June 20, 2008

End of Legislative Session Agreements
With Monday, June 23 slated as the last scheduled day of the 2008 State Legislative Session, the Senate and Assembly have reached agreement on a few issues. Two areas of agreement significant to counties where consensus has been reached are on 1.) the ban on mandatory overtime for nurses and 2.) the expansion of renewable energy net-metering law.

The Governor and legislative leaders announced agreement on legislation that will prohibit health care facilities, including those operated by counties, from requiring nurses to work more than their regularly scheduled work hours. The agreement does not place a cap on the number of hours that a nurse can work per day or week. The bill contains exceptions to the new mandatory overtime prohibition for specific circumstances including disasters, official declaration of emergencies, ongoing medical / surgical procedure, voluntarily agreement and where no other alternative staffing is available to provide safe patient care. The changes will takes effect in one year, giving health care employers time to plan for implementation, increase recruitment efforts adjust work schedules and obtaining contracts for temporary services.

In addition, the leaders agreed to allow businesses and farms that operate qualified renewable energy systems to sell excess electricity back to their local utility, a process known as net metering. A package of bills will expand the State’s existing solar net metering program to apply to businesses, and increase the size of eligible solar system for residential customers. Use of wind and agricultural waste-to-energy technology for all utility customer classes will also be authorized under the agreement.

As for the Governor’s biggest proposal of the year – capping property taxes – Governor Paterson stated that there was little chance of reaching agreement before Monday and that he would push for action later this year. But, those of us familiar with Murphy’s Law (as well as Albany) know that anything is possible and subject to change at the end of a Legislative Session. These are among the hundreds of bills that NYSAC is tracking as the Legislature concludes its 2008 deliberations. (Jessica Morelli and Pete Savage)

County Cost of Pre-K Increased
We’ve come a long way since the State proposal to Cap the county share of pre-kindergarten special education. A long way down, that is. In an unfortunate (for counties) shifting of circumstances (and funding), the State has issued a directive stating that counties will now be responsible for the entire cost of the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) administration. Until now, Federal IDEA funding ($9.5 million) was transferred to school districts to cover their cost of CPSE Administration. Any cost left over, after school districts paid their bills for CPSE Administration, was the county responsibility—this was called “Excess CPSE.”

Counties currently pay 40.5% of the cost of Excess CPSE and are reimbursed 59.5 percent. Recently, however (and this is where it gets tricky), the Federal government issued guidance to New York State that this Federal IDEA funding may no longer be used to fund CPSE Administration. As a result, the entire cost of CPSE Administration will become “Excess CPSE” and therefore the responsibility of the counties. Without the Federal $9.5 million, counties are now responsible for paying 40.5 percent of the entire school district share of $9.5 million, which equates $3.8 million. So, in very basic terms: schools will now bill counties for all of their CPSE Administrative costs. This is an issue of great concern to NYSAC because CPSE Administrative costs have being growing rapidly. This directive codifies NYSAC’s serious concern with the overall pre-k special education program: schools have no incentive to control costs since they have no fiscal skin in the program; costs continue to rise and counties foot the bill. (Jessica Morelli)

State Agrees to Assume NYC OTB Operations
In an eleventh hour agreement to help save close to 1,500 jobs in New York City, the State has agreed to assume the operations of the City’s Off Track Betting Corporation. As part of the agreement the City will continue to receive $3.25 million a year over the next three years for providing public access television channels for horse racing.

The other six regional OTBs and the 41 counties that sponsor them will also benefit from the agreement. The measure calls for the OTBs and the New York Racing Association to keep an additional one percent of the sums of winning bets. The one percentage boost in “take-out” on all NYRA races will take effect after the Saratoga season concludes this year. This change could provide as much as $7 million a year collectively for the OTBs and should boost the residual payments for their sponsoring counties. (Mark LaVigne)

New Unemployment Numbers Add To Perfect Storm in NYS
As state legislators wind down the scheduled 2008 Legislative Session, new unemployment numbers combined with recent population estimates have county leaders concerned about the state’s forecast.

