United Way Campaign Celebration

The United Way of Southern Chautauqua County held a virtual celebration Tuesday for reaching its 2021 campaign goal of $1.3 million.

2021 Campaign Chairs Christine and Mark Tarbrake announced the campaign slightly exceeded its goal by raising $1,314,703. Mark Tarbrake gave credit to cabinet members and volunteers, “It can’t be said enough how much work they do and I don’t think people realize that these people have volunteered their time for multiple years. It’s not just a one year deal where they say ‘Okay, I’ll do this for a year,’ and then, boom, they’re out. These people have been committed for a long time and we really appreciate that. I know Amy and her staff appreciates that.”

Christine Tarbrake also recognized United Way Executive Director Amy Rohler and her staff for their tireless efforts over the last few months.

Rohler said she’s humbled and proud to be part of the community, “We say this all the time – united we fight, united we win. It’s a united effort in order for us to win so thank you to those volunteers in a difficult year where I think all of us felt, and I don’t mean just volunteers I mean by all of you on Zoom and on Facebook, we felt a level of emotional and mental exhaustion that was very real coming into two years of a Pandemic.”

Rohler said 100% of every donation to the campaign stays in Chautauqua County and will impact 43 programs run by 28 local agencies.

Christine has been employed with M&T Bank for 40 years and is currently a Regional Sales Manager for the Southern Tier Region. She is currently Vice President of the Board of Directors for United Way of Southern Chautauqua County. Mark has been employed with SKF Industries for 42 years.

The United Way officially kicks off the 2021 campaign on September 9th. The goal for this year’s campaign is $1.3 million dollars. Funds raised will be invested in 43 local programs that align with four priorities: ensuring that families are self-sufficient, everyone is ready to work, young people succeed in school, and those in need can find help. One hundred percent of all donations remain in Chautauqua County.

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Among the items to be considered by the legislature is a resolution that would allow the county to sue pharmaceutical companies, claiming that their effort to push for the over prescription of opioid medications has led to the current drug and opioid epidemic.

The resolution, entitled “Authorize Litigation Against Major Drug Manufacturers to Recover Current and Future Damages to the County from Abuse of Opioid Pharmaceuticals,” would be similar to the past litigation effort filed against the tobacco industry. According to the language of the resolution, the county is joining other counties in the state in seeking to “recover damages from those parties directly contributing to high costs to the taxpayers in the form of increased social services, policing, and other expenditures, so as to mitigate the impact of same.”

Also on Wednesday, Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan is scheduled to give a presentation on the county’s Shared Services Plan, which is currently in the running for a $20 million grant from the state.

And the legislature will say goodbye to legislator Mark Tarbrake (R-Jamestown, District 14), who is moving out of his district and as a result has to step down form the panel. The seat will likely remain open until a new legislator is selected in the November election.  Only one candidate will appear on the ballot for that seat – Dan Pavlock (R-Charlotte).

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

This year’s election features races for several local offices, including County Executive, County Clerk, and all 19 seats in the Chautauqua County Legislature.

Already announced candidates include Republican George Borrello (Irving) and Democrat Mike Ferguson (Fredonia) running for the open seat of County Executive after Vince Horrigan announce at the start of this year he would not seek another term in office. Running for county clerk will be Republican incumbent Larry Barmore of Gerry, being challenged by Democrat LeeAnn Lazarony of Cassadaga.

10 out of 19 Legislature Seats Uncontested

A map of the legislative districts for Chautauqua County.

In addition to the two county-wide races, there will be nine contested races for in the 19-seat Chautauqua County Legislature, including two open seat races.

Contested races include:

• District 1 (Dunkirk) – Democrat Tommy Roque is facing Republican incumbent Kevin Muldowney;
• District 3 (Fredonia) – Democrat Robert Dando is facing Republican incumbent Bob Scudder;
• District 6 (Hanover) – Democrat Kevin O’Connell of Silver Creek is facing Republican Gary Cerne of Irving. The two are vying for the seat currently held by Borrello, who is running for County Executive;
• District 8 (Ellery and North Harmony) – Democrat Jeri Ann Simora of Stow is challenging Republican incumbent Pierre Chagnon of Bemus Point;
• District 11 (Jamestown) – Democrat Frank Besse is challenging Republican incumbent and County Republican Party Chair Dave Wilfong;
• District 12 (Jamestown) – Democrat Dave Reinhardt is challenging Republican incumbent Elisabeth Rankin;
• District 16 (Kiantone, Carrol, Poland) – Democrat and Poland Town Councilman Terry Walker of Kennedy is facing Republican John Davis of Frewsburg. The two are vying for the seat currently held by Republican Ron Lemon (Frewsburg) who has announced he will not seek reelection;
• District 18 (Chautauqua, Sherman, and Mina) – Independence Party member Ella Ames of Mayville is running on the Democratic ticket and is challenging Republican incumbent and Legislature Chairman David Himelein of Findley Lake;
• District 19 (Westfield and Ripley) – Democrat Laurel Adams of Ripley is challenging Republican incumbent John Hemmer of Westfield.

