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 September, 2007 Orchard Park Bee Column 9/07 The Erie County Legislature was in recess for the month of August. Many view this time as a vacation, but it was anything but relaxing for me. While there were no sessions of the full legislature, I was very busy working for the residents of the 13th District. I began the recess calling again for repairs to our roads and bridges. Many county roads and bridges present public safety hazards. Not only does the condition of our county roadways damage vehicles and potentially cause accidents, it also prevents emergency vehicles form getting to accidents, fires and other emergencies quickly and safely. The deplorable condition of these byways is the result of years of neglect. I have fought successfully to secure 60% of all road repair funding for the 13th District. However, this is simply not enough. More is needed to make our roads and bridges safe and passable. That is why I have proposed dedicated funding to maintain our roads and bridges. By properly maintaining our roads now, we can actually save money in the future. The old adage "A stitch in time saves nine" has never rang more true than when applied to our roads and bridges. My call for proper road funding was punctuated by the tragedy that occurred in Minneapolis the day after our press conference calling for dedicated funding. I am happy to report that additional funding was allocated last week for road repairs in the 13th District. However, it is not a permanent solution. I will continue to demand dedicated road funding so that all of our roads are made safe and properly maintained. I then joined colleagues from both sides of the aisle in a bi-partisan effort to renew my call for a renegotiation or elimination of the parks maintenance agreement between the City of Buffalo and Erie County. That agreement, which was supposed to be revenue neutral for the county, has cost Erie County taxpayers an additional $1.2 million per year. This is unacceptable. Due to this agreement, our county parks have been deteriorating. City leaders have also questioned the quality of the services provided by the county. It is time to either correct this agreement or eliminate it altogether. Speaking of parks, I was one of two county legislators to attend a capital projects meeting in August. As a result of this meeting, $750,000 will be allocated for much needed repairs to the Chestnut Ridge Casino. The Casino is badly in need of repairs. These repairs need to be done before the damage gets worse, necessitating even more costly repairs. After years of spending millions on city parks, I am pleased that money will be invested in one of the jewels of the county parks system. As the legislature reconvenes in September, I will continue my fight to maintain your county assets. I will also renew my calls to eliminate wasteful spending, allow county taxpayers to decide on replacing the Deputy County Executive position with a County Manager and to force any elected county official to resign if convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. I will also introduce new measures to strengthen ethics in government and make your county government more user friendly. I would like to hear your thoughts about what your Erie County government can do to make the county a better place to work and live. Please contact me at my District Office, located at 431 Main Street in East Aurora. My telephone number is 655-5650. You can also reach me by email at jmills13@erie.gov. To read about some of the issues that I have been addressing at the legislature, please visit my website online at www.erie.gov/legislature/district13. Back to District 13 Homepage