genesee county

Text of Mary Pat Hancock's State of the County Address:

Good evening and welcome to our 2012 State of the County Address. It is always a treat for me to prepare these programs. Although we have all lived through the time period, often our memories are blurred by the cataracts of multiple tasks and layers of activities and responsibilities present in each of our lives. So this is our chance to examine some of the transforming events of 2012 and suggest some goals for the coming year. 

This will not be my usual State of the County. In the past I have gone through the accomplishments of each department and perhaps the challenges facing them in the New Year. This year those accomplishments are still most significant, especially remarkable as we are all operating under strict fiscal restraints that place additional duties and responsibilities on all. But this time I choose to take the GPS view of our county -- from a height. What major trends are impacting us and how are we, as a county, dealing with this new order? These changes are so significant that every department, every employee, as well as all of our citizens are impacted. Let us start with the national level. 

My term of office as the President of the New York State Association of Counties ran from September of 2011 until Fall of 2012. As president, I attended three meetings of the National Association of Counties, representing NYSAC. My access to the policy making board meetings of that group was total. What an amazing experience. Hopefully, I carried the message that New York was indeed, “Open for Business” and working hard to improve. I was able to increase my knowledge of how other counties work in this nation and what role they play. Personally, I was impressed with Pittsburgh, the location of the Summer National Conference, and the city of my birth. The results of its comprehensive overhaul were amazing. The leaders in that community never gave up on their city and it does them credit.

During the many networking exchanges I also learned that the frustrations of other states are similar to ours, and yet they can be different in ways that are enormously challenging. We most often are frustrated by state and federal regulations, aging infrastructure and fiscal constraints, although (Super Storm) “Sandy” certainly woke us to another level of challenge. Many of them are challenged by shortages of natural resources, climate change, natural disasters and of course, tight revenues. We always have the hope that laws and regulations will be modified and improved -- many of them have to face the reality of reinventing themselves to face new unalterable circumstances. We have much to learn from each other. In addition many of the newer trends in government were featured in presentations and workshops. Some of these are becoming familiar to us; collaboration is one of these trends. A myriad of workshops and presentations demonstrating various “how to implement” as well as an equal number explaining “why it is necessary to explore” presented a world of data and opportunities to connect with those successfully practicing what they preach. One of these workshops led to learning about a grant for counties collaborating and sharing a public health administrator. We were able to apply and qualify for that national grant. It is an exciting concept recognizing our cross-jurisdictional sharing. A connection with the national association is very useful in this fast-paced, changing world. I would encourage us to keep that connection alive. In addition, with our new representative, Congressman Collins, recently sworn in right here in our courthouse we can work to keep the federal communication lines to counties open, strong and productive.

At the state level, it was a challenging time for NYSAC, the New York State Association of Counties. Their goal, as established by their membership, was to rein in unfunded state programs that counties administer, or increase the state funding to pay for “their” mandated programs. The association was recognized by the Empire State Society of Association Executives for their Excellence in Government Relations specifically for their mandate-relief advocacy campaign developed by NYSAC’s staff and leadership to educate state lawmakers on the issues that impact counties.

More after the jump (click on the headline):

To start with, the Governor’s State of the State of last year was disappointing from a county’s view. Nothing about mandate relief, a property tax cap on target to start, and a great deal of emphasis on the fiscal crisis in the state, with advice to the counties to tighten their belts. This, if you remember came after a very active effort during the fall on the part of counties to communicate our overpowering burden of imposed state expenses for our taxpayers. However, the 9 for 90 campaign began to pay off…in the following state budget message, a glimmer of better news was introduced. A new pension tier and a phased-in cap on county contributions to Medicaid growth promised some small relief in the future.

During the February meeting we were honored by having the governor attend our NYSAC Conference and deliver a speech that appeared to recognize the difficulties counties still faced. A Medicaid Task Force was formed and they were given the job of finding some ways to lighten our burden. Hearings were held across the state as the task force sought information from the various regions. We testified at those hearings, as did many members of county government, general taxpayers, and providers. An increased cooperative effort was mobilized by NYSAC with a Web site filled with information and suggestions to better communicate the critical nature of the situation. But in spite of increased efforts, including press conferences, letter campaigns, legislative contacts, public meetings and finally Mandate Mayday, there was no additional relief and our budgets for 2013 had to be constructed with great care and frugality to insure that services could be maintained and our bottom line was under the state imposed tax cap. Indeed many counties could not accomplish both. Ours did do both, but how long will this be possible?

Most recently our State Comptroller has recognized the serious nature of the situation; identifying that the federal and state reimbursement has not kept pace with rising operational costs facing local governments over the past 10 years, forcing local governments to rely on sales and property taxes to make up the differences. We knew that. It was our message, but we were encouraged to have our dilemma recognized at such a high level. Recognition did not spell relief.

In a recent statement, NYSAC Executive Steve Acquario cautions that it is worse than stated by the comptroller. During the last 10 years rising costs have outpaced state assistance, and shifted more of the costs of state mandated programs on to county property taxpayers. In nearly every major category of spending, counties are receiving less reimbursement than they did five years ago, while costs and caseloads have risen. New York’s county governments cannot sustain the state’s expenses at the local government level. Over the last decade, cuts in state funding, lagging reimbursements, and cost shifts have forced counties to raise property taxes, cut jobs, eliminate or trim local programs and services, and sell or close community facilities such as nursing homes and certified community health agencies.

A property tax cap cannot be sustained unless the state reduces the costs of their mandates sufficiently to support local revenues as was promised when the tax cap proposal was introduced. This problem is not going away. A strong local government system is essential to a strong and efficient state government, as the local governments are the hands that deliver the state services. Change must occur and it must be implemented at the state level. The locals have done what they can. There is very little more downsizing possible without a collapse of the delivery system.

I suggest that counties have no option but to continue this marathon until our reasonable goal is reached. As with any marathon, help along the way is essential -- from the media, in getting our message out there and making the connection between budget cuts and mandate pressure, from community organizations representing business, agriculture, volunteers, not-for-profit groups, and community supporters, in speaking up and insisting on action addressing the real causes of escalating taxes -- and from governments at all levels, in putting their differences aside and jointly advocating for change, either the size of the state mandate burden or the manner in which those mandates are funded.

