Edwards said the surplus was the result of work by his administration to streamline to find cost savings and find ways to continue to streamline county government.

The County Executive pointed to a large savings coming from the effort by his staff to merge of the Departments of Health and Social Services into one Department. Edwards added that a recent report from Albany confirmed that the merger helped to crack down on $6 million in wasteful spending through social service benefits, which led to a local share savings to Chautauqua County by over $2.7 million.

Edwards also pointed to additional revenue by the Department of Health and Human Services, along with additional money from the Department of Planning and Economic Development. The county executive said the county also saw increases in revenue via the sales tax and mortgage tax as well as additional revenue from the county’s methane-to-energy plant at the landfill. He said the county also saved more than $900,000 due to a reduction in Community College charge back expenses by $910,000.

Edwards said the surplus will enable the county to make the required investments needed in local infrastructure without having to go out and borrow. The final audit was reviewed earlier this week by county lawmakers in committee. It will be accepted by the entire legislature during next week’s monthly voting session.

The additional money was reported last week during the legislature’s monthly voting session, when legislator Chuck Nazzaro (D-Jamestown) pointed to the additional money as an opportunity to apply for a federal IGT grant for the Chautauqua County home. Following the voting session, WRFA talked with County executive Greg Edwards and asked if the news changed the $14 million budget shortfall he’s been predicting for 2013.

“I have not seen anything that really substantially impacts that $14 million deficit – revenue verses expenses – going into next year,” Edwards said. “But we’ll continue to [look for ways] to lessen that amount. We have been successful in realizing some unanticipated surplus from years previously and that will give us a little bit of cushion in our fund balance. That’s good news going forward, but I have not seen anything substantially change in the 90-percent of our costs that are driven by Albany. I am ever hopeful but right now things are pretty much stagnant.”

Edwards said any additional money that is found this year should be used to replenish the county’s fund balance, rather than being used toward the general operating budget for 2013.

In total, the county is expecting to see a net variance of $10.13 million. County finance officials have stressed, however that the total is preliminary and subject to change. In an article in the Jamestown Post-Journal over the weekend, Edwards said the variance is the result of “numerous factors” that resulted in a surplus.  He noted that many of reconciliations were unexpected, and therefore, were not budgeted in 2011.

MAYVILLE – Today is Election Day in Chautauqua County, and while there are many uncontested local races in the area, there is an important proposition on the ballot this year that every voter in the county will have an opportunity to vote on.

Proposition No. 1 will let voters decide whether the County Legislature has no more than 19 members. Currently, there are 25 members on the panel, a number that’s been in place for over 30 years.  The proposition will be available on the backside of all paper ballots used in this year’s election.

Polling offices will be open from now until 9 p.m. this evening. For information on specific voting locations or ballots, contact the Chautauqua County Board of Elections or go online to www.votechautauqua.com.

ONLY ONE CONTESTED RACE IN JAMESTOWN

JAMESTOWN – As far as local elections go, it will be a quiet year in Jamestown, with only one contested race on the ballot. That race is for the Ward 4 seat in the Jamestown City Council, where incumbent democrat Vince DeJoy will be squaring off against challenger Dan Johnson – who’s been endorsed by the Republican, Conservative and Independence parties.

Jamestown Republican Party Chairman Brent Sheldon says he’s excited about Johnson running as a candidate.

The rest of the council, as well as Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, are running unopposed. Sheldon said the GOP tried to find a challenger but was unable to do so. Teresi is seeking a fourth term in the mayor’s office. He was first elected to that position in 1999.

LEGISLATURE HAS EIGHT CONTESTED RACES

MAYVILLE – There are also several uncontested races in the county legislature. In fact, a total of 17 seats only have one candidate, with seven incumbent Democrats and ten Republicans (Eight incumbents) going unchallenged.

Of the uncontested races, two new candidates are going unopposed – Vince Horrigan in Bemus Point and PJ Wendel in Lakewood. Both are running for the Republican party. Horrigan will be replacing longtime Republican legislator Dick Babbage while Wendel will be taking the seat currently held by Democratic Minority Leader Rudy Mueller.

There will be eight contested races for the legislature, leaves a total of eight actual races for the Chautauqua County Legislature.

