Westchester County Exec Spano talks safety, security during address

? County Executive Andy Spano (D-Westchester) laid out his plans for better protecting children and women from abuse, and all Westchester residents from terrorism, during his ninth State of the County address Wednesday.

Spano announced that his first deputy commissioner will have complete oversight over the child welfare system. He cited the scalding deaths of two Yonkers children last year and other cases as the reasons for change. Spano also addressed the need to protect women and children from sexual predators, which he says is why he created an electronic monitoring program. Spano said he supports civil confinement after a convicted sex offender has served time, which a court recently upheld as legal in New York.

Spano touched on the need for more federal dollars to protect water supplies and the nuclear plant. Spano believes the $9 million allotted to the region is insufficient and leaves Westchester residents at risk to terrorist attacks.

While many praised Spano?s speech, the top Republican in the county, George Oros, criticized him for not discussing tax relief in depth. Oros feels duplicate and high taxes are major problems that need to be discussed.