By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 January 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The five-person Town Board still hasn’t reached a majority decision on what is typically a routine annual appointment: hiring an attorney for the town.
Robert Roberson of Lockport did the job in 2012 and 2013 at a $36,000 annual contract. Town Councilmen Jake Olles and Todd Sargent favored bringing Roberson back for 2014.
But new Town Supervisor Matt Passarell and new Town Councilman Richard Remley favored either John Gavenda of Albion or Andrew Meier of Medina. Both offered to work for a base contract of $25,000, with litigation and some other non-routine work at an additional cost.
Councilman Dan Paprowski looks to be the swing vote. During a Jan. 13 meeting, he held off on voting for anyone, wanting to review the contract proposals. During a meeting on Monday, he said he wanted to look into additional attorneys, including the Hodgson Russ firm in Buffalo, which represented the town in the fight to halt a new landfill from Waste Management as well as other litigation.
The unresolved matter of hiring an attorney will be brought up again Feb. 10.
Passarell wants an attorney at the board meetings to provide advice. Most of the local Town Boards have an attorney present at their meetings. Passarell also said the town needs an attorney on board so Albion can implement a comprehensive plan that includes some zoning changes to encourage businesses and also preserve farmland.
“There’s work that needs to be done,” he said. “I’m concerned because right now that work isn’t being done.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 January 2014 at 7:27 am
Albion will have Regents exams today with the morning tests at 10 a.m. The p.m. tests will be at noon. The morning bus will be two hours later than the normal schedule. The afternoon bus will be at the usual time.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 January 2014 at 6:27 am
Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville on 2-hour delays
Medina has closed school today due to the biting cold temperatures and wind.
Holley, Kendall and Lyndonville are on a two-hour delay.
Albion Central School is closed, but if the weather improves, Albion will have the Regents exams and will run busses two hours late. That announcement, on whether or not there will be Regents today, will be made at 7 a.m.
Provided photo – New homeowners, Ramon and Vera Mendez-Hernandez, receive the keys to their new home from Habitat President Kay Van Nostrand, right.
Press release, Habitat for Humanity
MEDINA – Orleans Habitat for Humanity recently dedicated its 14th house when the organization officially presented the house keys to the new homeowners, Ramon and Vera Mendez-Hernandez.
The dedication service on Jan. 5 was led by Pastor Margie Eason and Habitat President Kay Van Nostrand. A group of nearly 30 family, friends, and volunteers were on hand for the celebration. Joining Ramon and Vera as part of the partner family are their niece, Valentina, and their nephew, Charles.
The home, located at 104 West Oak Orchard Street in the Village of Medina, was donated to the local Habitat affiliate in 2011. A long and extensive rehabbing of the house and property transformed a small, unoccupied house into a beautiful three-bedroom home for the partner family.
A dedicated group of volunteers helped with the project, including the BOCES Building Trades classes, Community Action, GCASA and individual volunteers led by Construction Coordinator Dave Miller and Habitat President Kay Van Nostrand.
Orleans Habitat is the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, International. The local organization is now considering options for its next project under Habitat’s Brush with Kindness program.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial – Small cities receive significantly more in state aid than villages of comparable size
I stumbled across the numbers by accident last week, numbers that show what appears to be a glaring state-sponsored economic discrimination against the villages in New York.
I was on the state Division of Budget website looking for the state aid to school districts on Wednesday. Before I found the school numbers, I clicked on “Aid and Incentives to Municipalities,” also known as AIM. I hadn’t seen those numbers before in my 17 ½ years as a reporter.
I was curious. I checked our local villages and was surprised how little they get – only about $100,000 for the four villages in Orleans County with about 15,000 people total.
I know that Albion (population 6,056) and Medina (population 6,065) are bigger than some of the cities in the state. So I looked up how much the state gives the city of Sherrill, the state’s smallest city with 3,071 people in Oneida County. $372,689. Wow. I thought maybe it was a fluke.
I looked up another small city, Salamanca in Cattaraugus County. It gets $928,131 for a city of 5,815 people.
