June 17, 2008

WROBLEWSKI KEEPS CLOSE WATCH ON COUNTY FINANCES

This week, the Erie County Legislature, under the leadership of Chair Lynn Marinelli, is conducting mid-year budget hearings. By doing so, we are implementing one of the reforms that was urgently needed to correct the mismanagement of the prior county executive. The hearings provide my colleagues and I the opportunity to hear testimony from each department of county government - including those headed by independently elected officials, i.e. the Sheriff, the District Attorney, the Comptroller and the Clerk.

This responsibility is one I take most seriously. The Legislature's fiduciary powers and oversight functions - or checks and balance - on the Executive branch is clearly stated in the original Erie County Charter. Although there are now other entities that also have fiscal oversight as the result of charter changes or recently-enacted state laws, the Legislature's pre-eminent role as the policymaking branch of county government is indisputable. We must also keep in mind that 88% of county government is mandated by the state and federal governments, leaving us a 12% margin of governing at the local level.

Despite this reality, the proverbial "buck stops here." We are accountable to the taxpayers and those who rely on county services - public safety chief among them - and demand a county government that is lean and efficient in the delivery of these services.

That said, my focus is squarely on the mid-year budget hearings, a process that highlights the importance of identifying both positive and negative trends in the 2008 budget long before we, as county legislators, begin deliberating the 2009 budget this fall.

Once the legislative analysis is completed, we will report to the public on the areas we have identified for either concern or optimism. We will be able to employ one department in particular, that of the County Clerk, as a barometer on the local economy based on the volume of automobile purchases and real estate transactions. If there are any developments that raise red flags on the direction of revenue trends, for instance, at mid-year we have the time to put rein in expenses within our control. We must ensure that Erie County stays in the black and realizes a surplus at year's end, as it has in the last three years. This is an indication of our financial health and something Wall Street likes to see in the books of municipal corporations like ours. It is the reason we have received investment-grade ratings from all three rating agencies.

Like many residents in the 9th legislative district, I have chosen to stay in Erie County and raise my two children here because of the wonderful quality of place we enjoy. My wife and I are fortunate we live near our parents. We witness the joys of active grandparenthood, as well as the delight our children enjoy from this special relationship. Yet, I also see firsthand the challenges experienced by my parents, other senior citizens and working families.

My family serves as a barometer for my own actions as a county legislator. They want a county government that is responsive to community needs and responsible to the taxpayers. It is a public trust that, in a major way, is guarded by the mid-year public hearing process. I welcome this opportunity to be the eyes and ears of the taxpayers in this oversight function, confident that the fiscal reforms we have implemented will get us the results we expect - a fiscally sound county government that is ready for whatever the future may hold for our nation, state and region.

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