Remember - blog posts migrate downward, so the most recent post is at the top; the oldest at the bottom.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Time

The Otsego County Board of Representatives Rules of Order (Rule #2) says that

Regular meetings of the Board shall be held at 10:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. All regular and special meetings of the Board shall be held at the Representatives' Chambers in the Village of Cooperstown, New York, except that upon approval of the affirmative weighted vote of at least three-fourths of the total membership of the Board, the time and meeting place of the Board may be changed...

So the time and day and place of the regular monthly meetings are baked into the Rules of Order, which are the Board's bylaws. And it takes three fourths of the board – three fourths! - to make a change.

Our monthly meetings are in the middle of the day, on a weekday (see below). The fact that it takes three fourths of the Board to change this – and nothing else we do is held to such a high standard – suggests something fishy, at least to me. When this rule was established, long ago, it was in someone's interest to make it very, very hard to change the meetings to the evenings, when many more of us can attend and participate. Having the meetings midday, midweek, means that it is much harder for nine-to-fivers to run and serve in the Board, and easier for small business owners, farmers and retired folks to run and serve. Guess which group the perpetual majority party is more likely to be made up of?

Time to move into the 21st century and embrace diversity and citizen participation. In the January meeting, Andrew Stammel will propose this change to the Rules of Order: that the time, day or place of the regular monthly Board meeting will be established by majority vote.

Majority vote is the way we make the vast majority of our decisions, profound or trivial. If the majority of the Board – this or any future Board – wants a change, they should be able to do it, and not be held hostage by the partisan machinations of long-forgotten members.   

Monday, December 11, 2017

Raises are Back!

Looking back over previous posts, I see we left the "raises for M&C employees" story in a perilous position.  Things are looking up.

I am on the Budget Committee this year, as well as Admin, and between the two, we managed to establish an M&C salary raise for 2018.  This was a very good budget year, compared with the last ten years or so, with a lot of financial issues falling the right way for us (including a robust sales tax report).  This led some other Board members to be a bit more accepting of the idea of giving our management their second raise in nine years.

Everyone (except elected officials) gets a raise; those who have been in their current positions longer get larger raises.  This coming year, the PRGS Committee will spend whatever amount of time it takes to develop a perpetual salary scale for M&C employees, so we won't have to do this again, and so our management staff get the raises they deserve on an onging basis.  We'll either find a consulting firm who can help us develop the scale, or develop it ourselves (the more likely, and less expensive, option), with the help of our outstanding Personnel Director, Penney Gentile.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Time

Below is a list of current issues that the Otsego County Board of Representatives will be addressing, in the short or long term, in the new year. PLEASE let me know if you have any questions, concerns, ideas or suggestions regarding any of them. These are the things we'll be spending time and energy on, and we'd like to get them right.

One issue that may come as a surprise is the time of day that the Board meeting is held. In Otsego County, the Board meets as a whole on the first Wednesday of each month, at 10:00 in the morning. This means that, in general, people who have regular nine-to-five or other types of weekday jobs probably can't attend our meetings, either to speak their minds, as they have a right to do, or just to watch, observe, listen and learn.

In addition, of course, this restriction applies to anyone thinking of running for the Board, as well. With daytime meetings, you'd really have to own your own business (including a farm), be retired, or have a job with very flexible hours. Not surprisingly, those are the kinds of folks the Board is populated with. Nothing wrong with that, except that the daytime meeting time is keeping a lot of people with other kinds of jobs from running. I was actually looking into running in 2005, before I retired, and my boss – OCSD Superintendent Mike Shea, a great lover of history and government – had to ask me not to, as he felt the daytime meetings would have too great an impact on my work.


About half of all upstate rural NY Counties have their full Board meetings in late afternoon or the evening, so it can be done. It's time we opened the democratic process in Otsego County to everyone.

County Issues as of Now

CURRENT ISSUES – Late 2017

To be addressed before Jan 2018 Board meeting:
  • Leadership – determining how everyone in the coaliton communicates and collaborates to develop an agenda and process for going forward.
  • Committees – Assignment of committee chairs; assignment of Board members to committees. Committee structure – Maintain current committees as is, or make changes? Ag Committee, or centralize Ag work in one committee – SWEC?
  • Meeting times – Daytime meetings close many people out of participation, either from attending meetings or running for Board seats. Change Board meetings to 6PM? How about Committee meetings?
Issues requiring longer-term planning, starting soon:
  • County Manager – how to begin talking/acting on this? Task Force? Assign to Committee? Lots of data has already been gathered.
  • Salary Study – Either contract with a consultant to create a perpetual salary scale, or make one up ourselves. PRGS Committee?
  • Strategic Plan – How to go forward with this. Continue with current process (separate Committee)? How to establish clear guidelines for implementation?
  • Communication with Department Heads – How to encourage regular, significant communication, empowering them and using their expertise to address current issues and to see what's coming and how to plan for it. Planning in general – How can we elicit and organize large amounts of information to facilitate medium and long-term planning in all areas of County function? How can we enroll Dept Heads and management staff in this process?
  • Jail: Upgrade, expand, replace?

New systems to routinely monitor and assess, and report regularly to full Board
  • Onondaga County – Otsego Co. Purchasing Dept. - Need a Rep, or a staff person, or a Committee to be dedicated liaison
  • Enterprise Fleet Management – Public Works? Need to support a seamless transition and keep our eye on costs.
  • Towers – Finish the job, sell the Rose Hill land. Assurance that both the function of the towers and their maintenance are working as planned. How can we monetize the towers?
  • Economic development – Obviously, a big issue and a lot of work. Otsego Now must be reformed and empowered. Existing jobs that are not being taken by local people: Springbrook/ARCOtsego; agriculture; hospitality.
  • Budget – Planning for 2019 – new Treasurer, new process? Does it make sense to find ways to keep track of the budget process all year long? Do we need a Finance Committee that also does the Budget?
  • County Forester (Soil & Water) – SWEC tracks progress toward explicit goals
  • Ethics Board
  • Various litigation issues

Going Forward

It's been a long time, again, and a lot has been done.