At the county level, we have seen many changes both as the result of natural events such as retirements and as the result of efforts to operate in the evolving fiscal climate, sometimes a combination of both. For instance, the retirement of our planning director, led to an exploration of a possible reorganization of that department. After the study, it was established that the present configuration, with modifications, was the best plan for the present and the foreseeable future. But, Genesee County must continue to explore new ways to deliver services as the resources are dwindling and sometimes a change might work for the better…it is always worth examining. 

Our nursing home administration changed leaders and also experienced a significant retirement, that of the comptroller, which led to a reassignment of tasks and changes in the management configuration.  Cost efficiencies and marketing efforts did result in some encouraging bottom line results, but the county still is facing shortfalls of over three million dollars a year in the nursing home budget. Our general fund has to make up that difference. We can expect continued exploration of solutions to funding our four stars rated long-term care facility. 

A very significant change occurred in the Public Health Department. A previously mentioned collaborative effort on the part of Genesee and Orleans counties and their boards of health led to the shared services of the public health director, upon the retirement of our previous director.  Now the appointed public health director serves both Genesee and Orleans counties. Such a move has enabled us to compete for and receive a national grant for such consolidation. This grant will help us to maximize this opportunity for improving services at a cost savings. This is a fine work in progress and the boards of health of both counties are to be congratulated for their willingness to explore new options. In addition, our mental health director has taken a position with the Erie County Mental Health Department and is presently assigned to serve both Erie and Genesee counties as their top mental health administrator. The delivery of mental health services is undergoing a great deal of change at the state level. We are advised that the trend is toward the regional, at the administrative level, so we are watching these changes carefully to insure a continuation of fine essential services to our citizens. The Community Services Board was challenged to break new ground and worked hard to make sure there was no interruption during the transition period.

After many years of service, the retirement of our Veterans’ Service director precipitated a replacement search to find just the right person to help our veterans with their needs. The swelling number of veterans, the changing benefits, and the diverse needs of our veterans makes the position most challenging. With the help of representatives from several veteran organizations, the legislature formed a committee to review the applicants and recommend several candidates to the legislature. An exceptional candidate was hired and has been working in the position since summer. The offices of the Veterans’ Services were changed after trying several locations. The new location suits everyone and has sufficient room and privacy to accommodate their needs.

There have been and will be several other significant retirements, not the least of these is our own legislative clerk, who has served for many years in a sensitive and demanding role. She has assisted new legislators as they accepted their new responsibilities and kept us all on track with Robert’s Rules (of Order), accurate minutes, gentle reminders and policy matters. She will be greatly missed upon her early spring departure.

As people retire from their years of valuable service to our county, we know that each individual cannot be replaced. But when positions can be filled we bend every effort to select a person with skill sets that are tailored to the job…over time they put their stamp on the position perhaps adding something new and retaining some of the tried and true methods that worked in the past.

During the last year a new and very powerful entity has emerged to influence our attention, the way we apply for funding, and our strategic planning. The 10 Regional Economic Development Councils were established by our governor as a way to revitalize the economic health of our state. Our county was placed in the nine county Finger Lakes Region. In each region, the voting members were chosen by the governor, with help from a state panel and co-chairs were assigned by the same panel. Each of the nine counties has a seat and a voice at the table, but not as voting members. The first year was especially challenging as the procedures and time lines were created as we worked through to establish an overall Five Year Strategic Plan. A Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) was created and now is the necessary application for most funding requests on a statewide level. It was an effort to simplify the application process and funnel the many applications to the correct funding sources. 

The 10 councils were in competition for the $240 million to be awarded and divided among to the top three regions having the best developed strategic plan for their area. All identified projects requesting funding had to be approved by the council and demonstrate significant ways they moved the strategic plan forward. The first year of competition found the Finger Lakes Council at the top of the award winners…of those not in the top three positions. The second year the Finger Lakes Region received the top award.

As important, perhaps, was the inclusion in the plan of our own Stamp Project as one of the 10 Priority Projects chosen by our region as transformative. This recognition by the entire region certainly was a necessary and appreciated seal of approval. The members of the selection committee had many very competitive projects to judge. Our Stamp Project was chosen for its vision, future impact on the region, and for its perfect use of our local resources to address the needs of the science, technology, and advanced manufacturing world. A very few sites around this globe have all the requirement -- and one of them is in Genesee County and the Finger lakes Regional Economic Development Council recognized that.

The council is now beginning its third of five years of the strategic plan and the various focus groups which were established by our region are working diligently to identify the most appropriate and strongest projects for our area.

Two other regional councils are not as new, but are in the spotlight as their work finds new acceptance and importance in today’s world. They are the Genesee Regional Transportation Council and the Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council. These hardworking and productive councils have been producing plans and working with the same members of the nine county region that the FLREDC serves and so much sharing of information and collaboration has occurred and continues. NYSERDA is now working with both groups and again, the same cast of characters of the nine county regions, to develop the first overall Strategic Sustainability Plan for this region in 50 years. The linkage between all of these groups is pretty strong, and rightly so. Hopefully, the emphasis on planning, local strengths, and efficiency will raise our level of accomplishments by a measureable degree.

I want to emphasize that much of what is happening is new -- new meetings, committees, workshops, obligations and requirements. In most cases, not of our doing…but our participation is essential to ensure that Genesee County has a strong voice in the regional chorus. That being said, I call your attention to the nine members of this legislature who are bringing your voice to the tables. Each of us serves on at least one committee which is multi-county. And there are many other committees and work groups which also impact several departments, legislators serve on those as well. It is my honor to serve with these dedicated individuals.  We attend workshops and educational presentations which help to keep us current. It also takes additional time from personal lives. The role of a county legislator has expanded from practical knowledge of our district and how it fits into our county, to how our county fits into our region, how our region fits into our state, and how the federal government impacts all of us. To know less means that laws and or rules and regulations regarding transportation, agriculture, economic development, health care, land use, law enforcement, emergency management, and taxation, etc., -- all areas impacting us greatly, may be changed without our knowledge and input. Certainly our administrators are also required to be on top of their game on all of these changing laws and regulations which impact county government. It is a daunting task and leads to energetic discussions, continuing education, brainstorming, and the careful vetting of the flood of information we receive. When these individuals bring the requests on behalf of Genesee County to our regional, state and federal representatives, it must be with a comprehensive knowledge of the matters under discussion. We must have the facts and figures regarding the effect of legislation on our county to be effective and I am proud to say, we do.

