The unemployment rate in Orleans County dropped to 5.3 percent in October, which is down from 6.3 percent a year before and 8.5 percent in October 2013.

The State Department of Labor reports that the rate state-wide is 4.8 percent, the lowest rate in New York since November 2007. That includes a 4.8 percent rate in New York City and 4.9 percent in upstate.

The data from the DOL shows that 17,400 people were working in Orleans County in October, up by 400 from the 17,000 in October 2014. The number of unemployed fell from 1,100 in October 2014 to 1,000 last month.

The state’s private sector job count increased by 168,600 from October 2014 to October 2015. In October 2015, the number of private sector jobs in the state reached an all-time high of 7,859,000, according to the state DOL.

Unemployment in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro area fell from 5.4 percent in October 2014 to 4.8 percent last month. The jobless rate in the Rochester metro fell from 5.1 to 4.5 percent in that time.

Other nearby counties have unemployment rates below Orleans County’s: Genesee, 4.2; Wyoming, 4.4; Livingston, 4.2; Monroe, 4.6; Niagara, 5.2; and Erie, 4.8.

Only two counties in the state had rate a 6.0 percent or higher: Oswego (6.0) and Bronx (6.5).

Chairman Callard says budget prevents tax rate increase

ALBION – Orleans County officials will have a public hearing at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 on a $64,435,941 budget. The spending plan for 2016 reduces costs from 2015 and keeps the tax rate at $9.89 per $1,000 of assessed property.

“It’s been an extremely good year,” David Callard, chairman of Legislature, said about the budget. “We’ve maintained costs, which we started six years ago and we’ve done extremely well.”

The public hearing will be at the county courthouse. Following the hearing, the Legislature will convene at the legislative chambers next door in the County Clerks’ Building to vote on the budget.

The county in recent years has worked to streamline staffing and have employees pay more towards health insurance costs. The selling of the county nursing home also reduced the county workforce by about a third.

The county’s workforce has shrunk from 416 full-time and 164 part-time positions in 2014 to 318 full-time and 89 part-time for 2016.

The $64,435,941 budget is the county’s smallest since 2007, and is down by $579,325 from the $65,015,266 in 2015. In 2014, the last year the county owned a nursing home, the budget was $79.8 million. That year the tax rate was $10.11.

Callard said efforts to fight welfare fraud are paying off with social services costs at a “historic low.” The county has reduced welfare caseloads and that will reduce welfare costs to local taxpayers by an estimated $200,000 in 2016.

The tax rate will be unchanged, but the county will take in a slight increase in taxes. The tax levy will increase by 0.7 percent from $16,209,165 to $16,323,150. Property taxes represent about 25 percent of the revenue for funding the budget.

Sales tax also represents about a quarter of the revenue for the budget. After budgeting for no increases in 2014 and 2015, county officials are going to recommend another $250,000 in sales tax to $14,035,000.

County officials don’t foresee too many additional opportunities for significant cost saving by reducing staff. Callard said the county wants to maintain the tax rate by boosting tax assessments. That can happen by addressing many of the vacant homes in the community, Callard said.

Many of those houses are owned by banks but sitting idle. The homes should be put in the hands of owners with a plan and purpose for the houses, Callard said.

Medina has started a vacant housing law that tracks the houses and assesses a fee to the owners. That law may spur the owners to take action on the properties. Callard said Medina’s law could serve as a model for other local municipalities.

“We want them to get turned over before they deteriorate,” Callard said about the houses. “We need to improve the housing stock and explore it on a countywide basis.”

There are about 250 vacant homes in the county, Callard said. He expects there will be more demand for housing with the new Pride Pak vegetable processing plant in Medina and the developments at the STAMP site across the Orleans line in Genesee County.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – These pictures of leaves are from my yard following an overnight frost last week.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a high wind warning for Orleans, Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming and Monroe counties from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. on Sunday. Southwest winds will be 25 to 35 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 mph, according to the Weather Service.

The forecast also shows the chance for snow on Monday and Tuesday. However, it will warm up for the Thanksgiving holiday with a high of 49 on Wednesday and 56 on Thursday.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued Lake Effect Snow warnings, through Monday morning, for Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Oswego, Jefferson and Lewis counties.

