County Finance Director Kitty Crow said closure includes Treasury, Real Property Tax, Purchasing, Budget, Insurance, and Payroll divisions.

Any member of the public wishing to make transactions related to taxes, sewer payments, bail bonds, public administration of estates, or certificates of residency are asked to visit the office before noon or after 1:00 p.m. on December 14.

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 County Executive PJ Wendel said he recommended the law be rescinded, citing the incident on August 12 where author Salman Rushdie was attacked at Chautauqua Institution.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.

Chautauqua County Legislature (May 25, 2022)

After voting down a proposed change that would have phased in payments for Jamestown, Dunkirk, and Westfield, the Chautauqua County Legislature approved a local law amending the County’s Worker’s Compensation Plan.

The local law changes the county administered plan so that costs are now allocated at 60% experience and 40% on wages. Previously, the costs were allocated at 60% experience and 40% property valuation.
Legislator Bob Bankowski proposed an amendment that would have allowed a two year phase in of the plan with proposed allocations the first year based 10% on valuation, 30% wages and 60% experience.

He agreed that the way the plan was set-up has been “broken” for many years and that it needed to be fixed to make it fair and equitable to all taxpayers, “But I just feel that with the amended print two that I proposed, it’s not going to be that drastic an effect on everyone. It phases in over the course of two years and everything should be fine. It gives Jamestown and Dunkirk some time to actually get their ducks in a row and make adjustments in their budget.”

County Finance Director Kitty Crow stated at the meeting that the increased costs to the Village of Westfield will be $7,766; $86,139 to the city of Dunkirk; and Jamestown would see an $157,315 increase in costs. She confirmed in email to WRFA that any municipality with an unusual increase now has the option of an installment payment plan and that this language was intentionally added to allow a phase-in by way of a payment plan.

The amendment proposed by Bankowski failed in a vote of 6 to 12, with Legislators Bob Bankowski, Susan Parker, Elisabeth Rankin, Billy Torres, Paul Whitford, and Dave Wilfong voting yes. Bankowski also made a motion to table the law for further discussion and that also failed 6 to 12.

The local law ultimately passed 15 to 3 with Legislators Bob Bankowski, Susan Parker, and Dave Wilfong voting no.

Finance Director Crow also clarified at the meeting that while the 2023 budget will see a $700,000 savings under Worker’s Compensation, the savings would have happened regardless of whether the Legislature changed how the plan costs were allocated.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist stated earlier this week that city is already looking at other Worker’s Compensation firms under the assumption the local law would pass.

County Finance Director Kitty Crow address Administrative Services Committee over Zoom (May 16, 2022)

The Chautauqua County Legislature will vote on amending the County’s Worker’s Compensation Plan, which, if passed, would result in higher payments for Jamestown and Dunkirk.

County Finance Director Kitty Crow explained at the Administrative Services Committee meeting on May 16 that the county administers a municipal plan with the current plan costs allocated based on 60% experience and 40% on property valuation, “We would like to move to a model that allocates the 40%, that is allocated based on valuation to an allocation that’s based on wages, which is really more relevant when assessing charges for such a plan as Worker’s Comp Insurance essentially. So, we’re not proposing any change to the experience factor, so that would remain at 60%

Crow said the change between wages and valuation was dramatic for four municipalities in the county, with the town of Chautauqua seeing a large decrease.

She said while their property valuations are high around the lake, their workforce is much smaller, “In the Village of Westfield, they actually have a couple of things that drive up their wages, such as paid police as well as paid utility workers. And so their wages are a little bit higher as a percentage total compared to valuation. And then the two cities would also see an increase under the new formula because, you know, their wages as a percentage of total was more significant.”

Crow said under the wage based formula, the City of Jamestown would have been charged approximately $275,000 more in 2022. This is because the city’s share of total property valuation is 4.5% of the total whereas the city’s share of wages is 19.2% of aggregate wages. Crow added that 25% of all claims over the past five years are attributed to the City of Jamestown.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said his administration has been in contact with the County in regards to this possible law change, “This is obviously an increase to the City’s budget. We’ve asked the county to be able to spread those costs over, to amortize them, which has happened in the past. But more importantly it’s a time for the City to look at other options.”

Sundquist said he’s already met with different Worker’s Compensation firms to start investigating options.

The County Legislature’s meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers of the Gerace Office Building in Mayville. It is open to the public and will be livestreamed on facebook.com/ChautauquaCountyGovernment.

Chautauqua County Legislature (April 27, 2022)

The Chautauqua County Legislature approved a gas sales tax reduction by a vote of 12 to 6 Wednesday night.