In the city of Jamestown, the Legislative District 14 race features Timothy Hoyer on the Democratic line. He faces Republican candidate Michael Haddad for the district currently represented by Scott Stutzman, I-Jamestown.

In District 15, Maria Kindberg, D-Jamestown, is vacating her seat – making the race a first-time election for both Bob Whitney and David Wilfong. Whitney holds the Democratic, Conservative and Independence lines. Wilfong will appear on the Republican line on November’s ballot.

In District 10 – which covers part of Busti and West Ellicott, incumbent Republican incumbent Mark Tarbrake is being challenged by Pat Tyler, who holds the Democratic, Conservative, Working Families and Independence Party lines.

Other Local races of note include District 7, which covers the towns of Cherry Creek, Ellington and Poland. There, incumbent Republican candidate Bob Stewart is being challenged by Democrat Tamara Miles.

In District 8 – which covers the towns of Carroll and Kiantone, incumbent Republican candidate Tami Downey is being challenged by Thomas Erlandson, who holds the Democratic, Conservative and Independence Party lines.

The Democrats in the legislature who are running unopposed are Keith Ahlstrom, Dunkirk; Shaun Heenan, Dunkirk; Vickeye James, Jamestown; Lori Cornell, Jamestown; Paula DeJoy, Jamestown; Chuck Nazzaro, Jamestown; and Tom DeJoe, Brocton.

The Republicans who stand to return unopposed are Bob Duff, Sheridan; George Borrello, Irving; John Runkle, Stockton; Larry Barmore, Gerry; Jay Gould, Ashville; Fred Croscut, Sherman; David Himelein, Findley Lake; and Bob Scudder, Fredonia.

EDWARDS WILL NOT VETO ITEMS IN BUDGET

MAYVILLE – In other news, County Executive Greg Edwards announced Monday that he will not veto any part of the legislature’s 2012 budget. County lawmakers passed the spending plan in a 20 to 5 vote last month. Edwards then had 10 calendar days to review the changes made and issue any vetoes. Edwards used his Monday Morning Memo yesterday to announcing his decision, in which he called the final budget passed by the legislature “a mockery of our fiscal management policy.” Edwards explained that he would not be implementing any line item vetoes because the budget was passed overwhelmingly by the legislature and therefore the 20 who supported it last month could override any vetoes.

Next year’s budget will take the county’s property tax rate from $8.90 to 9.22 per thousand dollars of assessed value, an increase of 32 cents. As proposed by the county executive, the 2012 budget initially started with a $1.13 per thousand tax increase, which would have taken the property tax rate to $10.03 per thousand.

POLICE SEEK ROBBERY SUSPECT

FINDLEY LAKE – The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an armed robbery that occurred in Findley Lake early Monday morning. According to police, at 5:22 a.m. a white male subject entered the Holiday Inn Express, 3025 Route 426, in Findley Lake, and demanded money from the front desk. Police say he used a semi-automatic pistol to threaten the desk clerk.

The suspect fled in an unknown direction in a vehicle with an undisclosed amount of money.

The suspect is described as a white male, age 20 to 30, 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall, medium build, weighing about 180 to 190 pounds, with grayish-blue eyes and light freckles over the bridge of his nose.

He was wearing a blue winter jacket, knit hat and a scarf over his face to conceal his identity. The hat and scarf were either red or gray in color.

The Sheriff’s office is encouraging anyone with information on this incident to call the We Tip number at 1-800-78-CRIME (800-782-7463) or the Sheriff’s Office at 753-4925. Callers are eligible for a $1,000 reward if the information leads to the arrest and conviction of the person involved. All calls will remain anonymous.

Homeowners in Chautauqua County will see their property taxes increase by just two-percent next year. That after the Chautauqua County Legislature spent nearly two hours yesterday in budget hearings and another three hours last night in deliberations, before finalizing a budget that brings the tax increase for next year’s budget under the two-percent cap mandated by New York State.

Through a combination of cuts and increasing projected revenue, the panel finalized a spending plan that would result in a property tax increase of 18 cents per thousand assessed value, bringing the tax rate to $9.08 per thousand in 2012. Legislature Chairman Fred Crosscut said it was only through a bipartisan effort that the budget came in below the cap.

