Neuhaus runs down his agenda with state reps
GOSHEN – That old refrain “unfunded mandates” was sung repeatedly during a two-hour roundtable session involving Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus, several county department heads and state legislators or their representatives.
What amounted to a ‘wish list’ included a single primary election day, from the Board of Elections, exempting fire trucks from certain weight restrictions, from Emergency Services, to raising the aggregate amount for sealed bids above the current limits of $30,000 for supplies and $35,000 for trucks.
General Services chief James Burpoe said that’s about what an average home kitchen makeover would cost, suggesting it shouldn’t apply to what amount to small purchases for a county. Burpoe and Neuhaus agreed relaxing those limits would encourage more ‘hometown shopping’ by county government.
A more compelling example came from Probation Director Derek Miller.
“What’s happened is, as those responsibilities are being increased exponentially, the funding has decreased inversely proportional,” Miller said. “So that’s what we have. If you go back and … what we’re talking about, for instance, my department, we’re talking about a $1.2 to $2 million deficit that we’ve lost, while our responsibilities continue to increase.”
That, Miller said, is causing them to “make decisions they shouldn’t have to make,” including using email to maintain contact with probationers, rather than face-to-face meetings, which, he said, are much more productive for both the department and the offender.
Neuhaus had his own proposal: Grant counties “Lead Agency”
authority whenever there is a large annexation which would expand a municipal
border by 10 percent or more. That’s a measure clearly driven
by the ongoing tussle between the town and village of Monroe and Kiryas
Joel.
“Absolutely,” Neuhaus emphatically proclaimed. “You would at least cool things down because right now, the people in that area have zero faith with the elected officials that are in charge. What this would have done was open up the process.”
This kind of roundtable discussion was last held about 15 years ago. Neuhaus called it a success and said he wants it an annual event.
“What we’re trying to do is take a proactive approach with our members so they know what’s on our minds, what they can bring up to Albany now, use our department heads who are one of a group of members that are probably some of the most respected department heads around the state,” Neuhaus said. The New York State Association of Counties depends on their expertise. Bring them up with them as they need to present the arguments in Albany to get things done, to get laws passed.”
Two state lawmakers were able to attend in person and they spanned the spectrum of experience, from freshman Assemblyman Karl Brabanec, to veteran Senator William Larkin, who summed up the session with a five-minute sermon, of sorts.
“The point about it is just pick up the phone and say ‘hey, this is a problem’.”
All participants felt there should be continually ongoing lines of communication between the local and state representatives.
