David Wilfong during a 2015 Meet the Candidates Forum when running for reelection for District 11 of the Chautauqua County Legislature

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County legislator from Jamestown who’s now seeking the Republican Party’s nomination as candidate for Mayor is relying on his voting record of reducing taxes in county government to convince voters he’s the right man for the job.

In early February current Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi (D) announced he would not be seeking a sixth term in office, opening the door for new leadership in City Hall. One of the individuals who’s come forward to seek the mayoral position is legislator David Wilfong (R-District 11).

Wilfong first ran for an open district 11 seat in the Chautauqua County Legislature in 2011 after former legislator Maria Kindberg (D) opted not to seek reelection. He was defeated that year by Robert Whitney (D). However, he ran once again in 2013 on a platform of selling the Chautauqua County Home in order to reduce property taxes. He defeated Whitney in that rematch and has been reelected twice since then – both in 2015 (defeating Whitney for a second time) and in 2017 (defeating Democratic challenger Frank Besse).

In a recent interview with WRFA, the three-term Republican said that since he joined the County Legislature at the start of 2014, county property taxes have gone down each year and he’s hoping to use that record to help win over voters in November.

“A lot of people don’t realize that at the county level, we have lowered your property taxes for the last five years in a row. So I have a history of making sure I do what the people sent me to Mayville to do,” Wilfong said.

Wilfong, who also currently serves as the chairman of the Chautauqua County Republican Committee, said he’s also shown he’s willing to work with people from the Democratic side of the aisle.

“I’m going to run on my background and the platform I’m going to run on is that I have the knowledge and the skill to reach across the aisle and get things done for the people of Jamestown.”

Wilfong also said he’s well aware of the financial challenges facing the city of Jamestown, which is currently at its constitutional taxing limit and which also has been working under an extremely tight spending plan for the past several years. Still, Wilfong said he does have some cost-saving proposals in mind and he’ll be rolling them out in the coming months. In addition, he said that if elected he’ll also be asking more from the Jamestown City Council.

David Wilfong (R-District 11) during the October 2018 Chautauqua County Legislature meeting

“One of the things that I’m going to request from the city council is that I need more leadership from them and I need more guidance from them because one of the things I learned, being successful at the county, is we don’t do that by ourselves,” Wilfong said. “Mayor Teresi doesn’t spend a dime.  George Borrello, our county executive, doesn’t spend a dime. It’s the city council and the county legislature that okays purchases. So you can say ‘Sam Teresi did this’ or ‘Sam Teresi did that’ but that’s not the truth. The city council is okayed those expenditures.”

Wilfong is also aware that in order for the city to rebound, it will continue to need help from New York State. During the past three budgets the city has requested a total of more than $2.7 million in supplemental state aid to close annual deficits (the state approved the requests in 2017 and 2018 and appears ready to do so again this year).

Wilfong credits the strong relationship mayor Teresi has with fellow Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo in helping to get that aid delivered. But he also hopes the state would continue offering support if he were elected to office.

“Mayor Teresi has been a good steward of reaching out the governor and receiving funding so we can pay our bills. I would just hope that if I was elected governor that same courtesy would be extended. I just hope there wouldn’t be political games going on because I would be a Republican mayor,” Wilfong said.

But before Wilfong can even run as a Republican in the November General Election, he will first likely have to win a primary in June. Both he and first-term city councilman At Large Andrew Liuzzo (R-At Large) are seeking the party’s nod for the mayoral race, with Wilfong being the candidate receiving the endorsement of the Jamestown Republican Committee. Both candidates are in the process of gathering signatures on their election petitions in order to qualify for the June primary.

Meanwhile, the City Democratic Committee has selected local attorney Eddie Sundquist as its endorsed candidate and he appears to be unopposed in seeking the full party’s nomination as a candidate for mayor.

On Feb. 26, 2014, the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk, NY was sold to VestaCare for a price of $16 million.

DUNKIRK – Chautauqua County has completed the sale of the Chautauqua County Home to VestraCare. The sale was finalized on the final day of 2014.

The Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk was a 216-bed skilled nursing facility specializing in rehabilitation and long term health care. It was owned and operated by Chautauqua County since 1960 and in the past few years its operations were reviewed by the County and the Center for Governmental Research in an effort to find ways to save money for county taxpayers.

VestraCare first showed interest in buying the facility from the County in August 2013. Although its first offer to purchase the County Home was voted down by the County Legislature in October 2013, its second offer of $16 million was approved by the legislature in February 2014.