Since August, I have been working with the Democratic candidates for County Rep; other than Andrew Marietta and Andrew Stammel, they were all new to the work of the County Representative. I provided a lot of background regarding Board structure and function, as well as very extensive communications and conversations about particular issues that the Board has been working on. This work intensified during the run-up to the debates, which were held in a variety of places throughout the County.

Four of the new candidates, as well as Andrew and Andrew and I, were elected, and we had what turned out to be a pretty joyful election night celebration. As of January 1 there will be seven Democrats on the Board, although the Republicans represent a slight majority in weighted votes. But the Republicans may not be unified regarding Board leadership as we go forward, and there is a distinct possibility that we Democrats will be participating in what can only be called a coalition government when the gavel comes down on January 3.

I try to avoid partisan politics in these messages, but at this point I think it's important to lay out how things stand. There are some Republicans who have expressed dissatisfaction with current leadership. However, they cannot prevail without Democratic votes. So we will all be talking about how we can go forward, supporting each others' vision for the County and the major issues we are facing.


I think we will be able to work out a plan which will satisfy everyone. There's a lot of work to do, and I think that with a commitment to transparency, communication and bipartisan cooperation, we'll get that work done. Stay tuned.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

XNG CNG Truck Crash

Here's the report of our 911 coordinator regarding the crash of the XNG CNG truck that overturned just out of Hartwick (please forgive the formatting errors which are apparently inherent in the cut/paste process):

Good Morning,
At the request of Mr. Frazier I am forwarding to the full Board a summary of Tuesday's incident in the Town of Otsego that was provided to the Public Safety & Legal Affairs Committee on Tuesday evening. 
I want to take an opportunity to update all of you on the accident this morning.  At approximately 8:20 this morning I monitored the Fly Creek Fire Company dispatched to a one car Motor Vehicle Accident on St. Hwy, 205 near the intersection with Bristol Road with information that it was a gas truck on it's roof.  At the same time I was notified of the same and was only approximately 5 minutes from the scene.  Upon my arrival, I discovered an XNG tractor trailer on it's roof in the ditch on the right hand side of the road.  The driver had somehow climbed out of the truck and was seated in another vehicle being treated by a paramedic that was travelling through.  The driver confirmed that he was "empty" and traveling to PA.  I contacted the 911 Center who advised they had made contact with the Gas Company's 24 hour response line and they would have personnel there within 90 minutes.  Two other XNG drivers also stopped and provided information about the truck and stayed at the scene until the Company representatives arrived on the scene.  There were no residences within a 1/2 mile radius.

Working with the parties represented at the scene, it was determined that there was no damage to the tanks within the trailer and no leak was present.  Tow companies (Chuck's Towing in Richfield and Clinton Collision) were notified to begin working on recovering the truck and trailer.  NYS Department of Transportation was notified to respond and close State Highway 205 to ensure a safe work zone.  It was decided to perform a controlled release of the compressed gas that the tractor operates on prior to recovery.  During the controlled release, the road was closed and all individuals retired to a safe zone.  Gas monitoring was performed during the release to ensure safety.  The highest recorded reading of gas during the release was approximately 0.4.  To put this in perspective a reading of approximately 5.0 is the lower range of the "zone of concern".  

Agencies on the scene included the Fly Creek Fire Company, Otsego County Sheriff's, State DOT, Verizon, tow companies and XNG.  The Hartwick Fire Department was utilized in assisting with the closure of State Hwy 205 at the four corners in Hartwick.  All agencies worked well together and the situation was successfully resolved with no other issues noted.  The last units cleared the scene at approximately 4:45PM.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the office number below or via cell at 437-4247.
In addition, I have attached several hand-outs that were provided by XNG to the folks that attended the classes hosted by this office.  The safety features on the trailer performed as they were designed and there was minimal damage to the trailer itself.  While not being complacent, there was a comfort level with this situation due to the knowledge that we had received in the training offered by the company.  

I encourage any of you to speak with members of the Fire Departments in your respective districts that may have attended the training.  In addition, if there are any local governments or groups that may want additional information I would be happy to attend any meetings that may be arranged to ensure accurate information is provided concerning this incident.

Arthur R. Klingler Jr.
Emergency Services Coordinator-Otsego County
Phone (607) 547-4227
Fax (607) 547-4377



This truck crash enjoyed every bit of luck possible:  'empty' (which is a relative term), no breaches, driver not injured, no other vehicles involved, no buildings involved, no houses within half a mile.

The next one, given the laws of probability, will not enjoy every one of these benefits.  Which one(s) won't we benefit from?



Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Raises: Slip-Slidin' Away

We got some bad news recently regarding our proposed salary study, which should institute a salary scale and an orderly progression of raises for our Management and Confidential (M&C) employees.  But first, some background.

Last summer, the Performance Review and Goal Setting Committee (PRGS) developed a one-year raise plan (details here) in order to begin the work of salary justice among our M&C workers.  In September, a special meeting of PRGS was held, with all Board members invited, to hear Ronni Travers, from Public Sector HR Consultants, outline the consultant services her company could provide in this regard:  a comprehensive salary study including recommendations for an ongoing salary scale, including comparisons with other similar County scales - not just salary, but benefits, hours, working conditions, job titles and descriptions, etc.  They would also fully integrate a County Manager into the study.  To most of us, it sounded like the best approach to an ever-growing problem.

The County can't just decide to contract with a consultant - we have to send out a Request for Proposals (RFP) and invite a wide variety of consulting organizations to respond with their plans and pricing.   The RFP for the salary study finally went out early this year (after a completely unnecessary delay), and because of the way it was written - by 'our purchasing department,' which is the Onondaga County Purchasing Department - Ms. Travers' company did not respond.  The two organizations which did respond really weren't qualified, primarily because they had no experience working with Counties.  One, it seemed, had no experience at all, and the other wanted to charge us twice the rate noted in the RFP.

