NYSAC News magazine - Fall 2014

NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES

Volume 35, Issue 3 | Fall 2014

President’s Page NYSAC OFFICERS Hon. Anthony J. Picente, Jr., Oneida County President Hon. Randall Douglas, Essex County First Vice President Hon. Maggie Brooks, Monroe County Second Vice President Mark R. Alger, Steuben County Immediate Past President

MEMBERS Hon. William Cherry, Schoharie County www.schohariecounty-ny.gov Hon. James D. Hoffman, Wayne County www.co.wayne.ny.us Hon. John LaPointe, Washington County www.co.washington.ny.us Hon. Joanie Mahoney, Onondaga County www.ongov.net Hon. Edward P. Mangano, Nassau County www.nassaucountyny.gov Hon. Christopher Moss, Chemung County www.chemungcounty.com Hon. MaryEllen Odell, Putnam County www.putnamcountyny.com Hon. William L. Ross, Niagara County www.niagaracounty.com Mr. Richard M. Tobe, Erie County www2.erie.gov

TREASURER Mr. Robert F. Currier, Albany County www.albanycounty.com

PARLIAMENTARIANS Hon. Herman Geist, Esq., Westchester County www.westchestergov.com

Hon. A. Douglas Berwanger, Wyoming County www.wyomingco.net

From the NYSAC President, Hon. Anthony J. Picente, Jr.

S

erving the public as a county official is an honor that I appreciate every day.

We are in a position, each and every day, to respond to the needs of our residents, businesses and local governments.

I applaud each and every one of our NYSAC members for your commitment to your county, to your residents and communities, to making New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.

Our positions do not come without real challenges. But we continue to meet our challenges head on, and deliver the best quality of life programs that we can in our counties.

Wherever we can, we are creating better, stronger, more effective communities for New Yorkers. We are creating efficiencies. We are working with cities, towns, and villages on partnerships that make sense for our residents.

Why do we do that?

Not because someone is telling us that we have to. Because it makes sense and it’s the right thing to do. Because county governments are in a continual state of change and innovation, always striving to meet the needs of our community.

We need to keep working together, through NYSAC, to meet and adapt to our ongoing challenges.

We need to work with our economic developers to create jobs. We need to be prepared for a changing workforce. As the skills and education necessary to fill new job openings shift, we must continue to prepare our residents to fill those openings.

We need to continue to focus on emergency preparedness. In the past three years, our counties—upstate and downstate—have had more states of emergencies declared than any time in history.

We need to prepare our communities for a graying population. They set out to provide an American Dream to all of us, the notion that one generation would leave the next with better than they themselves had. That also means we have a solemn commitment to them as well, that as they get older we provide them with a little better than they were able to provide for their parents. We must create communities where they want to stay, spend their retirement, be near their families, and help raise the next generation of New Yorkers.

We need to combat addiction, especially heroin. It is killing too many of our young men and women, destroying families, and filling up our public defense system. This is a county issue, a community issue, and we can help fight it.

We need to raise awareness and make change through our public health, mental health and public safety functions.

And we need to do more to help our veterans.

They have served our country, and our communities. They have gone to the most dangerous parts of the world to protect the most vulnerable populations. Now they are back home and need our help. I intend to launch a veterans program designed to connect our veterans in need with the benefits they deserve.

We need to—and we will—provide mandate relief ideas that will save money for the residents of our counties and the state. That’s the only way they will act. And that’s the only way to achieve real and permanent property tax relief.

As NYSAC president, I will continue to carry the strong voice of New York’s 62 counties to the statehouse so that they understand that the decisions they make directly affect our counties and communities.

www.nysac.org 3

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Director’s Note NYSAC STAFF Stephen J. Acquario, Esq. Executive Director Karen Catalfamo Office/Financial Manager Nicole Correia Communication Coordinator Patrick Cummings, Esq. Assistant Counsel Jackie Dederick Records Manager Mark LaVigne Deputy Director Dave Lucas Director of Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs Patricia Milkiewicz Executive Assistant Juanita Munguia Marketing Specialist Jeanette Stanziano Director of Education & Training Tammy Thomas Communication Assistant Receptionist Katy Vescio Deputy Director of Governmental Relations Shawn Voland Legislative / Office Clerk

From the Executive Director, Stephen J. Acquario

I

n January of 2015, NYSAC will mark its 90th year of service to New York State’s counties.