The forecast calls for up to six to twelve inches of snow in Chautauqua County and eastern Lake Ontario region. While heavier snow amounts will be confined to the Chautauqua Ridge and Tug Hill Plateau, localized bands of heavy snow will make driving conditions dangerous due to slick roads and low visibility, the governor’s office said in a news release today.

“With snow and strong winds on the horizon for parts of the state, I am urging New Yorkers to be prepared and stay safe,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement today. “We are actively monitoring these storms, but New Yorkers should also take appropriate precautions now, especially if they will be traveling. Roads may become hazardous, and I strongly encourage everyone to take their time and drive responsibly.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Earl Schmidt addresses the Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday after he was appointed to serve as new director of the Veterans Service Agency, replacing Paul Fulcomer, who is retiring.

ALBION – The new director of the Veterans Service Agency in Orleans County served 23 years in the military, including combat in both the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan.

Earl Schmidt of Ridgeway has worked the past 3 ½ years as an accredited veterans’ service officer with the Niagara County Veterans Service Agency. He will start on Dec. 7 as the director in Orleans County.

The County Legislature appointed him to the job today. He will succeed Paul Fulcomer, who has served in the position for 13 years.

“I wish to continue what has already been started with the Veterans Service Agency and I wish to strengthen it,” Schmidt told county legislators today.

Schmidt served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army National Guard for 23 years, retiring as sergeant first class; reconnaissance platoon sergeant. He earned 17 medals including a Bronze Star.

He is active with the American Legion as a service officer, the VFW and sits on the VFWNYS Department service officer’s committee as well as a member of the Iraqi Afghan Veterans of America.

Schmidt, during his comments to the County Legislature, recited a quote from Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1865: “Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Schmidt said Lincoln’s words “are the backbone of all that I do.”

He will make helping veterans access their benefits the focus of the Veterans Serice Agency. He said the rules and regulations change frequently, and he is happy to help veterans work through the bureaucracy.

“There are benefits they may not even realize,” he said. “The laws change on a fairly consistent basis. My goal is the maximum benefit in the shortest amount of time.”

Schmidt and his wife Catherine have four children. He was welcomed today by legislators, including Legislature Chairman David Callard, who said the new director is a great addition.

“He’s very passionate about veterans’ issues and I’m sure his energy and dedication will make an immediate impact for our Orleans County veterans’ community,” Callard said.

Photos by Tom Rivers – A new class graduated from the Microenterprise Assistance Program on Tuesday. The group includes, front row, from left: Amanda Wolford, Justin Froman, Jenny Rae Siplo, Christine Heideman, and Linda Benz. Back row: Shaun Swanson, small business advisor Dick Pettine, Michael Klepp, Rion Pawlak, Janell Thompson, Charlene Washington and Diane Blanchard, MAP manager.

ALBION – A 10-week class has given a new group of entrepreneurs tips in taxes, marketing, legal issues, handling stress, computers and bookkeeping – all factors that are key to running successful businesses.

The Fall 2015 class of the Microenterprise Assistance Program graduated on Tuesday with a celebration at Tillman’s Village Inn. More than 400 entrepreneurs have completed the program since 1999.

“I want to say, thank you for having the courage and tenacity to step up and own your own business,” Paul Hendel, chairman of the Orleans Economic Development Agency, told the new MAP graduates.

The program is run through the EDA with classes in the fall and spring. Graduates who complete business plans may pursue low-interest financing up to $30,000 through the EDA.

“The sole proprietor is the backbone of the economy in Orleans County, New York State and across the whole nation,” Hendel said.

The fall graduates include: Linda Benz, consultant for office management; Justin Froman, road kill removal; Christine Heideman, gourmet cupcakes; Michael Klepp, The Plant Man; Rion Pawlak, vapor shop (plastic cigarettes) or food truck; Jenny Rae Siplo, Flower Well; Shaun Swanson, Filmwell Studios; Janell Thompson, Marva’s Clothes & Beauty Supplies; Charlene Washington, 3 Twice (information technology); and Amanda Wolford, retail.

Klepp has been running his “Plant Man” business for 27 years, providing horticulture advice and training. The West Shelby resident, 44, is considering whether to build a barn on his property for teaching programs – “anything garden related,” he said.

He also is thinking about growing his business and adding an employee. The MAP class helped him look into the future, calculating expenses and needed revenue.