So after further unnecessary delay, a second RFP was "put out on the street" in July, this time written with more care and clearly encompassing what PSHRC had offered to do.  However, just last week, we received a response from PSHRC, informing us that they were not able to take our project on at this time.  

We will see if we get any other responses this time that are any better than the ones we got last time.  But the truth is, we will have spent an entire year in a fruitless attempt to solicit a professional salary study that a respected organization had offered us at the beginning of that year.  This seems incredible to me, and suggests that there are major problems in the way we do government.

What makes this even worse is the fact that the salary study was our single, focused initiative for moving forward on the County Manager.  So - unless we get a wonderful proposal out of thin air in the next few weeks, we have no plan for establishing an M&C salary scale, and no plan for moving forward with a County Manager.

This does not mean that plans will not emerge.  They will, and, given the timing, they will be substantially affected by the results of November's elections.  But for now, this does not look like the way to run a County.

To the Heart of the Matter

...and here is the rest of the letter begun below.  Andrew uses the difficulties in managing the NTS closing as an example of the real inadequacy of County government, as it is currently structured, to manage large numbers of these types of issues in a coordinated manner.  We are largely working in silos, semi-independent Committees made up of a handful of laymen, operating without clear lines of communications or procedural guidance, trying to oversee twenty-some-odd departments without providing any overall direction or coordination.  We're a $110,000,000 organization without a CEO.

I don't agree with everything that Andrew says here, but our disagreements are minor and often just a matter of scale.  I believe that a County Manager is part of the solution to these fundamental structural problems, but only one part - we have quite a bit more to do even after a manager is in place.  

In reflecting on these recent developments about the upcoming closure of NTS and the notification process, I
have come to realize the situation facing Otsego County government operations is a true crisis. Otsego County
government is dependent on an ineffective committee and leadership structure, and immediate action is required to
strengthen and improve the County for success to result. First, it is important to remember that the County’s operating
budget is well over $100 million and hundreds of people are employed, and yet, the County has no central authority,
manager or administrator. Thus, all operating decisions are funneled through a group of committees carrying out a
duplicative approval process where a home committee votes on actions like a new hire or purchase request first, then
this same action is voted on and approved by the Administration Committee, and finally the full Board votes on this
resolution at a Board meeting. This system of management by committee is significantly limited by committee and
Board meetings that are held once a month. The end result is that the Otsego County Board is mostly approving
operating transactions. Hiring a new employee, making a budget transfer, carrying out a purchase of supplies, or
attending training are common examples.

The County Board’s focus on transactional decisions limits the opportunity to address other policy
considerations. Committee meetings require Department Heads to provide detailed background information on actions
like a budgeted new hire, while leaving little to no time for other policy considerations and discussions. Compare this
situation to most other companies or organizations of similar size (or smaller) where a manager can move forward with
this hire based on approval by budget or from the company president or organizational executive director. Overall,
many County committee meetings are lengthy, lasting hours.
Another challenge resulting from the County’s committee structure is the micromanagement of general
operations. Over the last year and a half (and longer in some cases), committees have struggled to complete various
projects, like a workplace violence investigation, compensation study of department heads, fleet management program,
the management of tower site leases, and even the Onondaga purchasing partnership. Where committees have
specifically taken it upon themselves to carry out general operations, the structure and limitations of the committee
system have been obstructions to decision making and taking action. Ultimately, Department Heads, who are the
experts and carry out the day-to-day operations, are the key to successful implementation of policy decisions the County
Representatives approve. Thus, when the County decided to repair and renovate the Northern Transfer Station, the
implementation of this decision rests with the Director of Planning, Karen Sullivan, and the Planning Department. If the
SWEC Committee were to have taken a direct operations role in managing this process, the construction decisions would
have been clearly limited and slowed or even not completed in timely manner.
Finally, the County’s leadership structure is insufficient to support County operations. There is a County Chair,
who is elected annually by the Board, but the Chair is not a full-time position. The County Chair is not positioned as a
County manager or administrator, nor does the Chair supervise Department Heads on a daily basis. The County Chair
also does not convene any management meetings with all Department Heads. There is no coordination of the
committees or committee chairs either. Committee chairs are not convened as a group, and there is not a standard
committee operating approach. The County Chair position exists more so as a mechanism to set the committees, make
appointments, run Board meetings, approve contracts and serve as a point of contact. It is a position offering
coordination, but there is no primary focus on policy development, nor focus on management. Thus, the current
position structure creates a shortfall in both areas negatively impacting County operations.
The future success of Otsego County depends on embracing change. The current system is failing us, and we
must take immediate action. First, the County should not delay any longer in approving a County manager or
administrator position. Otsego County needs a central point of contact who will supervise and convene Department
Heads, while supporting them in their positions. A County manager will also guide the implementation of policy set by
the County Board of Representatives and bring it into action. Committee meetings can be streamlined and focus more
on policy discussions. The County Chair position will be improved and allow more focus on policy setting. The County
Chair can also better coordinate the committee chairs and provide more direction. Overall, these changes will allow the
County to be more effective and achieve greater success with its committee system and County Chair position.


I need to make it clear that none of these problems is the result of any failing on the part of our Department Heads or management staff.  In fact, it is they who have held us together as County leadership kind of stumbles forward from crisis to crisis without a way to truly lead everyone.  I give them all - what did we do to deserve such talented leaders? - enormous credit for the hard work and ingenuity they exhibit day in and day out to keep the County moving in the right direction.

