$93.7 million proposal includes replacement of county’s fuel farm, bridge and road work

ALBION – Orleans County’s tentative 2023 budget would increase spending by 19.1 percent or by about $15 million – from $78,691,774 in 2022 to $93,702,812 in 2023.

Despite that increase, the tax levy will remain the same at $18,657,000 with the tax rate decreasing by 22 cents to $9.87 per $1,000 of assessed property.

“This year’s $93 million budget recommendation is influenced by the core inflation rate that is at a 40-year high, the continued employment challenges of retaining and hiring new employees, prolonged supply chain issues which have no certainty of the price of goods or the delivery of goods as quoted as well as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jack Welch, the county’s budget officer and chief administrative officer.

He filed the tentative budget on Nov. 15. He thanked the department heads and county legislators for their work on the budget.

There will be a public hearing at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 30 in the legislative chambers of the County Office Building.

The tentative budget includes a capital plan totaling $13,618,267 with $3,000,715 coming from the 2023 budget with the rest from state CHIPS and TIP funds, as well as a county infrastructure, and building and equipment reserve funds.

Some of the capital projects include $1.5 million for replacement of the county’s fuel farm; $1,390,000 for a solar farm and energy efficiency project; $2,096,100 to replace the Angling Road bridge; $1,040,00 to replace the bridge on Route 237; $999,616 for the Lakeshore Road bridge project; $776,000 for Taylor Hill Road culvert replacement; $1,890,000 for highway reconstruction; $700,000 for an addition to the DPW; $792,615 for CAD and RMS software in the Sheriff’s Office; $200,000 for jail repairs; and other vehicles and equipment upgrades.

The budget gives some agencies an increase and while others stay at the same level of funding.

The Orleans Economic Development would receive $200,000 in 2023, up from $190,000; Soil & Water Conservation would get $95,000, up from $92,500; and the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council would receive $4,000, up from $3,000.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension remains at $240,000 and the four public libraries continue at $10,000. Mercy Flight stays at $5,000 and the Sportsman’s Federation remains at $1,000.

The county continues to experience strong growth in sales tax revenue, which is taking pressure off from raising property taxes. The budget Welch and Kim DeFrank, county treasurer, budgets for a $1 million increase in sales tax. That $18,843,000 is up $1 million over 2022. The county’s sales tax revenue increased about $400,000 through the first nine months this year, after jumping $2.4 million in 2021.

“Orleans County experienced historical growth in sales tax receipts during the pandemic,” Welch said in a budget message. “The question was this a temporary change or have residents created a new habit of purchasing online? Now with record inflation rate on food, non-taxable sales, will this reduce our residents’ discretionary taxable sales purchasing in 2023?”

The county has used some of the sales tax increase to fund capital projects. It opted against lowering the county sales tax on gas when prices were at record highs this summer.

The county workforce includes 345 full-time employees and 96 part-timers. There are also 163 seasonal workers with 150 in the Board of Elections.

Future uncertain whether Mercy or Monroe will be main provider

Photos by Tom Rivers: Mike Gugliuzza, director of medical operations for Mercy Flight EMS, said the organization expects to take over COVA on Sunday at 12:01 a.m., with nearly all of the COVA staff becoming Mercy Flight employees. Mercy will provide service in central Orleans for at least the short-term until the town officials approve a contract with an ambulance provider. The Town of Barre already has signed an agreement with Monroe Ambulance for 2023.

ALBION – Mercy Flight EMS said it expects it will take over for COVA beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., with nearly all of COVA’s 40-plus staff becoming Mercy Flight employees. That doesn’t include the COVA administration, who will remain with the COVA organization and work to collect unpaid bills and help with other tasks with the transition.

Mercy Flight will handle billing and other administration beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday.

However, it remains unclear whether Mercy Flight will be the primary ambulance provider for the four central Orleans towns after Jan. 1.

The four towns – Barre, Albion, Gaines and Carlton – have formed a seven-town block with Clarendon, Murray and Kendall to negotiate ambulance services. Those towns have a contract proposal with Monroe Ambulance where that Rochester-based provider would keep an ambulance in Albion and Holley. The company would be paid a $200,000 subsidy from the seven towns collectively to maintain ambulance services in the seven towns. Barre was the first of the seven towns to sign the contract on Wednesday with the other towns expected to approve the agreement in the next week to 10 days.

Mercy Flight would like to be considered as the provider, said Mike Gugliuzza, director of medical operations for Mercy Flight EMS.

