Agenda

I am working with Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli to bring economic development and jobs to the county and the 15th district. We need to put our people to work in good paying jobs that allow them to own a home, raise a family and not have to worry about their future.

For the past several years, the County Executive, working with STEG and the IDA, has done a great job in bringing companies and businesses to our county. In 2012 and 2013, we  experienced over 2,000 job loses with $150 million in wages leave our area. Tom Santulli released, in 2014, a five year ‘Financial Restructuring Plan’ that included a new economic development strategy that aggressively markets our county to developers all over the world. Our job growth has begun to recover as we are beginning to see many more new and expanded businesses in our county the past couple years with a tremendous amount of dollars coming from the state through the Regional Economic Council awards granted to us, the $40 million Upstate Airport Economic Development grant and the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. I will continue to work with the County Executive to make job creation and development a top priority.

Property taxes are devastating to the homeowners and businesses here in Chemung County and all over New York state. In our state, property taxes are 81% higher than the national average. Chemung County has kept property taxes stable for the past twelve years. I am proud to have voted for seven county budgets that have had no property tax increases. We must continue to resist any possibility to raise taxes on our citizens. We cannot tax our way to prosperity. High property taxes stifle job growth and deter businesses from locating here. As a member of the Elmira school board, I opposed any increase in property taxes and I will continue oppose them as the legislator from the 15th legislative district. I am a member of the legislature’s Budget Committee where all fiscal proposals and budget spending must go through before making it to the floor of the legislature for a vote.

I am working with Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss and the New York State Police to make sure our streets and neighborhoods are safe and well protected. I support the Chemung County Sheriff’s resident deputy program in the Town of Southport and have supported the continuation of the program by extending the agreement with the town in the legislature. I also work and stay in contact with the Troopers that are assigned to the sub-station in the Village of Wellsburg. With two high schools in the 15th district, I believe that the sheriff’s deputies who are the School Resource Officers at Broadway Academy and Elmira High School are essential to both of those schools need to be continued. I will facilitate the creation of neighborhood watch programs in any areas of the 15th district that want and need them. I serve on the Corrections and Law Enforcement Committee of the legislature. This committee oversees matters concerning the Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Management, and other issues dealing with protecting our citizens. I have been a vocal critic on the legislature during budget discussions when the Sheriff’s budget is not fully funded to the level requested by the sheriff. I will continue to fight for the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office when I believe they are being treated unfairly. I want our residents to feel safe and secure in our community and will continue to work to make that happen.

I believe that unfunded mandates from the State of New York are the greatest fiscal crisis facing county governments. Here in Chemung County, every cent that the county takes in of property taxes goes to pay for these unfunded mandates. I am working with County Executive Tom Santulli to seek ways to curb the local cost of Medicaid spending and end the waste, fraud and abuse in the system. I voted to add a welfare fraud division at our Department of Social Services that has saved the county millions of dollars since its inception. Medicaid cost the state over $1 billion a week. The local share cost to county taxpayers is more than $19 million annually. Total cost of the unfunded mandates in our county alone is over $38 million a year. That takes every penny of our property taxes, $29 million, plus $9 million of our sales tax dollars or 22% of the total sales tax we take in. There needs to be a fairer and cheaper way to provide these services to out citizens. I know people who work hard every day that cannot afford health insurance. They don’t qualify for Medicaid but are working and paying taxes to support this system. They are the ones that I am fighting for. Something has to be done and I am working for that change. The nine unfunded mandates that counties are charged for include: Medicaid, Welfare (Temporary Assistance & Safety Net), Child Welfare, Pre K and Early Intervention, Indigent Defense, Probation, Youth Detention and Pension Costs. A state takeover of local Medicaid cost could reduce county taxes by 70%.  If all nine unfunded mandates were completely funded by the state, Chemung County could have no property tax at all and have an additional $10 million to fund other projects in our budget.  This issue is one of my top priorities as your county legislator.

We live in one of the nicest areas of Chemung County. Preserving our quality of life is very important to me. I am working to make our district a better place to live and raise a family. As a member of the legislature’s Highway Committee, I am working for better roads, bridges and infrastructure. I want clean neighborhoods that make others want to locate here and those that live here want to stay. Through Chemung County’s Adopt-A-Highway program, I have adopted two county routes, 60 and 8 (Lowman Crossover), to show my dedication to keeping our district beautiful. I have supported the implementation of the Southern Tier Network that is bringing fiber optic cable throughout the 15th district to help bring broadband internet service to the outer areas of our district. I am seeking more businesses to come here and make it easier for our residents to shop and do business here. I am working with town and village governments in an effort to protect our way of life. I spoke in support of revoking the license of Brookside trailer park in the Town of Southport because that neighborhood deserved better. We need to support the Wellsburg, Southport and East Hill Volunteer Fire Departments who protect us during fires and emergencies. I have lived in the 15th district all my life. I love this area. Together, we can continue to make the Towns of Ashland, Southport, the East Hill portion of the Town of Elmira and the Village of Wellsburg even better places to live, work, and raise a family. I am committed to help make that happen!