Northern Transfer Station

Andrew Marrietta, County Rep from the town of Otsego, recently prepared this letter in order to clear up the confusion, created primarily by a political opponent, regarding the closure of the Northern Transfer Station, outside of Cooperstown on Rt. 28.  The facility, which has been deteriorating for years and was, originally, poorly designed, leading to safety and traffic issues, will be updated and improved, resulting in a much better experience for all concerned.  The renovation will, however, required a six week closure, which is, naturally, of concern to residents.
     For the last year and half, I have received many phone calls about the disrepair of the Northern Transfer Station
in Cooperstown. I have had local Cooperstown residents call me about punctured car tires, and they have related how
they no longer visit the Transfer Station or bring their recycling because of the poor quality of the entrance road and
paving around the building. I’m a frequent visitor to the Transfer Station myself, going there weekly. There is no
question that the Transfer Station is in need of significant repairs and shows the impact of years of deferred
maintenance.
     Since being appointed to the Solid Waste and Environmental Concerns (SWEC) Committee in January of 2016, I
have continuously learned about the County’s solid waste management operations, including the significant repairs
planned for the Southern Transfer Station in Oneonta and the Northern Transfer Station in Cooperstown. The SWEC
Committee received updates on these construction plans and coordination between Casella Waste Management and
Cobleskill Stone, including that the general rollout was to occur sometime in 2017. This construction information shared
with SWEC also made clear that the scope and scale of the work at the Northern Transfer Station would require some
limited closure. Although the question was raised about trying to allow some kind of access during the repair and
renovation, the safety and logistical challenges were stressed and outweighed any such option.
     I also have learned through the SWEC Committee that the County supports a number of Drop-Off Centers, which
are listed on the County website (
www.otsegocounty.com/depts/sw/OCDropoffCenters.htm) , and include Cherry
Valley, Decatur, Exeter, Hartwick, Maryland, Morris, Oneonta, Pittsfield, Richfield, Springfield, Unadilla, Westford and
Worcester. Many of these Drop-Off Centers offer recycling and bagged garbage disposal options. More specifically, I
learned that the Drop-Off Centers in Exeter, Cherry Valley and Richfield Springs offer recycling and bagged garbage
options, while Hartwick offers recycling only.
     Otsego County’s solid waste management information and efforts are guided by the County’s Planning
Department Head Karen Sullivan and her staff. The SWEC Committee members are supported and informed by these
essential County employees. With this in mind, the July 31
st announcement that the Northern Transfer Station closure
would occur August 21
st and last until September 30th was not ideal. I myself actually learned on July 31st of the
Cooperstown Transfer Station upcoming closure first from a constituent, John Phillips, who called me from NTS about
notices being given. I then called Karen Sullivan about this notice, which she confirmed and explained the reasoning for
the action and her Department’s plans to notify residents and work to make the most of the 3 week timeframe. She
indicated Board notification and a press release were being sent, which all County Reps received that day (July 31
st).
     Overall, this news was unexpected, but regardless of the timing, I understood this was a difficult decision made by our
Department Head in the best interest of Otsego County, so I contacted the Town of Otsego Supervisor, the Mayor of
Cooperstown and my additional contacts about the closure on July 31
st. I emphasized the scope of the work being
carried out (relocation and replacement of 30 year old scale; improving the scale entry and traffic flow; new drainage
catch basins; removing the “mound” that exists adjacent to the existing scale house with a smaller unit; road
improvements; and new signage), and I pointed out the Drop-Off Centers. I also encouraged people to attend the
August 2
nd County Board meeting, including John Phillips, to share their feedback and concerns about the closure. It was
at this meeting that expanding the operating hours of Exeter to mirror the Cooperstown Transfer Station (Mon, Wed,
Friday 7am to 12pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm), which was already a County Drop-Off Site, was discussed and then
finalized the next day.

Friday, July 28, 2017

American History

History was made last night. The Republican Congress, after nearly seven months, failed, for the last time, to pass a tax bill that they called a healthcare bill, a bill that all of them were elected to pass. It was one of the most reprehensible, cynical and dishonest bills of our time, for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it would have had a devastating effect on a large number of the people of Otsego County, and their children and grandchildren.

Very few votes take place in Congress without the leadership knowing where every vote is going. It was clear that all Dems would vote against, with Linda Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) also voting against. That would result in a 50-50 split, and Vice President Mike Pence, also Constitutionally appointed President of the Senate, would vote to break the tie (the only time he can vote). But then this happened.

My take on this clip: The roll call vote is called alphabetically, and McCain was out of the room when his name came up. They're on the 'P's when he reenters (bottom right). He walks up to the desk and gets the secretary's attention, between Peters and Portman, and gives his vote. No. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, hangs his head; his career may be over. Kirsten Gillebrand, in the black dress, one of our NY Senators, jumps up in astonished delight. Elizabeth Warren, already standing, in the blue/green jacket, applauds spontaneously. Bernie Sanders pokes the guy next to him in glee. The Republicans (left side of chamber) seem frozen in shock.

This is how history is made.

I am so grateful to John McCain and Linda Murkowski and Susan Collins and all the Americans who called and wrote their elected officials and crowded into Town Halls and spoke their minds. When we talk about America and freedom, that's what we're talking about: citizens taking risks in order to participate in their own government, without fear of reprisal. And 'thank you' also to all the Congressional Democrats who never wavered, never budged an inch, even those elected from red states and tossup districts.

I am grateful because millions of Americans, and thousands of Otsego County residents, can continue to hope that good healthcare is within their reach, and within the reach of their children and grandchildren. One vote would have taken that all away.


By the way, the failure of the Senate bill kills the Faso-Collins Amendment, which was attached to the House bill. The House bill, of course, goes nowhere unless there is a corresponding Senate bill to send to the Conference Committee, and that's what failed last night. Two or three of those bubbles rising from the ooze that the Republican tax-bill-they-called-a-healthcare-bill sank into are from the Amendment, and good riddance to it in its final resting place.  

Friday, July 21, 2017

Long Day

Lots happened yesterday.

It wasn't a surprise, as three of the most interesting and influential Committees met, all in the same room, one after another: Strategic Plan Implementation Committee at 8:30, Administration at 10:00, Budget at 2:00 (scheduled for 1:00, but Admin went on a little long...). I am on all three, so it was a long day.

The StratPlan and Budget Committees' purpose are clearly indicated in their names; Admin is like the Ways and Means Committee of the County, providing general oversight and approval for most actions to be considered by the full Board (it is also the policy-making arm of County government).

