NYSAC - New York State Association of Counties

NYSAC Weekly Wire

Re-caps the week's events, legislative action, and other news that impact county government.

April 30, 2010

200+ County Officals to Convene at County Finance School in Syracuse
The 44th Annual County Finance School will bring together more than 200 county finance and budget officials. The Finance School is co-sponsored by NYSAC, the Office of the State Comptroller and the NYS County Treasurers and Finance Officers Association.

The three day conference will offer educational, accredited training for all finance related areas of county government, plus updates on federal healthcare reform and the state budget.  
It will be held from May 5th-May 7th at the Sheraton Syracuse University. Registration materials can be found at www.nysac.org. Walk-ins are welcome.

Groups Discuss OCA’s Proposal to Take Over Juvenile Probation
NYSAC and several county groups, including The Council of Probation Administrators (COPA) and the Probation Officers Association (POA) are looking at legislation introduced in the State Senate and Assembly which would transfer from the executive to the judiciary the regulation of probation services in family courts throughout the state. 

 S.7426, sponsored by Senator Sampson (also A.10793, sponsored by Assembly member Weinstein), pertain only to juvenile probation, but there is larger discussion about a proposal which would include all probation services. This would represent sweeping reform to the way New York State approaches funding probation by placing oversight with the Office of Court Administration (OCA) in the Judicial Branch, rather than the Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives (DPCA) in the Executive Branch. 

NYSAC is working with COPA and OCA to craft the particular language of the bill so as to ensure counties are helped by this new legislation. For years, the share of probation aid which counties receive from the state has gradually shrunk, and currently counties are only reimbursed 15% of the total costs. The judiciary's bill proposes to increase to the state’s contribution to 50%, or $30 - $35 million (up from $10 million). The bill also provides for caseload standards for probation officers, including setting a maximum number of probationers to be supervised.  

Introduction of this legislation has prompted a much needed discussion at the state level about how probation is funded. As state reimbursement for probation has waned, probation departments and counties have struggled to budget for this mandated service. As caseloads for probation officers grow, and budgets shrink due to the economy, advocates and opponents of this measure look at this legislation as a way to prompt a high-level discussion about how probation should be funded in New York State.

State Budget Update
Governor Paterson has upped the ante in budget negotiations by demanding the Legislature begin working five day weeks until they get a budget deal (they are currently working a part of the week), furloughing 100,000 state workers one day per week until the budget is adopted (further details below), and offering an additional $620 million in spending cuts and revenue actions that would finally bring the executive budget recommendation into balance. 

The necessity for the additional $620 million in cuts and revenue actions proposed by the Governor stems from a variety of factors: 1) the Governor’s last official budget action was during the 21-day amendment period, which provided a Budget that netted a $480 million surplus; 2) since then, the Revenue Consensus Forecast concluded the budget gap had increase by $850 million due to a continued decline in revenues; and 3) the enactment of federal health care reform.  

NYSAC remains concerned over a protracted state budget and the impact on county reimbursement for delivering state services locally.

Furloughs of State Workers Proposed by Governor
Governor David Paterson has proposed furloughing state workers one day each week until a budget is enacted.  Details are still being worked out, but it is estimated that up to 100,000 state workers could be impacted and the furloughs would be managed by State Agencies to help ensure that State government keeps operating as efficiently as possible 5 days a week.

The one day per week furloughs would entail the worker staying home with no pay for that day and no ability to recoup the wages lost for the furlough day.  The Division of Budget indicates that each day of furlough would save the state about $30 million.

The Governor’s Budget includes $250 million in savings from workforce actions – any savings from furloughs would be credited against the $250 million. The State Legislature was silent on the proposal until they get more details.

Listening Sessions to Give Local Farmers Chance to Voice Concerns
The Oswego County Legislature will be holding a series of listening sessions to address the concerns of local farmers. NYSAC will be in attendance, and all local farmers and county officials are invited to attend.

The listening sessions will give farmers a chance to have their voice heard. Their concerns and suggestions will be recorded and transmitted to the New York State Association of Counties Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Future of New York Farming.

Among the attendees will be Oswego County Legislators Barbara Brown, Amy Tresidder, and Terry Wilbur, all of which were appointed by NYSAC to represent Oswego County on the 36-member task force.

The first listening session will be on May 3rd at 7pm. For more information visit the Agricultural News section on the Blue Ribbon Task Force page at www.nysac.org.

County Leaders to Convene to Address New York’s Aging Population 
As New York State struggles to pass a budget, counties throughout the state are feeling the impact. As a result, many counties are being forced to make difficult decisions, not the least of which is how to continue to operate county-run nursing homes in spite of decreasing state commitment.