The New York State Association of Counties was created in 1925 by a number of county officials who recognized the need for training and educational programs. Despite all of the changes to county governance in the 90 years since our inception, training and education remain a critical component of the mission of this association.

We hold three education-based conferences a year. Our Annual Meeting held in September, most recently hosted in Erie County, rotates to different regions of the state.

This year’s Annual Meeting provided dozens of sessions structured to provide members with tools and strategies they can implement right away to more effectively serve their residents.

County officials learned how persistent focus and attention to your vision can result in a “tipping point” from the status quo to a stronger more vibrant community.

S A V E

County officials also learned that more and more counties are embracing opportunities to work with cities, towns, villages and school districts on programs that can be mutually beneficial to their residents.

In addition to our Annual Meeting, we also cohost Finance School for Treasurers, Budget and Finance Officers each May. And we convene in Albany each February for our Legislative Conference, which is focused on sessions designed to understand the State Budget and legislative action that impact the way counties operate at the local level.

I encourage you to save the dates for this next event, February 2-4, 2015.

Our association is only as strong as our membership. We began as a group of county officials who knew they could learn from one another. And we continue, 90 years later, to provide the structure for county officials to share best practices and ideas for making New York a better place to live.

T H E

D A T E

2015 Legislative Conference February 2-4, 2015 Desmond Hotel and Conference Center

Albany County

www.nysac.org 7

NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES

PUB LISHE D 3 T IMES A YEAR Build a Better

President • Hon. Anthony J. Picente, Jr. Publisher • Stephen J. Acquario Managing Editor • Mark F. LaVigne Staff Writers • Patrick Cummings, Mark LaVigne, Dave Lucas and Kathryn Vescio

Business Climate

Advertising Staff • Juanita Munguia NYSAC’s mission is to represent, educate, advocate for, and serve member counties at the federal and state levels.

Published 3 times a year by the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) the NYSAC News is the official publication of NYSAC, a non-profit, municipal association serving the 57 counties of New York State and the City of New York with its five boroughs for over 80 years. NYSAC’s mission is to represent, educate and advocate for member counties at the federal and state levels.

An Agenda for New York’s Future n Protect

New York’s assets by adequately funding critical infrastructure needs: Make capital investments exempt from the property tax cap; allow use of pension funds to support infrastructure improvements

n Support

NY Works and job creation: Pass mandate relief measures that will free up funds for public works and put New Yorkers back to work

n Implement

NYSAC NEWS MAGAZINE 540 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, New York 12207 Phone • (518) 465-1473 Fax • (518) 465-0506 S e n d s u b m i s s i o n s t o mlavigne@nysac.org.

Submissions should be 750 to 1,000 words and include a high resolution photo of the author­.

All submissions­ are subject to editing for clarity, content and/or length.

The advertisments and articles in NYSAC News in no way imply support or endorsement­ by NYSAC for any of the products, services or 2014© New York State Association of Counties

Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) and Design-build: Accelerate infrastructure projects, leverage public dollars and reduce costs

n Extend

Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS): Allow public authorities and public benefit corporations to use QBS to achieve higher quality design and lower project life-cycle costs

n Deliver

infrastructure projects cost effectively: Increase use of private design firms

n Indemnify

design professionals: Ensure that design professionals are responsible only for the work they perform

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24 Fall 2014

NYSAC News • Volume 35, Issue 3

NYSAC Informs with e-news publications: NYSAC Weekly Wire Emailed every Monday during the Legislative Session.

Highlights county-related issues and activities taking place in Albany.

Counties in the News Daily news updates from counties across the state, compiled by NYSAC and delivered to your inbox every day.

To sign up visit www.nysac.org

Target Your Market!

Advertise with NYSAC

contact NYSAC Marketing Specialist Juanita Munguia at 518-465-1473 or

Table of Contents 15

30

Cover Image • Fall at Thatcher Park Photo by Karen Catalfamo

State Releases Guidance on the Property Tax Freeze

An Intelligent Approach to Energy Storage

17

31

Working with the State: Understanding the Legislative Cycle and How it Impacts County Advocacy Efforts

Responding to Health Care Reform: How Can Integrated Care Networks Help?

