism for the future of Onondaga County” Legislator Olson said after the speech. “We have made progress in so many areas and it’s vital that we keep that momentum going.”
Housing was a highlight of the speech for Legislator Olson. The County Executive shared the county has invested $220 million dollars in this area in the past several years and over 17,000 housing units are currently in planning or development across the county. One million dollars in new investment is proposed for housing projects on Syracuse’s Northside and $44.2 million dollars was allocated in this year’s budget for temporary housing support for our most vulnerable communities. A county program to encourage housing development has helped create over 1,700 new units – 70% of them in the City of Syracuse.
Tackling the county’s lead problem is something Legislator Olson is asked about regularly, and the County Executive shared that almost 400 contractors are now certified to do remediation work and that the wait between initial application and work is now around 160 days – down significantly from just after the pandemic. The county will continue its investment in lead initiatives and new this year, a temporary housing option is expected to be available for those directly affected.
As Chair of the Legislature’s Public Safety committee, Legislator Olson was pleased to hear the County Executive propose naming the county’s emergency management complex after Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant, Michael Hoosock, and a ‘Wall of Heroes’ at that complex after Syracuse Police Officer, Michael Jensen. Both were killed in the line of duty in April 2024.
Other highlights of the speech for Legislator Olson: hearing the county property tax rate has decreased nearly 35% since 2018, opioid education initiatives have helped reduce the unintended death rate in the county by nearly 40%, and that in the last four years, $27 million has been invested in schools countywide for mental health programs. He also liked what he heard about Inner Harbor development, improvements at the CNY Regional Market, and economic development proposals related to Micron.
“I look forward to seeing the details of these proposals and working to make our county better and more efficient” added Legislator Olson. “These are things that impact all of us and our quality of life here. We all win when we work together.”
This year’s State of the County was delivered at Onondaga Central High School. It is available to watch online on the county’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OnondagaCounty/.