It appears 10 races will be uncontested this year.

The four incumbent Democratic legislators are all seeking re-election and are apparently not being opposed by Republicans. They include Minority Leader Chuck Nazzaro (District 9 – Jamestown) Assistant Minority Leader Bob Bankoski (District 2 – Dunkirk); Christine Starks (District 4 – Fredonia) and Paul Whitford (District 13 – Jamestown).

Six Republicans, including five incumbents, are also running unopposed. They are Terry Niebel (District 5 – Dunkirk), Mark O’Dell (District 7 – Brocton), Paul “PJ” Wendel (District 10- Lakewood), Lisa Vanstrom (District 15 – West Ellicott), and Frank “Jay” Gould (District 17 – Ashville).

Republican Dan Pavlock of Charlotte will be running unopposed in the open District 14 seat, which is being vacated by Republican Mark Tarbrake (Jamestown), who is vacating the seat due to moving out of the district. District 14 covers the Town of Ellicott north of I-86, along with the towns of Gerry, Ellington, and Charlotte.

Republicans currently hold at 15 to 4 majority in the legislature.

Chautauqua County Legislator Terry Niebel (white shirt) explains why he won’t support a proposed amendment to extend legislator term lengths from 2 to 4 years during the July 27 meeting of the Chautauqua County Legislature. The amendment was approved 16 to 1 with Niebel casting the lone “no” vote.

MAYVILLE -Voters in Chautauqua County will have the opportunity to decide if they want to have their representatives in Mayville serve four-year terms rather than two-year terms.

During Wednesday’s Chautauqua County Legislature meeting, lawmakers voted 16 to 1 in favor of a local law that would switch terms from two years to four years. Under rules of the county charter, the amendment must still be approved in a public referendum in order to go into effect.

Only one lawmaker voted against the amendment. North county legislator Terry Niebel (R-Dunkirk) said he’s against the idea of extending terms for several reasons, including his feeling that two-year terms represent a government that is closest to the people it represents, and also the fact that actually extending the term length might drive people away from running, as opposed to drawing them to it.

He also said that data from recent elections disproves the argument that legislators focus too much on running for reelection and not enough time on actual county business.

“One of the arguments that we hear quite often is that with two year terms legislators are running for reelection and with four-year terms they can concentrate more on their legislative duties, but actually this argument runs contrary to facts,” Niebel said. “In 2013, ten (out of 19) legislators ran unopposed: five Republicans and five Democrats. In 2015 that number had risen to eleven (out of 19) legislators running unopposed: eight Republicans and three Democrats…. So as you can see, running for reelection is not a problem for well over  50 percent of the members of this body.”

Niebel was the only legislator to vote against the amendment, which passed by a vote of 16 to 1 (legislators PJ Wendell of Lakewood and Mark Tarbrake of Jamestown were absent).

Even though all other legislators supported the amendment, several stated before the vote that they were personally against the idea, but still felt it should go before the public so it could have a final say in the matter.

“Personally I’m not in favor of a four-year term, for a lot of the reasons that legislator Niebel gave – Congress, state assembly, state senate, they’re all two years,” Said Chuck Nazarro (D-Jamestown). “I also support that it holds us accountable to the people who put us in office. It gives them an opportunity to grade us every two years… But I think it’s good for the public to have a voice in deciding this issue.”

“There are certainly pros or cons, but I think what we’re discussing tonight is are we going to let the voters decide on this,” said George Borrello (R-Irving). “Voting in favor of this is voting to put it on the November ballot. In the time between now and then discussions can occur and people will have the opportunity to discuss with each other and with us the pros and cons, and then hopefully they can make an informed decision.”

In addition to the term length amendment, lawmakers approved another amendment that increased the County Executive’s salary from the current amount of $85,000/year to $92,500.  The County Clerk’s salary is seeing a proposed increase from $53,000 to $55,500. And the County Sheriff’s salary would go from $82,500 to $85,000.

