PJ Wendel

Chautauqua County Government could be hit with a $4.3 million shortfall this year should New York State move forward with clawing back Medicaid funds.

The Enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Program (E-FMAP) funds are monies from the federal government to New York State that are meant to go to local counties, but Governor Kathy Hochul‘s proposed budget holds onto those monies.

County Executive PJ Wendel said if this stays in the budget, it would put counties back 20 years. He said the idea of the state holding onto E-FMAP monies isn’t new and that former Governor Andrew Cuomo had proposed doing the same in the past, “But the Budget Director, who was the Budget Director under Governor Cuomo, Robert Mujica; we were told kind of slipped this in without the Governor’s (Hochul) knowledge. Well, we all said this on a meeting last week, if anybody slipped anything into our budget without our knowledge they probably wouldn’t be working for us. This person has since left, so there’s a vacant position for.. I think there’s an Acting Budget Director now. So the Budget Director position is really vacant so we’re going after a ghost.”

Wendel said the claw back of funds is going into the state’s fund balance and not designated for any specific program.

He said he learned this week that the state is also behind on Medicaid reimbursements to counties to the tune of $8 million for Chautauqua County alone.

Should the Medicaid claw back continue to be part of the state budget when it’s passed April 1, Wendel said the $4.3 million that Chautauqua County would lose in funding is a large portion of the budget, “As you know, we have a very favorable fund balance. This year we did use $4 million in capital projects. So, I’d hate to cancel any of those capital projects cause they are necessary and sometimes, it’s most often times, deferred maintenance and stuff we’re putting off. We do have the ability right now to cover that, but why is it that we are being punished for being fiscally prudent when the Governor can’t seem to get their budget under control?”

Wendel added the New York State Association of Counties, which he is a member of and sits on the board of directors, is working to negotiate with Hochul’s office on this item. He said he hopes those who have pull with Hochul, like Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, can sway her to pull this out of the budget. Wendel said he doesn’t believe the State Legislature has any say over the budget item and that it’s at the Governor’s discretion.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, and Governor Kathy Hochul hold a storm press briefing (December 26, 2022)

At least 27 people have died in Erie County following a winter storm that paralyzed a good portion of Western New York over the Christmas Holiday weekend.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed via Twitter of the 27 people who have died that 3 of the deaths were from an EMS Delay, 14 were from exposure, 3 were from shoveling or snow blowing cardiac events; 4 were from no heat; and 3 were those found in a vehicle. He said unfortunately he expects the number of deaths to still increase.

Poloncarz said driving bans remain in effect for Buffalo and Lackawanna with the rest of Erie County under a travel advisory.

The New York State Thruway remains closed from the Pennsylvania line to Exit 46 in Henrietta. The Thruway Authority was expecting to provide an update this morning on that situation.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo said the four-day storm total at the Buffalo Airport was 50 inches of snow. The storm, which had blizzard conditions, left hundreds of motorists stranded and 100,000 without power over the weekend.

President Joe Biden has approved a request by Governor Kathy Hochul for a federal declaration of emergency for Erie and Genesee Counties. The Emergency Declaration will provide immediate federal assistance to impacted counties to support ongoing response and recovery operations.

Hochul also deployed an additional 220 National Guard soldiers to the Western New York region, bringing the total of deployments to approximately 430.

ALBANY – The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC), today released an updated report on the economic impact of the novel coronavirus on New York’s counties that projects potentially catastrophic drops in revenue between $1.5 billion to $3.6 billion over the next year.

The report was unveiled during a digital press conference today, during which Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz joined NYSAC Executive Stephen J. Acquario to discuss the impact that revenue losses will have on the ability of counties to reopen and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Counties are facing an economic calamity that exceeds what we saw in the worst of the great recession, and this time it’s occurring in the middle of a global pandemic,” said NYSAC President John F. Marren, chair of the Ontario County Board of Supervisors.

“Without help from the federal government in the form of direct aid to state and local governments, the counties who are leading the effort to stop COVID-19 and lay the foundation for reopening will face savage cuts to staff and services that could not come at a worse time,” said Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, president of the NYS County Executives Association.

