Westchester County executive focuses on services, housing and public safety in Westchester address
Westchester county executive highlights achievements and goals in 2026 State of the County address.
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Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins delivered his State of the County address Wednesday night at the county office building in White Plains, outlining progress on key initiatives while acknowledging financial pressures facing residents.
Jenkins praised the county’s expansion of mental health programs, noting increased investment in services as demand continues to grow.
He also highlighted more than $250 million in small business contracts and pointed to several affordable housing projects currently in development across the county.
Public safety was another focus of the address. Jenkins said crime in Westchester is down 17 percent.
At the same time, Jenkins acknowledged that taxes have increased and said residents are feeling the impact.
“In our budget this year, we raised revenue by raising taxes. No one likes that,” Jenkins said.
He said the county worked to reduce its own spending before raising taxes.
“Before we asked anyone, any one of you, to do anything, we reduced our own budget,” Jenkins said. “We cut our county workforce as well as reducing every department approximately 8 percent.”
Jenkins said tax reductions were not possible due to the growing need to fund services for a rising number of residents.