I grew up in Chautauqua County and I know Dunkirk and Fredonia are similar in size, separated by a couple miles. Dunkirk is a city with 12,563 people. It gets $1,575,527 in state aid. Fredonia is a village with 11,230 people. It gets $89,140 in AIM funding.
City (County)
State aid
Population
Per Capita
Salamanca (Cattaraugus)
$928,131
5,815
$159.61
Dunkirk (Chautauqua)
$1,575,527
12,563
$125.41
Batavia (Genesee)
$1,750,975
15,465
$113.22
Sherrill (Oneida)
$372,689
3,071
$121.35
Norwich (Chenango)
$1,089,279
7,190
$151.50
Waverliet (Albany)
$1,210,193
10,254
$118.02
Cortland (Cortland)
$2,018,330
11,183
$180.48
Beacon (Dutchess)
$1,537,478
15,541
$98.93
Gloversville (Fulton)
$2,302,592
15,665
$146.99
Johnstown (Fulton)
$1,388,910
8,743
$158.86
Canandaigua (Ontario)
$1,119,304
10,545
$106.15
Geneva (Ontario)
$1,942,613
13,261
$146.49
Rensselaer (Rensselaer)
$1,137,317
9,392
$121.09
Mechanicville (Saratoga)
$662,392
5,196
$127.48
Ogdensburg (St. Lawrence)
$1,708,659
11,128
$153.55
Village (County)
State aid
Population
Per Capita
Albion (Orleans)
$38,811
6,056
$6.41
Medina (Orleans)
$45,523
6,065
$7.51
Holley (Orleans)
$17,786
1,811
$9.82
Lyndonville (Orleans)
$6,251
838
$7.46
Brockport (Monroe)
$110,171
8,366
$13.17
Fredonia (Chautauqua)
$89,140
11,230
$7.94
East Aurora (Erie)
$50,569
6,236
$8.11
Le Roy (Genesee)
$34,391
4,391
$7.83
Geneseo (Livingston)
$72,701
8,031
$9.05
Whitesboro (Oneida)
$73,012
3,772
$19.36
Cobleskill (Schoharie)
$36,461
4,678
$7.79
Massena (St. Lawrence)
$132,671
10,936
$12.13
Potsdam (St. Lawrence)
$111,864
9,428
$11.87
Bath (Steuben)
$103,906
5,786
$17.96
Monticello (Sullivan)
$46,903
6,726
$6.97
Newark (Wayne)
$65,833
9,145
$7.20
Source: New York State Division of Budget for state aid in 2013-14 (2014-15 numbers are proposed to be the same in governor’s budget.) Population is from U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 population count. Orleans Hub calculated the per capita numbers.
I spent a good chunk of the weekend with these numbers. Most larger villages, with populations between 5,000 and 10,000 people, get less than $10 in state aid per person. Small cities, with 3,000 to 15,000 people, get about $100 to $180 per person.
Many of the larger villages like Albion and Medina function much like a city. They have full-time police, street departments, water and sewer services, cemeteries, etc. Medina also has a paid fire department. The bigger villages should be getting far more in state aid.
If Albion and Medina received comparable aid as similar-size cities, it would make a dramatic difference in the taxes in these villages.
If the two got Salamanca money – $928,131 – that would be about $875,000 more in aid for each village.
The Village of Albion has a $6.3 million annual budget, which includes police, streets, Mount Albion Cemetery, parks, and the costs for running water and sewer plants, as well as other services. The village is struggling with a shrinking tax base and falling property values. Real estate agents say the high tax rates in the villages are driving residents into the countryside where the tax rates are much less. For many residents, you can save $1,000 a year simply by moving outside the village lines and escaping the village tax.
The village taxes are high partly because there is so little state aid to help with the cost of services.
The village of Albion has a tax rate of $16.86 per $1,000 of assessed property. Albion will collect $2,419,975 in village taxes in 2013-14. If the village received what Salamanca gets in state aid, Albion’s village taxes would be cut by a third. A smaller tax bill would make the village more inviting for residents, and would pump up the property values.
Medina raised its tax rate from $15.82 to $16.45 in 2013-14. The village is taking in $2,722,442 in taxes this year. That could also be cut by nearly a third if Medina was treated like Salamanca.