He attended Thursday evening’s Orleans County EMS Task Force meeting. He said Mercy Flight will provide service to central Orleans until at least Jan. 1. If the towns choose Monroe, Mercy Flight would “bow out” when Monroe is ready, Gugliuzza said.

Mercy Flight, which provide ambulance services in Genesee County out of a base in Batavia, wants to ensure there are ambulance services in central Orleans while the towns decide on the ambulance provider. Mercy Flight also wants to ensure the COVA paramedics and EMTs stay have jobs. Mercy Flight has offered the COVA workers positions with Mercy Flight at its other operations in Western New York if Monroe takes over central Orleans. Monroe already has the contract for eastern Orleans – Clarendon, Murray and Kendall.

Barre Town Supervisor Sean Pogue praised Mercy Flight for filling the gap in coverage for central Orleans and for hiring the COVA employees.

“I commend you for that,” Pogue said during the EMS Task Force. “Thank you very much.”

Sean Pogue, Barre town supervisor, speaks during an Orleans County EMS Task Force meeting on Thursday evening in the legislative chambers of the Orleans County Office Building. Pogue commended Mercy Flight EMS for filling a void with the impending closure of COVA.

Mercy Flight also would seek a subsidy from the towns but that number wasn’t available on Thursday. Gugliuzza said the organization has worked quickly to provide services for central Orleans. Mercy Flight is open to providing service in eastern Orleans as well, Gugliuzza said.

In the immediate future, Mercy Flight is planning to have two staffed ambulances out of Albion, including an overnight paid crew. That could go to three or four ambulances if Mercy Flight secures a longer-term contract.

“If we know long-term that we’ll be here, we can ramp up for additional vehicles,” he said.

Richard Remley, the Albion town supervisor, said Monroe has a plan to meet the needs of the community. The towns are looking at a one-year contract to allow the town leaders to evaluate the organization’s performance with response times and service. Monroe would start on Jan. 1 if the new contract.

John Caufield, chief operating officer for Monroe Ambulance, said the company has 27 ambulances with 18 or 19 typically in service. Monroe can draw from ambulances based in Brockport and Greece to meet higher demand in Orleans County when needed.

Monroe will evaluate data throughout the year to have more resources available during peak call times. He said he expects as the service develops Monroe will have a supervisor assigned to the seven-town block in Orleans County who would operate in a fly car with basic life support services.

Remley said he’s certain at least six of the seven towns are ready to approve the contract with Monroe. The terms of the agreement say if even one town doesn’t agree, the contract is null and void. Remley said the agreement could be re-evaluated if one of the towns doesn’t sign on.

The seven towns will need to contribute $200,000 annually to Monroe with each share based on ambulance call volume. The contract includes the following compensation from the towns: Albion, $84,400; Barre, $8,000; Carlton, $14,800; Clarendon, $18,800; Gaines, $24,600; Kendall, $18,000; and Murray, $30,600.

The towns currently don’t pay anything for ambulance services. Albion, which would have the biggest bill, meets at 5 p.m. Monday to vote on whether to approve the contract.

Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer, said EMS services are going through a change, especially in rural areas across the state and the nation.

“Essentially this is about volunteerism and the volunteerism is declining,” he said. “We are transitioning to more of a paid base.”

Kendall Fire Department will cease its volunteer ambulance on Dec. 31. Kendall is the last volunteer fire department in the county running an ambulance service.

ALBION – The turnout for early voting over nine days in Orleans County was 1,333.

That is 5.4 percent of the total registered voter enrollment of 24,585.

The county has one early voting polling site at the Board of Elections in Albion at the County Office Building.

The turnout was consistent each day, ranging from a low of 125 on Oct. 30 to a high of 170 on Nov. 2.

The turnout each day includes: 163 on Oct. 29, 125 on Oct. 30, 151 on Oct. 31, 149 on Nov. 1, 170 on Nov. 2, 152 on Nov. 3, 147 on Nov. 4, 128 on Nov. 5, and 148 on Nov. 6.

The 5.4 percent was a bigger response than for the primaries in June and August. The turnout for the nine days of early voting in a June primary was 0.9 percent. It was even less in August when only 40 out of 6,059 registered Republicans used early voting over nine days for a Congressional primary.

The polls will be open in each of the 10 towns on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. for today’s election at 11 locations in Orleans County.