The contract signed between Chautauqua County and VestraCare will give preferred admission to county residents and give current residents the right to remain.  VestraCare also agreed to interview all current employees who filed an application and passed a background check, and it is expected that the majority of current employees will continue to work for VestraCare. The facility will now operate as the Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Chautauqua County Legislature Chairman Jay Gould reads a commendation as Jamestown legislator Paula DeJoy looks on. DeJoy announced Wednesday night that she would be resigning from the panel because she’ll be moving out of District 11 in Jamestown.

MAYVILLE – A member of the Chautauqua County Legislature announced Wednesday night that she would be resigning from her position on the panel.

Jamestown Democrat Paula DeJoy – who had represented District 13 for nearly five years – told lawmakers that she was stepping down because she and her family are moving out of the district.

DeJoy was first elected to the panel in 2009. During that time she served on both the Public Facilities and Administrative Services committees.

DeJoy tells WRFA that one of the things she’s most proud of during her time on the legislature is that she’s worked well with other representatives, regardless of political affiliation or geographic location. Earlier this year, DeJoy was one of the majority of legislators that approved the sale of the Chautauqua County Home. She says that the sale was for the good of the entire county and another accomplishment she was proud of.

Following her announcement on Wednesday night, Legislature Chairman Jay Gould presented DeJoy with a commendation for her service on the panel and she received a standing round of applause form her colleagues.

It will now be up to the county Democratic Committee to select DeJoy’s replacement, who will serve out the remainder of the current term until a general election takes place in November 2015.

Meanwhile, DeJoy said that she may get involved in local politics again. She’ll be moving to the west side of Jamestown and into Legislative District 13, which is currently represented by Republican David Wilfong. She said that she hasn’t decided yet whether she run for office in 2015 but will most like come to a decision by January of next year.

DeJoy’s announcement is the second resignation from a Jamestown Legislator this year. In the spring, Democrat Fred Larson announced his resignation after being appointed as Jamestown city court Judge. He was eventually replaced by appointee Beth Kresge, who is now running for election to fill out the remainder of that term. She is facing Jamestown Republican Elisabeth Rankin in the Nov. 4 general election.

Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan has released his 2015 executive budget, which includes an overall reduction in spending but also contains a slight increase in property taxes.

On Wednesday night Horrigan presented his budget to members of the Chautauqua County Legislature and the public. The tentative $228.7 million spending plan is $449,000 lower than the current year’s budget. But despite the decrease in spending, the county was still faced with significant budget gap.

Horrigan is suggesting the county use $4.5 million from the county’s fund balance to close the gap. In addition, he said the county will also need to increase the tax levy in order to balance overall spending.

“My budget proposes a 1 percent increase in property taxes to narrow the gap,” Horrigan said. “The bottom line is that we are asking, in this tentative budget, for a nine cents per thousand increase over assessed value… for the owner of a home valued at $100,000, the increase in property tax will be just over nine dollars per year.”

Horrigan also said that he and his staff were able to find more than $2 million in efficiencies in the 2015 budget. That was largely due to the sale earlier this year of the Chautauqua County Home, along with readjusting staffing in several county departments.

In all, the new budget sees a net reduction of 163 positions. A total of 197 positions will be cut once the sale of the home is finalized, which is expected to take place next month. However, Horrigan is also introducing 34 new positions, with 25 of those being supported entirely through state or federal grants or through collaboration agreements with neighboring counties.

• 2015 EXECUTIVE BUDGET
• HORRIGAN’S 2015 BUDGET PRESENTATION

PLANNING FOR FUTURE YEARS

In addition to presenting next year’s budget, Horrigan also explained to lawmakers that they need to also prepare for future years’ budgets. That includes a plan that helps to rebuild the remaining fund balance by increasing other revenue streams. Horrigan said the county can bolster both its sales tax and bed tax revenues through a stepped up tourism campaign, done in partnership with the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau and Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce.

“Tonight I am announcing an “I Love Chautauqua” digital media advertising campaign,” Horrigan said. “This will be a citizen-based contest with business sponsorship to collect the best Youtube video and photos to promote Chautauqua County through the eyes of our citizens. We talking “I Love Chautauqua” going viral!”

Horrigan said the county will also work to continue its economic development marketing campaign, in an effort to develop new business.

With the presentation of the budget, the spending plan is now in the county legislature’s hands. It has until Dec. 1 to amend and approve a final spending plan, which would then return to Horrigan’s desk for his signature.