It was a approved 15 to 2 with legislators Ron Lemon (R-Frewsburg) and Bob Scudder (R-Fredonia) voting against it.

“At this time, with the way things are economically it’s just best to hold the line at where we are at until we get beyond what county executive Vince Horrigan has called a ‘structural deficit’ that we’re trying to take care of,” Lemon said. “I don’t think it’s prudent for us to be given anybody raises. If we are going to give raises it should be across the board and not just for particular offices – but I’m not in favor of that either at this time.”

County Health Director Christine Schuyler addresses the Chautauqua County Legislature Wednesday, March 23 to explain why the county health board is looking to increase the legal age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County lawmakers have decided to wait another month before acting on a local law to increase the legal age for purchasing tobacco products.

On Wednesday during the Chautauqua County Legislature’s monthly voting session, legislator Mark Tarbrake (R-Jamestown), who sponsored the local law, announced it would be tabled.

The announcement came after seven people spoke during the legislature’s public comment, with three of them representing businesses that oppose the increase, while four were from anti-tobacco organizations that were in favor of the increase.

Tarbrake said the tabling came after a number of legislators requested more time and information on the impacts of raising the legal age to purchase tobacco and nicotine products to 21, with the main concern surrounding the potential economic impact.

“There was concern from a number of legislators that they needed more information. I’ll be honest. I’m in full support of this local law,” Tarbrake said following the meeting. “I think it needs to pass in this county for the sake of our young children. It’s fine that the other legislators wanted to have more information. The people who spoke here tonight were well spoken, gave their view on both sides of the issue and I think that will help and hopefully next month we can pass this local law.”

Members of the county legislature listen to one of the seven members of the public who commented on a proposed local law to increase the legal age to purchase tobacco products.

According to the language in the proposal, the legal age for buying tobacco products would be increased from 18 to 21 for several reasons. They include a recent study that found Chautauqua County has the ninth highest smoking rates in New York State (27.8 percent) and most of the county’s residents who smoke began doing so before the age of 21.

he local law also cites an national report from the federal Food and Drug Administration, entitled “Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products,” which found that nicotine has an adverse physiological effect on brain development in adolescents, and that by raising the minimum legal age, it will likely immediately improve the health of adolescents and young adults by reducing the number of those exposed to those effects.

One of those who spoke in favor of the local law was county public health director Christine Schuyler, who said following the meeting that she was surprised the law would be tabled.

“This has been underway with the board of health since October,” Schuyler said. “I think it is important, if the legislature needs more information and needs more time to study this, that they have the time do so. I think they will make a much more informed decision that reflects the best interest of the people in the county when they have the ample time to do so. I’d rather see it tabled than have a decision made in haste that isn’t going to be good, one way or the other.”

One of the three individuals who spoke against the measure was Jamestown resident and business owner Brian Ellis, who runs Yeti Vape in the Third Street Plaza. Ellis said that by including e-cigarette products in the ban, it will prevent adults between 18 and 20 years who are already addicted to nicotine from being able to buy e-cigarette products to help quit smoking. He said that considering e-cigarettes have not been proven to be as harmful as traditional tobacco products, they shouldn’t be included in the proposed law. He also cited an economic impact on local business, with smokers in the 18 to 20 age group going to nearby Pennsylvania or Erie and Cattaraugus Counties in New York to purchase tobacco products.

Following a 15 to 1 vote to table the measure, Tarbrake said it will likely be taken up again during next month’s voting session. The local law needs at least 10 votes from the legislature before it can go to County Executive Vince Horrigan for his consideration. Horrigan would also be required to hold a public hearing on the local law prior to signing or vetoing the measure.

Jamestown legislators David Wilfong (left) and Elisabeth Rankin both won reelection in their respective legislature seats. The two join 13 other Republicans who won legislature races on Election Day 2015.

MAYVILLE – With only eight of 19 contested races in the Chautauqua County Legislature, there wasn’t expected to be much of a change, and that sentiment held true following the 2015 Elections, with only a handful of new faces joining the ranks of the legislature.

FOUR NEW NAMES ADDED TO 19 MEMBER LEGISLATURE

The legislature will have just four new members starting in January, with only one incumbent being unseated in a contested race on Election Day.

In District 2, challenger Robert Bankoski (D-Dunkirk) defeated incumbent Shaun Heenan (R-Dunkirk) 679 to 365.

