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Potsdam incumbent Colbert wants to build on St. Lawrence County legislature’s success

Posted 10/28/18

NORTH COUNTRY THIS WEEK POTSDAM – St. Lawrence County Legislator Chad Colbert, R-Potsdam, District 11 incumbent, says he is seeking re-election because he wants to “continue the success that the …

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Potsdam incumbent Colbert wants to build on St. Lawrence County legislature’s success

Posted

NORTH COUNTRY THIS WEEK

POTSDAM – St. Lawrence County Legislator Chad Colbert, R-Potsdam, District 11 incumbent, says he is seeking re-election because he wants to “continue the success that the current Republican led board has achieved.”

Democrat Nance Arqueitt is challenging him.

“We have increased fund balance, lowered county costs and in turn lowered taxes last year and will again this year. We no longer have to borrow money to meet cash flows, have increased funding to the county chamber of commerce to help promote tourism, and have begun various environmental cleanups on contaminated properties to further stimulate economic growth,” Colbert said in an emailed response to questions.

If elected for a second term, Colbert says he wishes to continue that success as well as begin to focus on county infrastructure.

“Our roads and bridges need significant attention and resources,” he said.

Commenting on his strength and qualifications for the position, Colbert said, “I’m an average county resident who just wants to help where I can.”

He has an accounting background and attended graduate school at Wake Forest University in North Carolina to get an MBA. After graduation he worked for a large life insurance company in their investment department.

“I currently own and operate my own financial planning firm and have earned the CFA and CFP designations,” he said. “I also teach part time at Clarkson University. My background in finance and accounting as well as being a business owner has been and I think will continue to be beneficial to the county.”

Colbert said that four years ago he would have said county finances are the biggest issue facing the county, but he believes that is nearly remedied.

Colbert says the two big issues facing our county are unfunded state mandates and the addiction and mental health issues in our area.

“New York State increasingly subjects its counties to mandates but does not fund those services,” he said. “For example, NYS is one of the few states in which the counties have to pay a significant share of Medicaid costs which doesn’t make any sense. Poorer counties are going to have higher Medicaid costs yet the state requires counties pay much of it themselves. Very difficult to do for a poorer county.”

Colbert said that as these mandates increase in both number and cost he fears of what it would do to local taxpayers.

“Secondly, the substance abuse and mental health issues facing our county… my wife and I are foster parents and we see first hand some of the effects it is having on our county,” Colbert said. “The costs are great, not just in a financial sense, families are being destroyed. Mental health needs are in dire need as well to help these families get their lives back together. I hope to work on preventative measures as well as curative to address these issues.”

Colbert believes the county needs to spend more on infrastructure.

“I think we can do so without raising taxes,” he said. “Additionally we need to focus more on the chemical dependency and mental health issues. This too, I think can be accomplished in part by reallocating current resources.”

Asked what separates him from his opponent, Colbert said “experience and results. I have been on the board almost 4 years already. In that 4 years we have increased fund balance from a negative $3 million to about +$14 million, we don’t have to borrow money this year for the first time since 2011, increased funding to the chamber of commerce to promote tourism in this area, decreased county property taxes last year and may decrease them again this year, (and the) county is no longer designated as fiscally stressed.”

Colbert said the county has some great people in the right positions and that has really helped make those results possible.

“We as a board have created a vision and tasked the county employees to implement that vision,” he said. “They have done so with better than expected results and I applaud them for that. It is working, lets continue it.”

He says District 11 is a group of non-partisan, independent thinking, neighborly people.

“We treat each other with respect and decency and understand that we are all neighbors. In representing this group of people I also try my best to be an independent thinker and treat everyone with decency and respect to show others that that is the type of person that lives in District 11. My district faces some of the same issues the rest of the county faces and as its representative I will respond to those issues as I think the people in District 11 would want me to.”