Statement by 15th District Chemung County Legislator Rodney J. Strange:

“Over the past few weeks, I have talked with many people regarding the financial situation facing Chemung County. I have listened, learned, studied and researched.

In the last several days I have met and discussed the financial crisis that we face with the Ashland and Southport Town Supervisors and the Mayor of the Village of Wellsburg in my legislative district. More specifically, we discussed the change in the new sales tax distribution formula proposed by the County Executive. I know that no one is happy about this change, I understand that.

We must face the challenge of the downturn in sales tax revenue to our county, the loss of over 2000 jobs in our region in the past couple years and the economic reality that that represents.

I truly believe that the “Chemung County Financial Restructuring Plan” that County Executive Tom Santulli has proposed to the legislature is the right direction that we need to take.

The plan demonstrates the county’s commitment to reduce our own costs and expenses and increasing outside revenue. The five-year plan calls for immediate cost savings/increased revenue by:

The reduction of 30 full-time jobs saving $2.34 million. This will bring the county workforce to its lowest level in the past 13 years.
Privatization of therapy services that will enhance revenues by increasing case mix. (Case mix involves higher level nursing skilled services like IV therapy, rehabilitation therapy, respiratory care and other services.) The potential revenue to the Chemung County Nursing Facility from the expansion of therapy services is estimated to be as high as $2 million more per year than it is now after expenses.
An additional reduction of $750,000 in programmatic changes and reductions to outside agencies.
We are committed to doing our part in sharing the burden of this economic crisis. We are tightening our own fiscal belt by cutting our budget and using our fund balance to help offset the decline in sales tax revenue that the county receives.

I do not take the change in the sales tax distribution formula lightly. It is a serious and painful process to work through. As we ask our towns and villages to dip into their fund balances to help get through this economic crisis, the county will do so as well. The county will use $3,090,000 of our fund balance toward our 2014 county budget which represents 10% of our current fund balance. The total fund balance the county is expected to use over the next six years is $9,375,718 or 31% of the fund balance we had at the end of 2012. Currently, the county fund balance is $30,107,8143 or 19.1% of annual expenditures. At the end of the five-year plan the county fund balance is projected to be $20,585,105 or 12.3% of annual expenditures.

Included in the plan is a new Economic Development Plan for Chemung County. We will be hiring a firm to aggressively pursue new prospects to bring jobs back to the county and use the recently enacted state tax-free zones to create economic development projects at our corporate park in Big Flats.

As a county legislator, I have a responsibility to keep the county financially strong and fiscally stable. I believe this plan will do exactly that and I will support its implementation and vote in favor of it as a member of the Budget Committee and when it comes before the full legislature for a vote.

This plan’s passage and implementation doesn’t end my work in pursuit of economic recovery and financial stability for our county and our residents.

Two issues that I believe we must pursue and that I will work for as we move forward are:

1. I will recommit my effort to seek mandate relief from the State of New York.

It is beyond belief that every property tax dollar that the county takes in, $27,477,282 goes to pay unfunded state mandates. We must also add to that, $10,564,838 or 30.5% of the sales tax revenue that the county receives. Unfunded mandates cost Chemung County taxpayers over $38 million a year.

Unfunded mandates are crippling counties all over New York. It is pastime New York state stopped the unfunded mandates! We must work tirelessly to pursue an end to unfunded mandates and seek a total state take-over of local Medicaid cost. New York is the only state to pass on a mandated local cost to counties for Medicaid. This state spends over $1 billion a week on Medicaid and Chemung County’s mandated Medicaid cost is $21 million per year.

2. It is time to allow hydraulic fracturing in New York state.

Gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale will bring much needed economic prosperity to our state, counties, towns, villages and school districts. A strictly regulated gas industry with rigorous environmental rules that are vigorously enforced to protect our water supply can accomplish the much needed financial rebound that all municipalities need in our state.

Hydrofracking is allowed in 31 states. New York’s five-year fracking moratorium needs to be lifted to get our residents back to work, our municipalities fiscally solvent and our state “open for business”

Mandate relief/Medicaid reform and allowing hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale must be achieved to insure long term economic recovery.

As we go forward, it is important for the municipalities in Chemung County to work together to seek real solutions to our every day problems. We need to work to re-establish a trust between Chemung County government and our municipalities. I pledge to work hard to build that trust with the towns and village that I represent.

The road back to financial prosperity from fiscal crisis will be long and difficult, but I will do all I can as the Chemung County Legislator from the 15th legislative district to produce the results we need to get us there.”