32

19

The Millennial Remaking of Community Is Well Underway

Housing Affordability in New York State

21

How Cooperative Purchasing Can Help Counties Save Time and Money

In Madison County, Tons of E-waste Collected

33

34

22

AARPNYS 50+Survey

Post-Hurricane Sandy Citizen Engagement Project

24

36

How the New GASB Requirements on Public Pension Funds Impact Financial Reporting

25 26

Oneida County History

Maintaining Septic Systems Saves Residents Money and Protects Local Waters, Public Health

27 28

Tioga County Receives Risk Award

Pelletier Institute Committed to Educating New York’s County Leaders

38

Counsel’s Corner State Court Strikes Down Local AntiCyberbullying Law

40

Affiliate Focus: Coroners in NYS: No Training

Taste NY Connects Consumers with Homegrown Products

NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES

Winter 2015 NYSAC News Magazine

Deadline Date December 19, 2014 • Submit articles of 750 words to mlavigne@nysac.org

jmunguia@nysac.org To advertise, contact Juanita Munguia atjmunguia@nysac.org

www.nysac.org 11

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All rights reserved. Errors and omissions excepted.

State Releases Guidance on the Property Tax Freeze

By Dave Lucas NYSAC Director of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs

A

s part of the State Budget a temporary tax rebate program for homeowners was enacted. The State has released initial guidance to municipalities and school districts on how this program will work. The guidance is broken down into several buckets, including; legislative intent, taxpayer eligibility, what a municipality must do to comply with the tax freeze program each of the two years it is in effect, and how the tax freeze rebate is to be calculated.

The guidance adheres closely to the letter of the law and, as a result, it leaves a lot of discretion to local governments to define on their own what they think qualifies as a shared service or government efficiency (necessary to satisfy year two of the rebate program). The State has indicated they expect to release further guidance to clarify definitions and what form these government efficiency plan submissions should take. The current guidance can be found at: http://www.tax.ny.gov/ pit/property/property_tax_freeze.htm

Legislative Intent According to the State, the intent of the legislation is to encourage “… local governments and school districts to generate long-term tax relief for New York State taxpayers by:  sharing services;  consolidating or merging; and

Taxpayer Eligibility In order for a taxpayer to receive the tax freeze credit they must be eligible for the STAR property tax exemption, meaning:  the combined adjusted gross income of all owners of the home does not exceed $500,000; and  the home is their primary residence The homeowner must also reside in a taxing jurisdiction that in:  Year One stays within the allowable property tax cap; and  Year Two stays within the allowable tax cap and also submits a Government Efficiency Plan to the State Division of the Budget The tax rebate program is in effect for 2014, 2015 and 2016, with rebates being offered for each type of municipality for two consecutive years (see chart).

State Tax Freeze Rebate Payment Schedule Fall 2014

School Districts Only

Fall 2015 School Districts & All Other Municipalities

(combined into 1 check)

 demonstrating and implementing operational efficiencies” Sharing services and improving government operations have been the general practice in New York for a long while and further improvements and reforms are a continuous element of county budgets. Cornell University released a report last year that highlights how local governments in New York have been pursuing and implementing government efficiencies and shared services programs for decades.

The report can be found at: http://www.nysac.org/policy-research/documents/ CornellSharedServicesReport2013Final.pdf While the legislative intent is laudable, the tax freeze law does not address the primary cost drivers that result in high property taxes in New York, mainly, that local governments in New York are required under State law to pay for a wide variety of state and federal programs using local property taxes, something local governments in other states are not required to do. Regardless, improving government operations for taxpayers and recipients of services is good public policy and counties will continue to build upon past efforts to improve government operations.

Fall 2016

All Municipalities (combined into 1 check) – No school districts

The homeowner does not have to apply for a rebate. The State Department of Taxation and Finance will calculate the allowable rebate for each homeowner (and related taxing jurisdiction) and combine the total amount into one check. A rebate is only paid based on each taxing jurisdiction satisfying the requirements of the law as described above for year one and year two. The tax freeze rebate is not applicable in New York City.

EXAMPLE: A homeowner’s primary residence is subject to county, town, village and school district taxes. Only the county and town comply with the tax cap and submit a Government Efficiency Plan determined to be compliant by the State.

In this example, the homeowner’s Tax Freeze Credit will be based only on the increases to the county and town taxes, the homeowner’s Freeze Credit will not include an amount related to the non-compliant school district and village taxes.