The resolution sets a fixed rate per gallon at 12-cents. Legislators had expressed concerns over how the sales tax reduction would affect local municipalities. Legislator Jay Gould said his district has some poor towns, “And the Finance Department made us a list. And I got the list tonight. And my four towns will be losing $1,400 worth of sales tax and I don’t feel that’s enough to cripple them, so I will be voting in favor of the gas tax.”

Legislator Lisa Vanstrom said she was voting no on the resolution, calling it a public safety issue with how roads and bridge repairs depend on funding from the gas sales tax. She added that the resolution doesn’t guarantee a consumer cost reduction, “Reducing or capping this motor fuel tax will not guarantee a lower price at the pumps because the retailers have the ultimate choice of setting the price. So even if we’re kind and gracious enough to understand the need of a consumer for a break, it may not result in anything at the end of the day out of your pocket being saved.”

Finance Director Kitty Crow had informed legislators in committee meetings that the sales tax reduction should have a neutral effect on the county’s budgeted sales tax revenue for 2022.

Legislators voted 6 to 12 against a resolution that would have accepted a $75,000 grant to address vaccine hesitancy in the county with the goal to increase the vaccination rates in children and the African-American community.

Legislator Bob Bankowski took issue with how the resolution singled out specific groups, “It is basically singling out African Americans, Amish people because of their religion, children. At this point and time, I mean, this has been around now, COVID has been here for two years. I think people have decided if they’re going to get vaccinated or they’re not going to get vaccinated. And in general, this should be for all and not just singling out groups.”

A handful of residents had spoke out on the resolution during privilege of floor over concerns of over-reach by the Health Department.

A resolution filed by the four Democrats on the Legislature would set a fixed rate per gallon of 12-cents versus the current percentage of 4%. Concern was raised in both the Administrative Services and Audit & Control Committees about how the change in the tax would affect not just the county’s budget but local municipalities’ budget where sales tax revenue was concerned.

Finance Director Kitty Crow stated at both legislative committee meetings that she estimates the 12-cents per gallon fixed rate would result in the county meeting budgeted sales tax revenue figures for 2022.

County Executive PJ Wendel said the County Legislature instituted a “motor tax fuel holiday” in 2004, but that prices at the pump never actually went down. He said the same could happen this time too, “You should see a 36-cent drop per gallon as of June 1. What happens if you don’t? We have no control over that. The distributors, the retailers, they could say, ‘You’re going to give up the revenue? We’re not!’ An argument could say, ‘You raised your prices!’ ‘No, my prices were the same in June as they were in March. The only difference is my price hasn’t changed. I just didn’t lowered it in compensation for the tax rate reduction that state or county has.'”

The County Legislature’s meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers of the Gerace Office Building in Mayville. It is open to the public and is available through a livestream as well.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella and Finance Director Kitty Crow address Audit & Control Committee (April 21, 2022)

Democratic Chautauqua County Legislators are expected to pre-file a resolution Friday morning to alleviate the sales tax on gas in the county.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella informed the Legislature’s Audit and Control Committee that he had been contacted by Legislators Susan Parker, Bob Bankowski, Paul Whitford, and Billy Torres. Their resolution that would be on Wednesday’s full County Legislature agenda would opts for the fixed sales tax rate of 12-cents per gallon. Abdella said they had not set a sunset date for the resolution but were considering March 1.

Finance Director Kitty Crow said the county should still meet budgeted sales tax projections with the proposed 12-cents per gallon rate resolution, “So we wouldn’t expect a surplus and we wouldn’t expect a deficit. You know, I think that that would result in us coming in at budget.”

Crow said sales tax from motor fuel sales typically account for about 6% of the budgeted sales tax revenues.

No legislators from Audit and Control offered to co-sponsor the resolution, citing the need to gather more information about how it could affect local municipalities’ budgets. County Executive PJ Wendel said he had directed county staff to reach out to local municipalities to see if that information could be gathered before Wednesday night’s meeting.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella and County Finance Director Kitty Crow address Administrative Services Committee on April 18, 2022

County legislators heard initial proposals for how they could give consumers a break on gasoline sales tax.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella and County Finance Director Kitty Crow presented to the Administrative Services Committee on the proposals.

Abdella said while the state doesn’t allow counties to entirely suspend sales tax on motor fuel, Chautauqua County could suspend the 4-percent sales tax rate or a fixed amount per gallon rate such as 8-cents, 12-cents, or 16 cents a gallon.

He said if the county chooses a fixed-rate per gallon, there is a proviso by the state to adjust the fixed rate if the price of gasoline drops below what the sales tax percentage rate would be versus the fixed rate per gallon, “If we were to set a fixed rate of 16-cents which is roughly based on $4 a gallon, and when I say roughly it’s because if the price at the pump is $4 our tax is not on the full $4 because part of that $4 is a state and federal tax and our tax is not applied as a tax on a tax.”