I urge the local villages to raise hell about this disproportionate system for doling out the aid. The local villages should contact the other villages across the state and colloboratively complain to the state legislators. Bring a unified voice to the issue. Our County Legislature should stand with our villages and demand a fair share of state aid for the villages.
Maybe the villages don’t provide 100 percent of the services that cities do. So it may make sense to have different classifications for giving aid to villages. Perhaps a tiny village with no police, no paid fire, and less than 1,000 residents would get 25 percent of the average aid of a city. (That would still be a significant increase from what they’re getting now.) Lyndonville might fall into this category. The village does hire a constable for some police protection.
The next level at 50 percent of the city rate might be villages like Holley, with 1,000 to 3,000 residents. Holley has a police department that is staffed mostly with part-timers. It has a water and sewer plant. It provides many services you expect in a city.
I would put Albion in the 75 percent rate category. It doesn’t have a paid fire department, but has full-time police, and its own water and sewer plants.
I think you can make the case that Medina deserves the full 100 percent of a city share. It has a paid fire department, the only village in the county with that paid service.
I encourage the villages to make a lot of noise about this, and state their case for more funding. They should point out how the meager dollars from the state have hurt the villages, resulting in huge tax rates, an exodus of residents and falling property values.
The state’s AIM funding totals $714 million a year but it is nearly consumed by the cities. The three big upstate cities of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse get $161.3 million, $88.2 million and $71.8 million, respectively.
Buffalo, with 261,310 people, receives an average of $617.21 per person. In the village of Albion, which feels a lot like a city with some of the urban wear and tear, the state aid amounts to $6.41 a person.
The villages should find out why they’ve been shafted by the state. If the state refuses to give them more money, I urge the villages to become cities, and perhaps expand their geographical boundaries to maximize their aid.
It’s time to fight. The villages need and deserve this money.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 January 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A Holley man who pleaded guilty in November to criminal possession of stolen property and insurance fraud was sentenced to one to three years in state prison today, despite a request for probation from his attorney.
Jeffrey Paul, 40, apologized for his actions, when he teamed with his father David Paul to allegedly steal two backhoes, a box truck and a car. They admitted to burying some of it on David Paul’s property on the Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road.
Although he said he was influenced by his father to commit the crimes, “I have nobody to blame but myself,” Jeffrey Paul said at his sentencing.
His father was sentenced to a year in jail in January 2013. Jeffrey Paul’s case was delayed after he was sent to a psychiatric facility, which postponed his trial. He also switched attorneys before the trial was due to start. He pleaded guilty in November.
“I’ve never been more ashamed or embarrassed in my life,” Paul said in court today. “I haven’t been able to hold my head up high.”
He apologized for letting down his wife and two “wonderful stepchildren.”
Paul was treated for lung cancer after he was arrested. His attorney Larry Koss said an MRI has shown a new mass. He asked Judge James Punch to let Paul avoid prison and instead serve probation. Paul wants to try an experimental treatment.
District Attorney Joe Cardone sought incarceration for Paul.
Punch said Paul has convictions for crimes dating over two decades, “a long history involving fraud, theft, deception and lying.” To avoid prison would be “irresponsible,” Punch said.
He sentenced Paul to state prison, and ordered him to pay $41,650 in restitution. He gave Paul four years to pay that off. If it’s not paid, Paul could have another year added to his sentence, Punch said.
“You’ve clearly worked your way up to state prison with this one,” Punch said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 January 2014 at 12:00 am
If the weather improves by 7, district may have Regents
Albion Central School is closed today due to the cold weather and wind gusts. If the weather improves by 7 a.m., Albion will have the Regents exams and will run busses two hours late. That announcement, on whether or not there will be Regents today, will be made at 7 a.m.
CARLTON – In this winter scene we see the old covered bridge at Two Bridges in Carlton. Our photo was taken in 1885 looking west over Oak Orchard River.
This bridge was replaced around 1910 with one made of structural steel. Currently there is no bridge crossing the river here on Marsh Creek Road. The bridge was removed last year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Provided photo – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, left, presents former Assemblyman Charles Nesbitt with the resolution that was passed in honor of Nesbitt’s receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic rescue of a soldier during the Vietnam War.