Continued on page 16 www.nysac.org 15

Continued from page 15

Municipal Compliance Tax cap compliance is tested annually. Failure to comply in year one has no bearing on Freeze Credit eligibility in year two and vice versa. If a taxing jurisdiction fails to comply in year two, but complied in year one, this will not result in the recapture of the credits issued in year one.

In addition the local government must certify to the State Comptroller and Taxation and Finance that their adopted budget stays within the tax cap and that they have not enacted a local property tax cap override (or reversed it if they had adopted one as a precaution). These certifications must be submitted by the 21st day of the start of the local government’s fiscal year (January 21st for both 2015 and 2016 for counties).

Local governments can submit plans together, or submit on their own. No local government can participate in more than one Government Efficiency Plan submittal. Governments can enter into shared services arrangement, consolidate, merge functions or submit other government efficiencies (defined as “…actions taken by a local government or school district to improve the completion of existing processes or functions or the delivery of existing services that result in lower costs”).

These individual or jointly submitted Government Efficiency Plans must achieve savings of at least one percent of the combined 2014 tax levies of participating taxing jurisdictions, which must be recurring and

individual plan will need to certify to the state that the savings presented in the plan are accurate and best efforts will be taken to implement the proposals. Government Efficiency Plan submissions for counties are due to the State by June 1, 2015. The State Division of the Budget will have 60 days to review each submission and determine whether the efficiency plans comply with the law.

Calculating the Homeowner’s Tax Freeze Credit In general, in eligible jurisdictions, the amount of the credit will be the greater of the homeowner’s year over year growth in property taxes or the allowable inflation factor for that year (for counties the 2015 inflation factor is 1.56 percent). The “greater of” option comes into play when a homeowner’s taxes may be flat or even decline for a particular taxing jurisdiction.

There are some circumstances where a tax rebate will not pay for tax increases including:  improvements to the property that increase its value;  a change to a parcel’s tax exemption status (i.e., losing the STAR exemption); or  a jurisdiction-wide reassessment to the degree that the increase in the homeowner’s assessed value exceeds the average change in assessed value in that jurisdiction. It should be noted that changes in property tax bills related to apportionments are eligible for a tax rebate, as long as the taxing jurisdiction complies with the eligibility requirements.

There are separate rules for tax freeze credits for co-op and mobile home owners. Co-op rebates will be calculated at 60 percent and mobile home credits will be 25 percent of the average credit for the jurisdiction.

Next Steps

implemented for 2017, 2018 and 2019. For example, if a county, five towns and two villages submitted a joint plan and their combined property tax levies in 2014 equal $50 million, they would need to implement a government efficiency plan that results in annual recurring savings of at least $500,000 in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Each taxing jurisdiction is not required to achieve one percent savings individually, a plan is determined to be compliant if overall the combined one percent savings target is achieved.

Existing shared services arrangements, consolidations, mergers or government efficiencies can be submitted, but only those implemented since the start of the property tax cap will be recognized by the state.

For counties, this would include all government efficiencies implemented since January 1, 2012.

Each local government participating in a joint plan or submitting an

16 NYS AC News Fal l 201 4

NYSAC is recommending that counties submit proposals that far exceed the one percent savings target. Counties have a long history of shared services and government reform activities that should be highlighted.

We recommend that counties submit long-standing shared services arrangements as part of these plans, even though the savings from initiatives implemented prior to 1/1/2012 will not be counted toward the one percent. The public deserves to know about the government efficiencies and shared services counties have been implementing for many decades in some cases. Submissions should be comprehensive and be sure to include a section that highlights state imposed regulatory or statutory barriers that prevent you from implementing a government efficiency or shared services program – be specific about what the barrier is.

The tax freeze law is temporary and county officials need to work proactively with State representatives, the Governor, local leaders and residents to make them understand that actual property tax reductions can only occur through a fundamental realignment of how we pay for State programs and comprehensive reforms that bend the cost curve related to these same programs. It is well documented that local governments in New York, especially counties, are required to use local property taxes to pay for State programs that our counterparts in other states are not required to finance with local dollars. Until this imbalance is corrected,

Working with the State: Understanding the Legislative Cycle and How It Impacts County Advocacy Efforts

L

obbying is the process by which we influence the actions of public officials. Effective lobbying requires many things, among them a thorough understanding of the issues, interpersonal communication skills, and timely and regular meetings with policy makers and their staff. This process is part of how advocacy groups, and others attempting to influence lawmakers, are able to provide information to elected officials.