Genesee County is productive and attracting business and industries during very difficult time statewide. But we can always improve. Our Comprehensive Plan is 17 years old. It has not been shelved, nor has it gathered dust. It is a useful plan and is updated yearly. But, the times may require more. At a meeting of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Development Council, it was suggested the Steering Committee for the plan meet to go through the document and come up with a few key priorities. These might be adopted for more focus. An energetic distribution of the plan would follow with significant outreach to share information as well as gather new ideas and participants. It is not enough that we have a plan and that it works, it should be the best plan possible, one that will move us forward and take advantage of the new technology. This plan would start on a higher plateau…where we are now and enable us to reach higher with a new and clearer vision for the future. 

Genesee County enjoys an enviable reputation for solving their local problems in a creative, collaborative and successful manner. Let’s look back at some outstanding examples. The court facility, countywide water project, Smart Growth, the Comprehensive Plan, the GCEDC, the airport, our five active industrial parks, the animal shelter, the senior center, dispatch center and Public Safety building, the reorganized Emergency Management Group, the countywide study of wastewater needs and resources, the consolidation of agricultural districts, relocation of the Mental Health and Department of Social Services departments, the privatization of a countywide ambulance system, the melding of the Treasurer’s Office and the Real Property Tax and Assessment Office, the continued growth and expanding services of the IT Department in spite of fiscal constraints, recent changes to the Public Health Department and the expansion of our Genesee Community College -- both facilities and curriculum. The list goes on, as we are constantly examining better ways to accomplish our tasks and deliver our services with dwindling resources.

I have been fortunate to have been part of the Genesee County Legislature for over 20 years. During that length of time, I have witnessed significant changes to our local government. Some are very good and of our own making, some are not so good and imposed. The funny thing about change is that sometimes it happens so gradually that we are unaware of its impact. But when we turn around, the world is different.  Sometimes we are changed in little ways, sometimes the changes are transformative. For instance, we used to read the minutes of all the standing committees aloud at our legislature meetings, the buildings were not air-conditioned, energy efficient, or handicapped accessible. We used phones, face-to-face meetings, and letters to communicate. Were these small or large changes? It depends on your point of view.

Let’s look at just a few of the transformative changes and how we do business now. We do business now, in addition to the phones, face-to-face, and letters. We also communicate with smart phones, iPads, iPhones, laptops and computers with many webinars and conferences on site and technologically produced. Not only is the technology different, it has made us different with more data and more immediately available data…and the expectation that we are also immediately available. Maybe the biggest transformative change -- our local budgets have perimeters set by Albany. Did you all look at your property tax bills? That pie chart on the back says it all. We spend four times as much on just one state mandate…Medicaid, 43 percent, as we spend on all our local services, 10 percent. The other mandates account for the other 47 percent of our budget and that local 10 percent share must cover maintenance and replacement for our local roads and bridges, public safety, services to our elderly, our young people, and our veterans, any cultural or recreational resources for our citizens, and the nursing home. Our aging infrastructure needs attention and we must find the resources needed to address this safety, economic, and convenience issue from that same 10 percent. 

During my time on the legislature, I do not remember when we could ever sit back and say…”There, now we have no issues on the table. No big challenges to be seen this year…or next. All is well.” But, you know, the challenges were met, the issues were resolved, and life did go on. The legislature was and still is, committed to working out the solutions together, whatever the problems. I am confident that will continue, and Genesee County will survive and thrive for another 210 years, stronger, with careful attention to all its resources, and so very well located, in other words, better than ever. Could you all raise your hand…like this? Let us look to the future and toast its arrival virtually and fearlessly. It will come, ready or not, and we are ready!

Genesee ARC will be able to claim its recycling center at 3785 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, as a tax-exempt property despite missing an important deadline.

According to the county's Deputy Treasurer Matt Landers the nonprofit organization failed to apply for tax-exempt status on the property by the tax status deadline date.

As a result, three local government agencies included in their budgets anticipated revenue from the 5.3-acre parcel, which has an accessed value of $860,000.

When ARC asked to receive tax-exempt status, Landers said his initial reaction was "no," because of the budget concerns.

Then a staff member found a legal opinion that states that an owner is eligible for reconsideration of tax-exempt status after a missed deadline if the assessor concurs in writing that the property was eligible on the tax status date.

The decision wipes out more than $30,000 of anticipated revenue for local governments.

Batavia City Schools anticipated in its 2012-2013 budget revenue of $21,543.07.

According to Landers, district officials, when faced with the revenue loss, double checked the legal opinion and reached the same conclusion as the county Assessor's Office.

The county was set to receive in 2013 $3,650.37 in Medicaid mandate taxes and another $4,189.84 in county property tax.

The Town of Batavia Fire District will see its revenue for 2013 drop by $2,012.36.

Genesee ARC held its grand opening for its new recycling facility on West Main, formally a location for Duro Shed, in September.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a program that would help local governments save on near-term pension costs, potentially relieving local administrations of a major budgeting challenge, but both County Manager Jay Gsell and City Manager Jason Molino are reacting to the news with some caution.

Molino said until he can fully study the budget bill, assuming this provision even moves forward, he can't really comment on it.

He isn't yet ready to agree with the governor that the city will realize $3.1 million in pension savings over the next five years.

In a press release yesterday, Cuomo isn't promising local governments that they will completely avoid the pension expense, just some relief from near-term pension cost instability.

From the press release:

Under the plan, localities are given the option for a stable pension contribution rate that significantly reduces near-term payments but still keeps the pension systems fully funded over the long term. Local governments which opt in would avoid significant volatility in contribution rates and be better able to plan for the future. Though the locality receives short-term relief, because the contribution rate remains fixed, the total amount paid into the fund by the locality would not be diminished over the life of agreement, thereby maintaining the fiscal stability of the pension fund.

While over the next five years, Genesee County could receive a $11.5 million benefit over five years under the plan, Gsell is also keeping the proposal at arm's length.

Here's his e-mail response:

On the surface it is intriguing, but there are concerns as to the back-end balloon escalators in 10 to 25 years and what Comptroller Dinapoli will do every 5 years to "protect" the retirement system dollars is a major note of caution. This could be the NYS version of the Titanic iceberg, only it involves our budgets and employees retirement assets. Once the full details and not just the second-floor spin are revealed we will look at our pay-as-you-go options.

