Chautauqua County Legislature Oath of Office (1/3/2022)

Four new legislators were sworn in at the Chautauqua County Legislature‘s organizational meeting Monday.

Republican Marty Proctor replaced Bill Ward in District 18 with Dave Wilfong replacing Bob Whitney in Jamestown District 11. Both Procter and Wilfong had previously served on the Legislature. Democrat Billy Torres replaced Chuck Nazzaro in Jamestown District 9. Nazzaro had chose not to run again. Democrat Susan Parker replaced Christine Starks in Fredonia District 4.

The legislature also voted to replace Mark Odell on the Legislature with John Penhollow of Sinclairville. Odell had resigned in July after moving out of the district, but his name remained on the ballot. Penhollow was appointed to fill his term last year.

Legislator Pierre Chagnon was unanimously elected the chair of the Legislature.

The legislature approved the reappointment of Ned Barone as Public Defender. The appointment is a 2-year term.

They also appointed Olivia Lee as the new Clerk of the Legislature. Lee replaces Kathy Tampio, who is retiring after 10 years as Clerk. Legislator Chagnon and County Executive PJ Wendel presented Tampio with a commendation for her service at the meeting.

County Legislature Honors Outgoing Legislator Chuck Nazzaro

The Chautauqua County Legislature has approved a local law increasing salaries for the Undersheriff, Captain, Warden and Corrections Lieutenant.

Legislator Terry Niebel said when the local law was introduced he asked the County Sheriff and Human Resources to research salary information in other counties for comparison, “They ended up looking at 32 other counties. The salary range before us now puts us somewhere in the middle of those 32 counties. We are looking at an increase of two or three ranges for each position. But given today’s situation with law enforcement, I believe these increases are warranted.”

The local law passed unanimously.

A resolution to increase landfill and transfer station fees also passed by a vote of 16 to 2. Legislators Bill Ward and John Penhollow were the two votes against. The new fees go into effect January 1st.

Legislators approved by block vote a host of resolutions that included several resolutions that adjusted American Rescue Plan funding toward emergency services department projects. Legislator Chuck Nazzaro said while the resolutions were being handled quickly by the full legislature, that they were discussed thoroughly in committee, “As you know, we received $24.6 million in ARPA funding, the American Rescue Plan. And to date, now with what we have before us tonight we will have approved just under $10.2 million in projects. So each year we receive $12.3 million for 2021 and $12.3 million for 2022 and we’ve spent or awarded $10.2 million today.”

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon presented outgoing Legislators Christine Starks, Chuck Nazzaro, Bob Whitney, and Bill Ward with commendations for their time and service on the Legislature.
Memorials also were read for former County Legislators who died this past year including Ron Szot, Vickye James, Mac Crowe, Bob Duff, and Tom Harte.

The next County Legislature meeting will be its organizational meeting at 4pm, Monday, January 3, 2022.

Chautauqua County Legislature

The Chautauqua County Legislature unanimously passed the 2022 budget with a property tax and tax levy decrease.

The new property tax rate will be $8.10 per $1,000 assessed value, which is 40-cents lower than the current rate. The real property tax levy will be $66,912,293, which is $271,102 dollars lower than the current levy.

Audit and Control Chair Legislator Chuck Nazzaro thanked everyone involved in the budget process, saying County Executive PJ Wendel had presented a structurally sound budget back in September, “This budget provides property tax relief, there’s no use of undesignated fund balance, it creates a contingency account for those unexpected expenses, and meets our five-year plan.”

Legislator Terry Niebel said he supports the budget but urged some caution, “We did create 42 new positions this year. And I realize that many of these positions are 100% funded either by the state or federal government, but look, two or three years from now we’re going to have to decide how we’re going to fund these positions or if we’re going to fund these positions at all.”

The Legislature also approved via block vote 13 resolutions related to spending American Rescue Plan funds. A resolution on a new handgun project was pulled. Projects that were approved for funding included the $4.68 million to purchase a crane, two dump/plow trucks, a snow blower, and long-arm excavator. The use of $1.4 million to purchase property to turn them into shovel-ready sites as approved. The Frank W. Bratt Ag Building will receive $1.1 million for building upgrades. And over $2 million dollars will go toward economic development initiatives such as bolstering the bed tax fund, providing marketing assistance, workforce development initiatives, and funding the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth.

A resolution to spend $72,000 in ARP fund to do a study of the Jamestown Airport on bringing back Essential Air Service failed by a vote of 4 to 15.

Legislator Elisabeth Rankin voted no, saying so much work has already been done on the airport, “I am totally in favor of any infrastructure investment that will help the county. And I’ve been the beneficiary of years of flying in and out of Jamestown Airport. However, I do believe we’ve given it its chance and I think its time has come and gone. And I’m not in favor of a study, of spending money on a study that I don’t think is going to get us anywhere.”