WRFA will have more on the county budget, including Horrigans entire budget presentation along with his Q&A with the media, during this week’s Community Matters program, which begins at 6 p.m. Thursday.  We will also hear from Jamestown Legislator Chuck Nazaro to get his reaction to the spending plan.

On Feb. 26, 2014, the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk, NY was sold to VestaCare for a price of $16 million.

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature will once again be seeking federal funding to help pay for the cost of operating the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk. On Wednesday night, lawmakers approved a resolution to apply for more than $2.6 million in funding from the federal Intergovernmental Transfer program, also known as IGT.

In order to receive the money, the county most also earmark $2.6 million in matching local funds, which will be coming out of the county’s unreserved fund balance. In all, more than $5.25 million will be requested to help cover the cost of operating the county home.

County Executive Vince Horrigan had asked the legislature to consider applying for the funding. He said that that by receiving the IGT money, it will help to close a looming $7 million budget gap.

“It’s going to net us the money we need to help us through this year, but the comments (from legislators) are exactly right as we look at the five-year projection (for county finances),” Horrigan said. “We have a mismatch of recurring revenue and recurring expenses and we’ve got to close that, so I’m looking at many, many different options.”

The application for the funding comes six months after the legislature approved the sale of the county home to VestraCare. However, the ownership has not been finalized and the county is still operating the home, meaning it will qualify for IGT funds. But as Jamestown Legislator and Audit & Control Committee member Chuck Nazzaro explains, the IGT money will have to stay with the county home until after the sale is final.

“Any IGT funding we get, will have to go to the County Home’s fund balance,” Nazzaro explained to WRFA following Wednesday’s meeting. “Once the sale is finalized, we’ll have to close out the books (for the home), which will happen in early 2015. So what’s ever left of the assets – which will include this IGT money – can then be transferred to the Chautauqua County fund balance, and technically there’s no restrictions on what that money can be used for once its been transferred.”

During the 2014 budget deliberations that took place last fall, lawmakers at that time had decided to include a request for IGT funding in the budget. The reasoning was that if included in the final budget, the local match for IGT would come by way of property taxes. Lawmakers say that by waiting until now to request IGT, the local contribution doesn’t come from the tax levy, but instead form the county’s unreserved fund balance.

Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan.

MAYVILLE – Following the Chautauqua County Legislature’s decision to sell the Chautauqua County Home, County Executive Vince Horrigan said he and his staff will be doing all it can to help in the transition of the county home. He also said that while the decision to sell is a tough one, it will also prove to be the right one.

“We, in Chautauqua County, have a lot of Challenges ahead of us,” Horrigan said. “This decision tonight means the county nursing home will be there for the seniors and there will be additional services.”

Horrigan said he would be in immediate contact with VestraCare to begin the transition process. Horrigan says VestraCare is committed to letting workers remain in the union and would continue to offer anyone currently working at the facility a position with the new owner.

“So for employees that want to know their options, we’re going to be right there to explain all of their options,” explained Horrigan. “And for the new owners to be able to come in and interview and offer employment to those that do pass the background check and do the basic tests that they have to do and apply.”

The sale of the home is still not final. A “certificate of need” must still be reviewed and approved by the New York State Department of Health. Horrigan says that could take anywhere from six to 12 months to be finalized.

On Feb. 26, 2014, the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk, NY was sold to VestaCare for a price of $16 million.

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature has given its approval for the privatization of the county home in Dunkirk.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday to approve the sale of the 216-bed skilled nursing facility to VestraCare with a price tag of $16 Million. The final vote was 13 to 5, with all lawmakers representing the Dunkirk and Fredonia areas voting against the sale. Thirteen votes were needed for the sale to go through, with County Legislature Chairman Jay Gould absent due to illness. The successful vote comes only after three previous failed attempts in 2013 to sell the facility.

SALE WAS INEVITABLE

The legislature spent 20 minutes discussing the sale prior to voting. Dunkirk Legislator Terry Niebel pleaded with his colleagues to hold off on selling, saying that the property was worth a lot more than the $16 million that was being offered.

“the only valuation that we have is from 1997 and that was a full valuation…. and that valued the county home at $23.9 million,” Niebel explained, adding, “That was actually six years before the $18 million renovation. And even since then, we’ve put $400,000 into a gas well and another $800,000 into a boiler and air conditioning system.”

Niebel suggested that lawmakers take the time to due a new valuation of the property to have an up-to-date assessment, saying that in the meantime, the county home could still operate for another two years without any additional taxpayer money.