Poloncarz said, “Counties across New York State are facing unprecedented challenges as they respond to the COVID-19 crisis, with economic impacts straining budgets and forcing difficult decisions in everything from the provision of necessary services to personnel and staff cutbacks. Despite significant revenue losses and bleak sales tax projections we are doing all we can now at the county level to protect the health and safety of our constituents while preparing for an eventual ‘re-opening’, but we will need help soon. I am joining Dutchess County Executive Molinaro and my executive counterparts statewide in urging the federal government to pass another financial assistance package to help in mitigating the impacts of these losses we are all experiencing so we can continue to work for our communities.”

The report details how counties face a quadruple threat of:

• Declining local revenues, especially sales tax, but also hotel occupancy taxes, mortgage recording taxes, gaming revenues, among other revenues;
• Higher spending necessary to respond to the health emergency and meet the State’s requirements for reopening;
• The loss of state reimbursement; and
• The potential of significant losses for small businesses on our main streets that could threaten jobs and the property tax base over the short to mid-term.

“Our initial report created an outline of what the economic impact of COVID-19 would look like. Now, as we have more data available, we’re able to color in those lines a little more, and the picture is much darker than we previously thought,” said Acquario. “Just as counties led the closing of our communities, counties are going to be leading the reopening and these numbers make it abundantly clear that we will need significant help from the state and federal government to accomplish that mission.”

Erie County was not on the list due to the growing number of COVID-19 hospitalizations that have been reported there. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said earlier this week that over the past three days, coronavirus hospital admissions have exceeded discharges. As of Monday, 258 people were hospitalized in Erie County, and of those, 116 were in the ICU. That reflects the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Erie County since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Gov. Cuomo has said that the state will reopen and gradually lift the NY on Pause executive order in ten different regions, rather than taking a state-wide approach. One of the indicators to allow for reopening will be a gradual decline in hospitalization numbers across the region. With Erie County seeing a rise in hospitalization, it means the Western New York Region – which includes Chautauqua County – won’t likely see a green light to reopon by May 15 and the NY on Pause directive could continue on.

Statewide, New York has now seen over 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases over 23,000 deaths.  Meanwhile, Chautauqua County Health officials said on Wednesday afternoon that one new case of COVID-19 has been reported in the county – bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 33.

Of those 33, 26 cases are considered “recovered” and three people have died. As a result, just four cases are considered “Active.”

A total of 48 confirmed cases are under quarantine/isolation orders by the Public Health Director and being monitored. Not all of those being monitored are confirmed to have COVID-19 but have either shown symptoms, are awaiting results, or have risk factors.
804 negative test results have also been reported to date.

Health officials are continuing to remind residents to stay calm and also use common sense to help slow the spread.

April 20, 2020- Albany, NY- Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers his daily press briefing on COVID-19, Coronavirus in the Red Room of the Capito (Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that hospitalization rates in the state have leveled off and the daily count of deaths due to COVID-19 is at its lowest in three weeks.

The governor said 478 people died from the novel coronavirus on Sunday, down from a peak of nearly 800 just a week earlier.

The Governor also confirmed 4,726 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 247,512 confirmed cases in New York State. 

Despite the news of the virus abating, New York City canceled three of biggest events in June – the Puerto Rican Day parade, the Israel parade and the gay pride march.

Also the hospitalization rates statewide could be an indicator that the crisis is slowing in New York City, but that doesn’t mean its the case in other areas. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz on Tuesday morning tweeted that 247 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital on April 19.  That is the highest number so far in Erie County.

Cuomo also called on the federal government to provide hazard pay for essential public workers on the front lines, proposing a 50 percent bonus for these workers.

“Essential public workers are the ones on the front lines every day carrying us through this crisis, and we must ensure their efforts and sacrifice are appropriately recognized,” Governor Cuomo said. “This crisis is not over yet, and as long as these workers continue to work and expose themselves to the virus, they should be properly compensated. I am calling on the federal government to provide hazard pay to these frontline workers and give them a 50 percent bonus because they are the true heroes in this crisis.”

According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, 41 percent of frontline workers are people of color. Of those frontline workers, 45 percent of public transit workers, 57 percent of building cleaning service workers and 40 percent of healthcare workers are people of color. People of color are also disproportionately represented in delivery and childcare services, and approximately one third of frontline workers are members of low-income households.

Gov. Cuomo also said on Monday the business and social restrictions imposed by the NY on PAUSE executive order will remain in place on a statewide basis as he and other governors discuss reopening strategies.