A quick dip into each meeting, to pull out one thing of consequence. The Strategic Plan committee is taking the Plan and moving it into the implementation phase, mostly by prioritizing issues and sending them off to the proper committees. However, yesterday the Committee decided to keep the issue of the County Manager and do some research into how to proceed, including inviting comment from officials working in similar counties. This is good news, as it is the first actual action on the subject, other than the fact that the Salary Study will include a slot for this position.

The Admin Committee has a widely-ranging agenda each month, and if you can only attend one meeting a month, this is the one to go to. It's as close to the place “where the sausage gets made” as any, although “the sausage” tends to get made, to at least some extent, behind closed doors. Transparency is a topic I hope I can explore in an upcoming post.

At any rate, the Admin Committee, at my request, had a conversation with County Attorney Ellen Coccoma about a series of suits that a number of other NY counties are bringing against pharmaceutical corporations regarding the opiod epidemic. New York counties are to a great extent responsible for public health, mental health and addiction services, so the cost to the county in dollars (not to mention the human cost) has been significant.

There has clearly been wrongdoing on the part of the pharmas, and they can clearly be faulted for a large part of the problem. The question is, can their culpability be articulated in the lawsuits in such a way that they are held legally responsible? That is still to be seen. There is some similarity to the lawsuits that the states brought against the tobacco companies all those years ago, although in those suits, victims were harmed while using the product for its intended purpose, whereas in the case of opiods, they were misued. However, the pharmas have cheerfully assisted victims to misuse their products for decades. The question for the Admin Committee was whether we want to consider joining the suits. Mrs. Coccoma will contact the law firm that is leading the initiative, and ask them to come and answer our questions.

And finally, Budget. I went into the meeting with two items to add to the budget before we even began: the M&C raises, and the financial partnership with the Susquehanna Animal Shelter. Long story short, the SAS request will go to the Public Safety Committee, who will find a department budget – perhaps the Sheriff – to put it in. And Len Carson, another Rep from Oneonta, along with Treasurer Dan Crowell, have developed a model for an M&C raise, costing somewhere around $150,000, which, although just a start toward parity, is a start. We'll shepherd the raise through Budget Committee and the Board. Count on it.

Monday, July 17, 2017

More Taxes

A follow-up, and some news, regarding our taxes.  I asked Treasurer Dan Crowell whether the data in the 2015 tax comparison chart I mentioned earlier was an apples-to-apples chart, and he said it was.  "...it is apples to apples AND there are some unique things about some counties to keep in mind.  We are third lowest in the state by milper rate and the lowest per capita."  He also noted that they're updating the chart, and will have it for us as the Budget work begins.  So stay tuned.

Also from Dan:  our tax cap information has arrived via State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.  


After two years of tax growth being limited to less than one percent, inflation has crept up resulting in the highest allowable levy growth since 2013,” DiNapoli said. “This increase is offset by rising fixed costs and limited budget options. I continue to urge local officials to exercise caution when crafting their spending plans.”

The tax cap, which first applied to local governments in 2012, limits tax levy increases to the lesser of the rate of inflation or 2 percent with some exceptions, including a provision that allows municipalities to override the tax cap.  

Although the growth factor climbed noticeably from the 0.68 percent cap in the current fiscal year, the 2018 fiscal year will be the fifth year in a row that local governments have had their levy growth capped at less than 2 percent. 

By comparison, property tax levy growth for school districts was capped at 1.26 percent for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
 So we have a little more to work with this year and still stay below the cap.  Given that 1% of the budget is about $100,000, it's really not much, but it's something.  Stay tuned for budget updates - the first Budget Committee meeting is at 1:00 on Thursday, in the County Office Building, third floor conference room.

Ethics

It came as a surprise to many of the Board members a few months ago that the Otsego County Policy Manual requires the existence of a Board of Ethics, and that we do not have one, nor have we had one for some time.

Here's what it says about the makeup of the Board of Ethics:

The Ethics Board shall consist of three members. No more than two shall be of the same
enrolled party affiliation. All shall be approved by majority vote of the entire board. A
majority of the members shall not be officers or employees of such county or
municipalities wholly or partially located in Otsego county and at least one of whom
shall be an elected or appointed officer or employee of Otsego County or a municipality
located within such county.

It seems that in a county of over 60,000, three people could be found who would be willing to apply the Otsego County Ethics Policy, which is pretty clear and explicit, to the occasional case that might come before it. Dave Bliss, the Representative from Middlefield and Cherry Valley, is pursing it, as he repeatedly points out, on his own. He has to point this out because the Board, meaning the Board leadership, is not pursuing it, as far as anyone can tell.

This is one of the reasons we need a Democratic majority. I believe that following our own rules about ethics would be a slam-dunk, but apparently not.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Tax Rate

Something I've never gone into before, for some reason, is our tax rate (maybe because tax rate, assessments, equalization rates, etc., are not my strong suit). It's important, though and here's why:

According to 2015 data from the Treasurer's office, only two New York counties have a lower tax rate than Otsego County's 2.92 per thousand: Saratoga's 2.90, and Hamilton County's 2.23. Hamilton County, it must be noted, has a population of 4,268, which makes it a little bigger than the Town of Otsego without the tourists.

The other 54 counties (the analysis does not include the five NYC counties, although that wouldn't change much) have a higher tax rate than Otsego, from Essex County at 3.03, to Allegheny County at 14.4. Four counties – Montgomery, Cattaragus, Cortland and Allegheny – are in double digits. Chenango County, next door, is just below them at 9.97.

This low tax rate comes at a great cost, of course. We didn't find a magical way to continue to provide appropriate and meaningful services for less and less money. We provided less and less service. Our Highway Department has shrunk by half in the last ten years, as has our IT Department. Our M&C staff, as you're no doubt tired of hearing, has had only one raise in nine years. We've outsourced our Tourism and Economic Development Departments.

Some of this needs to be fixed.

