File photo by Tom Rivers: Orleans County election commissioners Janice Grabowski, left, and Kathy Case count absentee ballots in this photo from Sept. 18, 2017.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has re-appointed the two election commissioners who led the Board of Elections through an unprecedented year.

Kathy Case of Murray represents the Republican Party and Janice Grabowski of Barre represents the Democrats.

They were reappointed for another two-year term, from Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2022. They will each be paid $20,823 in 2021, and $21,239 in 2022.

“It’s been a different year but we all got through it,” Case said this morning. “You just have to do the job.”

Grabowski and Case in 2019 moved the Board of Elections office from a wing in a nursing home – The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center – to a the new addition at the County Administration Building.

But this past year brought new challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A special election for the 27^th Congressional District and a presidential primary were all delayed. They were eventually held on June 23, the same say as the local Republican primary. That meant the Board of Elections had three different elections on the same day.

They sent out about 24,000 absentee ballot applications for those races. About 5,000 voters would request absentees for the June 23 elections, and another 3,600 cast in-person ballots.

The county was approved for $46,022 in federal CARES funding to help with the added costs with the primary and election.

For the second year, early voting was offered at the Board of Election for nine days prior to the general election.

In the 2019 general election only 374 people used early voting option over nine days. This election, there were more than 10 times that turnout for early voting with 3,753 choosing that option.

The Board of Elections also handled about three times as many absentee ballots for the general election. There were 2,914 applications for absentee, which was up from 952 in 2016.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Traffic moves through Main Street in Albion on Dec. 26.

The County Legislature has approved the 2021 sales tax apportionment and it breaks a recent trend by giving the four villages a slight increase in the sales tax.

In recent years, the towns with villages has received small increases each year – at the expense of the villages.

The county receives about $17 million in sales tax annually, and shares $1,366,671 with the four villages and 10 towns. They have been frozen at that level since 2001.

The Legislature opted to not cut the towns’ and villages’ sales tax share for 2021, despite the strain on the county budget from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Once a decade the town and village amounts are set based on local population. However, each year after that the share is modified based on the assessed values of towns with villages.

There are four villages but two of them, Albion and Medina, are in two towns. So that makes six out of the 10 towns with villages as part of their population. Barre, Carlton, Clarendon and Kendall don’t have villages so their sales tax has been unchanged for nearly a decade.

With the towns with villages, if a town grows its tax base faster than the rate in a village, that town will get more sales tax – by getting more of the village’s. That is what happened almost every year since 2001. Most of the new development is just outside the village borders, or reassessments give the towns bigger increases than in the villages.

The villages saw their share take a hit by nearly $30,000 from 2013 to 2020, falling from $404,661 in 2013 to $375,620 in 2020.

But in 2021, the six towns with villages will collectively receive $7,831 less with the difference going to the villages. The Village of Albion will get $2,465 more, while Holley is up $906, Lyndonville gets a $1,125 increase and Medina is up $3,335.

Despite the increases, the four villages are still down significantly from their peaks in sales tax in the last 20 years.

In Albion, the village hit a high of $211,669 for Albion in 2004. In 2021, it will receive $168,153, which is $43,516 less than in 2004.

In Holley, the village hit a high of $62,549 in 2002 – 19 years later it’s down to $45,957, a cut of $16,592.

Lyndonville was at $18,592 in 2002 and has dropped to $16,368 in 2021.

In Medina, the village received a high of $173,592 in 2002 and will be at $152,973 in 2021, a decline of $20,619.

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature set salaries for some of the elected and appointed officials following a public hearing on the matter on Dec. 16.

The Legislature set the salaries for the following county employees, who are elected or appointed:

• Social services commissioner, $101,135 with $200 longevity bonus for 10 years in the position
• Commissioner of Public Works, $95,667
• County Attorney, $95,667
• Public Defender, $95,667
• Sheriff, $83,251 with $2,000 longevity bonus for 30-34 years of service
• Real Property Tax Director, $80,970 with $500 longevity bonus for 15-19 years of service
• County Treasurer, $78,745 plus $1,250 longevity bonus for 25-29 years of service
• Personnel director, $76,583

The legislators set the salaries to compensate management and elected officials at 2 percent increases for 2021 and 2022.

That resolution from the Legislature will “control costs and provide certainty for the approaching budget process as it relates to compensation for management and elected officials,” according to the resolution approved by the Legislature.

