February

Ballston Spa, NY – The Saratoga County Career Center in conjunction with the Greater Capital Region Career Centers will hold the following free virtual career workshops in March:

March 1 at 10AM: Resume Development. This workshop presents the basics of a powerful and effective cover letter including formatting, tailoring to the job, and getting through the online application process to land an interview. Please have a rough draft of your resume with you. Facilitated by Rensselaer & Columbia-Greene.

March 2 at 11AM: Transferable Skills. Transferable skills are qualities you have already acquired that can be used in a different job. Learn how to make employers see the connection between your qualities and the skillset needed to do the job and market yourself as the solution to an employer’s problem. Facilitated by Warren and Albany.

March 8 at 10AM: Goal Setting. This workshop explores how goal setting works, why goals are important, and provides helpful resources to get you started to reach your dreams. Facilitated by Washington and Albany.

March 14 at 10:30AM: Interview Preparation. Learn how to articulate your strengths, what questions to expect, how to address difficult topics, and ace the interviewing process. Facilitated by Schenectady.

March 21 at 10AM: Completing Job Applications. Statistics show approximately 50% of mid-sized companies and almost all large corporations use an applicant tracking system to screen candidates for job opportunities. Learn how to prepare your online application to get the most visibility from hiring managers. Facilitated by Warren and Washington.

March 23 at 1:30PM: Social Media. Your social media presence can make or break your ability to find a job. Learn how to use social media to your advantage in searching for a job and marketing yourself to land the job or career you’ve always wanted. Facilitated by Schenectady.

March 28 at 10AM: Overcoming Barriers. Join an informal discussion about how to overcome potential stumbling blocks to finding a job. Whether you’re facing transportation needs, childcare needs, prior justice system involvement, inexperience, health concerns or more, this workshop will provide you with resources and strategies to help you meet your goals. Facilitated by Saratoga and Fulton-Montgomery-Schoharie.

Registration is required for all workshops. Visit https://thejoblink.org/calendar/ to register or call the Saratoga County Career Center at (518) 884-4170 for more information. The workshops are offered as part of the Saratoga County Career Center’s WorkPays! workforce education campaign.

The Saratoga County Employment and Training Office provides comprehensive training and employment services to residents through its Career Center and works with local businesses to attract and retain the local workforce.

The Greater Capital Region Career Centers is a group of local county and city-based Career Centers and partners that coordinate services to address the workforce needs of the Greater Capital Region by providing a variety of career and workforce resources, training opportunities, and more. Members include Capital Region Workforce New York; Columbia-Green Workforce NY; City of Albany Career Center; L.E.A.P; Rensselaer County Career Center; Saratoga County Career Center; Schenectady County Connects; Warren County Career Center; Workforce Solutions System of Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie Counties.

Ballston Spa, NY – Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore T. Kusnierz, Jr. today announced the County Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution for a new contract with the Saratoga County Deputy Sheriff’s Police Benevolent Association. The Union represents 138 Sheriff’s Office employees.

Chairman of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Theodore T. Kusnierz, Jr. said, “At a time when law enforcement nationwide is facing an unprecedented staffing crisis, the contract agreement with the Saratoga County PBA incorporates measures that will help our Sheriff’s Office recruit and retain highly motivated and qualified employees while also providing a fair and reasonable contract for employees and taxpayers of Saratoga County.”

Supervisor John Lant (Wilton), Chair of the Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety Committee, said, “I am incredibly proud of the brave men and women who work in the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. This contract agreement not only ensures our Sheriff’s Deputies receive comprehensive benefits but also makes changes that will help us in our ongoing recruitment efforts.”

Supervisor Phil Barrett (Clifton Park), member of the negotiating committee, said, “The County’s priority in any union negotiation is to ensure a contract that is fair for not only our employees, but also the taxpayers of Saratoga County. This agreement does just that, providing a comprehensive benefit package to current and prospective deputies while ensuring the County continues its fiscally conservative principles.”

The agreement adopts a 20-year retirement plan for Sheriff’s Deputies, which aligns the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office with the same retirement plan as surrounding law enforcement agencies. This will help the county attract and retain law enforcement professionals dedicated to keeping Saratoga County one of the safest communities in New York State.

The Union agreed to a gradual wage increase over five years and increased contributions from employees to their healthcare premiums and copays.

As part of the agreement, all affected employees will increase their health care contribution to 20% beginning in 2024 and will pay increased copays for health insurance services.

The agreed upon wage increases will begin in 2025 with a 1% increase with a $750 annual stipend for body cam requirements, a 1.5% increase in 2026 and a 2% increase in 2027.

Ballston Spa, NY – Saratoga County officials today unveiled a comprehensive, near real-time substance use surveillance dashboard that will help the county in its education, prevention, treatment, and response efforts in combatting the opioid epidemic.

Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore T. Kusnierz, Jr. said, “While Saratoga County has made great progress in our fight against the scourge of opioids in our county, substance use is still a problem in our communities. With this dashboard our professionals in public health, mental health, and law enforcement and our community partners will have the data they need to provide comprehensive prevention, education, treatment, and response services to our residents.”

Saratoga County Department of Health epidemiologists leverage data from six primary sources that originate across multiple disciplines (law enforcement, health care, mental health, and public health) to provide a comprehensive picture of the burden of substance use in the county. Further, the standardized approach allows for the timely identification of concerning patterns, such as a spike in a limited geographic area over a defined period of time.

Current data sources include:
• High Intensity Drug Trafficking Overdose Detection and Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) -(data include reporting from SCSO, NYSP, and Saratoga Springs Police Dept)
• New York State Electronic Syndromic Surveillance System (Emergency Departments)
• Emergency Medical Services (call data)
• Saratoga County Coroner’s Office (toxicology reports)
• OASAS Treatment Admission rates
• NYSDOH Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement

Supervisor Phil Barrett (Clifton Park), Chair of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Health and Human Services Committee said, “The opioid epidemic has devastated communities throughout the U.S. and like national and state trends, heroin and fentanyl continue to be key drivers of overdose deaths in Saratoga County. This dashboard will provide critical information for the County to implement effective strategies and initiatives to mitigate the effects of the opioid epidemic in our communities and the Health and Human Services Committee remains focused on supporting our county departments in these efforts.”

Multiple departments across the County will benefit from this data including Department of Health, Mental Health and Addiction Services, and the Sheriff’s Office. The data will be especially helpful in identify high burden areas and to track overdose ‘hot spots’ to quickly focus on peer outreach, naloxone placement/distribution, and trainings throughout the county. This data will also be used to monitor trends over time and evaluate the impact of prevention and treatment programs such as: Jail MAT Program, Second Chance Program, and Naloxone distribution and administration in the County.

Saratoga County is also providing this public dashboard to assist healthcare organizations, first responders, community organizations, municipalities, and schools in their education, prevention, treatment and response efforts. Further, the dashboard provides residents with resources for mental health and substance use prevention and treatment.

Healthcare, Mental Health organizations, First Responders, Law Enforcement can use the dashboard to track frequency of overdoses and trends to help identify treatment and resource gaps and to identify where education and training and intervention efforts are needed.

Community Organizations, such as the Prevention Council can use this data in their prevention classroom lessons and to help schools in their outreach to parents and staff. Community and Faith-based organizations may also use this data when seeking funding opportunities.

This data can help municipalities at all levels with rapid response efforts in the event there is a spike identified in a locality.

Schools, colleges, and universities can utilize data from the dashboard to curate messaging for students and staff around substance use disorders.

County residents can find resources for both mental health and substance use prevention and treatment & for awareness on the dashboard.

To view the Surveillance Use Dashboard go to Savealifeto.day or visit our county website at www.saratogacountyny.gov and click on the Department of Health webpage.

The Saratoga County Planning and Economic Development Department held its 17th Annual Planning and Zoning Conference on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at the Saratoga Springs City Center, bringing together more than 600 planning and zoning professionals from across New York State. The event is the largest industry conference in the State of New York.

Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore T. Kusnierz, Jr. said, “Saratoga County is proud to hold this informative event each year for planning and zoning professionals and volunteers throughout New York State to learn best practices from their peers. We thank our event sponsors, speakers, moderators, and attendees for helping us grow this conference year after year.”

The day-long Conference included 16 educational and informational courses taught by experts in the planning and zoning fields. Participants included members of planning boards, zoning boards of appeals and municipal staff from around New York State. The Conference offered a wide range of introductory to advanced courses, covering a variety of topics including industry trends, best practices, case law update, transportation, land use, conservation, and even a fun, informative “Land Development Jeopardy” session in the format of the popular television game show. The Conference also meets within one day the New York State four-hour Mandatory Continuing Education requirements for Planning and Zoning Board members.

The Saratoga County Planning and Zoning Conference entails a large geographic area with 13 counties and more than 75 municipalities in attendance. Approximately 40 speakers and moderators participated to bring interesting content to the attendees. Additionally, 23 exhibitors and vendors combined with 11 sponsors helped to make the event a success for all that attend.

Sponsors included: Belmonte Builders, Bonacio Construction, Inc, CHA, Environmental Design Partnership, GlobalFoundries, GPI, Jones Steves, LLP Attorneys at Law, LaBella, The LA Group, Lansing Engineering, MJ Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C., Stewart’s Shops, SpringCity Development Group, Saratoga Photographer, and the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office.

The widely anticipated conference is held in early February of each year. For more information, please visit www.saratogacountyny.gov/planningconference.