Most of the polling sites are at town halls, although Albion votes at Hoag Library and part of Ridgeway uses the Volunteer Fire Company and Carlton uses the Fire Co. Rec Hall.

The polling sites on Tuesday include:

• Albion – Districts 1 through 6 – Hoag Library, 134 South Main St.
• Barre – Districts 1 and 2 – Town Hall, 14317 West Barre Rd.
• Carlton – Districts 1 through 3 – Carlton Fire Co. Rec Hall, 1853 Oak Orchard Rd.
• Clarendon – Districts 1 through 3 – Town Hall, 16385 Church St.
• Gaines – Districts 1 through 4 – Town Hall, 14087 Ridge Rd.
• Kendall – Districts 1 through 3 – Town Hall, 1873 Kendall Rd.
• Murray – Districts 1 through 6 – Murray Town Hall, 3840 Fancher Rd. (Route 31)
• Ridgeway – Districts 1, 3, 6, 7 – Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company, 11392 Ridge Rd.
• Ridgeway – Districts 2, 4, 5 – Town Hall, 410 West Ave.
• Shelby – Districts 1 through 4 – Town Hall, 4062 Salt Works Rd.
• Yates – Districts 1 and 2 – Town Hall, 8 South Main St.

Provided photos: Orleans County Employee of the Year Jerry Bentley is congratulated by Director of Personnel Katie Harvey.

ALBION – An Orleans County dispatcher has been named the county “employee of the year” for his work helping with an at-home birth on Feb. 4.

Jerry Bentley received the 911 call at about 4 a.m. Bentley followed emergency medical dispatcher cards (EMDs) to offer instructions to the pregnant woman’s husband and two firefighters. Bentley was on the phone for an hour.

“It was a difficult birth for the mother as the infant’s shoulders were caught, causing a great deal of physical and emotional pain,” said Katie Harvey, the county’s personnel director. “The employee remained calm during the situation, continuing to provide instructions while his partner gave updates to the responding ambulance and EMS responders.”

The baby boy wasn’t breathing on his own when he was delivered and Bentley provided further instructions before the paramedics arrived.

“It was very stressful for all involved, listening until the relief of knowing that the baby finally took his first breaths,” Harvey said.

Bentley has worked with the county for eight years, starting in a part-time position in 2014 before going full time in 2017.

He has helped with two baby deliveries as a dispatcher during his career.

“Helping bring a baby into the world outside of a medical environment is one of the greatest tasks a dispatcher can do, and luckily is not a task that is faced often,” Harvey said.

Bentley has respect from his co-workers and the public for his daily interactions on the job, Harvey said.

The county’s employee recognition program was on Thursday at Maison Albion.

The county’s Employee Assistance Program Committee is tasked to recognize employees of the month. The EAP Committee receives nominations from fellow employees and department directors and then the nominations are reviewed and discussed by the committee and a selection is made.

The employees of the months for the past year were:

• October 2021 – Alyssa Hancock (Mental Health)
• November 2021 – Elizabeth Jubenville (Social Services)
• December 2021 – Marjorie Beecher, Danielle Champeney & Danielle Kickbush (Social Services- Child Support)
• January 2022 – Christopher Shabazz (Sheriff-Jail)
• February 2022 – Sarah Dale (Department of Public Works)
• March 2022 – Jerry Bentley (Sheriff-Dispatch)
• April 2022 – Alisha Richardson (Treasurer)
• May 2022 – Sherri Bensley (Public Health)
• June 2022 – Tisha Drought (Mental Health)
• July 2022 – Scott Snook (Computer Services)
• August 2022 – Eileen Ryan (Office for the Aging)

From this pool of candidates, a Department Head can make a recommendation to a separate committee to determine the Employee of the Year, Harvey said. The committee takes into consideration the service that an employee has performed in choosing the Employee of the Year.

Employee of the Month attendees at Thursday’s awards program include Eileen Ryan (Office for the Aging), Scott Snook (Computer Services), Sherri Bensley (Public Health), Jerry Bentley (Sheriff-Dispatch), Sarah Dale (Department of Public Works), Marjorie Beecher (Social Services), Danielle Champeney (Social Services), Danielle Kickbush (Social Services), Elizabeth Jubenville (Social Services) and Alisha Richardson (Treasurer’s Office).

ALBION – Orleans County’s sales tax revenues were up 5.1 percent in the third quarter, an increase from $5.5 million in the third quarter of 2021 to $5.8 for the third quarter this year.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office released sales tax data last week, showing many counties are seeing big gains in sales tax.