In Albany, the legislative session cycle determines how and when lobbyists, activists and citizens should lobby their elected and appointed State officials. Depending on the season--Budget season, regular session, off-session, election season or otherwise-there are many opportunities to influence the State policy-making process. See the chart for a simple graphic depicting this cycle and highlighting major events in a given year.

A Glimpse inside Legislative Session January to June is the period of regularly scheduled legislative session for the Senate and Assembly. Session begins with the State of the State address, delivered on the first Wednesday, following the first Monday of January.

Though not accompanied by specific bill language, the Governor’s State of the State Address typically highlights his or her major fiscal and policy priorities for the State Budget and legislative session.

JANUARY Start of State legislative session, Governor’s State of the State address and release of Executive Proposed Budget.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

MARCH/APRIL

Elections results are in, Legislature pre-files bills for the upcoming session. Governor’s office makes final changes to the annual budget proposal before release.

Final budget negotiations and decisions made to meet the April 1st deadline.

NYS Legislative Session and Budgetary Cycle

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

End of the State legislative session, individual legislative proposals and bills are acted upon by both houses.

Advocates meet with the NYS Division of Budget and State agencies to influence proposals included in the next years Executive Proposed Budget.

Part I: The State Budget Process The first part of the Legislative Session is defined by a focus on the State Budget.

Due to be enacted annually by April 1st, the State budget negotiation process begins in earnest in January, following the release of the Executive’s budget proposal during either the 3rd week in January or by February 1st in a gubernatorial election year.

Once the budget is released, there are two windows of opportunity for the executive to amend the budget proposal: 21 days and 30 days after its release. Aptly named the 21 and 30 day budget amendments, once these

MAY/JUNE

JULY-DECEMBER The Governor acts on all those bills passed by both houses. Counties begin their budget process, Advocates tally wins and loses.

changes are made, State lawmakers conduct their budget hearings, to receive testimony on budget issues by topical area. Often referred to as the Joint Budget Conference Committees, these hearings invite experts, agency heads, and advocates to speak on pertinent issues and make their cases for various funding levels and the importance of a myriad of government programs. These hearings are bipartisan and bicameral – including leaders from both the Senate and Assembly on each side of the aisle.

Following the budget hearing process, in early March, the Senate and Assembly each release

one-house budget proposals. These can take the form of either budget bills, or resolutions, to articulate the various priorities of the majority conference in each house.

The rest of March marks the process during which final negotiations take place. Deals are made, language is honed, and budget bills are crafted to reflect mutually agreed upon priorities. Bills must be inked 3 days prior to April 1st in order to allow the required bill aging process and promote transparency of the legislative process.

Continued on page 18

www.nysac.org 17

Continued from page 16

Session, Part II: Non-budgetary Priorities Once the arduous task of finalizing a budget is complete, lawmakers resume session with a focus on individual legislative proposals.

Over 10,000 bills are introduced by members of the Senate and Assembly each legislative cycle, with only roughly 600 of them passing both houses of the Legislature in any given year. For those approved by only one house, they will remain in play for the duration of the 2 year legislative cycle. Until a bill is formally approved by a majority of members in each house, it will not be considered by the Governor.

Usually session ends after the third week in June.

After this time, all bills that passed both houses since January wait to be sent, at the appropriate time, to the Governor for his signature. Usually bills are sent in predetermined batches to the Governor’s office, where after careful review by analysts and counsel, the Governor decides whether to sign or veto each measure. Once a bill has reached the Governor’s desk, he or she has 10 days, not counting Sunday’s, to act upon the bill. If the Governor does not sign or veto a bill, it automatically becomes law. A vetoed bill can become law if it is overridden by a two-thirds vote of the members of each house.

Bills must be sent to the Governor before December 31st of the year they are passed. Any bill sent to the Governor when the Legislature is not in session has extra time—30 days instead of 10--to be acted upon. After 30 days, if there is no action, the bill is automatically vetoed. This is known as a pocket veto.

What happens Off-Session?