Legislators Chuck Nazzaro, Jay Gould, and Bill Ward also voiced their opposition to spending money on another study of the airport.

Legislators did unanimously approve a contract with the the County Sheriff’s Supervisor’s Association. The contract agreement runs from January 1st, 2022 through December 31st, 2025. It includes modifications to longevity, employer and employee cost share of the health plan, the retiree cash-out benefit, the addition of a cell phone stipend of $50 per month, an increase to the clothing allowance, and a change from a three to a four step salary schedule.

Chautauqua County Legislature

Following public comments over the last several months over concern about governmental overreach, the Chautauqua County Legislature passed a motion last night that calls on elected officials to act within the boundaries of the U.S. Constitution.

Legislator Bill Ward asked to table the motion due to wanting more clarity on what “kind of teeth” the motion has, but the tabling request did not receive a second to move forward.

Legislator John Davis, who was one of the sponsors of the motion along with Legislator Dan Pavlock and County Executive PJ Wendel, said each legislator has been sworn to uphold the Constitution, “It has become clear, in my opinion, especially during this Pandemic, that there are some elected officials at the state and federal levels who have used mandates to push the limits of their constitutional authority as they seek to achieve their own policy objectives. This motion serves as a reminder to all elected officials of their oath to uphold the Constitution.”

The motion passed 13 to 6.

A second motion asking New York State to consider alternative preventive procedures against COVID-19 transmission and infection for those healthcare workers who decline to get vaccinated also passed.

Legislator Bill Ward said if daily testing can be done for healthcare workers, that’s a step forward versus the current mandate, but he emphasized he endorses the vaccine for everyone who is eligible. He also expressed worry about the intent of the Legislature’s motion given that many constituents have said they want an ordinance versus a motion, “If this is a step towards moving us toward a county that disobeys the law, it’s not gonna happen. That has to happen in court. If you want to change a law you have to go to court. We can’t do this in this body we can’t do it certainly with a motion.”

Legislators Chuck Nazzaro, Terry Niebel, Christine Starks and Elisabeth Rankin also voiced that they support the COVID-19 vaccine but don’t want to see the healthcare industry unnecessarily burdened by requiring workers be vaccinated. The motion passed 17 to 2.

Democratic Legislator Bob Bankowski motioned to table the resolution to give 30 days for more input to local municipalities and the public, “I support full transparency in the spending of these funds. I believe the 40-some projects are very worthy of the expenditures of these funds. But we have missed some, so a brief extension, I feel, of 30 days won’t delay the expenditures of these funds.”

Legislator Elisabeth Rankin said she was going to support the motion to table but changed her mind, “In addition to a group of experts and legislators working really hard on this for many months, what they’ve come up with is a plan that’s fluid. It can be amended and changed as we go along. It’s not carved in stone and every piece of it that comes forward to the legislature will come for approval and discussion.”

Rankin encouraged those with ideas for change or new projects to share that with their county legislator.

The motion failed 4 to 15.

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro, who was part of the commitee that discussed ARP project proposals, said while the committee had met with the cities of Dunkirk and Jamestown on possible collaborations, those municipalities decided to go forward with their own projects. He said he still encourages them to reach out again.

The County Legislature also passed a resolution to consolidate the 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax foreclosure proceedings.

The resolution also rescinded the tax redemption date that was set for October 31st, which allowed those owning foreclosed properties who were affected by the pandemic to still pay owed taxes until that point.

The consolidated tax foreclosures proceedings are now expected to begin in early 2022.

Green, speaking before the County Legislature‘s Audit & Control Committee Thursday, said the county should have held public input meetings, “A small, select group of county only people assembled by the County Executive met and only heard from County Department Heads. This money is being awarded to the entire county. And we’ve missed out on Silver Creek, we’ve missed out on Jamestown, we’ve missed out on Sheridan, not so much for the town of Harmony, but we’ve missed out on the metropolitan areas.”

Green was also critical of the $8.4 million proposed to fund Phase Two of the South & Center Sewer District expansion project, saying it would only benefit “a dozen millionaires from Cleveland.”

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro said four county legislators, including himself, were part of the committee put together by County Executive PJ Wendel to review potential projects to be funded, “There have been comments made that the public was not involved, well, we could argue that point but that’s not why we’re here. There are monies that came into the county. We’re elected officials. We’re listening to everyone. The plan has not been approved yet. But now we’re going to the next step where we’re going into the projects.”

The full County Legislature will vote on the 41 projects to be funded by American Rescue Plan monies at its meeting this Wednesday.

