June 3, 2009

THREE ERIE COUNTY LEGISLATORS APPLAUD ECFSA VOTE TO REVERT TO ADVISORY STATUS

(Buffalo, NY) – The Erie County Legislature Minority Caucus applauded the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority's (ECFSA) vote to revert to advisory status. "Yesterday was a great day for the residents of Erie County. The approval of the 4 year plan and the subsequent advisory status of the Control Board is more evidence that our County is on the road to fiscal recovery," stated Legislator Edward A. Rath III (15th District). Rath commended the efforts of County Executive Chris Collins and the members of the ECFSA for their hard work to agree upon a four-year plan, which paved the way for the ECFSA to revert to advisory status. "By utilizing private sector business practices to impose fiscal discipline, we have righted the ship that is Erie County government."

Legislator Raymond W. Walter (4th District) believed that the announcement was a victory for Erie County voters. "The voters of Erie County elect their County Executive and their legislators to run their government. The environment that resulted in a "hard" control board changed with the election of Chris Collins. I am pleased that the legislature and County Executive can now perform the tasks which they were elected to do, with the advice, but not the consent, of the ECFSA." Legislator Walter cautioned that all county elected officials must continue to diligently find ways to make county government operate more efficiently. "There are fiscal challenges on the horizon and they must be addressed. If we fail to continue to cut costs and reduce the size and scope of government, we will likely find ourselves under the direction of a "hard" control board again."

Minority Leader John J. Mills (13th District) agreed, calling on New York State to help eliminate conditions that could necessitate a "hard" control board in the future. "New York State imposed a Control Board on Erie County because all of the players could not get on the same page to make difficult and necessary fiscal decisions. That is the same situation facing New York State right now, but instead of fixing their problems, they pass them down to the counties and the towns." Mills pointed out that over 75% of Erie County's budget is mandated by the state, a number that continues to grow. "We will continue to make spending cuts to protect the taxpayers of Erie County, but New York State must do the same."

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