KINGSTON – In his 2010 State of the County address on Tuesday evening, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein cited a long list of accomplishments he said his office has initiated during the first year of his leadership.

He also acknowledged that the county faces unprecedented economic hardship and stressed his willingness to face this "moment of great challenge."

Hein said that the county is facing a serious budget gap, which he attributed to reductions in sales tax and the "crushing burden of growing un-funded and under-funded mandates." To that end, the executive issued a countywide spending moratorium, effective immediately.

He also used his opportunity before the legislature to urge lawmakers to join him in addressing the "serious issues at hand," but cautioned "any individual whose real intention is to erode the charter or drag this government back into the dysfunctional past: you will find no greater opponent."

Specifically, Hein challenged lawmakers to help address the growing problem at the county's Golden Hill Healthcare Facility. He noted that the woefully outdated facility costs county taxpayers more than $3.4 million annually, mostly because the state government has, for 27 years, reimbursed the county at 1983's rates for Medicaid patients. Hein asked the legislature whether they plan to ensure Golden Hill's long-term viability.

He also asked lawmakers to review the Industrial Development Agency and the Department of Social Services.

Hein was elected the county's first executive under its newly adopted charter form of government; his term began on January 1, 2009.

A year into the position, Hein primarily used his address to laud his administration's progress in several areas, including: spending control initiatives, restructuring the public health department, streamlining the county highway department, and hiring a fleet manager to oversee the more than 300 county-owned vehicles.

Hein said his administration cut some $6 million from the 2009 budget, created 440 private-sector jobs, and installed a new banking consortium for small businesses.

Noting that the charter form of government has empowered his administration to "deliver many improvements over a short period of time," Hein said that none were more important than the "total transformation of the Ulster County Health Department," which entailed hiring a physician with extensive CDC experience as the new director of public health and adding more physicians to the county's board of health.

Last year, Hein fired longtime Public Health Director Dean Palen, after an investigation revealed extensive mismanagement, lagging or unfilled permits, and poor financial oversight. Hein replaced Palen with Dr. La Mar Hasbrouck, a former director with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The county executive's 25-minute address was spare on any details on how he intended to apply the changes he requested to county governance, giving some lawmakers pause. Legislative Chairman Fred Wadnola (R-Ulster) criticized the address as "backwards looking" and said it lacked any new initiatives. "All he did was throw everything in the lap of the county legislature."