First Assistant County Attorney Pat Slagle explained to legislative committees last week that the contract is being extended following the recent resignation of the former Human Resources Director and hiring of the new one in order to allow both sides to get everything together.

Legislator Terry Niebel said he reviewed the extension and thinks it’s fair to the taxpayers and county employees, “It calls for a one-time payment of $750 and a 3% increase in salary for about 900 employees. The cost of this extension is about $2.3 million. I think the county negotiating team, the union, and the county executive did a very good job.”

Finance Director Kitty Crow said in committees that the extension amount is included in 2023 budget that’s being put together right now.

Negotiations on the next contract with CSEA will begin in February 2023.

The County Legislature also voted to rescind local law 6-22 which established a public relations officer position. County Executive PJ Wendel said he recommended the law be rescinded, citing the incident on August 12 where author Salman Rushdie was attacked at Chautauqua Institution.

He said his office and the District Attorney’s Office received calls from all over the world and showed a need more for a Public Information Officer, “So upon further review, it’s better to make sure we have a position that is rightly fitted, and rightly described, and a job description is fitting for what for what we’re looking for is Public Information Officer that is able to disseminate the information, make sure that social media is taken care of and the messages are consistent and professional in coming out.”

Wendel added that he was advised by his legal team to ask the Legislature to rescind the law.

Legislator John Runkle addresses his fellow lawmakers prior to voting no to a CSEA contract during the Nov. 18, 2015 meeting of the Chautauqua County legislature.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County has finally reached a new contract agreement with its largest collective bargaining unit.

On Wednesday night the Chautauqua County Legislature approved a new contract agreement with the CSEA Unit 6300. The agreement includes a high deductible health care plan, a 2-percent wage increase (retroactive to January 2015) and a 2 percent wage increase for 2016 and 2017.

The vote was 16 to 2, with legislators John Runkle (R-Stockton) and Bob Scudder (R-Fredonia) voting against the agreement. Runkle said he was against the contract, given the current and future economic climate of the county with the recent closure of the Con Agra plant and the possible closure of NRG.

“While still reeling from the Con Agra loss [of an estimated 400 jobs] and its economic ramifications, we are now confronted with another potentially devastating loss with the possible closure of NRG,” Runkle said while reading a prepared statement prior to the vote. “The economic ramifications of a potential NRG closure are obvious. We will be looking at an estimated loss of $1.7 million in county tax revenue per year should this plant be closed. Additionally, the people of Dunkirk would see an additional 40 to 50 percent increase in both their school and city property taxes should this occur.”

Runkle said he was also concerned with the strain the new contract will put on the county’s structural deficit, considering it includes a 2 percent salary increase. “With this proposed labor contract, and I point out here its completely non-mandated, we are adding an additional $3.5 million to this so-called structural deficit over the next two years.”

Despite Runkle’s concerns, other lawmakers say that while the contract does a salary increase, it also contains cost-saving measures.

“The savings – which I think are significant – is coming from the area of health benefits,” explained legislator Terry Niebel (R-Dunkirk). “While I personally think that a 2 percent raise is excessive, it has been pointed out to me that this is a six-year contract and the average salary increase would be 1 percent per year.”

Following the vote, County Executive Vince Horrigan said he was pleased that a deal could finally be reached and that all labor unions in county government are now working under contract.

“It’s a good contract that will take us out over six years,” Horrigan said. “They’ve been working without a contract for three-and-a-half years so I’m pleased with this. I think it’s fair. It’s good for the county, it’s good for the tax payers and it’s good for the employees.””

The CSEA had been working without a contract since the start of 2012. The new agreement is retroactive and would cover the years 2012 through 2017 and involves more than 900 county employees, who ratified the contract earlier this month.