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro said this is a big win, “To reconstruct the runway at the Chautauqua County Airport and there is no local share on this and normally there would. So the $6.2 million is greatly appreciated and will benefit this county.”

The legislature also approved a memorandum of understanding with the City of Jamestown for the purchase of new fire software. Jamestown City Council had approved the purchase at its June voting session. Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said the new software will increase efficiency for fire reporting and help the department maintain compliance with the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

Resident and Democratic candidate for County Executive Norm Green spoke at the first privilege of the floor on the resolution, saying he doesn’t think the county should charge the city for the software, “Charging the City of Jamestown $111,000 just doesn’t make sense. This is absolutely what we should be all about – sharing services. And we certainly have other areas of the county of sharing of services such as the fly car, such as the Sheriff’s Department itself. Some 20% of the county’s population resides in Jamestown.”

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro responded to that, saying the county is helping the city of Jamestown, “Currently, the County of Chautauqua subscribes to the public safety software program and what we’re doing is letting the City of Jamestown purchase the fire records module of this software for their benefit. They would not be able to do that if we didn’t already subscribe to this software program.”

A resolution amending the rules of the County Legislature to not require verbatim transcripts of meetings passed. Legislator Bill Ward said he initially had reservations supporting the resolution, “I am satisfied, however, after investigating and discovering of course that all of the Legislature meetings will be transcribed verbatim and that technology exists that help us to review all of the committee meetings, perhaps in an even better way, because they’re going to be preserved in audio files and video files.”

A motion requesting that existing boundaries of the 23rd Congressional district be preserved was defeated by a vote of 11 to 6. It required 13 votes to pass and 2 legislators were absent.

The Chautauqua County Legislature, County Executive PJ Wendel, State Senator George Borrello, and a representative from Congressman Tom Reed’s office also held a commendation ceremony for Jamestown Police Officer Mark Conklin. Officer Conklin was recognized for his heroism in rescuing 2 people from a fire in Jamestown on July 19th. The Legislature also issued a commendation for outgoing Legislator Mark Odell, who announced his resignation effective the end of July.

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.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella told the Legislature’s Audit & Control Committee that a working group for the county has identified 56 properties that had been pulled from the county auction so that the Land Bank can do demolition and then market them as side lots. The hope is that adjoining owners would buy those properties and they’d go back on the tax roles.

Abdella said what the Finance department found was as these properties were in the process over time, they are sitting in a taxable status, “And the county is ending up guaranteeing the continuing taxes on these properties that in many cases in which the assessment remain high because the effect of the demolition takes some time to have an impact on the assessment because taxable status day is just once a year.”

Abdella says the County is incurring $56,000 a year in tax carrying costs until the properties are demolished and conveyed. The work group discussed the possibility to convey some of these properties as soon as possible to the Land Bank, if willing, because the Land Bank enjoys instant tax exempt status, “Because the [tax] rolls for most all municipalities, other than the City of Dunkirk, get finalized by July 1st and Dunkirk I believe is August 1st. And so although you can do these transfers in the middle of the year, it causes all this correction paperwork and monkey business.”

Abdella said the Land Bank responded to the county that they were willing to have 28 properties be conveyed to them for this year. He said this will help save the county on taxes for those properties this year as well mowing costs. The resolution will be co-sponsored by Legislators Bob Scudder and Chuck Nazzaro.

Luz Torres

The Chautauqua County Legislature unanimously approved the appointment of Luz Torres as the Democratic Election Commissioner. Torres was the original name submitted by the County Democratic Committee back in October 2020, but was never acted on by the Legislature. In April, the State Supreme Court invalidated the appointment of Loren Kent as Election Commissioner as he did not have the backing of the County Democratic Committee.

Jamestown Democrat and Legislature Minority Leader Chuck Nazzaro said while the Democratic caucus doesn’t agree with Judge Keane‘s decision, they decided not to appeal, “We decided it is in the best interest of the Democratic Party to move forward and start the healing process. The caucus still believes that the process used by Democratic County Committee to recommend an Election Commissioner was flawed and they did not use proper procedures.”

Fredonia Legislator Christine Starks said she received countless calls, emails and visits from people on this issue. She said as a legislator, she takes her role very seriously, “Each vote reflects what I think is best for the county as a whole. And it is a difficult task to bring a divided group together. My sincere hope is that we can move forward with integrity. I’ve always supported women in leadership and I hope you’ll join me in supporting Luz Torres.”

The Republican caucus voiced support for the Democratic caucus in moving forward while also praising Torres’ experience and expertise. Luz Torres has been serving as acting Democratic Election Commissioner since March when Norm Green retired.