Orleans decided against reducing its sales tax on rising gas prices, unlike Niagara, Monroe and about 20 others counties. (Some counties will revert back to their full sales tax on gas on Nov. 30, while others set that date for Dec. 31 or Feb. 28.)

Most of the 62 counties in the state didn’t give a sales tax reduction on gas.

The comptroller’s report shows the third quarter sales tax collections for these nearby counties (Monroe and Niagara both approved sales tax discounts on gas):

• Orleans, up 5.1 percent, from $5.5 million to $5.8 million.
• Genesee, up 14.1 percent from $13.4 million to $15.3 million
• Wyoming, up 16.3 percent from $6.2 million to $7.2 million
• Livingston, up 4.0 percent from $11.2 million to $11.7 million
• Monroe, down 0.3 percent from $158.8 million to $158.3 million
• Erie, up 5.8 percent from $250.4 million to $265.0 million
• Niagara, up 3.4 percent from $40.6 million to $42.0 million

Monroe, which capped its sales tax for gas when the price tops $2 per gallon, saw its sales tax revenue drop this quarter compared to 2021. Niagara capped its sales tax at $3 per gallon. It had modest growth in sales tax revenue at 3.4 percent overall.

New York State suspended its 4-percent sales tax share per $1 from June 1 to Dec. 31. That would be 16 cents for $4 a gallon gas.

Even with that discount, the state’s overall sales tax collections increased 10.2 percent, from $5.164 billion to $5.693 billion.

New York City is driving most of the increase as the city rebounds from Covid-19. New York City experienced a big surge in sales tax revenue in the third quarter, up 16.8 percent from $2.056 billion to $2.401 billion.

For the first nine months of the year, Genesee County leads the Finger Lakes region in sales tax growth at 10.5 percent, going from $37.1 million to $41.0 million.

Orleans is up 2.4 percent, from $16.3 million to $16.7 million for the first nine months. The two other rural GLOW counties are seeing strong growth with Livingston up 5.0 percent, from $31.5 million to $33.1 million, and Wyoming up 8.5 percent, from $17.2 million to $18.7 million.

New York City’s sales tax revenues have jumped 23.1 percent in the first nine months, from $5.72 billion to $7.04 billion.

The state’s sales tax collections in the nine months jumped 14.2 percent, from $14.36 billion to $16.39 billion.

DiNapoli said the increases will help governments with inflationary increases and other rising costs.

“New York City’s sales tax growth in the third quarter, after relatively weaker collections in 2020 and 2021, bolstered overall growth for the state,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Most local governments are experiencing sales tax revenue growth, even as they struggle with higher costs from inflation just like consumers and businesses. We will continue to monitor how inflation is affecting local governments and the state’s economy.”

Orleans is coming off a record year for sales tax in 2021. The county’s sales tax jumped by $2.4 million or 12.7 percent from $19.4 million in 2020 to $21.8 million last year. Over two years the sales tax revenue went up 23.2 percent from $17.7 million in 2019 to $21.8 in 2021.

The local sales tax is mostly used to fund county government. The county shares $1,366,671 with the 10 towns and four villages. They have been frozen at that level since 2001.

ALBION – Almost 600 people have gone to the polls in the first four days of early voting in Orleans County.

The Board of Elections said 588 have voted early so far with 163 on Saturday, 125 on Sunday, 151 on Monday and 149 on Tuesday.

There are high-profile state-wide races, including the governor, U.S. Senate as well as other local positions on the ballot.

county has one early voting polling place at the Board of Elections office at the County Administration Building at 14016 State Route 31 in Albion.

Early voting continues through Sunday before the general election on Nov. 8. Here are the hours for the remaining days:

• Wednesday, Nov. 2: noon to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 3: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 4: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 5: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 6: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

980 unserved in Orleans or 5.36%; Cattaraugus highest unserved in WNY at 21.44%

This area of the Town of Yates near Platten Road has several unserved areas (in yellow). Areas in blue are considered “served.”

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York’s ConnectALL Office has submitted over 31,000 addresses from across the state to the Federal Communications Commission under the Broadband Data Collection challenge process.

The federal challenge process, which allows states to propose changes or updates to the FCC’s broadband maps, helps to better locate areas unserved or underserved by broadband. In doing so, these proposed changes inform federal funding decisions regarding broadband access and help to ensure that high-speed internet is available at every address in the country.