The salaries in the management plan also continues a high deductible plan and complete health insurance reorganization with new hires responsible for paying 20 percent of the cost of the health insurance premium.

The Legislature also approved the following salaries, effective January 1, for certain part-time and unclassified employees:

Annual:  

Coroner, $2,089 – $100 per case/$50 per Hospice Case

Deputy Budget Officer, $3,714

Deputy Fire Coordinator, $2,357

Fire Investigator, $2,357

Historian, $11,500

Orleans County Engineer, $26,500

Director of Computer Services, $92,537

IT Operations Analyst I, $64,459

Secretary to the District Attorney, $54,554

Secretary to the Assistant District Attorney (.06), $46,170

Secretary to the Assistant District Attorney (.13), $38,009

Director of Public Health, $102,500

Public Health Administrative Officer, $60,431

Director of Community Health Services, $84,370

Secretary to the Sheriff, $56,095

Secretary to the Highway Superintendent, $56,095

Daily:

Court Attendant, $76.94

Examination Monitor (Full Day), $133.30

Examination Monitor (Half Day), $66.66

Hourly (Part-Time Employees):

Animal Control Officer, $15.37

Clerk (Elections), $12.50

Correctional Officer (Jail), $15.37

Correctional Officer (Jail) Second rate, $21.22

Crew Leader (Sheriff), $14.38

Deputy Sheriff Marine Patrol – Non Certified Deputy, $14.81

Sheriff Marine Patrol – Certified, $17.69

Dispatchers, $15.37

Medical Director, $107.00

Voting Machine Technicians, $19.44

Hourly (Full Time Employees):

Director of Emergency Management, $19.92

The Legislature also approved the salary for the Legislature chairman at $18,866 for 2021, with the vice chairman to be paid $14,265, and the other five legislators to each be paid $12,576 for 2021.

Tearful good-byes after 15 years as clerk of the Legislature

Nadine Hanlon

ALBION – Nadine Hanlon next week will start her new job as the Orleans County clerk. She has been the clerk to the County Legislature the past 15 years.

It was a tearful goodbye on Dec. 16 during her last monthly meeting as the Legislature clerk. Lynne Johnson, the Legislature chairwoman, and Hanlon both had to fight back tears during the meeting.

“I’m speaking on behalf of all the legislators when I say It was truly our honor and you will be missed,” Johnson said at the meeting.

Hanlon was elected county clerk in November. She will move back to the County Clerks’ Building at the Courthouse Square. She worked in the top floor with the Legislature before the group shifted to the new addition last year at the County Administration Building on Route 31.

The county clerk’s office is on the second floor of the historic building at the Courthouse Square. Hanlon will be over in the County Administration Building frequently because the county clerk oversees the Department of Motor Vehicles in the CAB.

“The legislators have treated me very well in my tenure here,” Hanlon said. “Thank you for everything you have taught me along the way.”

Hanlon’s father, the late Michael Paduchak, has his portrait on the wall in the Legislature chambers. Before there was a County Legislature 40 years ago, there was the Board of Supervisors, made up of the 10 town supervisors. Paduchak was the Kendall town supervisor and served on the Board of Supervisors.

Before joining the county, Hanlon was the Kendall town clerk. She also served 10 years on the Kendall Board of Education, including several years as president.

In 2013, she was chosen as the county employee of the year.

“I’m not leaving my work family, I’m just moving to different county office,” Hanlon said. “I get to continue to work with you and that is awesome.”

The Legislature appointed Lisa Stenshorn of Kendall to take over as clerk of the Legislature on Jan. 1. She has been the deputy clerk of the Legislature under Hanlon.

File photo from July 2017 by Tom Rivers: James Punch, retired Orleans County Court judge, will serve as administrator of the assigned counsel plan in Orleans County.

ALBION – A retired Orleans County Court judge is returning in a new role with the local court system.

James Punch has been appointed by the County Legislature to serve as administrator of the assigned counsel plan. He will be paid $35,000 for the role in 2021.

Punch retired as county court judge on July 29, 2017 after nearly 27 years as judge. He was the district attorney before that for five years. He was first elected at age 29.

Punch will take over as assigned counsel administrator, after Jeff Martin of Holley gave notice he was resigning from the post.

The Orleans County Bar Association voted and approved the recommendation that Punch serve as administrator. That was also choice of the Assigned Counsel Advisory Committee.

The county spends more than $500,000 a year on assigned counsel for residents who can’t afford an attorney for criminal or family court. There are about 50 attorneys on the county’s assigned counsel roster.