A year ago, Albany enacted a Tier VI retirement plan, which covers only new hires by government agencies. The plan will supposedly greatly reduce local government pension costs, but not for decades from now. What Cuomo is proposing now is to shift those savings so local governments can realize some benefit from Tier VI in the near term.

In the press release, Cuomo hails the plan as a major step toward helping local governments.

"The difficult financial pressures facing localities are well-known here in Albany, and my administration from day one has been committed to helping local governments meet their budgetary obligations as well as continue to provide critical services to their residents," Governor Cuomo said. "While the Tier VI reforms were a major step toward helping local governments deal with the pension crisis, we understand that more help is needed. For this reason, the Executive Budget proposed the Stable Rate option to offer local governments and schools a bridge to the long-term savings of Tier VI, as well as greater predictability."

Elected officials from national, state and county government were at the Old Courthouse today for both a ceremonial and official swearing in for office.

For Rep. Chris Collins, State Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley, taking the oath in Batavia today was ceremonial. But for Sheriff Gary Maha, Treasurer Scott German, coroners Donald Coleman and Karen Lang, along with Undersheriff William Sheron and Deputy Treasurer Matt Landers, the oath was official.

Collins spoke briefly about his commitment to representing the people of the 27th Congressional District, hearing the concerns of voters, especially in Genesee County, and working in Congress to help control spending and bring down the deficit.

"My job in representing this district is that we stand up for our children and grandchildren to get spending under control, to get our deficits down to zero in some reasonable time, like 10 years, and grow the economy," Collins said.

He promised that the people of Genesee County will see him frequently in the county.

Prior to the ceremony, Collins took his wife, Mary, daughter, Caitlin, son, Cameron, and staff members to a no-media lunch at the Pok-A-Dot. Collins has referred to the Pok-A-Dot as a good-luck charm, dining there on election day for the primary and general elections, but when he showed up today, he reportedly told people there that he wanted a chance to enjoy lunch with his family without cameras around.

Sheriff Gary Maha takes the oath, administered by Assemblyman Steve Hawley, as wife Susan Maha holds the Bible.

Above, Coroner Donald Coleman, who has served in the position for 21 years, takes the oath of office.

To purchase prints of the photos in the slide show, click the link in the upper left of the slide show.

At a hearing giving the public a chance to weigh in on the proposed 2013 Genesee County budget, five people showed up to speak.

Three of the speakers addressed funding for Genesee County Economic Development Council, one spoke on veterans issues and the fifth told legislators they need to find a way to balance the budget without raising taxes.

Kyle Couchman and John Roach both spoke out against spending more than $200,000 to underwrite the EDC's economic development efforts.

Couchman said he liked the idea of holding the funding in reserve until GCEDC came forward during the year with specific justifications for its expenditure.

"I came here tonight because I wanted to be a voice for the community, for the people who don’t always get to the meetings but have a strong feeling on this issue," Couchman said.

Roach (top photo), who also addressed veterans issues, said there are other things some $200,000 could be spent on, from reducing the county's debt to holding it a reserve fund for a new jail.

GCEDC doesn't need the money, Roach said. The county does.

Charlie Cook, the incoming chairman of the board for GCEDC, spoke up for continued funding from the county.

Cook, who is owner and CEO of Liberty Pumps in Bergen, used his own company as an example of how GCEDC aids business growth.

He said 13 years ago, Liberty Pumps had a 33,000-square-foot building and employed 50 people. Today, after two expansion projects, Liberty Pumps employs 130 people.

"Our people pay taxes and support the local economy," Cook said. "It’s impossible to put a price tag on the impact of growing employment and the ripple effect of those incomes in the community. More employment creates other jobs, enhances the tax base, supports the residential real estate market and retail economy and provides much needed resources to local communities and schools."

The county's support of GCEDC sends an important message about the community being united behind economic growth, Cook said.

"It’s deeply disappointing and discouraging to me as a volunteer that the GCEDC -- an organization whose sole purpose is to benefit the community and its residents -- is threatened with abandonment by that community," Cook said.

More than a dozen veterans showed up to the meeting. There had been concern recently in the veterans community about the Veterans Services office being located inside the Department of Social Services.

County Manager Jay Gsell is now working on a plan to move the office, and make it its own department again, either at the Job Development office on East Main Street or the VA hospital.

Jim Neider, speaking for many of the veterans present, said either proposal helped relieve much of the concern in the veterans community.

Roach said he favored the job development location because of better parking and, he noted, the VA center serves veterans from all over the region. If they see a veterans services office there, they may not realize it's there only to serve Genesee County residents.

Former Legislator John Sackett also spoke. He knocked the legislature for blaming other agencies for mandated spending as an excuse for a tax increase when there are still cuts in the budget that can be made.

He complained that employees and elected officials are not being asked to give back some of their benefits, especially in the area of health care. He questioned any deficit spending on the county nursing home. And he said the county shouldn't be creating two new staff positions.

The meeting opened with remarks by Legislative Chair Mary Pat Hancock followed by a budget overview from Gsell.

The headline out of Gsell's talk was that the county is exploring options for selling or transferring the nursing home to another entity.

The county cannot afford, year after year, Gsell said, ongoing operating losses from the nursing home.

The nursing home will not be closed, he said. It will not be abandoned. Employees won't lose their jobs. Patients will not be put out on the street.

Gsell said state and federal mandates continue to eat up most of the revenue generated for the county from property taxes and the top nine mandates consume 78 percent of the tax levy.

Counties in 48 of the 50 states don't have these mandates, Gsell said.

"Recent comments by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and I quote, 'For many years, they (local governments), just put their hands deeper into the pockets of the taxpayers and the taxpayers have left' would give you the impression that county governments in New York State volunteered to get into the funding of benefits programs such as Medicaid, EI/pre-K services, indigent defense, Safety Net, etc.  Governor -- we did not!

"The state dictated to county governments to pony up and help the state shoulder the burden," Gsell added. "Hence, the New York State imposed property tax."

The county's $145 million spending plan includes a .08 cents per thousand property tax increase, making the rate $9.97 per thousand. The rate increase is four cents below would could be raised under the property tax cap. To help balance the budget, the county will spend $2.5 million from reserves.

The budget is up nearly $4 million over last year. All of the increased spending is driving by mandates expenses, particularly in Medicaid and employee pensions.