During the off-session season, the Legislature is actually still in session. Each day, a local lawmaker in each house gavels in and out, but legislative session that involves all members rarely meets, but for the call of the Governor or for particular reasons of either the Speaker of the Assembly or Majority Leader of the Senate.

During the off-session months, many things still go on behind the scenes. The Division of the Budget crafts budgetary proposals long before the January release date. Also Governor’s Counsel and other staff review proposals and prepare program bills and other policy proposals.

18 NYSAC News Fal l 201 4

Likewise, legislative members meet with constituents and groups in their district offices to constantly develop policy proposals that will become bills back in Albany.

Regulations— The Other Laws Outside of the Legislature’s role in creating public policy, state agencies can effectively create laws using regulations. These have the same force as statutes, once drafted, published, and adopted by an agency, following a public comment process. Regulatory proposals are created pursuant to a process dictated by the administrative procedures act. The only way a regulation can be overridden is through a statutory change. Statutory law can trump a regulation, but that process is more complex than it seems.

Regulations are often drafted by an agency at the direction of a statutory law. A bill, signed into law, may direct an agency to promulgate regulations in order to effectuate provisions of that law. Things such as setting up programs, directing agencies to undertake specific actions, or creating other administrative systems, may require the creation of regulations.

Where Do Your Advocacy Efforts Come In? Every single stage of the cycle and process described above provides an opportunity for advocacy groups to voice their concerns, make their positions known, and influence the law-making process. As county officials, your voice needs to be heard by your elected State representatives and your residents and local media need to be educated on how State policy and budget decision will impact your community. From writing and submitting written position memos to legislative members, to meeting face to face with policy-makers, advocates and their representatives have an important role in the policymaking process. Here are the ways in which you can contact them: In-person: This is the most effective method of communicating a message. It helps to connect names with faces as well as establish and maintain a working relationship. This method is very effective for local lawmakers in meeting with your statewide representatives.

Communicate locally-specific information that resonates in the legislator’s district.

Phone call: This is a great way to connect informally or to follow up on an issue discussed in-person. County officials should keep an open line of communication to your State Senate and Assembly offices.

Written Material: Letters and other paper communications are an important tool in conveying a message. Letters should be brief but include all the necessary information on the issue. A follow-up phone call should follow any important letter.

Faxing: Faxes are still used but are usually reserved for communications to committees, or other information that must be sent immediately. This method of communication is less effective than electronic means.

Email: The most efficient way to send messages and transmit material quickly is via email. Find individual legislator email addresses on the Senate and Assembly webpages: http://www.nysenate.gov/ and http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/

Where is NYSAC? As NYSAC looks ahead to the 2015 session, we are already making the needs of counties known to State lawmakers. Key meetings with The State Division of the Budget this fall articulated the positions of our member counties, as described in the resolutions enacted at the Fall Seminar.

These resolutions form the advocacy platform our team will advance in 2015. Major priorities this year include:  Providing permanent property tax reduction through Medicaid financing reform;  Reversing past cost shifts in Safety Net and child welfare programs;  Ensuring any proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility is cost-neutral to counties;  Modernize cost sharing arrangements between the State and counties to minimize impact on property taxpayers;  Allowing small municipalities to join health insurance purchasing pools.

These items, among other important things, are the highest priority for NYSAC and its members in the coming year.

The Millennial Remaking of Community Is Well Underway

By John Zogby, Senior Analyst Zogby Analytics

I

f you haven’t noticed yet, I encourage you to stop and look around.

There is a new generation—75 million strong—making a slow and steady impact on the way we look at and think about our community and the world.

They may have been coddled and made to feel special their entire lives, but now the Millennial generation is bringing their own rules of engagement into our workplaces, civic organizations, and communities, and it’s time to take notice and tap into their energy and ideas.

Having grown up with a tremendous amount of diversity in school and in their social networks, the 75 million Millennials have less need for diversity training than their generational counterparts. But cultural communication training or global market training would be valuable to them and to us as we aspire to promote our homegrown New York businesses in an increasingly global economy. Most universities and colleges have expansive language programs that could serve the Millennials as leaders of tomorrow by partnering with business schools to offer courses that address cultural business norms and communication differences with a geographic focus. These courses could serve as core curriculum or be offered not solely as prep for students planning to participate in study-abroad programs, but also for those seeking full-time positions with global corporations and entering a workforce of unique teams.

Millennials are also the most socially tolerant of all age groups.