The fiscal plight of the county nursing homes is a policy issue that has been exacerbated by the increasing population of New Yorkers over 65 years of age, the unsustainable growth of the State’s Medicaid program, the unceasing growth of property taxes to pay for public programs, the annual State Budget battles in Albany, and county budget deficits brought on by the recession.

To address these issues, county leaders from across the state are convening a Nursing Home Summit in Ulster County on May 25th.

Transportation Funding – Latest Emergency Spending Bill
A change was made in funding for transportation/infrastructure projects in the most recently enacted emergency appropriations bill. Governor David Paterson included additional federal funding appropriation authority for transportation projects that are funded with 100 percent federal dollars, or with a combination of federal and local government matching funds. Any projects that include a state match were not funded.

Prior to this point, the emergency spending bills only included funding authority for federal ARRA projects, and allowed reappropriations to spend out as long as bills submitted by contractors was for work completed prior to April 1. 

The latest bill includes $40 million in new federal funding authority for project costs incurred during the April 1st to May 2nd time period (as long as no state funds are linked to the project). While this new appropriation authority is welcomed, no additional funding was provided for CHIP and Marchiselli Aid as requested by NYSAC and our county highway officials. It is expected that this new federal authority (under the terms described) will be continued in the next emergency spending bill.

Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance Nets Savings for Counties
Counties and municipalities in the MEGA  program saved more than $2 million in electric and gas purchases  over the past year. One of the reasons for the additional savings is the growth of the alliance. In the past 18 months, 15 additional counties (now totaling 28 counties) have joined the 8 cities, 15 towns and villages and many school districts enrolled in MEGA. 

This year, MEGA and NYSAC also launched the Solar and Energy Efficiency Project to help counties achieve savings through self-generation of energy, allowing communities to become more energy self-sufficient and stabilize the cost of energy for the long term. So far, MEGA has received participation forms from 6 counties indicating their interest in exploring the opportunities for solar and energy-efficiency projects.

For more information on how your county can benefit from MEGA, please contact Katy Vescio at 518-465-1473.

NYSAC Attends New York State Board of Elections Conference
The New York State Board of Elections held a conference this week that included workshops, information sessions, and setting NYSBOE’s top priorities for the upcoming year.

The biggest concern facing county election boards this year is completing the switch from lever machines to ones that read the ballots electronically. He said that 99% of counties are ready to put the new machines into effect, and the transition will be tested in the upcoming elections, which will require the use of the new electronic machines.

Legislatively, the top priority is to ensure that bill S.7466 (Sampson) gets passed; an act to simplify absentee ballots and increase the time frame for military voters to get their ballots mailed in. Among other bills that the NYSBOE is concentrating on is a bill that would allow 17 years old to be election site watchers, a bill that would expedite the way in which sites report their results, and a bill that would bar any person running for election from being an election site inspector.

Federal Government

New York's Census Response is Lagging Behind National Average
New York State's response rate to the U.S. Decennial Census was 67 percent, below the national 72 percent participation rate, according to the numbers released by the Census Bureau this week. Topping out the New York responses was Oswego County, who has an 87 percent response rate so far.

The data obtained through the census of population is used by the federal government to apportion the number of members each state has in the United States House of Representatives and to determine relative shares of federal resources each state will receive. The data is also used to re-draw state and local legislative districts in accordance with federal one person, one vote requirements.

Following the 2000 federal Census of population, New York lost 2 Congressional seats and untold millions of dollars in federal resources due in part to an undercount of the state’s actual population. All counties are strongly urged to promote the full participation of your county’s residents in Census 2010 to ensure a full count of all of your population.

Census enumerators will now begin attempting to contact each address that did not respond to attempt to obtain a full counting of New Yorkers. Please encourage your residents to respond to the census.

County Photo Challenge Redux: Send In Your County At Work
Last year’s County Photo Challenge was such a huge success, with over 100 photos submitted by 30 counties, we have decided to do it all over again. This time, what sets your county apart in the day-to-day activities in your communities? Farm fields, barns, courthouses, city scapes, colleges, universities, the soccer fields, ice rinks, lakes, rivers, bike trails, hospitals and factories. Send in and share with us a photo that best captures or represents your communities. We would also appreciate photos of county elected officials at work, or speaking at various events.

Submit photos to mlavigne@nysac.org by June 15, 2010 under the subject NYSAC County Photo Challenge. Photos will be highlighted in the Summer 2010 issue of the *NYSAC News* magazine and on our website at www.nysac.org . One photo will be selected to be the cover of our summer magazine. The photos should be high resolution (at least 300 dpi) at 4 by 6 inches. The cover image must be a vertical 8 by 10 inch image at 300 dpi.

Next Week

• The NYS Association of Self-Insured Counties is holding their Spring Conference May 5th through the 7th in Saratoga Springs
• The New York State Legislature will be in session from Monday the 1st to Wednesday the 3rd.
• The 44th Annual County Finance School to be held May 5th through the 7th