Always on the move, Reynolds enjoys facing the challenges of county government at local level

By FELICE E. KRYCIA
Hamburg Sun Associate Editor

Part I of a two-part series

What is it like being a county legislator, especially in these trying economic times?

To try and answer that question, I spent several days shadowing Erie County Legislator Robert Reynolds, who represents the towns of Hamburg, Eden, Boston, Brant and North Collins, and the villages of Angola, Farnham, Hamburg and North Collins, as he attended budget hearings, committee meetings and sessions of the Erie County Legislature in downtown Buffalo.

Being the representative for District 12 means there is a lot of territory that Reynolds has to cover.

Although he has two offices, one on the fourth floor of 92 Franklin St., Buffalo, the old county hall, and his district office at 1 Main St. in Hamburg, a lot of his work is done face to face with people as he attends functions, meetings and general day to day interaction with his constituents.

Reynolds, a Democrat who was elected in 2005, said it was a quick decision to throw his hat into the county political ring.

Already a member of the Hamburg School Board and the Town of Hamburg Planning Board, Reynolds saw how the problems with the county government was impacting local residents.

"Something had to be done about the budget disaster and lack of leadership and it needed to be done now," said Reynolds.

"This was a great career change," said Reynolds, who recently retired after 30 years as an employee of the Ford Motor Company where he representing his fellow employees in the United Auto Workers Union.

"I believe that I have the ability to make a difference and that I know how to take the initiative and gets things done. I wanted to get involved."

And he is involved.

Since his election in November 2005 and re-election in 2007, Reynolds has continued his quest to make sure programs that impact county residents and the area youth are kept in place and that local governments are kept in the loop of what the county government is doing.

Every year he tries to attend two board meetings of each town and village in his district and shares with them what is going on at the county level along with listening to their concerns.

Along with those meetings, he attends a large assortment of other meetings. Some of these include: Erie County Soil and Water Conservation, the Cooperative Extension of Erie County (he is a board member), the Farmland Protection Board of Erie County (he is the chair), Erie County Distressed Property Tax Force (he is the chair), Finance and Management Committee (he is the vice-chair), the County Legislator's Government Affairs and Health and Human Services Committees, where he is a member.

"I also attend about 90 percent of the other committee meetings that I am not a member of. One needs to be aware of all the items on the floor," Reynolds said.

"There are a lot of issues and I do a lot of research. I feel that my constituents depend on me and I'm dedicated to helping them."

Reynolds, who is the assistant chair of the budget committee (he was the chair last year), has been heavily involved in the budget process, attending numerous budget meetings, various committee meetings and listening to individuals and groups who are lobbying for funding.

"This is a delicate balance between needs and wants of the community," said Reynolds.

This year's budget, which is Erie County Executive Chris Collins' "signature" budget, reflected severe cuts in areas that Reynolds over the years has been instrumental in helping to obtain funding.

In his budget, Collins is suggesting all funding be removed from the Cornell Cooperative Extension, the parent organization for the 4-H; Erie County Soil and Water and the Hamburg Natural History Society, owners and operators of the Penn Dixie Paleontological and Outdoor Education Site, all organizations that Reynolds has worked with.

"This is very wrong and I, along with the other legislators, are working hard to find a way to replace this funding, without causing the tax rate to increase," Reynolds said.

(Be sure to read Part II next week for an in-depth look at Reynolds' daily work as a legislator.)

Part 2 of a two-part series

I visited the Erie County Legislature three times in one month and during one my visits I witnessed part of the county budget process as they held meetings with various departments and groups.

On this particular day the Buffalo and Erie County Library, Buffalo Convention & Visitors Center, Veteran Services, Commission on Status of Women, Equal Employment Opportunity and all the county cultural groups (including two of our local groups, Graycliff and Penn Dixie) were able to make presentations on what funding they needed.

It was an interesting process to see the presentations and hear the responses to the questions raised from various members of the legislature.

Another day was spent in committee meetings, where Reynolds discussed with other legislators various issues, including economic development, government affairs (training and salaries), the process for lowest responsible bidders and health and human services (elder care, nutrition grants for Meals on Wheels and Medicaid fraud).

"We talk about a lot of things during the committee meetings," said Reynolds. "It is here we get a lot of the background information for items which will later be on the floor during our sessions."

During the day, the corridors of the fourth floor of 92 Franklin St. are busy with legislators rushing back and forth between committee meetings, caucus meetings (closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy as described by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary), individual meetings with other legislators, staff members and any other meeting scheduled for the day.

According to Reynolds, most days are so busy that he or his wife Diane packs him a lunch that he eats either in his office or at his desk in the chambers of the Erie County Legislature.

Then there are the regular session days, where the legislators meet to discuss the resolutions which will be appearing on the floor that day.

Here the legislators question the resolutions, outline their take on the proposal and problems if any.

Some issues elicited a lot of discussion, others hardly any.

Right now the biggest topic of discussion is the $1.3 billion budget.

"The budget is one of the hardest parts to understand," said Reynolds. "It is not only about how it impacts your district, but the county as a whole.

"When we get the county executive's budget in October, we go over it line item by line item and make adjustments," he said.

The legislature must come to an agreement on their version of the budget before Dec. 2, or Collins' budget goes into effect by default. This year the legislature adopted their budget on Dec. 1.

Now Collins has the opportunity to veto the line items that has been changed (only those which have increased spending). This has to be returned to the legislature by Dec. 8.

The legislature can override Collins' veto by a two-thirds majority vote (10 votes) on Dec. 9.

The budget, with the veto override or Collins' version, is considered adopted on Dec. 9.

Overall, Reynolds is enjoying the "Legislator experience" and working with all the towns in his district.

Some of the accomplishments he is proud of so far includes initiating a bus route from the McKinley Mall to Gowanda.

"The impact that has had on the people in this area has been immense," he said.

He has also been very active in helping to re-organize the Farmland Protection Board, helped Cornell Cooperative Extensive to be a stronger presence and has been involved with the push for tourism with the Southtowns Community Enhancement Coalition.

Currently Reynolds is working on the Distressed Property Tax Force, to try and get as much of the property that is tied up in tax liens, to become productive property again.

"We have millions of dollars worth of unpaid taxes on property throughout the county. We need to come up with a better system, because what we have now is not working," Reynolds said.

"We have property with empty buildings on them. We should be reusing this land, before we tear up trees and open space to put in more buildings.

"Why should they, the developers or the business corporations, get tax breaks for developing new lands? These breaks should be set up as incentives to reuse existing buildings. This just makes so much more sense to me," Reynolds said.

Reynolds also has been concerned about keeping the county beaches, Wendt and Bennett, open for the residents.

"In two years we went from having no lifeguards, to having full-time lifeguards at both beaches," said Reynolds. "And I'm happy to say that they will be returning for 2009."

Looking ahead, Reynolds is determined that these and other issues will be addressed in the legislature.

"One thing about me, I don't ever give up and my fellow legislators know it.

"You have to pick your fights and you need to know when it's time to walk away. I have a hard time with that, because I never want to give up," Reynolds said.

"The people in this area deserve a voice and someone who is willing to go toe to toe for them and I think I do that.

"I just love doing this, because you know, I think by working with the people, together we all make a difference."

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