“What we have on our hands is a perfect storm. We are experiencing lagging population and economic growth, higher costs, fewer jobs and a declining property tax base and inevitably higher and higher property taxes,” said NYSAC President Lucille M. McKnight. “We must all recognize that there is a problem and work together—the state and counties—to stave off this storm.”

Today’s unemployment numbers released by the New York State Labor Department showed the highest monthly percentage point increase from 4.7% to 5.2 % (seasonably adjusted) since January of 1991. This is the 6th consecutive month of declining numbers of private sector jobs and higher unemployment according to the State Labor Department. The national unemployment rate is 5.5 percent. (Click here for a state map that shows the increase in unemployment by county.)

“These numbers, coupled with the fact that 38 of New York’s counties have lost population or have grown less than the state rate since 2000, are just one more indication of the need for the reduction of local property taxes. New York is losing people and jobs because of high property taxes and the cost of doing business in the state—both of which are some of highest in the nation,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario. “Our counties need more flexibility to lower their own costs and raise revenue, and they want to work with state leaders to create more prospects for economic growth.” (Jeff Osinski)

NYSAC Helps Push Consumer Protection Bill Through State Legislature
State lawmakers this week passed a bill that protects New Yorkers from high priced record retrieval service companies.

“So often, consumers can save money if they just have a little bit more public information. This legislation simply ensures that New York homeowners know that they can save between $25 to $75 for a record they are entitled to at their county clerk’s office,” said NYSAC President Lucille M. McKnight. NYSAC worked with the New York State County Clerks Association to advocate for the bill’s passage, and urges Governor David Paterson to sign the measure into law.

For the past several years, property owners across New York State have received questionable solicitations for "record retrieval services" offering to obtain certified copies of deeds related to the consumer's property. These services can charge between $40 up to $90 for a certified copy of a deed that can easily be obtained at the County Clerk's office for a few dollars in most cases.

The bill (S.8517 sponsored by Senator Steven Saland and A.11544 sponsored by Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer) requires companies that offer a certified copy of a property deed to provide, in large print, a notice that certified copies of property deeds are available at the county clerk's office for a nominal fee.

“Now the public will be better informed about records that are already available. State Legislators are to be commended for helping consumers avoid unnecessary expenses. In these tight economic times when gasoline, food and energy costs have reached record heights, every bit of savings is important to working families,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario. (Pete Savage)

Cattaraugus County’s Crystal Abers Receives Excellence in Leadership Award
By the year 2020, experts predict New York State’s population of seniors ages 85 years and older will double from the current rate to nearly 1,000,000.

With that backdrop, Cattaraugus County Chair Crystal J. Abers was honored today with the annual NY Connects Excellence in Leadership Award presented by the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) and the New York Association of Counties (NYSAC) at a ceremony during the Aging Concerns Unite Us (ACUU) conference in Albany. The award is given each year to individuals who have shown leadership in advancing the cause of long term care reform in New York State.

Aging population trends specific to Cattaraugus County indicate that there are 12,206 people over the age of 65 living in the county in 2006. That number represents nearly 15 percent of its total population of 81,534. Furthermore, 1,759 of the county's total population is over the age of 85—a number that is expected to double by 2020.

"I am proud to honor Crystal Abers for making a difference in Cattaraugus County for those in need of living assistance. By providing a comprehensive local program for seniors, adults and children with disabilities, Cattaraugus County is indeed making a difference," said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario, as he presented the award with Michael Burgess, Director of the NYS Office of the Aging. (Mark LaVigne)

NYS Office of Homeland Security Announces 2008 CEDAP Program
The Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP) offers technology, equipment and training to public safety agencies to enhance regional response capabilities, mutual aid and interoperable communications. Eligible applicants include agencies, departments and jurisdictions who have not received technology funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) or Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) since October 1, 2005. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible online at www.rkb.us. Questions about the CEDAP applications or equipment can be answered online, by calling the CEDAP Information Desk (1-866-659-9170), or by contacting Earl Knowles at the NYS Office of Homeland Security (1-866-837-9133).

Save the date for the NYSAC Fall Seminar
The NYSAC Fall Seminar will be held September 24-26, 2008 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County.

Upcoming Next Week
The Senate and Assembly are scheduled to be in session on Monday to conclude the 2008 State Legislative Session.