There is room for everyone in their world. While bullying still exists to a horrifying extent, it has become a major issue because it is so uncharacteristic of today’s young people. Familiarity with social networks has placed them directly in touch with their own independent sources of news and problem solving. The children of “soccer moms” have been scheduled to death by parents sending them to scheduled lessons in violin, tennis, lacrosse, playtime and school. As a consequence, Millennials know how to work, how to show up on time, and how to produce. They work independently but their “big ideas” come from teams, from workplace “organized playtime.”

Growing Up Global The Millennials grew up being given very specific instructions for every assignment in school and carefully laid out paths for getting into and succeeding in college. They have a tendency not to ask for details because they assume they already have them. As a result, they often fail to speak up in the workplace and ask for help or additional information. When Millennial employees don’t know what they don’t know, it becomes critical that management facilitate an environment where all can be open to sharing the needed tacit knowledge.

These Millennial employees also tend to lack awareness of cultural business norms, contributing to friction with tenured peers and managers. For them, the business world does not have a distinct electric fence separating their personal mannerisms from their workplace behavior. They do not experience an identity shift when they walk into the workplace from the persona that defines their friendships and other personal relationships. This becomes a challenge in traditional environments where they have an uncontrolled need to express themselves, which may offend, turn off, or agitate older co-workers and managers.

There is still enough respect for “us” (i.e., silver-haired John Zogby Americans) to be their leaders and role models. But we must take the advantage to lead by example and make an effort to discuss expectations with Millennials, while being open to evolving workplace practices that suit “them.”

It’s time to debunk the stereotype that this generation is a bunch of slackers. It’s easy to assume that someone is not as committed to working hard if they don’t conform to a traditional 9-5 work week and request days off within three months of hire. However, the Millennial generation is the first to be immersed in the 24/7 world of business.

Smart devices and wireless Internet have extended the workday far beyond the hours when you are physically in the office. Older professionals (boomers and veterans) are more aligned to the 9-5 mentality or the “you work ‘til the work is done” attitude. Baby boomer or veteran professionals are not the employees requesting to work from home or to call-in remotely for meetings.

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Despite the negative label of laziness, Millennials work just as many hours as the Baby Boomers did at this stage in the ‘70s. They are the first generation to be employed in 24/7 non-stop environments. They are putting in just as much time at this stage, but not in the traditional 9-5 structure. Management needs to try and understand Millennials’ style to determine common ground about expectations for work completion and participation, with some compromise to their comfort level.

Additional friction with management can arise because of the distinct approach of Millennials to career advancement. Historically, such advancement was built upon seniority and time of service, but Millennials want to progress much more quickly. When older employees view advancement in the traditional sense, they can be skeptical of Millennials’ pursuit of a fast-track rise to the top, particularly when these younger co-workers clearly have no second thoughts about seizing opportunities and leap-frogging over more senior colleagues.

Millennials value results over tenure and are sometimes frustrated with the amount of time it takes to climb the career ladder. Millennials have to be more respectful to the traditional mindset, but diplomatically address their priority on results. With tact and grace, Millennials need to highlight their successes without bragging or falling into selfaggrandizement.

Eighty-five percent of Millennials—again higher than any other age cohort—say that achieving a “useful and beneficial life experience” from their workplace is very or somewhat important. They want learning opportunities and projects that can build their skill base. They want to work with friends, people they click with (both socially and literally).

They want our respect and they want to be flexible – after all they need a break from “karate at 4 p.m., tennis at 6:20 p.m., and piano virtuosity from 9 p.m.-9:20 p.m.” We need to create office space so they are physically in a place where they can share ideas. And they want to be “reverse mentors” —they have a lot to teach their older colleagues and managers about technology, e-commerce, and groupthink.

Millennials know that many of their workplace experiences are going to be ephemeral. While 24% of all adults say it is likely that their career will be a series of “gig jobs vs. a long term job,” that represents 32% of Millennials (25% of Nikes and 22% of Woodstockers). The key that organizations misunderstand about this preference is that it does not need to be limited to company jumping. The gig job experience can be satisfied through global or cross-functional team rotations within the same company. Millennials will seek out the companies that offer them both challenging and stretch assignments especially if they require them to experience a new culture.