My tax property tax bill, in January, contained a charge of $526.96 for County tax and nearly three times that for City tax. Statewide, that is what's known as a very low County tax. Given the 2% tax cap (which has been, in the last few years, substantially lower than 2%), my County taxes can go up a maximum of $10.54. I am one of the few people in Otsego County who know how much rebuilding we need, so the fact that I'm willing to put up with another ten or fifteen dollars a year in County taxes to address this problem doesn't mean much. But somehow, we have to find a way to rebuild Otsego County, and convince the taxpayers of Otsego County to be our partners in that work.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

County Manager vs. County Executive

You've probably read about the County Manager debate in the media. Long story short, I think we are moving to a point where a majority of the Board will, after lots of hand-holding and assurances, take the leap. Right now, we are seeking bidders for a salary study for M&C employees (see below) and the specs for this bid require that a County Manager position is included in the study. This seems, at this point, the best way to get through to a result.

There has been some noise about a County Executive, initially from Republican County Chair Anthony Casale, and I think this is dangerous. Here's the important difference: A County Manager is hired by the County Board, and works at its pleasure. A County Executive is elected. One of the things that this means – to me, the most important one – is that the County Board can require a certain level of experience and training before interviewing candidates for County Manager. Anyone – literally, any resident of Otsego County – can run for County Executive. Whoever wins becomes the CEO, so to speak, of a $110 million organization. That should give us all pause.

In addition, speaking in a partisan capacity, this is a Republican county, and any Republican candidate would have a big head start. The idea of an untrained Republican, beholden to the County Committee that got him/her elected, running our County should also give us pause. In fairness, I would not like to see the Democratic version, either.

Let's keep party politics out of the highest levels of County functioning. It's important to choose a County Manager, and not a County Executive.

A Different Perspective on Jobs

Just got home from a planning meeting of the Community Services Board (CSB), the “there's one in every county” organization that oversees mental health services, addiction services, and services to developmentally delayed individuals in Otsego County. I find this stuff fascinating and very important, and am happy to have been assigned as the County Board liaison to the CSB for each of my six years here.

The meeting was great – it was a vision and mission and goals kind of meeting; we began what will be a long conversation about issues and priorities and goals for the CSB and subcommittees in a wide variety of areas.

One of the areas was workforce development. Pat Knuth, Director of ARC Otsego, is on the CSB, and once again expressed their difficulties in obtaining and keeping staff. This is also an issue for Springbrook, one of the biggest employers in the County. I immediately thought of one of the priorities of the Otsego County Strategic Plan, which called for some kind of community college – not a bricks and mortar affair, as I think I've noted previously, but a more innovative approach to needs which are clearly and accurately identified in Otsego County.

Our conversation today was, I hope, the initial stage of further collaboration in the work of creating an institution which will reach out to High School students and High School, non-college graduates, beginning with marketing the direct-care field, then offering training, and finally providing incentives to work at local facilities and stay here for 'x' number of years.

That's a long way off. But it's important to know that, in all the noise about creating jobs, Otsego County is flooded with full time jobs with benefits which are not being filled. In a major occupational field, we don't have a jobs problem, we have jobs that go begging for lack of applicants.

Training is not the only reason for this situation – housing, pay scale, advancement, and other issues are also at play – but it is very important for us to keep this in mind whenever we talk about economic development or jobs. We've got jobs that go begging, and we need to figure out how to fill them with our young people, and how to encourage them to make a career here in Otsego County.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Coroner

Coroner Gordon Terry has come to the Health and Education Committee each of the five years I've been on the Committee, asking for funding to attend his professional conference – the Conference of the New York State Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. Each year the funding has been budgeted, and in the past he has gotten permission to use that money to attend the conference each year he has asked. This year he did not.

Otsego County has four elected Coroners. They are not distributed geographically – all four could conceivably be elected from the same town – and they are paid on a per-call basis. All receive the same health insurance as other County employees (including the Reps). Here is the list of Otsego County Coroners and the number of calls each responded to in 2016: 

        James Dow:

28 initial calls for 2016

21 follow ups for 2016


Michael Fox:

33 initial calls for 2016

24 follow ups for 2016


Terry Knapp:

134 initial calls for 2016

113 follow ups for 2016


Gordon Terry:

13 initial calls for 2016

0 follow ups for 2016

This year, so far, the proportion has been about the same.


So the Health and Education Committee asked Coroner Terry to contact the other three Coroners and whoever else might help, and figure out a way to even out the calls over a year's time. They have thirty days to come up with a plan.

I voted to allow him to go, thinking that we should give him, and the other three, time to find a more equitable way to sort out the calls. Andrew Marietta agreed with me; Len Carson and Chair Dave Bliss did not. So Coroner Terry will need to pay his own way to the conference this year.


Salary Justice

Another important issue I've been working on is raises for M&C (Management and Confidential) employees. These are all the County non-union employees, usually in management positions or other positions of responsibility. Their salaries are set by full Board resolution every January and they've had one raise in nine years. The average Otsego County Department Head makes an average of $12,000 less than their colleagues in other upstate NY counties. At least a dozen M&C managers make less than people they manage.

When an M&C employee, and especially a Department Head, resigns or retires, we cannot, as you can imagine, find anyone to come to Otsego County at the same salary (and no one currently working in their department wants a promotion to a low-paying job with no history of raises). So we have been advertising these positions at much higher rates, with predictable and understandable protests regarding the injustice of continuing to pay remaining employees at such a low rate. As a result of this process, for instance, the Deputy Director of the Office for the Aging, a new (and, I think, very high-quality) hire, now makes more than the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services.

Last year, the Performance Review and Goal Setting Committee, along with Treasurer Dan Crowell and Personnel Director Penney Gentile, created a reasonable raise schedule for one year, providing everyone with a 3% raise, and $200/yr increase for every year of service up to five years. This was a stopgap measure, because – and this is the essential piece – we need a perpetual salary scale which determines raises – with a merit component – as automatically as possible, each year.

