County leader open to sharing services, but not more sales tax

Johnson says county is close to completing broadband internet project

LYNDONVILLE – Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said the county wants to share more services with local governments to increase efficiencies and drive down costs.

Johnson said a group from the Legislature, the town supervisors and village mayors have been meeting to look for ways to work together more to bring down expenses.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature, speaks Friday at the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Luncheon a the White Birch Golf Course.

Johnson spoke during Friday’s Legislative Luncheon organized by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce. She cited the shared services as a big initiative this year.

She favors continued exploration of a district court that would serve multiple towns. District Attorney Joe Cardone and Public Defender Joanne Best have pushed for the court, saying it would be more efficient, and also allow for more consistency in local justice.

Cardone and Best also anticipate the state will eventually require district courts, including in smaller counties. Many of the town justices have pushed back on the court, saying it will ultimately be more expensive and a judge serving multiple towns will be less connected to the community.

“Some are afraid of giving up their power or losing a position,” Johnson said about shared services.

The town judges said there is limited information about the financial implications of a district court. They said it will be more costly.

Johnson said that data should be available this year and presented in public hearings. She expects the issue with be on the ballot in a public referendum in November.

She said there has been great progress in a push to get high-speed internet throughout the county. A final tower will be going up in Carlton as part of the project, which has been a decade in the works.

“We’ve had a lot of help with a lot of grants,” she said during the luncheon. “Next year at this time we can say Orleans County has internet. I thank you all for your patience. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

The United Way is currently using a grant to help hook up low-to-moderate income families to the internet at no cost to the resident. That grant expires Feb. 15 and includes the villages of Albion, Holley, and Medina and the towns of Albion, Gaines and Shelby. The grant pays for free installation of wireless broadband service and free equipment, a $650 benefit.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley speaks at the luncheon. Lynne Johnson, County Legislature chairwoman, is at left.

Johnson was asked if the Legislature will share more of the local sales tax with towns and villages. The county has kept the total sales tax share to the four villages and 10 towns at the same level since 2001 – $1,366,671.

The local sales tax was at $22.5 million in 2022 and the amount has more than doubled since 2001.

“The more we give to towns, the more we have to raise taxes at the county level,” Johnson responded. “It ends up at the end of the day coming out of yours and mine’s pockets.”

Assemblyman Steve Hawley spoke about the Governor’s proposed executive budget at $233 billion. He said the Republican conference in the Legislature will speak out about $2.4 billion in proposed aid to help with the migrant crisis. He doesn’t want to see money going to migrants when there are proposed cuts to some school districts, and when the CHIPS highway aid  is down $60 million to $530 million.

Hawley said the state needs to rein in its Medicaid program, and pull back on some of the options and benefits.

“We have the Cadillac of Medicaid programs in the United States of America,” he said. “We opt into pretty much everything and the county has to pay a percentage of that.”

Darlene Hartway, Chamber executive director, welcomes the presenters and a crowd of about 75 people. Speakers included County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Ag Commissioner Richard Ball, and representatives from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and State Sen. Robert Ortt.

The speakers were also asked about a lawsuit between Orleans and Genesee counties, where Orleans seeks to halt construction of a sewer line from the STAMP manufacturing site in the Town of Alabama to the Oak Orchard Creek in Shelby. Orleans contends the sewer discharge would hurt the county’s recreational and economic development efforts, especially in Medina.

Chris Zeltman, a representative for U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, declined to speak in detail about the lawsuit, citing the ongoing litigation. But Zeltman said STAMP offers the chance to be a significant job creator for the region.

Plug Power is building a $290 million green hydrogen fuel plant at STAMP as the site’s first tenant. The company expects to have 65-70 workers at STAMP when it opens.

Edwards Vacuum has committed to building a $319 million manufacturing facility at STAMP. That new “factory of the future” will serve the semiconductor industry and advanced manufacturing sectors and create approximately 343 new high-paying jobs.

“We fight every day to get jobs in New York State,” Zeltman said. “We continue to monitor (the lawsuit between Orleans and Genesee) but ultimately it’s the courts that will resolve this.”

Andrew Dugan from State Sen. Rob Ortt’s office said Ortt supports the STAMP site and wants to see companies locate there, but believes Genesee should have worked with Orleans on the project.

“We understand the job creation aspect,” Dugan said in response to the question. “We fight every day too to bring jobs to our area. No one disagrees about the importance of the jobs. The challenge is making sure this process is done with cooperation and togetherness. I think that’s where some of the concerns are.”