Despite Niebel’s reasoning, Jamestown legislator Fred Larson explained that the sale of the county home would be inevitable and, considering the current offer from VestraCare would expire at the end of this month, failure to act now means the county would only be flushing money down the drain.

“If the county home is not sold tonight, it will be sold next month, probably for another $500,000 less,” Larson explained. “The buyer knows that next month there will be 13 votes in favor of selling for $15.5 million. There is simply no point to dragging this agony out and costing the taxpayers another half million dollars by waiting until next month or the month after to sell.”

CUTTING THE SAFETY NET

Prior to the vote, the legislature spent nearly 45 minutes listening to comments from the 14 members of the public, which were overwhelmingly against selling the facility.

Among those who spoke was Jamestown resident and former legislator Timothy Hoyer, who said that the county home provides a safety net for many senior residents who have no where else to go and that by selling the home, the county would be turning its back on those who are most in need of help.

Jamestown resident and local CSEA president Steve Skidmore also commented, saying that workers at the home have always been willing to make concessions. “Over and over I saw it reported in the paper that the CSEA wouldn’t come to the bargaining table to try and do our part and do what [the CGR study] said we can do with the county,” Skidmore said. ” It was patently untrue. We sent letter after letter to the county executive and he just ignored them.”

North county resident Joanne Niebel also was against the sale, saying the county home not only supports residents who need senior care and may not get it anywhere else, but also provides quality jobs that contribute to the local economy. “We have people in the community gleeful that these people are going to lose their paychecks and benefits, when they’re the ones who support the communities in the north, when we have nothing else. I mean, you couldn’t even keep a cookie factory in Silver Creek.”

The lone person to express his support for selling the facility was County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Tranum. “Failure to vote ‘yes’ and proceed with the sale, as many of you know, is just kicking the hard decision down the road. You do not want a situation – where many of you may still be in this room – two or three years from now having to make the difficult decision that other county’s have had to make to close the county home.”

Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk, NY.

MAYVILLE – It’s going to be a busy night at the County Seat in Mayville as the Chautauqua County Legislature holds its monthly voting session.

Topping the list of items on tonight’s agenda is a resolution to sell the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk to VestraCare for $16 million. Since January of 2013, the legislature has tried three times to sell the skilled nursing facility with little success. However, with a new legislature in place for 2014, supporters of privatizing the county home seem confident that there will be enough votes tonight for the sale to go forward.

Earlier this month, legislators spent nearly an hour-and-a-half questioning VestraCare vice president Edward Farbenblum and administrator Shannon Cayea-Delker to learn more about their operation and what the future holds for the skilled nursing facility in Dunkirk, should a purchase take place.

During his Feb. 5 presentation, Farbenblum assured lawmakers that he takes a hands-on approach to running his facilities and if any issues or problems were to come up following the sale, he could be directly contacted by lawmakers. “My absolute promise to you is that the buck stops here. If you’re a county legislature in this county you’ll have my cell phone number and you’ll have Shannon’s cell phone number and if you have a problem you can call one of us.”

Chautauqua County Legislator Terry Niebel (R-Dunkirk) talks with VestraCare’s Edward Farbenblum following a Q&A session with the legislature on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014.

Not all lawmakers are in favor of the sale. While 13 of the 19 members need to approve it, five are expected to vote against the sale. They are North County legislators Keith Alhstrom, Shaun Heenan, Janet Keith, Terry Neibel and Bob Scudder. Also, at least one news outlet is reporting that Legislator Chairman Jay Gould is ill and will most likely miss tonight’s meeting. Meaning that if one other legislator votes against the sale or is unable to attend, it will not go forward.

The selling of the county home has been a contentious issue with lawmakers since it was first proposed by former County Executive Greg Edwards in 2011. Proponents say selling the home will remove unnecessary costs in county government, while opponents of the sale say privatization will reduce the quality of care for the resident at the Dunkirk-based facility.

Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:30 in the legislative chambers in Mayville. It will be open to the public and any resident or group wishing to speak out on the matter will be allowed to do so at the beginning of the meeting.

Horrigan has appointed Andrea Snyder as the Acting Administrator, Laura Hartinger as the Acting Director of Nursing, and Brian Reader as the Supervising Administrator effective February 24, 2014.

The Chautauqua County Home, located on 10836 Temple Rd. in Dunkirk, is a 216-bed skilled nursing facility specializing in rehabilitation and long term health care.