But even this stopgap measure was defeated, allegedly in favor of a salary study, which was proposed last fall and has just gone out for bid, for the second time. It will not be ready for the next salary resolution, at the January, 2018 full Board meeting.

Len Carson, a Rep from Oneonta, has been working with Dan and Penney this year to create another stopgap raise proposal, and it looks about the same as last years (which, to be fair, was hashed out and edited and debated and was about as good as something like that is going to get). It will cost less than $150,000, which is about one third the cost of one of the plow trucks we bought last year.

What needs to happen is that the current one-year raise needs to go into effect in January, and then the salary study needs to be carefully integrated into the personnel and budget process during 2018. Our employees – almost universally of high quality – must be compensated fairly. We cannot continue to kick this can down the road.

Full Board Resolution re: Faso Amendment

I almost forgot that the reason I started writing about the Faso-Collins Amendment was to outline the Otsego County Board's actions before and during the July meeting, regarding a resolution to support the Amendment.

Ed Frazier, of Unadilla, brought the support resolution to the Administration Committee, where that kind of thing is debated and approved. Ed and I are both on Admin. Ed felt – and still feels – strongly that the kind of unfunded mandate that the county Medicaid payments represent is an egregious injustice and must be addressed. I agree with him entirely.

However, as noted below, I do not think the Amendment will do that; in fact, I think it will do the opposite. So I voted against it in the Administration Committee, after an extensive debate. The other four members voted for it, so it was put on the full Board agenda for the July meeting.

On the full Board agenda, the resolution was listed as coming from the Administration Committee, with the names of all five members, even though I voted against it in committee. This is the way it is always done, and has always been done, for every resolution that comes from a committee. Whether you voted for it, or against it, or weren't even there, your names goes on the full Board resolution. My apologies to all who were confused by this.

As you probably know, a great many citizens, many of them professionals in the fields that are impacted by this Amendment, came to the full Board meeting and every one spoke against it – eloquently, with passion and precision. Thank you all.

The resolution was pulled from the Consent Agenda (all the resolutions that no one wants to debate or ask questions about, and which are voted on en masse) so it could be debated. Then the Chair of the Administration Committee, Craig Gelbsman, polled the members of Admin, who voted, 4-1, to pull the resolution from the full Board agenda permanently. Ed Frazier voted 'no,' meaning he'd still like to debate and vote on it. Ed has said, and I fully believe him, that his approach to this resolution was to address the unfunded mandate, and was completely unrelated to the ACHA.

Nevertheless, Otsego County will not go on record as supporting a cynical, manipulative amendment to a terrible, destructive Federal bill, thanks, no doubt, to the outpouring of citizen opinion.

So – democracy! Cool, eh?

SAS Update

Quick update on the Susquehanna Animal Shelter, and the County's attempts to support the health and safety services it provides:

  • Dan Wilber, a County Rep from the western part of the county, will be proposing to the Public Safety and Legal Affairs Committee, on July 17 at 9AM, that a lump sum – provided by the Sheriff from a fund he has and is willing to use – be provided to SAS to support this year's budget.
  • I will be proposing a budget line at the Budget Committee meeting, on July 20 at 1PM, to provide support on an ongoing basis.

Anyone interested in this topic might attend these meetings, which are held in the third floor conference room of the County Office Building.

The Faso-Collins Amendment

Well, it's two recent posts regarding a Federal bill. At least this one is about an amendment designed to have an impact on NY counties.

The Faso-Collins Amendment, proposed by our Congressman John Faso, and Chris Collins, another upstate Congressman from western NY, purports to right a wrong. The wrong is that New York State, unlike any other state except one or two, requires Counties to contribute dollars to support Medicaid. Most other states take on the State portion of the Medicaid costs themselves, without burdening Counties. Not so in New York – Medicaid costs make up about 10% of the Otsego County annual budget.

The Faso-Collins Amendment to the ACHA that was passed by the House directs the Federal government to figure the amount of Medicaid dollars contributed by New York Counties, and reduce Medicaid payments to NYS by that amount. The assumption you are intended to make is that New York State will find that extra money and use it to bring the Medicaid funding up to full strength.

Sounds good, no? No.

I met with Congressman Faso in April, along with a number of other Otsego County professionals who were working on the question: how much will Otsego County lose if the ACHA is passed? Last we looked, it was nearly $800,000, mostly due to Medicaid reductions. During the meeting, Congressman Faso said only one thing that seemed to related to our agenda: that he felt strongly that the Federal government spends way too much on Medicaid: “Medicaid spending is out of control, and we have to reduce it.”

So – looking at the Faso-Collins Amendment through that lens, it's clear that it might be called the Faso-Collins Medicaid Support Reduction for NYS Amendment. Because it is naive and childish – something we cannot believe is true of Congressmen Faso and Collins – to believe that the Cuomo administration will make even the first move to restore the funding from State funds. Attorney General Schneiderman has already announced that he will sue the Federal government if the Faso-Collins Amendment becomes law. There has been talk in Albany of a “Faso tax,” a state tax on Counties in the exact amount of their Medicad obligation, which I think is the height of irony.

It's all in limbo, of course, until the Senate gets a bill passed, or doesn't. If it does, then the ACHA and the Senate bill goes into the Conference Committee and who knows what comes out. If this Amendment comes out intact, it will be time to make the popcorn.

Friday, May 19, 2017

County Support for the Animal Shelter

Yesterday I met with Stacie Haynes, Exec Dir of the Susquehanna Animal Shelter (SAS), and Gaylord Dillingham (Board member) and his wife Nicole Dillingham (who has done legal work for SAS over the years).  I sent this message to the Health and Education committee, which I'm on, and the Chair of the Public Safety and Legal Affairs Committee, because I think the issue, as it involves us, impacts public health and public safety.  I also thought you might like an idea of what we're up to regarding the animal shelter:


After meeting for an hour and a half, I think I have the beginnings of an idea of how animal control works between the Towns and SAS.  I can go into it in more detail (and some of you are already ahead of me) at the meeting if you'd like.  The point is, I think that since the County has an official authority which can remove animals from a home (Sheriff) then we have some obligation in terms of providing for the animals that are removed.  In addition, we have legal responsibilities regarding public health, and we also need to take on the obligations that result from the animal control part of that.