Jenny Rae Siplo, 24, of Holley started her floral design business in May, providing flowers for weddings, events and florists. The MAP class helped her to plan for growing the business.

Jenny Rae Siplo accepts her certificate for completing the 10-week MAP class from Diane Blanchard, manager of the program.

Janell Thompson opened Marva’s Clothes & Beauty Supplies on Sept. 1 on East Bank Street in Albion. Thompson said the MAP class has been an “eye opener” to create a business plan and tailor the store’s hours and products to customers.

She is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. She decided to close on Monday and open later in the day after hearing from customers and noticing shopping trends.

She sells clothes, shoes, perfume, hair products, and homemade jewelry. The store is named in her mother’s honor.

“The store is something my mom always wanted,” Thompson said. “It was her dream.”

Justin Froman, 32, of Albion read a news article about two years ago, detailing how municipalities try to get rid of roadkill. Froman read that article and saw an opportunity for a business.

Next year will will start his venture where he will pick up deer and other dead animals along roadways. He will then compost them. He is looking for his first contract and hopes to start the business in January.

Rion Pawlak accepts his certificate for completing the MAP class.

Rion Pawlak has two business ideas: starting a food truck that he can take to events and locations in Orleans County and beyond, and also opening a Vape Shop with plastic cigarettes and vaping supplies.

Pawlak, 34, said the MAP class helped him to research and understand regulations and insurance with owning a business.

“The biggest thing the class gave me is confidence,” he said.

He expects to be in business by next summer.

“I’m taking the winter to get the finances together and to build an unstoppable plan,” Pawlak said.

ALBION – After several months of effort, Orleans County officials have put together a tentative budget for 2016 that keeps the tax rate at $9.89 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The $64,435,941 budget plan filed Friday reduces spending by $579,325 from the $65,015,266 in 2015. In 2014, the last year the county owned a nursing home, the budget was $79.8 million. That year the tax rate was $10.11.

The county’s workforce has shrunk from 416 full-time and 164 part-time positions in 2014 to 318 full-time and 89 part-time for 2016.

County officials have pared other departments, and negotiated health insurance deals where employees pay more towards insurance. That has resulted in costs for salaries and benefits below what the county was paying in 2012 for non-nursing home departments, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.

He is also the budget officer and filed the tentative budget on Friday, before the Nov. 15 deadline. The County Legislature is expected to discuss the budget during its 4:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday. The Legislature will also set a public hearing on Wednesday for the budget.

The tax rate will be unchanged, but the county will take in a slight increase in taxes. The tax levy will increase by 0.7 percent from $16,209,165 to $16,323,150. Property taxes represent about 25 percent of the revenue for funding the budget.

Sales tax also represents about a quarter of the revenue for the budget. After budgeting for no increases in 2014 and 2015, county officials are going to recommend another $250,000 in sales tax to $14,035,000.

“Weak gas prices and continued economic uncertainty causes us to look at this number with a great deal of caution,” Nesbitt says in his message with the tentative budget.

State reimbursements are also big revenue sources for the budget, but Nesbitt said the state has been slow with its share of the money, which often forces the county to use its reserve funds.

With the nursing home’s “enterprise fund” being closed out last month, some of those funds (over $2 million) will likely stay in the county’s fund balance to provide a bigger cash flow cushion. Some of the enterprise fund will also be set aside for workers’ compensation claims and a self-insurance fund.

The budget also accounts for a drop in welfare expenses as caseloads decrease and the county has more success with welfare fraud. There will also be a slight drop in community college expenses from $1,740,000 to $1,700,000 (county pays a third of tuition costs for residents from Orleans County).

Funding for agencies includes:

$232,500 for Cornell Cooperative Extension (requested $254,966) – $225,000 in 2015;

$166,500 for Economic Development Agency (requested $166,500) – $170,000 in 2015;

$77,500 for Soil and Water Conservation District (requested $85,000) – $75,000 in 2015;

$10,000 for four public libraries (requested $42,883) – $10,000 in 2015;

$5,000 for Mercy Flight (requested $5,000) – $5,000 in 2015;

* $5,000 for Friends of Mental Health (requested $5,000) – $0 in 2015;

* $3,000 for GO Art! (requested $5,000) – $3,000 in 2015;

* $1,000 for Sportsmen’s Federation (requested $1,000) – $1,000 in 2015.