ALBANY – For the first time in more than eight years, Charlie Nesbitt was back in the State Assembly chambers today.
Nesbitt, the area’s former assemblyman for 13 years, was invited to the state capitol today to be honored by the Assembly, where he was the leader of the Republican conference.
But today’s recognition was for Nesbitt’s heroic actions in 1968, when he was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War.
The Assembly today passed a Legislative Resolution, recognizing Nesbitt for receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was presented with that medal in August during a reunion of the 57th Assault Helicopter Company.
The Assembly, including Speaker Sheldon Silver, gave Nesbitt two standing ovations today and read the Legislative Resolution, detailing his heroics on Nov. 14, 1968. That day he was tasked with extracting a Special Forces unit out of Laos.
Under enemy fire after one chopper crashed in the jungle, Nesbitt picked up the crew of the downed aircraft and left. Then the crew discovered that one man, John Grimaldi, had been left behind. Though low on fuel, Nesbitt turned his helicopter around and successfully rescued Grimaldi under intense enemy fire. Nesbitt was 20 at the time.
Silver presented Nesbitt with the honor along with State Assemblyman Steve Hawley of Batavia, Majority Leader Joe Morelle and Minority Leader Brian Kolb.
“It was very nice,” Nesbitt said. “I saw a lot of old friends.”
The Assembly resolution follows a similar from the state Senate last week. State Sen. George Maziarz sponsored that resolution.
Hawley was among the speakers in the Assembly today, detailing Nesbitt’s life-saving rescue in the Vietnam War.
“It was a humbling honor to speak about Charlie’s heroics during the Vietnam War,” Hawley said. “His life is a shining example of service and sacrifice on behalf of his country, and I hope that as his successor, I have fulfilled that legacy.”
Nesbitt, a Barre resident, was elected in 1992 and served until late 2005. He left Albany as leader of the Republicans in the Assembly. He resigned and was appointed president and commissioner of the state Tax Appeals Tribunal.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross at a ceremony at the Clarion hotel in Batavia in August. Some of his crew members attended that ceremony.
“The Distinguished Flying Cross is one of the highest honors a pilot can receive,” Hawley said. “It is our duty to make sure that the story of his heroics is told so that future generations may be inspired to serve their country.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Erie Canal, between the Ingersoll and Main Street lift bridges in Albion, is a staging area over the winter for barges, dredgers, tug boats and other Canal Corp. equipment. This photo was taken Friday morning, from the Main Street bridge looking east.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for 9 p.m. today until 6 a.m. Monday for several Western New York counties, including Orleans.
The Weather Service has cancelled a wind chill advisory. The winter weather advisory also includes the counties of Niagara, Erie, Genesee and Chautauqua.
There will be snow combined with gusty winds. About an inch of snow is forecast with southwest winds at 25 to 35 miles per hour.
It looks like another cold spell in the coming days. Monday’s high is forecast at 18, followed by a high of 7 on Tuesday and 10 on Wednesday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 January 2014 at 12:00 am
‘Whenever he was doing something it was all-out and it was for the kids.’ – Wayne Burlison on Kent Knappenberger
Photo courtesy of the Grammy Foundation – Kent Knappenberger
When Wayne Burlison did his student teaching at Westfield Academy in 1999, Kent Knappenberger made an impression.
Knappenberger is the Westfield teacher who is being honored this weekend with the first-ever Grammy Award for a music teacher. He was picked from 30,000 teachers who were nominated for the award across the country.
Burlison, an Albion elementary instrumental teacher, remembers Knappenberger and his dedication to students.
“He had a steel drum band and the kids did heavy metal,” Burlison said. “The general music students played in the bell choir. I saw things as a college student that I didn’t think you could do in a public school.”
Westfield is a tiny school in Chautauqua County. Many of the Fredonia music majors did their student teaching at Westfield.
“Mr. K” was well liked by students and the other music teachers, Burlison said.
“He had this enthusiasm,” Burlison said. “Whenever he was doing something it was all-out and it was for the kids. He didn’t want any glory.”