In short:
 - SAS is the only facility in the County that we can partner with to fulfill certain specific legal obligations
 - In no other cases do we expect our partners to pay the cost of fulfilling our obligations.

Suggestion: that we enter into a contract with SAS and establish a line item in the budget to fund the contract.  Funds would be used to:

1.  First and foremost, to reimburse SAS for all costs incurred through care of seized animals by any law enforcement in the County - costs that are not, in the end, reimbursed through other means (owners, towns, etc.). 
2.  Support the daily costs of keeping SAS open and available 24/7 - since we need to use the shelter, we have some obligation to help keep it open, so it's there for us to use.
3.  Assist SAS in keeping the surrender fee low, or perhaps even lowering it.  The current fee - $40 - reflects the fact that over half of those who surrender animals do not pay the fee (the only way to force an owner to pay a fee is to refuse the animal; ethically, this would not be possible, since the animal would probably be killed or abandoned).  So those who are willing to pay the fee are shouldering the cost of those who do not.  If there were no safe place to take an animal to surrender it, you can imagine the public health crisis that would ensue.  I think by supporting SAS we appropriately spread this cost over all the County taxpayers - the people who benefit from a healthier and safer environment.

The number we talked about yesterday was $50,000.

We can talk more at the next Health and Ed meeting.

Thanks -

Gary

Thursday, April 20, 2017

The ACHA Rises Again

I just came back from a meeting with our new Congressman, John Faso, and a group of actual experts in the healthcare field, including Bill Streck, who I had been working with on the impact of the ACHA on Otsego County, and Patricia Kennedy, CEO of Springbrook. It was coincidental that we met on the day that it became widely known that the ACHA had risen from the dead. Our goal was to try and summarize – in 30 minutes! - the harm that moving from the ACA to the ACHA would do to people in the region.


Faso did most of the talking, at it was at a technical level that was beyond me, and some others as well. Bill and Patricia kept up, as did Wayne Mellor, a business consultant with experience in the area. After a while, it seemed like this was a ploy, to avoid talking about wider issues, like how the changes will affect people here in Otsego County and in District 19.


He started the conversation by telling us that the ACHA would take Medicaid from being an entitlement (hasn't “being entitled” always had a negative connotation?) to – well, something else. He also said, right up front, that the reason for ACHA's changes to Medicaid was that the growth in Medicaid spending by the Federal government was “unsustainable.”


And that's where we knew that we lived, as we talked about afterwards, out on the sidewalk, in two different worlds. Congressman Faso made it clear, from the beginning, that this was about money. To us, it was about people.


I didn't get to say much (no one really did) but I did note, at the end, that my only concern was whether my constituents would have better healthcare after the ACHA was passed. The answer was not “Yes, definitely.”


An amendment to the zombie bill that would give the states wide discretion in whether folks with preexisting conditions ended up in high risk pools (which we all know don't solve any problems) and would also give states the choice of whether policies would include essential benefits, is apparently the compromise that is going to get the Freedom Caucus and the Tuesday Morning Group to support the bill. Please forgive me for being partisan, but leave it to the Congressional Republicans to finally agree on a major bill after it is made unimaginably worse.


We shall see.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

The Tale of the Sherrif's Son

Well, it's been quite a day for Otsego County online. First the Strategic Plan is posted (see below), and then a confidential issue that the Board, and specifically the Public Safety and Legal Affairs Committee, has been working on since January, appears online as well.

The article is pretty accurate – although there is always a lot that is not objective enough to publish – and the whole incident is pretty frightening. And there's more to come – most importantly, the disposition of the case and the consequences for the individuals involved. Make what you will of it.

I have to make it clear to my constituents that, during the first (of many) extensive executive session during which the Board first heard of this incident, I insisted a number of times that the Superintendents of the school districts that were threatened be notified immediately. I had great confidence that they would use the information wisely and serve as partners in this issue. It is my memory – I did not take notes – that I was assured, as we were adjourning, that one of the investigations that had been discussed would include notification of the schools. This did not happen.

I believe that this was a mistake. One of Oneonta's elementary schools is in my district, another is down the street. Colleagues who I respect and admire work there, and my neighbors send their children there. This was a very specific threat, and a terrible one. The individual was not put under surveillance or supervision; he still had access to his extensive personal armory. The Superintendents deal with this kind of threat occasionally, and are professionals. They are responsible for the safety of their staff and students. To leave them out of the loop was, I believe, misguided.

Strategic Plan Online

The Strategic Plan is finally online.

This is the document that is, theoretically, designed to guide the County Board in its thinking and decision-making for the forseeable future. It was proposed by the IGA Committee a two and a half years ago; it was important that we have it on the shelf when applying for grants. We paid a consultant around $60,000 to put it together, and they arranged dozens of meetings with stakeholders of every sort all around the County. I went to quite a number of those meetings, and they all involved interesting and energetic conversations. The consultants also assembled a wide variety of data regarding all facets of the County and life here, and assembled it all in a document that we got last fall. And finally, today, it's available to everyone.

I am, as you can tell, a little frustrated about the length of time it has taken, and (my opinion) the low level of priority that the Board has assigned it. A committee to implement the Plan was formed, many months after it was received, and I'm on that Committee.

The Strategic Plan Implementation Committee has met each month this year, and discussions there have been more energetic and – dare I say it – hopeful than would be the case in most committee meetings. Opportunities and possibilities abound in the Plan, and once we begin talking about it, we realize that many of them can actually come to pass.

So take a look at it. It's on the Otsego County home page, and it's called the Strategic Prioritization Plan. You might have been at a meeting during it's creation, which means you built it (thanks, by the way, if you're one of those people). Let me know what you think. The actual plan is actually less than 40 pages; the rest is data, and very interesting data about where we live and work. Go take a look.