The budget is scheduled for adoption Nov. 28.

Felipe Oltramari is becoming director of planning for Genesee County at a potentially very interesting time.

It's a time when trends nationally are changing and a time when the county could be on the verge of unprecedented growth.

Oltramari's appointment was approved by the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday and will be official once it's approved by the full legislature next week.

The 36-year-old native of Chile takes over for Jim Duval, who went to work for the planning department 1976, the year Oltramari was born (Duval became director in 2000). Oltramari worked for Duval for 10 years and said Duval did a fantastic job of running the department.

"If I can do half the job he did, I’ll be a very successful planner," Oltramari said.

Oltramari moved to the United States when he was 12 after his mother married a Kodak employee. He graduated from Irondequoit High School and then got a bachelor's degree from SUNY Geneseo in biology with a concentration in environmental science. After earning his master's in 2002 in environmental land planning from SUNY ESF (Environmental Science and Forestry, near Syracuse), he went to work in Genesee County's planning department.

"I'm looking forward to leading the department," Oltramari said. "We have a great staff. Holly McAllister and Jill Babinski have both always done a great job for county residents."

With the early success of the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and the STAMP proposal in Alabama, the county planning department -- which acts as technical assistance and advisory for town and village planners -- could become very busy in the next few years.

Helping to managing growth, planning it intelligently and protecting natural resources will part of Oltramari's duties.

"One of the things the county has to keep in mind is we have great natural resources," Oltramari said.

Chief among those resoures is great farming soils, Oltramari said. while only about 8 percent of the Earth's surface has prime farm soils, Genesee County is about 50 percent prime farm soils.

So much good soil is even more valuable when you consider the water availability in this region.

"That’s one thing that makes us a bread basket for our state, and our country at one point," Oltramari said. "That’s one thing that we have to remember, how to manage and take care of our resources and not take it for granted."

One way to do that is through what's known as new urbanism, or planning around form rather than use.

"Before we worried about factories next to homes," Oltramari said. "But now the factory might be in China and things get assembled and shipped here. The global economy has changed the way local economies work. I think one of the things we'll see is people worrying less about what the use is next door and instead worry about how it looks and sits next their property, how it relates to their property."

Oltramari is looking at trends in places like Miami and Denver, and even Buffalo, to plan growth around tighter clusters of mixed-use development, where homes are more neighborhood friendly and shopping and work are close by.

Such developments help save space, and can help protect farm land.

Unlike places such as Clarence and Williamsville, which has already been through periods of sprawling growth, Genesee County has an opportunity to manage its growth in a way that better preserves resources and promotes community.

"If we grow in a smart way, don’t waste space, treat it like we should, we'll be a successful county," Oltramari said.

There simply isn't enough cost savings to justify merging the county planning gepartment with the highway department, legislators concluded in a discussion at Wednesday's Ways and Means Committee meeting.

The cost of expanding office space at the highway department's facility on Cedar Street offsets any possible cost saving by sharing clerical staff.

Tim Hens, highway superintendent, said that while the planning department is understaffed, the merger wouldn't necessarily address their biggest staffing need -- help with the GIS map system.

"It's easy to get bogged down in GIS," Hens said. "If you lighten the load on the GIS side of things, we would probably all be better served in the future."

One recommendation from Hens was to move GIS support to the IT department.

Legislators uniformly said they valued the planning department's reputation for being unbiased in its assessment of land use issues.

While moving the planning department into the highway department wouldn't necessarily jeopardize that independence, it could damage the perception for the public and for the various planning boards around the county.

Senior Planner Felipe Oltramari said he shared that concern.

"Any sort of perceived bias could sour that relationship (with the municipalities) that we built over decades. With Jim (Duval, former planning director) being there for 35 years, we really have built a level of trust between the planning department and the municipalities."

As a former town supervisor in Le Roy, Legislator Shelly Stein said the department's reputation for independence is real and necessary to maintain.

"Without that -- our planning department being independent -- we lose, we all lose as a county," Stein said.

The perception could be lost because the highway department sometimes has its own projects that need to be reviewed by planning and the department also occasionally does work for Genesee County Economic Development Center.

With the possibility of STAMP in Alabama, the growing ag park in Batavia and other economic development growth opportunities, the planning department could get super busy in future years. A staff of two planners won't cut it, but for now two is all they get.

Duval retired early this year, and while Oltramari will likely be promoted to director, County Manager Jay Gsell said, his senior planner position won't be filled as the county continues to look for ways to save money.

Your opportunity to sound off about the proposed 2013 Genesee County Budget will be 7 p.m., Nov. 8, at the Office of the Aging, 2 Bank St., Batavia.

The proposed $100.9 million spending plan will be supported in part by a 10-cents per $1,000 property tax rate increase, making the rate $9.99.

The total levy is $26,428,478.

While the budget may include cuts to nursing home staff, no other significant changes in county government are planned, though legislators have warned that in the near future drastic cuts may be necessary if Albany doesn't deliver on mandate relief.

There are no sacred cows in county spending any more said Mary Pat Hancock, chair of the Genesee County Legislature, during a budget session on Wednesday.

After first-term Legislator Shelly Stein questioned with trepidation why the county finances the Holland Land Office Museum, Hancock said the legislature should consider every discretionary line item as a possible cost savings.

Legislature Robert Bausch added county parks, GoArt! and the libraries into the mix.

Marianne Clattenberg and Ray Cianfrini had already suggested Genesee County Economic Development Center for the chopping block.

Of course, it's not going to go over well if the legislature cuts both the county's economic engine and its tourism engine, Hancock said.

Clattenberg said that, at least with her constituents, she won't be able to explain a cut to something like HOLM if there aren't also cuts to GCEDC.

Legislators believe the county is facing a fiscal crisis of massive proportions, driven by Albany's cap on tax increases and the inability of state officials to curb spending -- specifically the so-called "unfunded mandates" that counties must fund with no control over how much the expenditures will be or how the money is spent.

During the meeting, there were no votes taken, no decisions made, no real proposals put forward. The budget conference was just a chance for each member of the legislature to sound off about their budget thoughts and concerns.

Frank Ferrando, participating in his first round of budget talks as a legislator, suggested his colleagues stop calling the Albany-driven spending spree "mandates." He said what the mandates really are is a tax on counties levied by Albany politicians.

