I hope you enjoyed the Easter and Passover holidays, and if you were fortunate enough to get away for the spring break, I hope you found it relaxing. It is always a welcome opportunity to recharge. Spring in Western New York usually gives us a little bit of every season. That seems to be the case this year, as well.
We appear to have made some progress with the youth hunting measure. If you recall, the Erie County Legislature passed the bill a few years ago, only to have the County Executive veto the law, citing safety concerns. Since that time, almost every county in New York State has passed the measure, and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has noted zero incidents involving youth hunters since the measure was enacted. Erie County is the only upstate county to not have the law in the books. This is a great way to teach our young people how to hunt responsibly. Data doesn’t lie. Mark Poloncarz needs to accept the will of the people and that of the Erie County Legislature and not veto the measure this time.
It concerns me that Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick has suggested sharing portions of a county surplus with the city of Buffalo. We have been warned repeatedly that financial issues are coming to Erie County. To use any surplus funds to help the city is fiscally irresponsible. While the Comptroller says significant tax dollars are spent in the suburbs on road and infrastructure and zero dollars are spent on infrastructure in the city, where Erie County does not own the roads, he neglects to point out that significant taxpayer funds are spent on social and senior services, and programming, among other things. We need to be mindful of challenges that await us and proceed accordingly.
We need to give taxpayers a break at the pumps. I am co-sponsoring a gas tax cap where the Erie County tax for fuel would be capped, providing drivers with some relief. It is necessary and I would hope the County Executive is also on board.
A recent audit of the Erie County Division of Purchase has shown that millions of dollars in purchases were made without the required documents for these purchases. In addition, as the fiscal house, approvals need to come through us. The audit found in some cases that the County Legislature was bypassed. In fact, according to the audit, the purchasing director often bought and approved purchase orders without any oversight, and sometimes for smaller purchases less than $20,000, there were not at least three quotes provided, which are required. This is troubling and needs to be rectified.
I look forward to the Erie County Executive’s State of the County address next week. I hope he shows some fiscal restraint in presenting a plan that doesn’t continue to put added stress on Erie County taxpayers.
If you have a county related issue, please contact my office at Christopher.Greene@erie.gov or by phone at 716-858-8676. You can also follow me on my Facebook page at Legislator Chris Greene.