He said at $4 a gallon for gas, the county receives 14.8 cents on a gallon and not 16-cents.

Crow recommended going with the fixed rate of $12-cents per gallon option as they estimate the county would still meet budget projections for sales tax, thus not hurting municipalities in their budgeted sales tax revenue figures, but still giving consumers a break on the cost of gas.

The Administrative Services committee opted not to create a resolution on the matter given that the Audit & Control Committee also will hear this presentation at its meeting at 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, April 21st.

Abdella said a resolution would need to be pre-filed by 10:00 a.m. this Friday in order to appear on the Legislature‘s voting agenda for April 27. He said an emergency resolution could be introduced on the floor next week as well.

The State is requiring resolutions on the gas tax issue 30 days in advance of them being implemented, versus the usual 90 days. The changes would not go into effect until the start of the next sales tax quarter, which is June 1st. The County Legislature must submit a resolution to the state by May 2nd in order to meet the June 1st implementation date.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel Delivers State of the County Address to County Legislature

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel said in his annual State of the County address that the county’s comeback has been far greater than its setback.

Wendel said the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic in 2021 continued to be a challenge for the county, causing his administration to pivot efforts to move forward while protecting residents.

He said that after seeing businesses shut down and people lose jobs in 2020, December 2021 had an unemployment rate of 3.5%, which is the lowest its been since the 1990s.

Wendel announced some changes ahead for 2022 including the rebranding of the Chautauqua Area Rural Transit System, or CARTS, as CHQ Transit, “The construction of a transportation hub in downtown Jamestown, the addition of new technology including a rider’s app and cashless fare system; as well as additions of three trolleys to our fleet.”

Wendel said he also began work with Finance Director Kitty Crow to restructure the Finance Department where departments will no longer have their own fiscal staff, but will have that go through the Finance Department itself. He said this will increase efficiencies, reduce strain on smaller departments, and increase productivity.

In the Department of Public Facilities, Wendel is planning on promoting current employees to Deputy Director positions to form a DPF cabinet, “Instead of overwhelming one DPF Director with multiple departments that were under their control, our Deputy Directors will only focus on their areas of expertise and come together to form the DPF cabinet. This current plan will consist of Deputy Director of Public Facilities in the following areas: engineering, transportation, and environment.”

The position of Director of DPF has been vacant following the resignation of Brad Bentley in November.

Wendel added other goals include expanding sewer and water around the county’s lakes to promote development, expanding the tourism industry, and expand broadband throughout county.

We’ll have the full State of the County address on tonight’s Community Matters at 5 p.m.

It includes a 3% wage increase in 2022 and 2023. A 2.5%wage increase in 2024, and a 2-and-one-half percent wage increase in 2025.

Legislator Bob Bankowski commended Human Resources, Finance Director Kitty Crow, and Sheriff’s Deputies for coming to an agreement, “I think it’s a very give-take contract. Obviously they’re going to get some raises but in the long term we’re going to save money on our insurance and I just want to commend them for really stepping up to get this done before budget time came around.”

Sheriff Jim Quattrone thanked the County Legislature for their support, “I think that’s huge for all law enforcement to see that kind of support we got from the Legislature. I’d also to thank the professional nature of the negotiating team – Kitty, Jean, Allison, Ken Westphal was part of that, and then the union was part of that. They were great to work with and I think we all had the same common goal.”

The legislature also voted to accept a settlement of $996,000 from Johnson & Johnson. The State Attorney General’s Office approved the settlement with Johnson & Johnson as part of the litigation regarding the opioid addiction crisis.
The county will receive the settlement over a 10 year period, the same period of time that Johnson & Johnson will agree to cease the manufacture, sale, and promotion of opioids and opioid products in New York State.

The settlement restricts 79% of the funds received. Legislator Terry Niebel commented on the resolution, “21% of the money of this settlement, which may be up to almost $1 million, is unrestricted funds which can be used for anything. Just so there are no surprises later on, I’ll be pushing to use the unrestricted funds to reduce the tax level whenever it is that we receive these funds.”

The Legislature also voted to appoint Jonathan Penhollow to the vacant District 7 seat. Penhollow replaces Mark Odell, who resigned at the end of July. District 7 includes the towns of Stockton, Portland and a portion of the town of Chautauqua. Penhollow introduced himself after the appointment, “Born and raised here. I went to Edinboro College with my lovely wife. I have three kids who are currently in college. My wife is involved with Dunkirk School Administration and I’ve been serving on the County Planning Board for 10 plus years.”

And County Executive PJ Wendel and Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon recognized CARTS driver James Krzyanowicz with a commendation for his actions in assisting with a house fire in Dunkirk back on July 28th. Krzyanowicz saw the smoke from the fire while driving his route and called it into 9-1-1 before stopping to help people get out of the house.