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101 Ways Erie County Government Serves You
Download 101 Ways Erie County Government Serves You as a pdf
Parks
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1. Maintains a system of nine county parks, four natural habitat areas and 3,500 acres of county forest land
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2. Provides year-round recreation for county residents
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3. Operates two golf courses and two beaches
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4. Hosts festivals and events for people of all ages
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5. Protects regionally important areas of scenic, environmental and cultural significance
Health
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6. Provides free testing for sexually transmitted diseases
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7. Tests for lead in old homes and provides services for children with lead poisoning
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8. Conducts health inspections of restaurants, swimming pools, summer camps, beaches and other recreational venues
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9. Monitors and controls insect-borne diseases through the vector control program
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10. Provides free rabies clinics and sends specimens for rabies testing
Commission on the Status of Women
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11. Collaborates with community organizations to maximize services for women and girls
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12. Publishes data on women and girls to target need for education, policy recommendations and services
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13. Runs board of community stakeholders
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14. Creating a Domestic Violence Tribute Garden in Isleview Park
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15. Sponsors an annual Pay Equity Event to raise awareness
Public Works
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16. Maintains over a thousand miles of roadways and hundreds of bridges and culverts
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17. Executes major capital projects every year
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18. Manages all county-owned buildings and grounds
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19. Regulates all commercial weighing and measuring devices, including gas and fuel pumps and meters in the county
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20. Maintains county-owned fleet of vehicles
Real Property Tax Services
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21. Collects real property taxes for 269,773 parcels in Erie County
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22. Maintains current real property tax maps and data
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23. Conducts annual in-rem property sales
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24. Monitors PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreements through the local ECIDA
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25. Works with municipalities across the county to keep tax assessments current
Senior Services
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26. Engages, provides programming and advocates for adults over 60 especially low income, minority and disabled elderly persons
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27. Provides resources and programming for caregivers
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28. Offers fitness classes and nutrition programs to keep seniors fit, active and healthy
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29. Coordinates the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
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30. Provides transportation for seniors through the "Going Places" van service
Emergency Services
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31. Supports and trains Erie County's 97 fire departments
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32. Manages emergency operations during county-wide disasters
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33. Maintains a county-wide radio system and dispatches all ambulance services in Erie County
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34. Trains all ambulance crews, EMTs and parademics
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35. Manages Local Emergency Planning Committee to coordinate services and personnel for future disasters
Environment & Planning
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36. Manages county-wide agricultural plan
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37. Maintains sewers and wastewater treatment
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38. Curates the process of funding local arts and cultural groups
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39. Coordinates regional planning and economic development with other local governments and agencies
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40. Funds community planning and housing projects and provides funding for small business loans and start-ups
Medicaid Inspector General
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41. Roots out waste, fraud and abuse of $1 billion in Medicaid funding in Erie County
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42. Actively investigates and audits Medicaid providers
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43. Produces reports regarding Medicaid usage in Erie County
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44. Maintains confidential tip line for reporting waste, fraud or abuse
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45. Works closely with NYS Medicaid Inspector General's Office
Probation
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46. Provides probation services to all Erie County courts
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47. Manages cases for nearly 10,000 adults and juveniles
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48. Operates an Alternatives to Incarceration Program
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49. Coordinates with social workers to supervise incarcerated defendants on release
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50. Maintains a community service program for juveniles on probation
Office for People with Disabilities
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51. Provides advocacy for people with any disability in order to ensure equal access to county services
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52. Collaborates with disability community organizations on awareness events, career fairs and job mentoring days
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53. Publishes a Guide to Services of resources for people with disabilities
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54. Provides guidance on Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility issues to residents and municipalities
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55. Helps local residents with applications to services
Social Services
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56. Investigates allegations of abuse and neglect of children and vulnerable adults
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57. Supports and assists foster parents and places children in foster care
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58. Administers assistance programs, including HEAP, SNAP, child care assistance and Medicaid
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59. Assists domestic violence victims, homeless individuals, juvenile defenders and those struggling with substance abuse
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60. Coordinates funding for youth programming
Equal Employment Opportunity Office
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61. Administers and monitors affirmative action programs for county government
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62. Investigates harassment complaints
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63. Audits county contracts for participation of minority- and women-owned businesses
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64. Monitors county hiring procedures to ensure compliance with affirmative action laws
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65. Provides resources to minority- and women-owned businesses
Library
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66. Provides residents and visitors of Erie County with free reading and programming for the past 175 years
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67. Maintains 37 locations county-wide
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68. Runs an active website with a library catalog and research database
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69. Manages 3 million items (books, maps, audio, video and digital)
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70. Coordinates bookmobile services to underserved communities
Mental Health
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71. Directs a local, comprehensive mental disability planning system
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72. Maximizes state, federal and voluntary support for programs
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73. Develops effective systems that assess and monitor the quality and effectiveness of care the mental disability programs deliver
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74. Monitors the quality of care in contractual agency programs
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75. Assures coordination of mental health, mental retardation/developmental disabilities and alcohol and substance abuse services
Public Advocacy
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76. Provides advocacy services to residents of Erie County
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77. Runs Commission on the Status of Women to promote gender equity
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78. Organizes events with community partners to promote collaboration
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79. Offers education, analysis of legislation and policy recommendations
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80. Coordinates annual United Way campaign
Veterans Services
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81. Ensures that every veteran in the county is registered in the VA System and is fully aware of all the benefits that they have earned
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82. Works to make veterans an economic force in education, employment and business development
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83. Develops programs with local colleges and universities
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84. Partners with the Dept. of Mental Health on a "peer to peer" mentoring program for returning veterans
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85. Processes the burials of indigent veterans and next-of-kin of veterans
Erie County Sheriffs
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86. Provides road patrols 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and regular aviation and marine patrols
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87. Investigates all crimes reported to the Sheriff's Office
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88. Executes warrants from Department of Social Services cases
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89. Provides bomb removal and SWAT support to local law enforcement
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90. Investigates fires happening within Sheriff's patrol districts
Erie County Clerk
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91. Records and keeps legal and official documents and records
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92. Issues permits and licenses for automobiles, firearms, hunting and fishing
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93. Ensures all court records are appropriately filed and maintained
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94. Administers laws related to motor vehicle sales, vehicle registration and driver licensing
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95. Maintains six auto bureaus and one mobile unit
Erie County Legislature
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96. Provides legislative oversight for Erie County government
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97. Holds legislative sessions and committee meetings
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98. Adopts and debates the annual Erie County budget
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99. Passes local laws, arts, ordinances and resolutions
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100. Exercises oversight over the daily operations of county government
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101. Liaises with constituents to help them navigate county services
