July, 2006
Charter Review Commission Submits Recommendations
Health Department Fee Waiver Reinstated

The summer season continues to be a very busy time of the year for the Erie County Legislature. One of the items before the Legislature over the next several weeks will be to review and scrutinize the recommendations made by the Charter Review Commission.

The Charter Review Commission was established in April 2005 to examine issues such as creating a four-year strategic plan for the County, establishing a hybrid County Executive-County Manager form of government, creating an Office of Public Advocacy, reviewing compensation, term limits and length of term and recall provisions for elected officials, and implementing the "Blueprint for Change" for delivering social services in a more cost-effective manner, as well as other safeguards and checks and balances for County government.

The Commission held three public hearings during the period of May 31 through June 6 to listen to public comments. I was disappointed to see that only four members of the public attended the public hearing held at ECC North Campus in Amherst. The Commission's recommendations for changes to the Charter were presented to the Erie County Legislature on June 20th for our review. Over the next several weeks, we will be considering whether to adopt all or some of these recommendations. The changes adopted by the Legislature would then be voted on by the residents of Erie County in a November referendum.

I would like to thank the Clarence Bee for printing information about the reinstatement of waiver for some Health Department permit fees in their June 14th issue. My office has received numerous calls from members of the Clarence and Newstead community so I think it is worth mentioning again.

On May 1, 2006, I submitted a resolution calling for the restoration of the waiver of health department fees for charitable, philanthropic, religious and municipal corporations. At the June 8, 2006 session of the Erie County Legislature, members of the Legislature voted to waive the fee for charitable organizations holding a one to three day event. These organizations will no longer be required to pay the Erie County Health Department from $106.00 to $146.00 for a permit.

Charitable groups that have already purchased permits for upcoming events of three days or less should request a refund from the Health Department, and any charitable group that has paid for a permit and held an event since January 1, 2006 will be reimbursed. Non-profit organizations will now be able to reap the full benefit of their efforts.