NYSAC - New York State Association of Counties

February 20, 2009

Governor Directs Flags to be Flown at Half-Staff for Victims of Flight 3407
Governor David A. Paterson has directed that flags on State government buildings across New York be flown at half-staff on Monday, February 23, 2009, in honor of the 50 victims of the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407. The plane went down in the Erie County Town of Clarence. Thoughts and prayers from the NYSAC community of counties go out to the family and friends of the victims and to all of the emergency workers, volunteers and public personnel who have coordinated the response to this tragic accident.

Federal Stimulus to Help New York Weather Economic Downturn
The $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Barrack Obama on Monday provides over $463 billion in new federal funding for health care, education, infrastructure projects, direct benefits to the poor and unemployed, as well as $326 billion for targeted tax cuts in an effort to reverse the most significant national economic downturn since the Great Depression. A preliminary analysis completed by Governor David Paterson indicates that New York State can expect to receive at least $24.6 billion over the next two years for programs that directly impact our State.     

Of particular interest to county officials is a temporary increase in Federal Medicaid matching funds, which the Governor projects will provide approximately $11 billion in State and local fiscal relief over a 27-month period.

Under the Federal plan, each State qualifies for a 6.2% increase in their Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP, and supplemental increases based on changes in the statewide unemployment rates pursuant to a formula. Based on the current economic forecast, the Governor anticipates that New York will receive a 58.8% FMAP growing to 61.6% over the 9 quarters the temporary FMAP increase is effective.

Lead by the efforts of United States Senator Charles Schumer, the final federal stimulus bill includes a provision that prohibits states that finance a portion of the state’s Medicaid costs with local government funds to raise the effective proportion paid by local governments compared to the levels prior to any temporary FMAP increase. Because of this provision and the support of Governor Paterson, counties and New York City will receive their equitable share of this temporary FMAP increase. NYSAC has been working closely with the New York State Division of the Budget and the New York State Department of Health as they have developed the State’s plan to draw these additional Medicaid funds and provide each county with their proportionate share.

In addition, the Federal stimulus legislation delivers substantial support for infrastructure projects. At the national level this includes $48 billion in funding for transportation capital projects ($8.4 billion for mass transit, $27.5 billion for highways and bridges, $9.3 billion for rail, $1.3 billion for airport improvement projects, and $1.5 billion for discretionary surface transportation projects). Of this total, Governor Paterson estimates that New York is expected to receive at least $1.25 billion for the mass transit and $1.1 billion for highways and bridges.

The plan also includes $16.8 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and technologies, including research and development. According to the Governor, New York will receive $126 million through the State Energy Program and $31 million in alternative energy block grants. It provides $4.5 billion for energy research and development projects nationwide, including $2.0 billion for energy storage technologies.   

New York State is also projected to receive $435 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund; $85 million from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund; and $404 million to help weatherize the homes of low-income individuals.

NYSAC has been working closely with the newly created New York State Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet, which has been appointed by the Governor to help the State manage the development of State and local infrastructure projects financed through these federal funds. Given the specific rules surrounding the use of these Federal funds, NYSAC anticipates that various projects advanced by counties will be strongly considered for funding. NYSAC has also expressed concerns that many local highway and bridge projects advanced by counties and towns would not be eligible for Federal Stimulus funding and is very pleased that Governor Paterson announced this week that he has authorized the State Budget Director to work with the Senate and Assembly to restore local highway funds originally proposed to be cut from the 2009-10 Executive Budget. This restoration would help ensure that funds will be available to support local projects in communities across the State.

Because the Federal stimulus builds from existing federal programs, the new funding will have a broad impact on the various programs and services administered by New York counties. The stimulus provides funding for a number of other health and human services initiatives over the next two years. New York is expected to receive $1.3 billion in enhanced food stamp benefits; $1.3 billion to fund 33-week expansion of unemployment benefits (to a total of 59 weeks), as well as provide additional weekly benefits through December 31, 2009 instead of March 31, 2009; and $100 million for child care services for low-income individuals. NYSAC will be working closely with the State as these funding opportunities are considered, especially in the context of the 2009-10 State Budget.

County officials looking for additional information about the Federal Stimulus, including the local impact of the Medicaid FMAP benefit should contact the NYSAC offices for more information. (Ken Crannell)

The Gathering Economic Storm Provides a Roadmap for Recovery
As New York State prepares for an infusion of $24 billion in stimulus funds from the federal government, a new report issued this week called The Gathering Storm addresses a range of coalescing challenges brewing over the Empire State—challenges to be addressed for the state to fully recover from the current economic recession.

“Government at all levels needs to rein in spending and realign service delivery to correspond with revenue during this economic recession. This is an historic opportunity to make meaningful change in New York, and we can start with the economic and public policy issues laid out in this report,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario.

The report details trends affecting all of New York and particularly upstate. It highlights our stagnant population growth, the continuing exodus of the young and educated to other states, an increasing population of those over age 65, higher rates of poverty than the nation as a whole, dismal private sector job growth, increasing unemployment and a business climate ranked as one of the most costly in the nation.