Burlison said strong school music programs excel from the efforts of several teachers, working together. That was apparent at Westfield, Burlison said.
“It really does take a team to educate kids musically,” he said. “At Westfield, they were definitely a team.”
Knappenberger has been a music teacher and choir director at Westfield Academy for 25 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Fredonia and a master’s degree in music education, harp performance and literature from Eastman School of Music.
Burlison has been rooting for Knappenberger, who was one of 10 announced finalists. He has been widely interviewed in Western New York and national media in the past week.
“He has a little less hair and a lot more beard,” Burlison joked about the honored teacher.
The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools.
Nominations for the second annual Music Educator Award are now open. The deadline to nominate a teacher is March 31. Click here for more information.
Click here to read an interview with Knappenberger on Grammy.com.
Photo by Sue Cook – Holding his newest book, Chuck D’Imperio, left, poses with Bindings Bookstore owner Carolyn Ricker. D’Imperio signed copies of the book and a gave a book talk Saturday evening at The Village Inn.
By Sue Cook, Staff reporter
CHILDS – Chuck D’Imperio is a man full of stories. Having been a radio broadcaster for over 25 years, as well as an author of upstate New York history, he has plenty to share.
D’Imperio was in Orleans County on Saturday to speak about his latest book-writing adventure, “Unknown Museums of Upstate New York: A Guide to 50 Treasures.”
D’Imperio takes many trips, often joined by his wife Trish, to write about local history in towns all across the upstate area. He initially discovered Albion when he wrote “Upstate New York in 100 Words or Less.” He chose 100 random towns and traveled to them just to find out what they had to offer.
Upon coming to Albion he was very impressed with the Courthouse Square with the beautiful courthouse building surrounded by magnificent churches. He commented that he had never seen anything like it before. “You have a lovely town and one of the loveliest communities,” he said during a book talk and dinner at Tillman’s Village Inn.
When he returned to the area to write the book about museums, he made several local stops. Just outside the county he visited the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia and the Jell-O Factory in Le Roy. Inside Orleans County he visited the Cobblestone Museum in Childs and the Medina Railroad Museum in Medina. He stated the Cobblestone Museum is “charming, unique, and unusual.”
‘When they’re gone, they’re gone. I want people to know about the fragility of these museums. History lives. We all need to support it.’ – Author Chuck D’Imperio
D’Imperio’s publisher urged him to write the book and first submit 75 to 80 museums and then to cut it down to 50 for publishing. The Orleans County museums made it in with full write-ups, while others such as East Aurora had to be cut down to honorable mentions.
Bindings Bookstore hosted the event at The Village Inn, which is next to the Cobblestone Museum near the routes 104 and 98 intersection. Bookstore owner Carolyn Ricker organized the event for D’Imperio to speak within a stone’s throw of the museum. Ricker noted the Cobblestone Museum is one of the sites featured on the cover of the book.
D’Imperio used most of his talk to tell anecdotes about several of the museums he has visited. He talked about the Walter Elwood Museum of the Mohawk Valley. He had went there and within three weeks after his visit the museum and five others were destroyed by Hurricane Irene. The Mohawk Valley Museum was torn in half by the nearby river and the artifacts swept away.
D’Imperio asked his publishers to hold off printing the book for one year to allow the museums time to get back on their feet. After one year, all but the Mohawk Valley Museum had been brought back.
Just before the book was published, he received a call that the museum had been revived through the help of a network of museums across upstate New York. The museums offered artifacts they had to the newly built building on higher ground. D’Imperio included the story at the end of his book to make a powerful point.
“When they’re gone, they’re gone. I want people to know about the fragility of these museums,” he said. “History lives. We all need to support it.”
His book includes a general summary of the museums, a takeaway wrap-up, what he calls “a wow factor,” information about hours and address, and suggestions of other nearby attractions and locations to visit.
When people visit a museum they should ask questions – about anything and everything, he said. The staff and volunteers are happy to share their knowledge and educate anyone willing to listen.
