Task Force Focuses on Issues Facing Westchester’s Families
A newly formed task force designed to solicit public feedback regarding important family issues reached out to Mount Kisco and northern Westchester residents last week in its latest stop around the county.
The roughly 40-member Family Task Force, comprised of a variety of stakeholders and co-chaired by Board of Legislators’ Democratic Majority Leader Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) and Kathleen Halas, executive director of the Child Care Council of Westchester, held its fourth public forum Oct. 8 at the Mount Kisco Public Library.
“We want people in Westchester to feel engaged on how policy gets set in our county,” Borgia said of a key task force mission.
Following an introduction, the crowd of close to 40 community members was randomly split into five groups, each led by facilitators from the Westchester chapter of Community Voices Heard, and asked to list their top three issues facing families in the county. After close to an hour of brainstorming, each group shared its priorities with all of the attendees.
Borgia said the information from last week, as well as the three previous meetings in Yonkers, White Plains and Peekskill, will be used to create a Families Bill of Rights, a similar strategy employed by county lawmakers last year to tackle intergenerational issues.
It will also brought to the full Board of Legislators and used starting next year as a guideline to shape policy and influence budgeting of programs and potential legislation, she said.
Similar to the previously held forums, concerns related to housing, the cost of child care, transportation and economic issues, and how to access available services were the most common issues raised. For example, a few of the subgroups last week discussed the dilemmas facing families regarding the prohibitive cost of child care.
Halas said the turnout for the forums has been strong, considering they have been held on weeknights during busy stretches on the calendar. In the Yonkers forum, the task force was pleasantly surprised that about 60 people attended.
It’s also been helpful that a wide cross-section of the communities have participated, including residents of different backgrounds, occupations and ages, she said.
“People have ideas,” Halas said. “They’re not just coming with complaints. They’re not coming to say the county should do this or that, but they have ideas that I think could be put into play.”
Participants interviewed at the end of last week’s session were optimistic that it could bring substantive change from policymakers or at least spur discussion about key issues facing many residents.
“It’s all about having greater communication and getting some basic services and create some affordable housing and affordable child care, which is an overarching issue for everyone,” said 22-year Mount Kisco resident William Serratore.
Alan Mehldau of South Salem said the forum was a great idea but was concerned that a lot of the proposed solutions would likely require more spending, which would hurt many families by likely increasing taxes.
He also hoped that with only two Democratic legislators in attendance, Borgia and the area’s representative, interim legislator Alan Cole, both sides of the aisle can put aside differences and find solutions to common problems.
“We all have our own problems and whether we can do anything, the big thing is where do we get the money from, and the same people who are asking for all these things are saying I can’t pay my taxes,” Mehldau said. “So it’s a combination, but I think we can improve where we are.”
Although some teenagers participated last week, Borgia said the task force is hoping to hold a final forum before the end of the year exclusively for students.
The Family Task Force typically meets the third Friday of each month at 8:30 a.m. in the county office building, she said. The public is invited to attend.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/