The administrator of the assigned counsel plan needs to make sure the attorneys don’t have any conflicts or past dealings with others involved in a case. The administrator will work with judges to find attorneys for cases.

The administrator also needs to ensure the residents meet income qualifications for indigent defense, and the administrator will assess the quality of legal services in the cases.

The administrator also should strive to make sure the cases are also rotated among the attorneys and that they follow consistent billing and reimbursement practices.

Punch was appointed to the position last week by the Legislature. The legislators also appointed former Medina Police Chief Jose Avila, who is retired from that job, to provide investigative service for the Public Defender in 2021. Avila will be paid $55 an hour, with the cost not to exceed $20,000 for the year.

Orleans County has had fewer people working during the pandemic than in the last 30 years. It is likely even longer than that, but the state Department of Labor data only goes back to 1990.

The DOL this week released employment data for November 2020. The state report shows 15,800 people were working in the county in November. That is the fewest of any November since 1990.

The most workers the county has had in a November was in 1998 when there were 20,300 workers, according to the DOL. In November 1990, the first year of the statistics available online, Orleans had 18,300 workers. In November 2019, there were 16,700 employed.

The 15,800 working last month is actually a big improvement from April, when the state Department of Labor counted 14,300 workers in Orleans. That was the peak of the government shutdown on nonessential businesses.

The 14,300 was the only time in the past 30 years Orleans has dipped below 15,000 workers.

The highest level of employment in the 30 years: June and July in 1998 when the county had 20,800 people working.

To see the data on Orleans, click here and search under Orleans County.

Unemployment rate continues to go down from pandemic high

The latest data from state Department of Labor shows the number of people working in Orleans County is down by 1,000 people from a year ago, when there wasn’t a Covid-19 wreaking havoc on the economy.

The DOL reported there were 15,800 people working in Orleans County in November, down from 16,800 in November 2019. The county’s unemployment rate last month was 5.4 percent, compared to 4.4 percent the previous November.

Here are the unemployment rates and number of unemployed in the Orleans County during the pandemic:

• March: 5.4 percent, 900 unemployed
• April: 15.9 percent, 2,700 unemployed
• May: 11.5 percent, 1,900 unemployed
• June: 10.8 percent, 1,900 unemployed
• July: 12.7 percent, 2,300 unemployed
• August: 9.8 percent, 1,700 unemployed
• September: 5.5 percent, 900 unemployed
• October: 6.0 percent, 1,000 unemployed
• November: 5.4 percent, 900 unemployed

Nationally the number of people working is down by 8.7 million, from 158.9 million in November 2019 to 150.2 million last month. In New York, the number of people employed shrunk by 790,000 in the 12 months, down from 9.15 million to 8.36 million.

The Rochester metro has 30,000 fewer workers, down from 500,100 to 470,000, while the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro is down by 19,500 workers — from 517,300 to 497,700.

The employment data for other nearby counties (with November 2019 in parentheses) and the change in the number of people working:

• Erie, 5.9 percent (4.2) – Decline from 423,200 working to 407,300
• Genesee, 4.6 percent (3.8) – Workers down from 28,400 to 27,000
• Livingston, 5.6 percent (3.9) – Decline from 29,500 to 27,700
• Monroe, 6.0 percent (4.0) – Down from 346,900 working to 326,100
• Niagara, 6.0 percent (4.7) – Decline from 94,100 employed to 90,500
• Ontario, 4.6 percent (3.6) – Down from 53,300 working to 50,100
• Orleans, 5.4 percent (4.4) – Down from 16,800 workers to 15,800
• Wyoming, 4.7 percent (4.0) – Decline from 17,100 to 16,400

New York City is suffering the highest unemployment rates — 16.0 percent in Bronx, 12.1 percent in Kings (Brooklyn), 9.3 percent in New York County (Manhattan) Richmond (Staten Island), 9.8 percent and Queens, 11.6 percent.

Tompkins and Columbia counties have the lowest rates at 4.0 percent.

Provided images

ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office joined several local families at Walmart on Saturday for the second annual “Shop with a Cop” program. The Walmart Foundation awarded the Sheriff’s Office a $3,000 grant for the program.

Sheriff Chris Bourke said it was a “great day” for the children, their families and members of the Sheriff’s Office who were part of the program.

