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John J. Mills - District 13 January 31, 2007 Mills Announces Republican Agenda for 2007 (Amherst, New York) Republican Erie County Legislators John J. Mills, Michael H. Ranzenhofer, and Barry A. Weinstein, M.D. will meet interested members of the public and media on January 31, 2007 in the Atrium of 5500 Main Street, Williamsville, New York 14221 at 1:30pm. The Legislators will unveil and answer questions about seven reforms they would like to see accomplished during 2007. These include: Support for the "Hard Control Board" Formation of a non-partisan re-districting commission for the purpose of reducing the Legislature from 15 members to 9 while supporting the elimination of Legislative District Offices Ending the City of Buffalo / County of Erie Parks Agreement Restoring Integrity and Ethics in Public Service Increasing STAR reimbursement directly to Erie County taxpayers Changing the role of the Deputy County Executive to that of a professional County Manager Dedicate funding towards the restoration, repair, and maintenance of our road infrastructure. Minority Leader John J. Mills described the agenda as being "responsibly achievable, but most importantly – its about reform." He continued by saying "our work doesn't stop with these seven items, these reforms will be the bedrock for the Republican Caucus' agenda this year and we intend on accomplishing a lot more." Supporting the control period of the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority includes supporting the current hiring freeze and their ability to approve and review all contracts. Furthermore, Republican Legislators plan on asking Authority Members to align all compensation and benefit packages of county employees with those in the private sector. In addition, the Caucus will encourage the authority to place a cap on county spending. Legislator Barry A. Weinstein, M.D. said "Erie County Government must go on a spending diet, and right now the control board has an opportunity to try and align us with the private sector, and I think they should." "In order for the County to responsibly re-engineer government elected leaders must do everything possible to remove the politics from governing," said Legislator Ranzenhofer. Today, the Republican Caucus announces its support for the formation of a non-partisan re-districting commission to be established for the purpose of reducing the size of the Legislature from 15 members to 9 members. The fairest and most effective leadership for the taxpayer can only be obtained by sensibly re-drawing districts. Legislator Weinstein added "the Legislature needs fewer and more qualified Legislators." Legislator Michael H. Ranzenhofer agreed, saying "gridlock exists in the Legislature, there are too many people, too many factions, too many personalities – If the taxpayers want serious reform – and I believe they do – we must draw fairer districts and reduce the number of personalities and special interests that are involved with governing." In addition to restructuring the makeup of the Legislature, the Legislators are proposing the elimination of all Legislative District Offices and the expenses that they generate. If enacted, this bold move will save the taxpayers significant amounts of money in areas such as payroll, rent, office supplies, and utility charges. The agreement between the City of Buffalo and Erie County, regarding the maintenance of City Parks by county employees needs to be ended. The facts are simple, the agreement is not fair, and it is costing the taxpayers outside of the City of Buffalo a lot of money, which was not an expected or intended consequence. Legislators Mills, Ranzenhofer, and Weinstein will seek support from their Democratic colleagues in terminating the agreement, a result that will be for the good of the county taxpayer. The role that ethics plays in government and the integrity of elected public servants is something that needs to be addressed. The Republican Caucus recently sponsored a Local Law that requires all elected leaders in Erie County to resign from their position if they are convicted of a crime. Legislator Mills said, and believes, that "lawmakers cannot be lawbreakers," and that was the premise of their proposed law. Republican lawmakers intend on supporting this law, and other serious pieces of legislation, that address similar concerns. The ultimate goal is to bring integrity and morals back to the forefront of public service. In August of 2006, the Republican Caucus submitted a resolution that called on the local state delegation to introduce and support legislation that would include sales tax revenues destined for school districts to be included in the calculation of the local share for taxpayer benefits. This resolution recognized that Erie County is one of only five counties that currently shares sales tax revenues with local school districts. When the state determines an individual taxpayer's STAR benefit, they do not take the amount of sales tax we share with school districts into consideration. Instead, they base the entire benefit on the amount of property tax revenue that is shared. If sales tax figures were included in the calculation, county residents would receive an increase of $25 million in their STAR benefit without experiencing an increase in their school district taxes. Legislator Barry A. Weinstein, M.D. has also submitted an application for an Efficiency Grant from the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority in the amount of $99.45. Weinstein said, "$99.45 would give us enough money to pay for postage to market our resolution to state lawmakers. It is a good idea. I submitted the application because the Control Board needs to look at its merits. Its not about the money, I will pay for it myself." "Erie County Government needs to be managed by a professional, not a politician," said Legislator Ranzenhofer, who joins Legislators Weinstein and Mills in supporting a County Manager form of government, as opposed to having a Deputy County Executive. The County Manager style of government proposal is not new to the Legislature. It was a recommendation from the bi-partisan Charter Review Commission, and it was removed from the referendum that was sent before the voters on Election Day by the Majority. Lastly, Erie County needs to pay better attention to its massive infrastructure. The Legislature must work diligently with the Administration to dedicate funding towards the restoration, repair and maintenance of county owned roadways. Minority Leader Mills said "the condition of roads like Hopkins, Zoar Valley, and Tonawanda Creek are unacceptable – the taxpayers deserve better." Back to District 13 Homepage