Earlier this week, the Legislature came together to propose its amendments to the County Executive’s proposed $1.48 billion budget. We will vote as a body on Thursday, Dec. 7, which will be too late to report on in this month’s column, but I expect at the end of the process we’ll have a budget that lowers the tax rate, funds critical services and invests in our community.
When the budget is finalized, it will be the result of weeks of hard work and input from Legislators, county departments, community and cultural organizations, and taxpayers. We held a public hearing the evening of Nov. 21 that lasted nearly three hours with 70 speakers providing their input. Thank you to everyone who took the time to present your thoughts as you are an incredibly important part of this process.
I believe this budget serves the county well. As is the case in any budget negotiations there are compromises and always the need to constantly revisit how we handle operations. Erie County will always face tough challenges, hardest of which is unfunded New York State mandates. The county budget is 90 percent mandated and 10 percent discretionary. That makes prioritizing what need locally a difficult task.
If the process moves forward as I expect it will, the final 2018 budget will have a tax rate decrease. This will be the fourth consecutive cut that I have worked to deliver. I am proud of this fact. These decreases have been a good start to changing the culture of government. It’s not acceptable to ask taxpayers to pay more as the solution to all our fiscal problems, and over the past four years we got to work and made sure that wasn’t the case.
Along with the tax rate decrease, I believe that our key services remain well funded and able to serve residents, including the Sheriff’s Office, Department of Public Works, Senior Services and Social Services. Erie County is here to serve residents in many capacities and I believe that we are doing so, and will continue to in 2018.
The Legislature was able to once again prioritize funding and invest in the community. I selected a few key organizations that I believe are doing great work and are an asset. They include, Orchard Park Veterans Memorial Park, North Collins Legion Post 1640, WNY Southtowns Scenic Byway, WNY Railway Historical Society, Evans-Brant Citizens for Responsible Choices and Eden-North Collins Food Pantry. I look forward to announcing more details about this funding.
This coming weekend is Santa Land at Chestnut Ridge Park on Saturday, Dec. 9 and Sunday, Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. One of the reasons I am bringing up this great event is because there was a time about a decade ago when the county wasn’t able to provide many services and programs, including this wonderful holiday event. I hope those days are forever behind us, and that many families will get out to enjoy Santa Land.
If you have any questions or comments about a county issue, please contact me at 858-8850 or john.mills@erie.gov.