Press Releases: 02/28/08 Mills announces Additional Springville HEAP Outreach 02/28/08 Mills Announces Orchard Park HEAP Outreach 02/15/08 Mills Announces Springville HEAP Outreach 02/05/08 Bee Column 02/08 01/04/08 Mills announces HEAP outreach efforts

John J. Mills - District 13 April 30, 2007 Mills Supports Professional County Management (Amherst – New York) In a press conference held on April 30, 2007 at the Legislative District Office of Dr. Barry Weinstein on 5500 Main Street, in Williamsville, New York at 9:30am, Minority Leader John J. Mills and Legislators Michael H. Ranzenhofer and Barry A. Weinstein, MD will join former members of the Erie County Charter Revision Commission (the Commission) to express their strong support for a professional Hybrid County Manager style of government in Erie County. This style of government was explored extensively in the deliberations of the Commission. On February 16, 2006 the Commission's Joint Committees on Administration and Legislature and the Form and Scope of County Government delivered a report recommending that the Commission fully support the Hybrid County Manager form of government in Erie County. The Commission reviewed their report and agreed with their findings and included the recommendation in their report to the Erie County Legislature. Legislator Michael H. Ranzenhofer agreed with the Commission, and said "appointing a professional manager to oversee the operational aspect of this county makes sense and it removes the politics and personalities from the day to day decision making." The Legislature's Democratic Majority refused to further the concept of a Hybrid County Manager form of government by not including it in the public referendum that went before the voters last November. Erie County has been administered by a County Executive since 1959, and has since completed four decades and seven years under the leadership of a Chief Politician that functioned both as a policy maker and a business manager. In that time, Erie County government has faced two significant fiscal catastrophes, proving to the taxpayer the government's inability to function properly. These operational meltdowns took place in 1984 and, most recently, in 2004. It was evident to the Commission and to the Erie County Legislature's Republican Minority that in order for Erie County to prosper as a governmental entity, it would need to separate the functions of policy making and the management of daily operations. Legislator Barry A. Weinstein, MD declared that "politics and politicians are Erie County's biggest problem," and that "a professional County Manager is the only way to eliminate politics in Erie County government." The Commission's report stated that "the experiences of other counties and municipalities illustrated to us [the commission] that the hybrid form of county government would provide Erie County with a robust, flexible governmental form that would simultaneously provide Erie County with strong political leadership and effective professional management." This model of government is being successfully used in many other areas throughout the country, including Phoenix, Oakland, and Pittsburgh. Locally, this form of government exists in Niagara County and the City of Elmira. If applied in Erie County, the County Manager would become the Chief Operational Officer for Erie County. He or she would be responsible for the day to day operation of government, including the supervision of non-elected facets of county government, hiring department heads, budget development and implementation, formulation and integration of the four year strategic plan, extensive tracking and reporting on management initiatives and keeping the Legislature and County Executive aware of the county's financial condition. The County Executive would continue to manage intergovernmental relations, promotion of Erie County for economic development purposes, and he or she will work with the Legislature on newly proposed laws, acts, ordinances, and resolutions. Minority Leader John J. Mills stated that "the Commission was correct in promoting this model of government. It separates policy and management responsibilities, giving the people the final say over the policy direction of the county, while employing a professional manager to use the best practices available to achieve their desired result." Back to District 13 Homepage