Dusek reflects on his career with Warren County

QUEENSBURY — Approaching retirement at the end of March, Warren County Administrator Paul Dusek — the top executive officer of local government — shared his thoughts this week about his eventful career. Dusek was raised in Warrensburg after his family moved to the area in the mid-1960s. He graduated Warrensburg Central School in 1973, having attended since fourth grade. Dusek continued his education at Adirondack Community College, where he studied for two years. He met his wife at ACC — and in 1975 they were chosen as ACC Winter Weekend King and Queen by the student body. Months later, they were married, and decided to live in Queensbury, their present hometown. After graduating from ACC, Paul Dusek worked as a salesman at Montgomery Ward department store, continuing to take a few courses at the local community college. In 1986, the two moved to Colonie — and Paul attended Siena College for two years, graduating in 1978. Later that year, he studied at Albany Law School, graduating in 1981. Dusek was admitted to the bar in 1982. He then worked for a law firms in Albany, Schenectady and Poughkeepsie before he took the full-time position of town attorney for Queensbury in 1988. Dusek was chosen as Warren County Attorney in 1996, and he was promoted to the county Administrator post in March 2010. His peers say it was due to his work in dramatically reducing expenditures and improving efficiency of county government. Between March 2010 and August 2011, he served as both county Attorney and county Administrator, working long hours and on weekends, for one single salary. Dusek worked to contain tax increases During this era, he conducted extensive research into the operations of county government — and made recommendations for staffing cuts and ways to boost efficiency. His work was credited for the recent balanced budgets and boosted cash reserves that have turned the county's finances around. Earlier, Dusek was a principal member of the team of county officials and lawyers who negotiated restructuring of contracts involving the trash burn plant operations — as well as the sale of the plant that had cost Warren and Washington County taxpayers $60 million in ongoing operational losses plus much more in its construction. Dusek was also was a key player in settling lawsuits between the two counties over the plant and a joint landfill that never became a reality. Dusek said this week he was "fortunate" to be involved in the renegotiation of the disposal contracts and sale of the trash plant that saved taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. "When I came onboard, the county was in terrible financial straits," he said, crediting former county Board of Supervisors Chairman Fred Monroe and special bond counsel Bob Morris for their work regarding the trash burn plant. Another highlight of Dusek's career, he said, was working on bringing the $20 million Warren County sewer project to reality — including resolving accompanying legal challenges. The sewer lines installed around Lake George since have helped reduce pollution of the lake. Dusek also conducted the legal work in the acquisition of the county railroad, as well as negotiating contracts with its two private operators. Boosting efficiency was a team effort His most outstanding achievement is likely to be his work, with others, to turn around the county's finances, which were in poor shape in the late 2000s. In 2010, the county had a fund balance of only $3.5 million — considered dangerously low — and was borrowing money just to make payroll. After the consolidations, cutbacks and efficiency-boosting efforts, the county now has a $15 million fund balance — even after years of historically low tax increases. Also, in Dusek's first year as county Administrator, the municipality had its lowest tax increase in 15 years. Dusek, however, defers credit to others for the turnaround. "We were fortunate to be able to change the culture at county government — starting with educating the county department heads on the county's financial condition — and we gained ideas, innovation and efficiencies that made the difference," he said. Dusek said that supervisors, employees and unions all worked together to solve the financial problems. Also, current Board of Supervisors Chairman Kevin Geraghty was key player in the initiatives of recent years to downsize government and cut costs. Among the cash-saving projects was downsizing the fleet of copiers and computer printers through centralization. The 334 copiers and printers scattered throughout the government offices were reduced to 138, yielding a first-year savings of $40,000, and a lifetime benefit of more than $100,000. Again, Dusek praised others — the county's Purchasing and Information Technology employees for their role in the transformation. Dusek was also behind eliminating the county print shop that had for years been printing materials for county departments — and for outside organizations — at a financial loss. He was also key in closing down the county's supply storehouse operation, which had been purchasing supplies, many of which weren't actually put into use. Supply acquisition has now been streamlined. Planning for Warren County's future Also, before Dusek's tenure, health insurance for county employees had regularly been increasing 8 to 10 percent per year. After he and others collaborated on consolidating a myriad of carriers into one and negotiating terms with unions, annual increases for the annual $10 million health insurance premiums were dramatically lowered. This year, the county's cost for health insurance has actually decreased two percent. Dusek also worked with others to develop a multi-year program to replace aging vehicles and computers through establishing a reserve fund — and the county no longer has difficulty raising money for these purchases. He's also responsible for advance planning for salary adjustments. Before Dusek was the county's CEO, there were big increases in salaries for some employees in prosperous years, and pay freezes in lean years. Of more significance, Dusek spearheaded a comprehensive salary study — comparing pay at the county with other municipalities as well as the private sector, to make sure compensation was fair — but not exorbitant. Automatic increases were also eliminated. The process helped the county retain valued employees, while curbing personnel expenses. Many of these initiatives led by Dusek were the result of his development of a long-range financial plan for the county — the first in the county's history. Updated many times since it was first introduced, county officials say it has been a vital tool in assuring the county's continuing financial health. Dusek praised Joanne McKinstry for suggesting it. It was this multi-year plan that predicted $10 million in cumulative losses at Westmount Health Facility, prompting its sale and privatization, a process which also involved Dusek. He said he was happy the nursing home's sale was negotiated to assure that the area's elderly — particularly Medicaid recipients — would be properly cared for, and that existing Westmount employees were protected. He also cited the re-establishment of a Human Resources Department as a key achievement, an action that established uniform standards in personnel and payroll functions across all county departments and boosted efficiency. In the past, those functions were handled by a half-dozen departments. Another achievement in centralization was Dusek's project to codify all the county policies and laws in one volume so there would be one source available to county employees as well as the public. Three other notable accomplishments which Dusek promoted were the county's employee safety program, wellness program and money-saving self-insurance. Dusek credited Amy Clute for the latter, which has driven down workers compensation rates. "I was pleased to be a part of making these programs happen," Dusek said. While Dusek has been decisive in advance planning for the county's future, he's not yet determined what he's going to do after he retires on March 29. "I'm still exploring my options," he said, adding that he's considering returning to private legal practice. "I enjoyed practicing as an attorney and I've missed it over the years. — I have made no definite arrangements yet."

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Dusek reflects on his career with Warren County

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