By Mark Poloncarz

I recently presented the 2022 State of the County address. Prior to that speech, the last time I gave the State of the County address in person was more than three years ago. Although I was able to deliver a pre-recorded virtual address last year, it was not the same as being together. I was so happy to be in the presence of many community stakeholders as I shared my thoughts on the past two years and what we learned from the global pandemic and, more importantly, what Erie County has planned going forward.

During the past two years we collectively went through a traumatic experience. We are now experiencing a return to normalcy thanks to many county employees who were on the front lines of that public health battle to protect us all. The pandemic was not only a public health crisis but something that significantly impacted nearly every part of society.

While I discussed many initiatives and programs during the State of the County address, I want to highlight the creation of three tasks forces to handle the most urgent needs that were brought to our attention during the pandemic: child care, housing, and business assistance.

Our emergency childcare task force focused on making sure parents who were essential workers had access to child care so that they could go to work. This task force was the driving force behind the virtual learning support centers, which provided working parents with a safe, staffed venue for when schools conducted their classes virtually. This initiative was so innovative, it was recognized by the National Association of Counties with a 2021 National Achievement Award in the Children and Youth category.

We assembled an affordable housing task force to help families stay in their homes due to economic hardship caused by the pandemic. The task force established an emergency rental and mortgage assistance fund, an initiative that allowed over 2,000 families to stay in their homes while providing relief to the applicant’s landlords.

Our business task force helped facilitate the needs of the local business community. They focused on explaining ever-changing state lockdown regulations and helping businesses obtain personal protective equipment. The group developed a Back-to-Business grant program to make up for the gaps in the federal Paycheck Protection Program and also established the Shop716 e-gift card program that poured $1.2 million back into our economy and supported our small businesses when they needed it most.

The response to the health crisis, and the work of our three emergency task forces show what county government can do when needed. We tackle challenges. We innovate solutions. We provide leadership.

To read the entire 2022 State of the County address or watch a video of my presentation of the speech, please visit www.erie.gov.