“Despite these significant challenges all hope is not lost, as long as we begin to act in a concerted effort to turn this ship of state around,” said NYSAC President Sarah Purdy, the Yates County Administrator. “The federal stimulus funds are buying us time to step back and resolve some of the challenges plaguing our state and to invest in the core strengths of our communities.”

The Gathering Storm cites several reasons for the decline of the state’s economy and predicts it will continue without policy changes designed to relieve the burden on businesses and taxpayers. The report says decades of over-spending, over-taxing, over-regulating and over-mandating have contributed to New York’s private sector growth ranking of 35th in the country over the past 10 years and the flight of businesses to other states.

“This research report lays out our biggest challenges and our inherent strengths, and provides policy makers with a road map that will lead us in the direction of growth and prosperity,” says Acquario.

For a copy of the report, visit our Website at www.nysac.org. (Jeff Osinski)

2009 Legislative Conference Resolutions Available on Online
County delegates at NYSAC’s 2009 Legislative Conference in Albany last week adopted a series of standing committee resolutions designed to guide NYSAC’s legislative efforts. The resolutions have been posted on the NYSAC website and are available, by standing committee, at http://www.nysac.org/Legislative_Action_Center/2009_Legislative_Resolutions.php.

Timely OCFS Report on Program Governor Proposes Eliminating
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has released a report entitled, Community Optional Preventive Services (COPS): Findings from OCFS’s COPS Survey. The survey details COPS programs and services by county across New York State. COPS programs are targeted to families where a child is not at immediate risk of foster care, but where primary or secondary forms of preventive services would help to avert family crises. In total, COPS programs serve approximately 31,000 families throughout the counties of New York State, including New York City, and the cost for these programs is over $55 million. The OCFS report is very timely given that the 2009-10 Executive Budget proposes eliminating the entire COPS program on a retroactive basis. (Jessica Morelli)

Court of Appeals Upholds Erie County Sheriff’s Ability to Commingle Sentenced and Unsentenced Inmates
A decision handed down this week by the New York State Court of Appeals says that the Erie County Sheriff does not need to bargain with public employee unions before making a fundamental executive policy decision relating to primary mission of his or her office.

Erie County had in the past separated its inmates based on whether they had been sentenced or unsentenced. CSEA corrections officers guarded sentenced inmates at the Erie County Correctional Facility and Teamster Deputy Sheriff’s guarded unsentenced inmates at the Erie County Holding Center. A move by the sheriff to combine both sentenced and unsentenced inmates in order to alleviate the overcrowding concerns cited by the State Commission on Correction prompted the lawsuit by unions that alleged an improper practice because the action unilaterally transferred exclusive bargaining unit work to non unit employees.

The Court of Appeals, citing past precedent, held that “A public employer’s decisions are not bargainable as terms and conditions of employment where they are inherently and fundamentally policy decisions relating to the primary mission of the employer.” The court, however, recognized the statutory requirement that the Sheriff must implement and maintain a formal and objective classification system for the housing of inmates in order that such system fosters the safety, security and good order of the jail, while at the same time ensuring that necessary precautions are made for the safety and welfare of those in custody. 

Even though the court did not require the Erie County Sheriff to enter into collective bargaining with the unions prior to this policy decision, it did require that once such a system is implemented the impact of it upon the contracts between the parties is subject to bargaining. (Rob Gibbon)

Call for Articles for Spring NYSAC News
The Spring 2009 issue of the NYSAC News magazine will focus on county budget and finance and will be published in time for the 2009 County Finance School, which is scheduled for May in Syracuse. We are seeking articles for submission.

We are looking for articles that highlight innovative ideas geared toward the innovations counties are exploring and implement the more effective and efficient delivery of programs and services.

This edition of our magazine is designed to support those efforts through articles that promote sharing best practices, detail cost saving innovations and modernizations that are making counties more effective government organizations.

Submissions should be between 750 to 1,000 words and include a high resolution (300 dpi) photograph of the author. Articles should be sent by March 20th to mlavigne@nysac.org. (Mark LaVigne)

Join NYSAC Group on Facebook, Check Out Conference Photos
NYSAC’s ongoing mission is to represent, educate and advocate for member counties and the thousands of elected and appointed officials who serve the public. Since our inception in 1925, we have been a part of significant changes in the way we use technology innovations in the way we communicate with our members.

Today, we offer many vehicles for communicating with county officials, which include print and electronic publications, www.nysac.org, listservs, and most recently social networking sites including a NYSAC TV channel on You Tube and NYSAC Group on Facebook. If you have a profile on Facebook, we encourage you to join the NYSAC Group. You can find us by searching New York State Association of Counties in the search bar in Facebook, www.facebook.com.

Check it out. We have posted some of the many pictures taken at last week’s 2009 Legislative Conference. (Mark LaVigne)

Next Week

• The Senate and Assembly are scheduled to be in Albany for Legislative Session from Monday, February 23rd to Friday, February 29th.