For more information about Chuck D’Imperio and his books, visit http://upstatenewyorkbooks.vpweb.com/. ‘Unknown Museums’ is for sale at Bindings Bookstore in Albion, 28 West Bank St.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Charles Price
Charles Price took these photos of a Snowy Owl last Sunday on Route 63, north of the village of Lyndonville. Price captured the owl in flight. Orleans Hub has posted a lot of Snowy Owl photos the past month, but we haven’t seen too many of the owl in action.
This has been a historic, record-breaking winter. And I’m not talking about what feels like near-constant cold.
Snowy Owls have appeared in big numbers, perhaps the biggest migration in a half century, according to bird and wildlife experts.
The owls with luminous yellow eyes are showing up in Western New York at open fields and airports. The owls generally don’t migrate below Canada. This year they have been spotted as far south as Cape Hatteras, N.C.
Dan Mawn of Holley took this photo of a Snowy Owl near the Genesee County Airport on West Saile Drive in Batavia.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 January 2014 at 12:00 am
Hawley wants governor to apologize for comments about ‘extreme conservatives’
Photos by Tom Rivers – State Sen. George Maziarz credited Gov. Andrew Cuomo for pressing for tax relief, but Maziarz said the governor needs to provide some relief to local governments that are paying for state-mandated programs. County Legislator Don Allport is at left and State Assemblyman Steve is at right.
GAINES – State legislators said the atmosphere in Albany has changed under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who seems serious about bringing tax relief to state residents and businesses.
However, some of that relief will be in the form of an election gimmick, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley said during a Legislature Luncheon on Friday.
The governor, who is seeking re-election in November, wants a $350 state rebate to arrive in the mail for Middle Class families in October, Hawley said.
The governor has proposed $2 billion in tax relief to residents and businesses. State Sen. George Maziarz said that is quite a difference than 2009-10, when the state under Gov. David Paterson pushed through $14 billion in new taxes and fees. The new taxes under Paterson “were the dark days of Albany,” Maziarz said.
One of those taxes by Paterson, a tax called the 18-A utility surcharge, was supposed to expire after four years, but Cuomo has allowed it to continue, Maziarz said.
According to National Grid figures, the utility tax costs a typical large business $30,000 a year, $540 for a typical small business, and $55 per year for an average household. “It’s the most onerous tax,” Maziarz said.
He is chairman of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee. Maziarz wants the 18-A utility surcharge rescinded in the upcoming state budget. The tax generates about $500 million a year for the state. If it was gone, there would be more job creation and investment by businesses, he said.
The state legislators commented on a number of issues during the luncheon, which was attended by about 75 people at the Village Inn.
‘Extreme conservatives’
Hawley took issue with the governor’s comments on a radio show about a week ago, when Cuomo said “extreme conservatives” don’t have a place in New York.. He defined them as pro-life, anti-gay marriage and pro-assault weapon.
“Governor, we’re New Yorkers, too,” Hawley said.
The governor needs to represent all of the residents, including those from low-wealth school districts, those who support the right to bear arms and those with conservative social viewpoints, Hawley said.
“Governor, we do matter,” Hawley said. “That’s the diversity of the state. Hopefully we’ll be hearing form him soon with an apology.”
Cuomo said his comments were directed at candidates, saying “extreme conservatives” don’t have a place for a state office in New York.
Maziarz, as an elected public official in the state government, said he is a conservative who views marriage as only between a man and a woman. He called the governor’s remarks “very disappointing.”
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley urged the governor to come to Western New York and apologize for comments about “extreme conservatives.”
Mandate relief
The governor has failed to push through any significant mandate relief for local governments, which are forced to provide some programs and services by the state, the legislators said.
“We implemented 2 percent property tax with the promise we’d untie the hands of the locals,” Hawley said. “But again that hasn’t happened.”
Cuomo and the Legislature have not worked to rein in program costs, especially the $60 billion annual Medicaid program, Hawley said.
He would like to see some the program’s costs reduced and county share in the program eased.
“The cost is unbelievably phenomenal,” he said.
Maziarz said one easy way to reduce the costs would be to bar EBT cards from being used at casinos and strip clubs.
