As we close out 2024, I want to reflect on what we accomplished over the course of the year and set the stage for the work to be done in 2025.I want to begin by once again thanking this community for allowing me to continue representing you in Albany.I am humbled and honored to be given this privilege and responsibility. I also want to thank my incredible staff who do so much for this district every single day: Chief of Staff Chloe Dervin, District Director Ellie Rosenfeld, and our new Legislative Director Shannon Owens, who replaced Heather Neu in August. A huge thank you to Heather, as well, on her 3 1/2 years of service with our office. And thank you to Priya Murali and Susan Wallace, who helped us out in Albany last session. Susan, a Penfield resident and student at SUNY Albany, will be returning in January to serve as our Legislative Session Aide in Albany for the 2025 Session.

This year brought with it many legislative and budget challenges, but also many successes.During the budget negotiations we fought back against cuts to Foundation Aid, keeping funding mostly level for our public schools.Foundation Aid will continue to be a major issue going into this year and securing our fair share is a top priority for our community. We secured the first increase in early intervention rates in 30 years, though we are still fighting to get that money into the hands of our providers. We got a 3.2% cost of living increase for direct service providers and successfully prevented Medicaid cuts; I fully expect this to be another big-ticket item in the 2025 Budget talks. We increased funding for public transportation upstate, including RTS, prevented cuts to road repair funding and arts programs, and increased investment in the Erie Canal. We also secured local money to create the Family Justice Center at the former Medley Center in Irondequoit, which brings Willow Domestic Violence Center together with the Child Advocacy Center (formerly Bivona) under one roof.

We hosted several successful community events that helped provide education and resources to members of our community. In addition to our regularly scheduled Town Halls, we also hosted a webinar on elder abuse in partnership with the Attorney General's office; we hosted a Recycling 101 event and a NARCAN training, both in partnership with Monroe County; we hosted two family passport nights with County Clerk Jamie Romeo’s mobile office that processed over 100 passport applications!

We also hosted two large roundtables. The first was about Domestic Violence with Mayor Malik Evans, the State Office of Prevention of Domestic Violence, local law enforcement, attorneys, and Willow Domestic Violence Center. The second was with Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald and representatives from the Governor's Office wherein we brought stakeholders to discuss challenges facing our ambulance services, nursing homes, and hospital systems.

We celebrated some big capital investments, including the opening of Perinton Skatepark, which has proven to be a spectacular addition to our community! We secured an additional $5 Million for Lollypop Farm, on top of the $2.5M we got for them last year. We welcomed a new Teen Corner to the Mendon Public Library as well as some upgrades at the East Rochester Library.We announced $500,000 in upgrades to both firehouses in the Egypt Fire Department and cut the ribbon on a new elevator in East Rochester's Eyer Building.And we invited Speaker Carl Heastie to town to welcome the addition of a new ambulance in Pittsford!

I am incredibly proud of the work we did this past year and I look forward to continuing those efforts in 2025.