Boosting the local economy an amazing 5 percent in the last two years is proof that the LIPA deal was the right thing to do at the right time. It's strengthening the Long Island economy by giving business and residential consumers more economic muscle. We delivered on our promise to lower electric rates and we are meeting our goal of keeping those rates down.
Long Island is more competitive than it was two years ago.
At 97.5 percent, we have one of the highest employment rates in the nation. For the first time in history, more than one million people are employed in the private sector on Long Island. And, electric service has improved as well. All of these indicators bode well for Long Island and its future. In addition to a double-digit rate cut, Suffolk County taxpayers as part of the LIPA deal avoided massive property tax hikes through the Shoreham property tax case settlement.