Two other newcomers were also elected after winning their respective contested races. In District 1, Kevin Muldowney (R-Dunkirk) defeated Democrat William Rivera (D-Dunkirk) 693 to 385. Muldowney will take the seat currently held by long-time legislator Keith Ahlstrom (D-Dunkirk), who did not seek reelection.

And in District 7, Mark Odell (R-Portland) defeated David Wilkinson (D-Cassadaga) 653 to 289. Odell will take the seat vacated by outgoing legislator John Runkle (R-Stockton), who is not seeking reelection.

The final newcomer is District 4‘s Christine Starks (D-Fredonia), who ran unopposed and will take over the seat held by legislator Janet Keefe (D-Fredonia), who also did not seek reelection.

REPUBLICANS SWEEP REMAINING CONTESTED RACES

There were two contested legislature races in the Jamestown area, and both Republican incumbents won reelection. In District 11 David Wilfong (R-Jamestown) defeated Robert Whitney (D-Jamestown) 347 to 305. In District 12, it was incumbent Elisabeth Rankin (R-Jamestown) defeating challenger Beth Kresge (D-Jamestown) 430 to 399. Both races were rematches from the 2013 election.

Other incumbents being reelected despite having opposition on the ballet were Legislature Chairman and Jay Gould (R-Ashville, District 17), Bob Scudder (R-Fredonia, District 3) and Terry Niebel (R-Dunkirk, District 5).

As a result of the elections, the GOP gained a seat in the legislature, strengthening its super-majority. Of the 19 members, 15 will be Republicans, 4 will be Democrats.

WINNERS OF 2015 CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY LEGISLATURE ELECTIONS

D1: Kevin J. Muldowney (R-Dunkirk) (Won Contested Race)
D2: Robert Bankoski (D-Dunkirk) (Won Contested Race)
D3: Bob Scudder* (R-Fredonia) (Won Contested Race)
D4: Christine Starks (D-Fredonia)
D5: Terry Niebel* (R-Dunkirk) (Won Contested Race)
D6: George Borrello* (R-Irving)
D7: Mark Odell (R-Portland) (Won Contested Race)
D8: Pierre Chagnon* (R-Bemus Point)
D9: Charles Nazzaro* (D-Jamestown)
D10: Paul Wendell* (R-Lakewood)
D11: David Wilfong* (R-Jamestown) (Won Contested Race)
D12: Elisabeth Rankin* (R-Jamestown) (Won Contested Race)
D13: Paul Whitford* (D-Jamestown)
D14: Mark Tarbrake* (R-Jamestown)
D15: Lisa Vanstrom* (R-Jamestown)
D16: Ronald Lemon* (R-Frewsburg)
D17: Jay Gould* (R-Ashville) (Won Contested Race)
D18: David Himelein* (R-Findley Lake)
D19: John Hemmer* (R-Westfield)

* – Incumbent

A map of the legislative districts for Chautauqua County.

On Wednesday night the legislature met to discuss and vote on the budget, with two amendments being added to the original spending plan presented by county executive Vince Horrigan in September.

One amendment that was approved on was allocating $56,343 from the county fund balance to pay for one of the two new positions being created in the county probation department. The legislature’s audit and control committee had initially recommended removing one of the two new positions However, lawmakers had since received new data that supported the need for two probation department positions.

“The probation department has been in need of staffing for a number of years,” explained Jamestown area legislator Mark Tarbrake (R-Jamestown). “We average about 140 cases per probation officer. That is the highest in New York State. Cattaraugus County, which is second highest, averages 103 cases per probation officer. I think it is essential that we keep this position that was originally added in the county executive’s budget.

The amendment to use the fund balance to pay for the position in 2016 was approved by a vote of 18 to 1, with Bemus Point’s Pierre Chagnon voting against it.

DISAGREEMENT ON FUND BALANCE USAGE

A more contentious amendment involved adding more than $440,000 of the county’s undesignated fund balance to help lower property taxes even further.

Some lawmakers, including George Borello (R-Irving), were against that idea, saying the county should not use one-shot revenues to pay for recurring expenses because that’s how budget deficits are created in future years.

“We made a commitment when we raised the sales tax. The commitment was that we would have a structurally balanced budget and that we would no longer use one-shot revenues to cover recurring expenses,” Borrello said, referring to the legislature’s financial management policy that was approved earlier this year. “That was the goal of raising sales tax – to bring down the property tax and to balance our budget, and to get away from one-shot revenue deals in order to balance our budget. So ladies and gentleman, we’re just getting out of rehab and we’re heading right back to the bar. We’re going to take money out of the fund balance right now, and I have to disagree with that.”