During the meeting a lot of anger and frustration was directed at Gov. Andrew Cuomo for earlier in the day proclaiming that the tax cap enacted nearly two years ago by the State Legislature is working.

"It frustrates me that the governor can take credit and the Assembly and the Senate can take credit for the tax cap," Ferrando said. "They're killing us and we're too soft on them. It's time to face off. The counties are going broke. They're taxing the heck out of us. The rank-and-file don't get it. You call it a mandate. They don't know what a mandate is. Tell them it's a tax. Everybody gets what a tax is. Our taxes are going up."

Earlier in the meeting, Hancock made a lengthy statement about Cuomo taking credit for the tax cut, but never addressing the need for mandate relief. And she pointed out that the county legislature will need to make big cuts --  if not this year, then next -- to what small part of the budget it does control.

"He says they curbed out-of-control spending by the counties," Hancock said. "That's the message he's put out there, making us all the bad boys and bad girls of local taxes, but he's not talking about mandate relief or a true takeover of Medicaid.

"He said the tax cap worked and to some extent, that is true," Hancock added. "It's not going to change until the people see their services are not the same. They can't be the same. You cannot do what you did for less money.

"They feel if we were just a little more clever, if we pinched here and we did this little bit more wisely, then we would have plenty to spend on local services, but we don't have any control over a lot of these expenses," Hancock continued.

"You heard about the impact on all of the constituents we serve," Hancock said. "You heard from our veterans. You heard from Genesee Justice. You heard from probation. You heard from DSS. These people serve your constituents and we're the ones cutting their budgets. We're the ones sitting here at this table and the pie is getting smaller."

Stein opened the discussion Wednesday evening by asking why the county has both a probation department and Genesee Justice.

"Why they can’t be one, or is that taboo and we can’t talk about?" Stein said.

Her initial remarks were met by a long silence.

County Manager Jay Gsell pointed to a bottle of hand sanitizer in the middle of the conference table and said, "Pretend that's the grenade. You notice nobody's pulled the pin yet."

Gsell then explained that there really are some key differences between the two departments. Probation deals primarily people who have been convicted of a crime and Genesee Justice supervises people going through the court system. One agency is more enforcement-oriented, the other more about monitoring activity and behavior. Probation gets state funding. But release under supervision gets almost no funding support although it helps keep the county's jail costs down, Gsell said.

The other sacred cow several legislators expressed a willingness to gore is the Genesee County Nursing Home.

It simply costs the county too much money, they said, and is a problem that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

"We need to get some direction as a legislature or we're just going to keep shoveling money into that place," Annie Lawrence said. "I just see no end to it if we continue to be owner/operators of such a place. The state and federal government are just going to shift more and more of the cost onto local taxpayers."

A looming crisis for the county are roads and bridges. Lawrence and Ferrando wondered if the county shouldn't finance repairs and reconstruction through bonds. But Gsell said one of the problems the county faces is some existing debt (which will be paid off in two years) and the failure of the state and feds to reimburse the county for social service expenses, most of it tied to the nursing home.

"That $6 million in rolling debt from the state and feds affects our bond rates," Gsell said.

When it came Cianfrini's turn to share his budget thoughts he opened with, "I know I'm going to make some enemies with this, but ..." and then he raised the issue of cutting spending for GCEDC.

"I know, it's a job well done and they've done a great job, but I don't see how we can continue to fund them at the current level when they show profits into the millions of dollars," Cianfrini said. "We're at the point, and I made this comment earlier, where we should only provide essential county services. If it's not an essential county service, we should look at cuts there."

Cianfrini also expressed concern that not everybody in the county has tightened their belts as much as they should. He cited specifically a case of members of the Public Defender's Office all going to a conference at a cost of $4,000 or $5,000.

"Was that necessary?" Cianfrini said. "No. How much of that is going on in the county. I don't know. I think we have to really start looking at where all this money is being spent and (ask) is it really necessary.

Cianfrini also suggested the county look at the services it offers and decide which ones the county should start charging a fee to provide. If the county can't raise taxes sufficiently to cover increased expenses, maybe the county should take a page from Albany's way of operating and start tacking on fees.

"It's always tough to find new sources of revenue," Cianfrini said.

The deluge of rain has flooded roadways and drainage pipes causing driving hazards and other problems.

There are reports of flooding on Route 5 and Gilbert Street, Route 19 and Hilltop, Route 19 and Wolcott in Le Roy.

In the city, Watson and Thorpe are flooded again, about six to eight inches of water as the storm wound down. The basement of 14 Watson St. flooded again. Watson and Evans was also flooded.

We'll add more info as we get it.

UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: According to the National Weather Service, it's about 72 degrees out with humidity of 87 percent. More showers and possibly a thunderstorm are predicted until midnight, with showers forecast thereafter. Route 5 is reopened.

CORRECTIONS: County Treasurer Scott German sent along these corrections: The IGT is a federal program, it is a state pass-thru. The amount of the IGT is yet to be determined by the state and the feds. Also, 50% of the IGT amount is paid be Genesee County taxpayers directly, it's a 50% match."

The Genesee County Nursing Home owes $3.2 million to the county's general fund, Treasurer Scott German told the Ways and Means Committee today.

Unless the state does the unexpected and transfers money owed to the nursing home before December, the county will need to seek a temporary loan to make its annual pension fund payment due by the end of the year.

"It's possible (the state payment) could happen this year, but it's doubtful," German said. "It's more likely to happen in the second or third quarter of next year."

The state owes the nursing home about $3.2 million in intergovernment transfer funds, and the county also expects to be paid about $500,000 from the nursing home for the indirect services it provides to help keep the facility operational.

Chairwoman Mary Pat Hancock said she gets a lot of confused questions from constituents about the state of the county's budget, because they read that sales tax is up $540,000 over budget, or the county got more revenue in the tax lien auction than anticipated.

It's situations like this, Hancock said, that put the county in such a dire financial position.

"It’s very hard for our constituents to understand what’s going on," Hancock said. "We should have more money than we do and we have less than anybody thinks."

Hancock added later, "We cling to the good news, but the fact of the matter is this is a crisis, a financial crisis."

The county will need to keep paying the nursing home bills, German said, regardless of how long it takes the state to reimburse the expense.