“The big thing tonight that I saw is the bipartisan support for the cuts and for the adoption of the budget. We just continued to work away at it tonight and we now have a budget,” Crosscut said, adding, “We’re under the tax cap and I can sit here and say I’m proud of both sides of the isle tonight.”Lawmakers were able to bring the budget down to two-percent by adding five amendments to the revised budget that came out of the panel’s audit and control committee last week. That revised plan called for a property tax increase of 5.66-percent – nearly seven-percent lower than the 12.6-percent originally called for in the county executive’s budget.

Last night the full legislature voted to increase sales tax projections by another $400,000 and also use $400,000 more from the county’s fund balance. In addition, it cut $300,000 in the 2012 contingency fund and another $250,000 in IGT funding from the County Home. Twenty-thousand dollars was also cut by reducing the legislature clerk position to part-time status. The legislature also restored $150,000 to the county airport budget. In all, $1,220,630 in property tax money was removed from the Audit and Control committee’s revised budget, putting the budget under the tax cap by $5,730.

The amended budget passed by a vote of 20 to 5. It will now go before the desk of the county executive, who will either sign off on the spending plan or veto it.

MAJORITY LEADER CALLS BUDGET ‘TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE’

One of the lawmakers who voted against the amended spending plan was majority leader Larry Barmore. The Gerry Republican said the spending plan was totally irresponsible, using a major slight of hand to accomplish the goal of staying below a 2 percent property tax increase.

“There’s absolutely no way that we could get under this tax cap without a bunch of smoke and mirrors,” Barmore said prior to voting against the spending plan. “Some of the cuts that we made tonight that were actually cuts will, in the long run, cost us more money than we saved by the cuts that we made. We stole from all our surplus funds. We one-time funded most of the changes in tonight’s budget and that will push probably $10-13 million in additional deficits into next year…. Basically we performed a major slight of hand.”

Jamestown’s Chuck Nazzaro disagreed Barmore’s, saying the amendments to the initial spending plan were based on sound assessments, especially an overall increase of $940,000 in sales tax projections over what the county executive had initially budgeted.

“The numbers aren’t inflated,” Nazzaro said. “We owe to the tax payer to estimate the best we can. It’s not a perfect science. You don’t want to over-estimate, but at the same time you don’t want to under-estimate because if you under-estimate, then you’re passing along a tax increase that should not be there.”

Nazzaro, who sits on the legislature’s audit and control committee, was one of two democrats who provided significant input during the budget deliberations. The other being minority leader Rudy Mueller, who was persistent in trying to find ways to reduce the property tax increase.

SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT GETS $500,000 IN RESTORATIONS

Not everyone walked away from last night’s vote feeling relieved. Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace saw funding for his department slashed by nearly $1.3 million in the county executive’s proposed budget.  While the legislature restored $500,000 of that money, Gerace reiterated during the public hearing that it wouldn’t be nearly enough for his department to provide adequate public safety in 2012. Despite the Sheriff’s plea for full restoration, lawmakers were committed to only restoring $500,000. Legislator Barmore did introduce an amendment to eliminate the restoration, but it was voted down 21 to 4.

ST. SUSAN’S CENTER TO HOLD

The St. Susan Center in Jamestown will be holding their “Volunteer & Community Open House” night this evening.  The Center will also be honoring their many volunteers and handing out various awards to those community members who sacrifice their time and energy to make the Center a special place. Special guest tonight will be Senator Cathy Young.

Opening its doors in 1984, The St. Susan Center soup kitchen has been providing nutritional meals everyday to community members who face various challenges.

The Center also serves as a safe haven for the physically, mentally and emotionally challenged individuals in the community who feel isolated.

WOODSONGS PERFORMANCE TONIGHT AT THE LABYRINTH

Don’t forget that a new episode of the Woodsongs Coffeehouse Radio Hour with Ken Hardley will be recorded tonight at the Labyrinth Press Co. in Jamestown. Musical guests tonight include  No Outlet and John Latini. The show begins at 6:45 p.m. and will wrap up at about 8:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend. It will be broadcast a week from tonight right here on WRFA.