Both said they want residency requirements before people can access benefits, and the state should do drug and alcohol testing for people on public assistance.
Hawley and Maziarz agreed the state should have reached a deal on mandate relief before imposing a property tax cap on the local governments. The local municipalities, without relief from the cost drivers from the state, will be forced to slash non-mandated services and eat into their reserve funds to stay under the 2 percent cap.
Population loss
The eight Western New York counties, including Orleans, all lost population between 2000 and 2010. Upstate has sluggish growth overall, while the country is seeing robust growth.
The loss of people pulls money out of the community. That includes retirees who head for other states, including the less tax-oppressive Pennsylvania, said Ken Pokalsky, vice president of government affairs for the New York Business Council.
“An astounding amount of income is leaving,” he said. “We’re losing a lot of wealth. A lot of people are leaving when they enter retirement.”
The legislators said less taxes and a better business environment would lead to more jobs and opportunities for people to be in the state.
Fracking
Hawley and Maziarz both said they support fracking, but they think New York may have missed the opportunity due to endless studies and delays by the governor and the Legislature.
The industry has had a transformative impact in Pennsylvania and other states. The price of natural gas, however, has fallen and companies may not be pushing to invest in new areas right now.
Fracking could have been a huge boon to the state, particularly along the economically depressed Southern Tier, Maziarz said.
“It could have created a lot of jobs and economic development,” he said. “I think we may have missed the boat on that one.”
Broadband
The two legislators say there are working with local officials and Congressman Chris Collins for rural Broadband to be accessible in rural pockets of the county where there currently isn’t service. They said Collins may have an announcement soon about a Broadband initiative.
“It’s good for our children,” Maziarz said. “It’s the wave of the future.”
Casino in Henrietta
Hawley and Maziarz don’t support a new casino in Henrietta that would be run by the Seneca Nation of Indians. The Senecas haven’t submitted a formal proposal for the casino, but a developer said the tribe is talking about the project.
Marcia Tuohey, a former County Legislature chairwoman, now sits as the county’s’ representative on the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. board of directors. WROTB owns Batavia Downs, which returns some of its profits from a video gaming center to Orleans and 14 other counties, as well as the cities of Rochester and Buffalo.
A casino in Henrietta would be devastating to the Downs, Tuohey said, and may mean no money would be shared with the member counties.
Hawley and Maziarz said the region may already be saturated with casinos, video gaming sites and Lotto games.
“It would just a redistribution of the same money from one area to the next,” Hawley said about the Henrietta casino.
‘Common Core is a typical one-size-fits-all approach generated by big government bureaucrats.’ – Congressman Chris Collins
Press release, Congressman Chris Collins
Congressman Chris Collins (R-Clarence) will host a telephone town hall on Common Core this Monday. The new educational standards are currently being implemented in New York State.
Common Core is widely criticized for forcing students to learn skills necessary to perform well on tests as opposed to actually learning critical material. Collins recently met with parents, students, educators and school board members to discuss ongoing concerns with Common Core.
“Common Core is a typical one-size-fits-all approach generated by big government bureaucrats,” Collins said. “My office continues to be contacted by parents and educators with serious concerns about how Common Core is effecting students and learning in the classroom. I want to bring people together from across New York’s 27th Congressional District to have a conversation on this important issue.”
New York State adopted Common Core standards in 2010.Across the country, 45 states have begun Common Core implementation, but recently ten states, including Massachusetts, have started to rethink or delay their participation over growing concerns from parents, educators and students themselves.States were incentivized to participate in Common Core by the federal government through grant money available as part of the American Recovery and Restoration Act (federal stimulus).
“The federal government knew financially strapped states would jump at the chance for extra aid and sign-up for Common Core,” Collins said. “As implementation begins, people are starting to wake-up to what Common Core is really all about.I am hopeful this telephone town hall will allow people to learn more about Common Core, share their concerns, and hear how other states are approaching these new regulations.”
Collins’ Common Core telephone town hall will begin at 4 p.m. on Monday. To participate, email Collins by visiting his website at chriscollins.house.gov/contact/email-me, enter your contact information and put “TELETOWNHALL” in the message subject line.