A landowner contacted the Sheriff's Office and tipped them that there was a pot crop growing on another property. The caller was told this morning that law enforcement had a helicopter fly over the property to search for the marijuana and none was found.

The insistant tipster called back a few minutes ago, apparently to double-check on the status of the matter. An officer contacted the one who spoke with the caller earlier today and asked what to tell this guy.

The officer, sounding slightly annoyed, said "Like I told him this morning, we had a helicopter fly over the property and saw the plants and they weren't marijuana."

In other words, "There's NO POT growing on your neighbor's land."

Maybe they really are just weeds.

Already burdened by a seemingly intractable unfunded mandate in Medicaid, Genesee County isn't being burdened much by the Affordable Healthcare Act, according to County Manager Jay Gsell.

Even the provisions treating the county as an employer, which have been in effect for two years, Gsell said, have had negligible impact on the budget.

While the act, often referred to as Obamacare, is increasing the size of the pool of local residents who have health care coverage under Medicaid, Gsell said if the state follows through on seeking funding from the federal government, county taxpayers won't be shouldering that burden.

The act requires states to offer Medicaid to people with annual incomes of 133 percent of the poverty rate or less, Gsell said, and NYS already offers Medicaid at 150 percent of the poverty rate.

Also, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already instituted insurance exchanges.

With those two criteria being met, the state should receive funding from Washington to cover increases in Medicaid coverage, if the state applies for it.

The state will cover the increases in administrative costs, Gsell said, for new Medicaid recipients.

Gsell said the new group of people who will be covered by Medicaid have traditionally just gone without medical coverage, meaning they get no preventative care and seek only emergency care that the hospital can only write off as "charity care."

Now these people can establish a relationship with a doctor or clinic, get check ups and physicals and better monitor their health concerns.

"From a community standpoint, I think that's better health care," Gsell said.

A proposal to decriminalize the nonviolent offenses of 16- and 17-year-olds could cost the county more than $1 million a year, County Attorney Chuck Zambito warned the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.

He called the proposed bills "a huge unfunded mandate."

Zambito said issue isn't the concept, just the lack of funding to go with it.

"It's a policy decision by the legislature and that's fine," Zambito said."I'm not necessarily against the philosophy. The problem is they're doing it without the considering the effect, what the changes are going to do to the current system, that's the problem I have with it. It's another example of an unfunded mandate. They implement it without considering the real cost for it. If they'll pay for it, then fine."

There are currently two bills under consideration. Both would take nonviolent offenses, including what are now considered nonviolent felonies, and move the prosecution of those cases out of the criminal justice system.

There would be a youth division court set up under the county court that would deal with youthful offenders and decide how to properly dispose of those cases, be it conditional discharge, probation, referral to the Department of Social Services or family court.

One proposal would require the County Attorney's Office to handle the cases, the other would put the responsibility in the District Attorney's Office.

Zambito said up and down the line, there would be additional costs for the county, from staff to handle the caseload in either his office or the DA's, to specialists handling the cases in probation and DSS.

There would also be an issue of housing youthful offenders arrested on a weekend who would be held until the youth division court opened the next business day. That cost is about $500 per day per offender.

Deputy County Attorney Durin Rogers said the drive for these bills is coming from NYS Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman.

Recently, in promoting the bills, LIppman said:

"Treating 16- and 17-year olds as adults flies in the face of what science tells us about adolescent development. The adolescent brain is not fully developed. Even older adolescents have a more limited ability to make more reasoned judgments and engage in the kind of thinking that weighs risks and consequences in a mature fashion."

Assessors in Genesee County say the county's online GIS Map is an essential part of their jobs and up-to-date aerial photos are needed to help them correctly evaluate properties.

The county assessors' association sent a letter to the local legislature recently asking that the county continue to fund aerial flyovers on at least an every-three-year basis to keep the maps up to date.

The problem for the county in tight budget times: The cost is at least more than $65,000 and a nine-year plan would cost a total of $301,000.

The cost would increase significantly if the flyovers took place every two years, providing more up-to-date information.

On Wednesday, the Ways and Means Committee agreed to send a letter to the assessors and inquire if the towns, villages and city that are asking to continue the service will help pay for the service.

In their letter, the assessors said the aerial photos help determine land classifications.

"It is used to view the overall imagery of a parcel that is not available to view from the right of way," they wrote. "Outdated imagery makes it much more difficult to see any changes that may have occurred to a piece of property ... aerial imagery helps in discovering improvements to a piece of property that otherwise would not have a value."

Press release:

In March, ACT Rochester released its 2012 Community Report Card, which showed how well the seven-county region compares to New York State in education, health, housing and nine other areas.

Today, ACT Rochester released individual report cards for Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Wayne and Wyoming counties. These County Report Cards indicate how each county is faring in the same 12 topic areas compared to the state and the extent of long-term progress each has made since 2000.

“We got a clear message from the more than 225 people who attended our Community Report Card event that while the regional report was eye-opening, more county-specific information was needed to drive action,” says Ann M. Johnson, ACT Rochester program director.

The County Report Cards aggregate data from more than 100 community indicators at www.ACTRochester.org <http://www.ACTRochester.org> and use symbols, colors and arrows to provide a quick, at-a-glance overview of the well-being of each of our seven counties. This data cover the topics of Arts, Culture and Leisure, Children and Youth, Community Engagement, Economy, Education, Environment, Financial Self-Sufficiency, Health, Housing, Public Safety, Technology, and Transportation.

Genesee County has relatively low crime, affordable housing and it is a regional leader in tourism. Young people are doing well on several measures: pre-kindergarten participation has increased, graduation rates are high, cases of Persons In Need of Supervision (PINS) are down, and high proportions of youth report healthy community involvement. However, areas of potential concern include increases in children living in poverty, car crashes involving alcohol and people seeking substance abuse treatment.

Some specific examples include:

•       Tourism spending in all counties in the region fell since 2005, but Genesee's rate ($1,570 per resident) remained the second highest, with only Ontario County attracting more tourism dollars per capita ($1,670). Genesee also had the highest recreation spending per resident in the region, at $182 in 2010.

•       Genesee County's average salary, adjusted for inflation, has been rising since 2004. In 2010, the average salary of $33,820 represented an increase of 7 percent since 2000. This growth was similar to the state’s growth, and well above the regional growth rate of 1 percent.