Borrello and others’ also voiced their concerns over the latest projected sales tax revenues for 2016, which will be more than $400,000 lower than initially projected because of lower fuel costs. In addition, the county may have a major challenge in 2017 with the possibility of the NRG closure in Dunkirk, which has being providing about $1.5 million in property tax payments to the county on annual basis.

But most of the legislature – including Ron Lemon (R-Lemon) – felt that using the additional fund balance money would provide further tax relief for county residents.

“I think that’s something that the residents of the towns and villages and cities deserve from the county, just because I know how difficult the struggle is going to be for them to actually bring back flat property tax rates where they are. So I’m in favor of this amendment,” Lemon said.

In all the legislature voted 12 to 7 in favor of using the additional fund balance money – making the total fund balance usage $500,000 and reducing the overall tax levy by just over 5 percent. That results in the property tax rate going down by 6.6 percent – making the new rate for 2016 $8.545 per thousand assessed value.

A TAX IS A TAX IS A TAX

Following discussion and vote on the amendments, the legislature approved the 2016 budget by a vote of 18 to 1, with outgoing legislator Keith Ahlstrom (D-Dunkirk) the lone “no” vote. Ahlstrom was against the idea of raising sales tax, claiming that while the county may be cutting the property tax levy by $3.1 million, that’s outweighed by a .5 percent increase in the sales tax – which will likely bring in more than $8 million in new tax revenue.

“We’ve managed to return $3 million to the tax payers, but we’ve done that by taxing the taxpayers and additional $8 million,” Ahlstrom said. “As somebody said earlier today, ‘a tax is a tax is a tax’ and we haven’t actually accomplished anything in this budget other than shift monies around and actually taken more money.”

Horrigan said that despite disagreeing with using the extra fund balance, he will not veto the amendment and will sign off on the budget by the end of this week.

A map of the legislative districts for Chautauqua County.

MAYVILLE – 2015 is a local election year in Chautauqua County with several races shaping up for the 19-member Chautauqua County Legislature.

Currently, the Republicans hold a super-majority in Mayville, with 14 of the 19 seats held by the GOP.  And with six GOP incumbents running unopposed, the odds are pretty slim that Republicans risk losing their majority status.

Still, county Democrats are hoping to regain a few seats by challenging six of the seats currently held by the GOP. A seventh contested race will feature two registered Democrats vying for the same seat, with the incumbent Democrat being endorsed by the GOP and Conservative parties. And an eighth contested race will feature an independent taking on the current legislature chairman.

The legislature will have at least three new members. That’s because current legislators Keith Ahlstrom (D-Dunkirk, District 1), Janet Keefe (D-Fredonia, District 4) and John Runkle (R-Stockton, District 7) will not seek reelection.

The legislature elections, which involve two-year terms for each seat, will be the only county government race in 2015. The county executive and county clerk each have two years remaining on their four-year terms.

For a complete listing of all local elections, visit www.VoteChautauqua.com.

Election day 2015 is Tuesday, November 3.

CONTESTED LEGISLATURE RACES

• District 1 (OPEN SEAT): Kevin Muldowney, R-Dunkirk; William Rivera, D-Dunkirk
• District 2: Shaun Heenan, D-Dunkirk (incumbent, running on Republican line); Robert Bankoski, D-Dunkirk
• District 3: Bob Scudder, R-Fredonia (incumbent); Wayne Dorler, D-Fredonia
• District 5: Terry Niebel, R-Dunkirk (incumbent); Martin Anderson, D-Forestville
• District 7 (OPEN SEAT): Mark Odell, R-Brocton; David Wilkinson, D-Cassadaga
• District 11: David Wilfong, R-Jamestown (incumbent); Robert Whitney, D-Jamestown
• District 12: Elisabeth Rankin, R-Jamestown (incumbent); Beth Kresge, D-Jamestown
• District 17: Jay Gould, R-Ashville (incumbent, chairman); John Suroviec, i-Clymer

UNCONTESTED LEGISLATURE RACES

• District 4: Christine Starks, D-Fredonia
• District 6: George Borrello, R-Irving
• District 8: Pierre Chagnon, R-Bemus Point
• District 9: Charles “Chuck” Nazzaro, D-Jamestown
• District 10: Paul “PJ” Wendel, R-Lakewood
• District 13: Paul Whitford, D-Jamestown
• District 14: Mark Tarbrake, R-Jamestown
• District 15: Lisa Vanstrom, R-Ellicott
• District 16: Ron Lemon, R-Frewsburg