The Chautauqua County Legislature has passed a resolution to raise CARTS drivers wages.
Legislator Chuck Nazzaro thanked CARTS drivers for the work they do. He said many places are offering $15 dollars an hour for employees including fast food restaurants, “So this will change the starting wage for a CARTS driver from a Grade 1 which starts $14.44, to a Grade 4 which is $16.66. I think again we owe that to our CARTS drivers who are out there every day driving our county residents for a very worthwhile cause.”
Legislator Bob Bankowski said he echoed Legislator Nazzaro’s comments, “One of the first jobs I had after I retired from the prison system was driving a CARTS bus. It was a difficult job. You deal with a lot of different personalities every day and the money will be well earned for these guys.”
The financial impact would be $100,000 on the County’s budget.
The County Legislature also approved transferring 28 properties on the tax foreclosure list to the Chautauqua County Land Bank. The transfer will stop the unpaid delinquent taxes the County is responsible for and allow demolition of structures on the properties so that they could be marketed as sidelots to adjacent property owners.
The rehabilitation of Hangar C at the Jamestown Airport will move forward. This project received $902,000 in Federal funding with the county’s local share coming in at $120,000. The money will come out the County’s contingency fund.
The County Legislature also approved a motion promoting the safe use of legal sparkling devices in the county. Legislator Elisabeth Rankin said she proposed the motion because fireworks are such a big part of celebrations during the summer, “Already in the City of Jamestown, we’ve had over 400 complaints about illegal and inappropriate use of fireworks. And we know that across the country, there were 8,000 injuries and there are people who illegally use or misuse fireworks.”
Rankin said people should use only legal items such as sparklers and flare and encouraged residents to support legal fireworks displays.
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