“A big thank you to Walmart for providing the very generous gift cards for the kids to shop with and Orleans County Child and Family Service for assisting with the organization of this event,” Bourke said. “Several kids along with a family member were able to go with our Sheriff’s Deputies, Correction Officers and Volunteer Clergy members to pick out gifts for their parents and siblings. The kids then picked out gifts for themselves. The kids picked out some toys and other items but some  bought food items so they would be able to have a nice dinner on Christmas Day.

“I would like to personally thank the Sheriff’s Office members who reached into their own pockets to pay the difference for the families that went over the card limit.”

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature officially commended the staff at the Orleans County Jail for its actions to rein in an outbreak of Covid-19 cases at the jail on Platt Street.

Last month 13 corrections officers tested positive and three inmates also has the virus. Other staff that had close contact with those who tested positive also had to isolate at home.

That left the jail, which has 45 staff members, with far fewer workers to run the site. But many of the employees worked extra shifts – 106 needed to filled due to workers being out due to testing positive for Covid and being in close contact with someone who had it.

Lynne Johnson, Legislature chairwoman, said the staff deserves to be “commended for outstanding service to the community.”

The outbreak hit the jail from Nov. 2 to Nov. 23. Inspectors from the New York State Commission of Correction visited the Orleans County last month and concluded the site has the needed protocols in place to protect against the spread of Covid-19.

Commission of Correction staff reviewed the jail’s protocols for screening of employees, incarcerated individuals and anyone entering the facility. They also said signage throughout the facility, disinfecting procedures and the utilization of face coverings are consistent with the guidance provided by the Commission, the New York State Department of Health, and the Center for Disease Control.

“The jail staff worked above and beyond,” Johnson said on Wednesday during the County Legislature meeting. “The outbreak created a major challenge to the operation of the facility.”

She said the employees who worked extra shifts despite a higher risk of being exposed to the virus.

She praised the correction officers, command staff, kitchen staff, nursing staff, Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson and Sheriff Chris Bourke for seeing the jail through the outbreak.

There were 61 Covid tests administered to staff and inmates with 13 COs and three inmates testing positive.

ALBION – District Attorney Joe Cardone is leading an effort to gather information and study whether it makes sense to have district courts in Orleans County, rather than 10 town courts.

Joe Cardone

Joe Cardone, the district attorney the past 28 years, is gathering information from the 10 towns on how much they spend annually for their justice courts, with salary and benefits for judges and court clerks, as well as other costs – security utilities and equipment.

Cardone said the data could show the court system locally could be more efficient and offer better service with district courts, which might be set up with one court for western Orleans, one in the central towns and one on the eastern end.

“This is something we’re looking at as a possibility,” Cardone said during a recent meeting with local elected officials at the village, town and county level. “I think we should at least keep our eyes open to the different possibilities.”

Orleans municipalities have already taken steps to make the courts more efficient. Albion and Medina about a decade ago abolished their village courts, with the function handled by the towns. Shelby and Ridgeway use the same building – the Shelby Town Hall – for court. Many of the towns have also eliminated one town justice position and have one person in the role, with agreements with neighboring towns to fill in when needed.

If the local municipalities decided to have a multi-jurisdictional district court, they would need state approval, Cardone said.

The study should show how many judges and support staff would be needed for a district court, and whether the community would be best be served with the existing 10 town courts, or one, two or three district courts.

“We want to study the issue,” Cardone said. “I don’t think we’re doing our jobs if we don’t study it.”

The DA also is compiling information on code enforcement in the local towns and villages to see if it would be better to have centralized code enforcement through the county.

The DA’s office is gathering the data from the local municipalities on the code enforcement budgets for 2020 and 2021, with the salary and benefits of personnel, as well as other expenses.

Some counties, such as nearby Wyoming County, run code enforcement through the county, where there is a full-time presence. In Orleans, most of the municipalities have part-time code officers.

“Right now with codes we are lacking standardization and consistency,” County Legislator Ken DeRoller said at a recent meeting with the Orleans County Association of Municipalities.

Local group wants to reach goal of 5,000 completed surveys

Local leaders trying to document the needs for high-speed internet in Orleans County are pleased so far with the response to a survey of residents about their internet access and needs.

In the two weeks the survey has been available online, 1,700 people have responded, with 20 percent of those 17 or younger. (Click here to see the survey.)

Other notable feedback in the survey so far:

• 17% of residents who responded do not have internet at home, and of those, 88% do not have an option of purchasing it.
• Only 21% of respondents said that their internet is very reliable.
• Females are participating in the survey at a rate of 2 to 1 to males.