•       Although poverty rates increased across the region, Genesee County experienced the greatest increase of all the counties, rising from 8 percent to 14 percent. The national and state rate is 14 percent.

Overall, all seven counties are performing better than New York State in Education and Housing, with six performing better in Children and Youth, Economy, and Financial Self-Sufficiency. In Community Engagement all counties except Monroe lag New York State.

When reviewing long-term trending, most of the counties are either making improvements (more than 1 percent) or results are unchanged. Only Transportation has improved by more than 1 percent (indicated by "up" arrows) in all seven counties. In the area of Education, all but Wyoming County has shown progress. Progress in the areas of Community Engagement, the Economy, and Housing is deteriorating by 1 percent or more across all seven counties.

“With these county report cards now available, we encourage neighbors and community leaders to locally and regionally work closely together to change what is not working and build on what is,” says Tom Argust, chair of ACT Rochester’s Advisory Committee.

ACT Rochester is a joint project of Rochester Area Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Rochester. Data for these Report Cards and all data on ACTRochester.org is compiled and updated by the Center for Governmental Research.

To find the the Genesee County Report Card and County Profile, visit www.ACTRochester.org <http://www.ACTRochester.org>, click on the "Our Community" tab at the top and then select Genesee County.

Area scouts showed their colors and displayed true Boy Scout pride last night for the "BoyPower Distinguished Citizens" dinner at Genesee Community College.

These young men and their leaders are members of Iroquois Council Trail, Inc., the Boy Scouts of America council serving Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, Livingston and Niagara counties. Every year, they honor one outstanding community member from each county.

Betty Lapp was the 2012 Distinguished Citizen for Genesee County. Lapp is the former director of GCC's Nursing program. She retired in 2005, and has been a "professional volunteer" ever since.

Originally from Ohio, Lapp has an impressive track record as a Geneseean:

• Board Chairperson of United Memorial Medical Center
• Board Chairperson of Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (formerly BOCES)
• Regional Action Phone
• Family Counseling Services
• Parent Teacher Association
• Cub Scouts
• Genesee County Department of Health
• Genesee County Mental Health Services

Her service to the wider region includes membership in the following organizations:

• Lake Plains Community Care Network
• WNY Rural Area Health Education Center
• Genesee Valley School Boards Association

Other recipients were:

James Culbertson, Livingston County

David Bellavia, Orleans County (Bellavia currently lives in Batavia, but is originally from Lyndonville)

MORE after the jump (click on the headline to read more):

Mitchell McLaughlin, Wyoming County

Ken Kaufman and Michelle Farina, Niagara County

According to Roger Triftshauser, DDS, BoyPower Dinner chairman and master of ceremonies, these are people who have "gone over and above in service of the common good."

Click here for a list of past recipients.

The featured guest speaker was Vice Admiral Dirk J. Debbink, chief of the Navy Reserve. He spoke of his days as a Boy Scout and of what the Scouts taught him about preparedness, leadership, teamwork, self-reliance, and the "power of an oath."

Triftshauser announced that he would be paying for two Boy Scouts to attend this year's summer camp in honor of Debbink. He chose to do this in lieu of giving Debbink a personal gift, for which he knew he would receive a check in return.

Additional photos:

Scout Executive James McMullan

Photo courtesy of Kevin Carlson

Silent auction items:

When county legislators went looking for ways to cut expenses in 2012, they asked several department heads to target certain percentages of cost reductions.

Gary Horton, public defender, needed to trim 10 percent from his budget.

That meant ending one of the services his office provides, he said. He couldn't cut criminal defense, and he couldn't reduce family court expenditures.

That left, he told the Public Service Committee today, his office's appeals division.

The division was staffed by a single attorney, and that attorney is now in private practice, receiving assignments from Randy Zickl, the attorney who handles the county's assigned attorney program.

Zickl told the committee that while the assigned counsel program is slightly under budget, it won't end the year that way because the office will be picking up so much of the appeals work for indigent defendants.

It wasn't an expense anticipated in the county's budget for the assigned counsel office.

"It hasn't been too bad, but it's building up," Zickl said.

Committee Chairman Ray Cianfrini guesstimated the eventual cost overrun could be $100,000. Zickl didn't argue the estimate and Horton told Cianfrini if the original appeals attorney was still on his staff, the cost would be significantly less.

An appeal can cost the county from $2,400 (sometimes, but rarely, less) up to the thousands of dollars, Zickl said.

And since defendants have a constitutional right to adequate defense, the county has no choice but to foot the bill one way or the other.

"There's much more work to do on the defense side of an appeal," Horton said.

The defense attorney must read every page of every transcript from every appearance a defendant makes in court, identify points to appeal, formulate an argument, find the proper citations and write a 50-page or longer brief.

The prosecution, he said, need only respond to the points raised by the defense and such responses tend to be about only five pages long, Horton said.

That's why, he said, appeals can get so expensive.

Years ago, he said, his office didn't handle appeals. They were always handled by assigned counsel, and that's another reason he said that if cuts to his office were mandated, cutting appeals made the most sense.

Horton also explained that Genesee County is joining with several other counties in the region to apply for a grant that would create a regionwide appeals office that would assist defendents with appeals throughout the region.

If the program doesn't come together, Horton still hopes Genesee County will get the grant -- it was the first county to apply for the funds from the state. The money can be applied to funding a local appeals division.

Genesee County officials took dead aim at Medicaid on Monday afternoon -- not at the idea that the neediest among us receive free medical care, but that the state and federally mandated program is forced on local governments with no cost controls.

About 40 percent of the tax bill of each property owner in Genesee County -- a total of $9.8 million -- goes to help fund Medicaid.

Each week, the county wires $185,572 to the state to pay for Medicaid.

"As a county, we have waited to present our case -- that change needs to happen and fast before the ship sinks," said Legislator Annie Lawrence (pictured). "I ask you now Albany electeds, don't come home without real mandate relief for all counties in the state."

Lawrence was among several county officials who spoke at a "May Day" rally for mandate relief for local governments.

County officials also took aim at health care premiums that can't be reduced by law, and the spiraling cost of employee pensions.

All told, the nearly $2.2 million in anticipated new costs from these mandated expenses exceed the ceiling of the property tax cap by more than $1 million.

Officials are calling on Albany to enact meaningful mandate relief so that local taxes can go to local programs, such as law enforcement and highways.

The rally is being duplicated this week in counties across the state.