• VIEW NOVEMBER MEETING AGENDA AND RESOLUTIONS

The legislature will act on approving an $18,000,000 bond to help pay for the landfill expansion project. In addition, lawmakers will review and act on accepting the expansion’s environmental impact statement – known as a SEQR. The SEQR is a key part of the expansion process, as it outlines what environmental impact the expansion will not only have on the landfill property, but also other property in the immediate area.

The landfill expansion has been met with some resistance, with officials in the town of Ellery and residents opposed to the expansion because of the adverse impact it would have on residents and the environment.

In addition to the landfill proposals, several other items are also on the agenda for tonight, including a contract agreement with the county’s largest labor union – the CSEA Unit 6300.

Wednesday’s meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the legislative chambers in Mayville and is open to the public.

That’s according to an article on Wednesday’s Post-Journal, which says the county executive Vince Horrigan and CSEA officials have come to a tentative contract agreement containing cost-saving measures and a 2 percent pay raise.

The six-year, retroactive agreement would cover the years 2012 through 2017 give over 900 county employees under CSEA Unit 6300 a contract for the first time in over three years. The contract is subject to legislative approval and will go before the Chautauqua County Legislature during a meeting Nov. 18. According to the report, 76 percent of the union’s members already voted to ratify the contract on Monday.

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.”

The Chautauqua County Legislature spent over two hours on Wednesday night hearing comments and discussing the future of the County Home prior to a failed vote to sell the facility to VestraCare. The proposal to sell failed by one vote. (Photo by Jason Sample/WRFA)

MAYVILLE – For the third time this year, the effort to privatize the Chautauqua County Home has been defeated.

Wednesday Night the Chautauqua County Legislature voted to sell the county home to VestraCare at a cost of $16.5 million. The final vote was 16 to 9, which was one vote short of the 17 that is required for a property sale under the county charter.

Prior to the vote, legislators spent an hour discussing the sale. Legislator Tim Hoyer (D-Jamestown) said he was opposed to the sale because he felt the county needs the skilled nursing facility in order to ensure its residents will be properly taken care of.

“When we own our own county nursing home, we can take care of our family. We can take them in, not needing a means test to see if they can help turn a profit,” Hoyer said. “When we own our county home, we can act with compassion for each and promise to provide for each others’ common needs because of our county home. There is no worry about whether or not we will be accepted, only if there is a bed available. That promise of care is what we are being asked to sell tonight.”

However, several lawmakers disagreed with Hoyer, saying that if the county doesn’t privatize the home, it risks being closed down in the near future. Legislator and Republican county executive candidate Vince Horrigan (R-Bemus Point) said that selling the county home shouldn’t be considered a loss, but rather an opportunity.

“If we do not seize this opportunity, if we just continue like in 1987 until now to kick this down the road, I truly believe there will come a time when we will not talking about a buyer, at lest not this quality buyer. We’ll have to face the consequences that could be something much less than the opportunity to privatize. None of us want that.”

Legislator and minority leader Bob Whitney (D-Jamestown) said he was opposed to the sale because he didn’t feel legislators were given enough time to research VestraCare. He accused the process of being rushed for political reasons…

“You can slice it anyway you want but his is not a vote tonight to sell the county home. It’s a vote so one political party can try to make this election about the sale of the county home. Not about the record on job loss, tax increases and political gerrymandering of legislature lines,” Whitney said. “They control the agenda so they are going to use the legislative process in an attempt to influence the election…. you would have to be a fool to think the timing of this vote was just by chance.”

Besides Whitney and Hoyer, the other Legislators voting against sale were: Keith Ahlstrom (D-Dunkirk), Lori Cornell (D-Jamestown), Billy Coughlin (D-Fredonia), Tom DeJoe (D-Brocton), Bob Duff (R-Sheridan), Shaun Heenan (D-Dunkirk) and Bob Scudder (R-Fredonia).