“Affordable, reliable broadband is an absolute necessity for accessing work, education, and important government services, and we can no longer afford to treat it like a luxury,” Governor Hochul said. “Thanks to our first-of-its-kind broadband mapping tool we have a clearer picture than ever about New York’s broadband needs and we are better able to advocate for federal funding and program support to fill those gaps. My administration remains committed to ensuring that families and businesses are well-connected to broadband, and I look forward to a continued partnership with local, state, and federal authorities to make high-speed internet available to all New Yorkers.”

The Commerce Department is expected to begin disbursing broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to states and territories in late 2023 based largely on the proportion of unserved and underserved homes and businesses in each state, using maps created by the FCC. The FCC has begun by issuing a “map fabric” that is meant to include all addresses in the country, which they shared with all states and other stakeholders to challenge and improve.

This challenge was made possible due to New York’s first-of-its-kind, interactive broadband map (click here) launched earlier this year, which contains detailed information of the State’s broadband infrastructure down to the street-level. The challenge process is a critical step in determining New York’s funding allocation for broadband from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). ConnectALL will continue to analyze the FCC maps.

The 31,798 records in the State’s challenge are all among the 138,598 addresses identified as unserved or underserved by the Department of Public Service’s (DPS) Broadband Assessment Program and include evidence that they meet the FCC’s definition for inclusion in the federal map. The ConnectALL Office collaborated with DPS and the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) to analyze and challenge the FCC maps.

Editor’s Note: Orleans Hub checked the county data on the state’s map. Here are the breakdowns among Western New York counties:

• Orleans: unserved at 5.36% (980), 0% as underserved (0), 94.94% as served (17,305)
• Genesee: unserved at 5.26% (1,237), with another 0.14% as underserved (32), 94.6% as served (22,247)
• Wyoming: unserved at 12.72% (2,138), with another 0.41% as underserved (69) and 86.87% as served (14,604)
• Livingston: unserved at 10.14% (2,676), with another 0.70% as underserved (186) and 89.16% as served (23,538)
• Monroe: unserved at 0.86% (2,600), with another 0.02% as underserved (52) and 99.12% served (299,935)
• Niagara: unserved at 1.28% (1,205), with another 0% as underserved (0), 98.72% as served (93,063)
• Erie: unserved at 0.93% (3,277), with another 0.16% as underserved (561), 98.92% as served (350,172)
• Chautauqua: unserved at 3.61% (2,239), with another 1.93% as underserved (1,200), 94.45% as served (58,578)
• Cattaraugus: unserved at 21.44% (8,715), with another 4.03% as underserved (1,639), 74.53% as served (30,303)
• Allegany: unserved at 5.43% (1,379), with another 0.18% as underserved (45), 94.39% as served (23,960)

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “As we look to make broadband more affordable, accessible, and equitable, accurate maps are essential for the proper allocation of federal funding. New York State’s broadband mapping project provides clear and straightforward data on the State’s digital infrastructure and, by aligning the FCC maps with ours, we will ensure New York gets its fair share of federal dollars so every New Yorker has access to the internet when and where they need it.”

The initial map produced by New York’s Broadband Assessment Program was the result of months of field assessments conducted by the Public Service Commission in the state’s most remote areas, covering more than 80,000 miles. In order to collect accurate data, the Commission collaborated with 60 internet service providers and surveyed tens of thousands of New York consumers is continuing to collect broadband availability data from internet service providers and directly from New Yorkers to refine its map.

Prior to the creation of New York’s Broadband Assessment Program, New York, like most states, relied in part on federal data that only required broadband providers to deliver service to one address in a census block to designate the entire area as served. By collecting address-level data, New York is able to depict what locations are served, underserved, and unserved in a more granular way, which will aid in allocating state and federal funding.

Without this challenge, and unless the FCC updates its map, it will not be possible for the FCC to recognize those locations in New York as lacking broadband service and the state would miss out on much needed funding. The ConnectALL challenge could increase New York’s eligibility for a key source of IIJA funding by as much as 40 percent depending on the FCC’s and Commerce Department’s determinations.

The ConnectALL Office, along with DPS and the state’s team of GIS analysts, is continuing to analyze the FCC data to identify further potential challenges and is preparing to evaluate broadband availability data once the FCC releases that to the states.

The state map identifies this part of Barre near Pine Hill with several unserved addresses.

The Riches Corners Road area in Albion also has unserved areas for high-speed internet.

Parts of Knowlesville are also considered unserved on the state map.