MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2009

MAINTAINING FISCAL STABILITY IN 2010 COUNTY BUDGET

The Erie County Legislature received the county executive's proposed $1 billion 2010 county budget. The Legislature's main concern is maintaining budget and fiscal stability for a spending plan that is 88 percent state and federal mandated costs.

As I visit door-to-door through the 11th District, fiscal stability and other concerns are repeatedly raised by my constituents and taxpayers. Additional issues citizens want addressed in the 2010 budget are: maintaining an adequate level of library services funding, continuing funding for cultural organizations, marketing cultural tourism, providing adequate funding for Buffalo Zoo and parks maintenance and enhancements, preserving essential social services, ensuring funding for senior services programming and child care resources, and finalizing an updated inter-municipal parks agreement, including Olmsted Parks.

Fiscal responsibility is of utmost importance to County Legislature Democrats. The responsibility of approving a balanced budget that serves the essential service needs of Erie County residents without unwarranted spending is one that the County Legislature not only takes very seriously, but one we have worked hard to achieve. We also instituted mid-year budget hearings, required monthly Budget Monitoring Reports and included the Budget Accountability Act to bolster the role of oversight and fiscal prudence.

The Democratic Caucus primarily is concerned about economic development and job training programs. The proposed capital budget is $77.2 million. Our Erie Community College budget, adopted earlier this year, invests $15.4 million of county funds. My colleagues and I continue to advocate support of cultural tourism as an economic engine to help drive Erie County's revival, and we believe we can do so while using county resources as economically as possible. The executive proposed an increase to our Convention and Visitors Bureau up to $3 million.

The Majority Caucus will continue, as part of our reform activities, to monitor the spending of county dollars to make certain that resources are used how and where they should be with a focus on efficiency. Every dollar should be spent with the taxpayers in mind, to produce the most cost-efficient service without raising taxes.

County Legislator Robert B. Reynolds, chair of the Finance, Management and Budget Committee, will lead the Legislature in our deliberations through the departmental budget hearings starting at 10 a.m. Monday, October 26, in the Legislature Chambers on the Fourth Floor of 92 Franklin Street in Buffalo. They are scheduled to run through Friday, October 30. The Legislature and the public will hear presentations on county departments' 2009 spending and operations and 2010 projections, and legislators will be able to ask questions.

A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, November 12, in the chambers for residents to comment on the spending plan. Citizens can also visit, e-mail or call their representative to comment, ask questions or suggest changes. The Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority and County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz will also review and make recommendations to the Legislature. The budget adoption must be done by the first Tuesday in December.

For more information, visit www.erie.gov/legislature.

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