LISTEN TO LEGISLATORS COMMENTS AND REACTION FROM COUNTY EXECUTIVE

OVER A DOZEN SPEAK OUT AGAINST SELLING THE HOME

Prior to the legislature discussing the sale of the county home, members of the public were given an opportunity to offer their thoughts on the proposed sale.In all, 15 people spoke, including County Home Resident Joe Carrus, who serves as the president of the home’s resident’s council and made an impassioned plea to the lawmakers.

County Home resident Joe Carrus was one of 14 individuals who spoke out against the sale of the county home on Wednesday. (Photo by Jason Sample/WRFA)

“Can’t you hear that the sick and old and employees are calling out to you, the county legislator? Can’t you hear their cries?” Carrus asked. “Will you grasp their outstretched hands or let them cry in vain when you cast your vote for the buyers? Please don’t cast that vote for the buyers! You did not do enough research to begin with.”

Another who spoke out against the sale was Dunkirk resident Frank Gawronski, who said that several lawmakers have said selling the home will help reduce taxes. Something he doesn’t believe.

“My county taxes come out to about $400 a year. How much are you going to save me by selling the county home? You might save me five buck. It’s not worth the five bucks you’re going to save me to do what you’ve done. You’ll further divide this county into north and south with the false promises of a tax deduction that we’re never going to see.”

Several members of the CSEA Unit 6300 also where on hand and spoke out against the sale.

Of the 15 speakers, only one spoke out in favor of selling the county home, and that was Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce president Todd Tranum, who said that if the county doesn’t sell the home soon, it will risk having to close the facility down. He also said that a sale would benefit more residents than it would hurt.

“For some here tonight, voting ‘yes’ to sell the county home may be a difficult decision,” Tranum said. “However, if you look at it from the framework of saving jobs, saving important services for our elderly, saving an asset, doing what is fiscally and financially right to do, and doing what is right for the taxpayers of Chautauqua County, then it really should not be that hard of a decision.”

EDWARDS PREDICTS VOTERS WILL SHOW DISPLEASURE WITH FAILED SALE

Following the failed vote, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards admitted that the result was what he had anticipated, although he also said that he was still disappointed. He also said that when he contacts VestraCare, he will let them know that the decision was not based on how they run their operations.

“I’m going to compliment them on the fact that despite immense efforts by people opposed to the [the sale] of trying to find something bad VestraCare, not one single negative word was mentioned about the performance of VestraCare,” Edwards stated. “So he should be taking this vote as a compliment, in the sense that not a single person could say anything bad, just not enough people could recognize the value and the opportunity that he proposed.”

Edwards believes that the sale of the home will happen at some point in the near future, and that’s because voters will not re-elect those who voted against the sale.

I’m confident that on Tuesday, voters are going to vote at the polling places with a clear agenda on their minds. That they are going to look to replace those legislators who voted in opposition to their wishes and that their going to put people in those spots that are going to do what they are hired to do, and that is to represent the majority of the people in Chautauqua County.”

As for the buyer of the home, VestraCare co-owner Edward Farbenblum told WRFA earlier this month that if the sale was voted down, he would reconsider submitting another proposal, although there’s no guarantee because he was also looking into purchasing another similar facility, and stated that it would be one or the other, but not both.

The fact finder’s report includes several recommendations, including:

• A 0 percent increase in wages 2012, 0 percent increase in 2013, 41 cents-per-hour increase in 2014, and 2 percent increase in 2015;
• The employees’ premium share for health insurance will be frozen in 2012 and 2013, and premium increases in 2014 and 2015.
• An optional high deductible health plan made available to all employees; and
• The county will offer enhanced rights for employees that held other positions previous to a layoff.

The County Executive stated he is hopeful that CSEA will also accept the recommendations of the fact finder, and that a tentative agreement could then be presented to the Chautauqua County Legislature for ratification.

The County’s current contract with CSEA expired December 31, 2011, and the parties have been at impasse since 2012.  A fact finder was appointed on October 10, 2012, but mediation and further negotiations continued this year until May.

• READ FACT FINDER’S REPORT