Mary Beth Debus, president of Program Savvy Consulting, shared some of the early results of the survey with the Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative Steering Team. That group has a goal of 5,000 surveys from the community. The more data from local residents, the better the county can document the situation in the community for internet access and need, and can make a stronger case to potential funders, Debus said.

“Our ability to attract funders will be enhanced by being able to show the degree of engagement on this issue,” Debus said. “The participation in the survey is one way to measure engagement.”

The Orleans County United Way received a $50,000 grant to study the issue. It has hired a consultant who has interviewed school, business and community leaders on the issue. Debus prepared the 48-question survey for residents to share about their internet access and how it affects them. The online survey will be available soon in Spanish.

The United Way has formed a steering committee for the Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative. The committee includes Dean Bellack, executive director of the Orleans County United Way; County Legislator Ken DeRoller; Kelly Kiebala, director of the Orleans County Job Development Agency; Robert Batt, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County; and Greg Reed, director of the Orleans County YMCA.

Debus is interviewing community members and expects to have the surveys tabulated for a report in March. That information will allow the county to then pursue funding through the state or federal government, or through at least 20 foundations.

ALBION – Inspectors from the New York State Commission of Correction Inspectors visited the Orleans County jail recently and concluded the site has the needed protocols in place to protect against the spread of Covid-19.

The jail has recently had an outbreak with 13 corrections officers and three inmates testing positive.

Commission of Correction staff reviewed the jail’s protocols for screening of employees, incarcerated individuals and anyone entering the facility. They also said signage throughout the facility, disinfecting procedures and the utilization of face coverings are consistent with the guidance provided by the Commission, the New York State Department of Health, and the Center for Disease Control.

Allen Riley, Chairman of the Commission, sent a letter on Dec. 9 to Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke, informing him of the results of the visit.

“As you are aware, detention facilities are at a greater risk for the spread of COVID-19 due to the close proximity of the individuals who reside and work in these facilities,” Riley wrote in the letter. “As such, a facility must take all available precautions to minimize the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak, while simultaneously maintaining a secure facility.”

Bourke said the jail staff have stepped up their efforts to keep the facility clean and fight off Covid.

“I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication by Superintendent Scott Wilson, the Jail Command Staff, Correction Officers, Cooks and nursing staff during these unprecedented times,” Bourke said.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Volunteers carry 20-pound boxes of produce and food during the rain on May 29 at the Orleans County 4-H fairgrounds. Volunteers distributed 1,200 boxes of food that day.

KNOWLESVILLE – The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County each year presents a “Friend of Extension” award, typically to a volunteer or supporter of the agency.

This year many of the Extension activities were cancelled including the 4-H fair due to Covid-19. The fairgrounds, however, were a busy place on about a dozen days, when the Extension distributed boxes of produce, meat and dairy products. On those dates, more than 1,000 vehicles stopped by the fairgrounds for the food.

The Extension counted about 50 people who volunteered for the food distributions. Many stayed for several hours, sometimes in the rain, and other times in stifling heat.

The Extension’s leadership decided to recognize those volunteers with the “Friend of the Extension” award for 2020.

“We are extremely grateful for all the people who came out because we couldn’t have participated in these distributions without them,” said Robert Batt, the Extension executive director.

Each volunteer will receive a thank you card and a small gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts. (This doesn’t include the volunteers who helped with the distributions in Albion, Holley and Medina.)

The Extension hosted and coordinated the distributions from May until early December. The U.S. Department of Agriculture hasn’t said if the program will continue after Dec. 31.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Volunteers, including Natalie Mrzywka, Kim Hazel and Robert Batt from the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County, carry boxes to vehicles this morning in Albion in what is the last scheduled food distribution.

The events started in April in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, trying to connect excess produce and other food to people in need.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has funded the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program nation-wide through the end of December. An announcement hasn’t been made whether the distributions will continue in January.

These two walk down Chamberlain Street on their way to the elementary school, passing a long line of vehicles. The line also went down McKinistry, East Park and Main streets.

Krista Fiegel, an employee at the Iroquois Job Corps, rips the plastic off a pallet of boxes of food. She was one of four Job Corps employees who helped this morning.

Community Action and the Office for the Aging have been coordinating the events in Albion and Holley with the Medina Area Association of Churches taking the lead in Medina.

The line of vehicles stretched over four streets including Main Street. This photo was taken at about 8 a.m.