Power Your Potential ....
get yourself focused on things that matter
Keynote Speaker
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has earned a reputation as a dedicated and effective leader since being sworn in as Monroe County's fifth County Executive in January 2004. The first woman to hold this position, she was re-elected to a second term in 2007 by a historic 74 percent of the vote. By bringing an inclusive, collaborative leadership style and energizing new vision to County government, Maggie has been able to involve the entire community in shaping the future of Monroe County.
Maggie inherited extreme challenges when she first took office, including a significant budget deficit and the rising costs associated with unfunded state mandates. She created a citizen Budget Advisory Team and the Center for Civic Entrepreneurship to work with her in developing creative, outside of the box solutions targeted toward long-term fiscal stability in Monroe County. In 2008, Maggie joined fellow country executives in creating the Upstate Mandate Relief Commission to urge Albany to reform its practices of shifting costs to local governments. Due to her fiscally responsible leadership, Maggie's first three Monroe Country Budgets held the line on overall spending and kept the property tax rate flat. Her fourth budget lifted the burden of Medicaid from the shoulders of County property taxpayers and maintained quality of life services, while cutting the property tax rate. Maggie's 2009 budget maintains the previous year's property tax rate cut and holds spending below the rate of inflation while avoiding reductions for any of the County's quality of life services.
Maggie has also been a strong voice for Medicaid reform. In 2005, she was appointed to the newly created Federal Medicaid Commission. She was the only public official from a local government to be appointed to the Commission.
Maggie's top priority is strengthening the local economy through job creation. At the start of her Administration, she convened an Economic Development Strategy Team to work with her to attract and retain jobs in our area. She was instrumental in establishing the County and City partnership with Greater Rochester Enterprise to streamline local economic development efforts and attract new business investment. Shortly after taking office, Maggie established the requirement that any company receiving country financial incentives must use local labor for new construction or expansion. In 2006, Maggie launched The Entrepreneurs Network to grow the region's innovation economy. Under her leadership, Monroe County has assisted hundreds of companies in improving and expanding their operations, retaining and creating thousands of local jobs.
Recognizing that a key to economic strength is community vitality, Maggie has been the driving force behind Renaissance Square, a unique and exciting joint development project that combines a transit center, an urban college campus and a performing arts center in the heart of downtown Rochester. Renaissance Square will re-create the center-city area and be a catalyst for private investment and job creation.
As a result of Maggie's commitment to environmental protection, Monroe County has become a national leader in the development of green energy resources and the promotion of conservation efforts. In August 2007, Monroe County partnered with Waste Management to turn landfill garbage and waste from sewers into clean, renewable energy at the County's Mill Seat Landfill in Riga. This project received the Environmental Project of the Year Award from the New York State Chapter of the American Public Works Association. Maggie is responsible for launching the Green Fleet program, which will ensure that all County vehicles will be powered by alternative energy source or hybrid engine by 2012. Her other environmentally-friendly initiatives include establishing a green building policy for all new County facilities of more than 5,000 square feet and installing LED bulbs on all County traffic lights. Maggie is dedicated to educating children about recycling and the environment, making County buildings more energy efficient, developing alternative energy resources, and researching cutting-edge green technologies.
Maggie is well known in the Greater Rochester area from her many years as a local television news anchor and radio reporter. She previously served as Monroe County Clerk and as Monroe County Legislator for the 17th District.
Maggie resides in the Town of Webster with her husband, Robert Wiesner, and two daughters, Julia and Jensen. She is a graduate of Ithaca Colleg where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.