“Nobody disagrees that we want to get out of this situation. Nobody. You don’t need protests to convince anyone in this country that we have to get back to work, and we have to get the economy going, and we have to get out of our homes,” Cuomo said. “The question is going to become, how, when, how fast, and what do we mean in terms of reopening? With reopening, I want to set the bar higher. Meaning the question shouldn’t be, when do we reopen, and what do we reopen? The question should be, let’s use this situation, this crisis, this time, to actually learn the lessons, value from the reflection, and let’s reimagine what we want society to be.”

The governor said a multi-state regional coalition is the smartest way to reopen the economy, adding that he would create a “reimagine task force” but also indicated it would focus primarily on downstate New York, which has been the most affected area.

The governor’s announcements runs counter to the regional reopening plan proposed by local Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andy Goodell last week.

George Borrello

ALBANY – With COVID-19 continuing to spread and Governor Andrew Cuomo targeting a potential need for additional hospital beds, Senator Borrello and his legislative colleagues, Assemblymen Joseph Giglio and Andy Goodell, made an official request to the Governor urging the state to utilize recently closed TLC/Lakeshore hospital as a temporary medical facility during the crisis.

“TLC/Lakeshore hospital is ideally suited to help the state meet the health care challenges COVID-19 has brought to our doorstep. Only recently closed, the hospital has an upgraded emergency department, expansive bed capacity, full handicapped accessibility and a strategic location bordering Erie, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties as well as the Seneca Nation. The hospital has the potential to be an essential and lifesaving resource as our state mobilizes to handle this unprecedented crisis,” Borrello said.

He also noted that, due to the strategic location of the hospital, several elected officials in the region support the idea including, Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

TLC/Lakeshore hospital in Irving was a part of the region’s health care network from 1965 until February 2. At the time of its closure, the facility featured a modern emergency department, a 20-bed inpatient behavioral health and 20-bed chemical dependency units. Earlier in its history, it had over 100 residential beds.

“Although it is my hope that the aggressive steps taken to date to combat this virus will eliminate the need for any additional hospital beds, it is important to be prepared. There are many skilled nurses and other health care professionals who can provide the exceptional and compassionate care that has always characterized Lakeshore hospital. The utilization of this facility could also provide needed financial support to Brooks hospital,” said Goodell.

The National Weather Service says the Winter Storm Warning will remain in effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday, with snow expected before noon, then snow showers likely after noon. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are predicted for the day, with areas of blowing snow are also expected after 11 a.m.  It will be blustery, with a high near 20 degrees, but the wind chill values can be as low as -5.

Because of the weather, all school districts in the area are closed on Wednesday, including Jamestown, Falconer, Frewsburg, Southwestern, Bemus Point, Randolph, Panama, Chautauqua Lake and Cassadaga Valley.

However, Jamestown Community College will be open, as well as Jamestown Business College and Fredonia State.

WNYers QUESTION TUESDAY CLOSINGS

Wednesday marks the second day in row schools in the area were cancelled, but unlike Wednesday when the decision was made at the local level by each individual district, schools across the state closed on Tuesday due to a state of emergency mandate issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The governor issued the state of emergency for all 62 counties in New York State, meaning only state workers essential to responding to the snow storm – such as highway employees and public safety officials – were to report to work. Everyone else was closed down, including state colleges and universities, as well as state government agencies. The governor also announced a tractor-trailer ban on the state Thruway and other major highways across New York state, including Interstate 86-and Route 17 across the Southern Tier.

Most public school districts in Western New York also heeded the governor’s call, and cancelled classes for Tuesday.

The governor’s decision to declare a state of emergency for the entire state, including Western New York, resulted in criticism from residents and elected officials. Western New York is accustomed to dealing with large snow fall and by comparison to the eastern portion of the state, our region actually received less snow fall. In fact, by mid-afternoon Tuesday, only about half a foot of snow had fallen in Buffalo.

According to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Albany has declared a state of emergency before, but never to the extreme of shutting down all of state government. Poloncarz told the Buffalo News that normally, the declaration simply gives the governor more power to move plows and heavy equipment to areas that need them.

“Let’s show some backbone, folks,” Poloncarz tweeted early Tuesday in response to the mandated closings.

The governor is calling the panel the “New Stadium Working Group” and includes both the mayors of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, along with Lt. Gov Robert Duffy, Buffalo/Niagara Partnership CEO, Dottie Gallagher-Cohen and Empire State Development President Kenneth Adams.

After the Bills signed a 10-year lease in Dec. 2012, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz mentioned that discussions of a new stadium would need to begin immediately.