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In Madison County, Tons of E-waste Collected

By Sharon A. Driscoll Madison County Recycling Coordinator

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he Madison County Department of Solid Waste collected 35.13 tons of televisions and computer monitors during a recently concluded e-waste collection drive in Madison County.

Six collection events were held in various locations throughout the county during April and May in an attempt to collect as many old style televisions and monitors as possible before the laws regarding the disposal of these items changes in January of 2015.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey are two states experiencing a glut of e-waste, more specifically, televisions. “Here in Madison County, we are committed to keeping CRTs from contaminating our environment,” said James Zecca, Director of the Dept. of Solid Waste.

A NYS law that took effect Jan. 1, 2011 required manufacturers of electronics to fund the recycling with no charge to the public. Manufacturers seemed to comply with the new law initially. However, starting in the later part of 2013, the manufacturers have refused to fund the recycling operation, according to Director Zecca.

Cazenovia was the site of the largest collection event, taking in 11.15 tons of e-waste, followed

by Chittenango with 8.6 tons, Canastota 4.99, Wampsville 4.15, Morrisville 3.49 and Hamilton with 3 tons.

“Although, this is assuredly just the tip of the iceberg, it is a start, “said Zecca. As of January 1, 2015 electronics can no longer be landfilled in New York State. They contain toxic materials, including mercury, lead and other heavy metals, so they will not be allowed in landfills and residents cannot discard them in their curbside trash. This law has been in effect in Madison County since late 2004.”

The problem that has electronics being stockpiled is that manufacturers, who are required by a 2011 state law to pay for the recycling of what is known as “e-waste,” are not fully funding the program, according to local and state officials.

Madison County is still in fairly good shape, certainly, not in a crisis mode as are other counties and states. However, the e-waste disposal is eventually, going to impact everyone.

The recent CRT collections were held at highway departments across Madison County. The highway superintendents were pleased to assist with the CRT collection. They explained that when residents find it necessary to get rid of old televisions and monitors and are not sure how to properly dispose of them these devices sometimes end up along the roadsides, in ditches, fields and in the woods.

The highway crews are constantly traveling the highways and byways of Madison County and find themselves picking up cast off televisions and monitors from the ditches and fields.

Director Zecca said, “This shows an outstanding commitment to keeping Madison County’s environment clean and we appreciate the extra efforts being put forth by the Madison County Highway Dept. employees.”

In an attempt to get ahead of this problem, Zecca proposed the recent intensified CRT collection program. The first event was held in Hamilton on Earth Day and took in three tons of televisions, monitors and other assorted e-waste.

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AARPNYS 50+Survey

By Beth Finkel AARP

B

aby Boomers are thinking about fleeing New York in big numbers when they reach retirement, but this looming problem presents a great opportunity for our counties.

It’s a wakeup call to make our communities Age Friendly, places where New Yorkers want to stay - and continue spending their money and paying their taxes - during their golden years.

Six of every 10 working New York Baby Boomers confident they’ll be able to retire, say they’re at least somewhat likely to leave the state when they quit the workforce, according to a statewide survey AARP conducted this spring of voters 50 and older.

Fifty (50) is key: this year, the last of the Baby Boomers will hit that milestone, and as that huge demographic ages, the number of New Yorkers reaching traditional retirement age will continue to rise.

Households headed by people 50 and older drive nearly $600 billion in economic activity annually in New York, according to the firstever study of this “longevity economy” by AARP in collaboration with Oxford Economics.

That’s 46 percent of the state’s gross domestic product, supporting 53 percent of all jobs and 44 percent of all state taxes - though the 50+ account for only 34 percent of the population. And the 50+ over-represent the state’s entrepreneurs.

Chief study author Jody Holtzman, AARP Senior Vice President of Thought Leadership, put it this way: “This is a percentage of the population that has a positive, outsize impact across consumer spending, across health care spending, across innovation, startups. In New York, 14 percent of working folks over 50 are entrepreneurs. It’s only nine percent for people younger than 50. That’s huge potential.

Those are taxes that are generated.”

To keep that potential, those taxes, this huge economic driver here, we’ve got our work cut out for us.

Fortunately, New York’s counties, towns and villages are already showing leadership in tackling these issues, with the state home to 12 of the first 36 municipalities in the nation to join AARP’s Network of Age Friendly Communities.

The network pools local resources with those of AARP while tapping into best practices of member communities to plan, coordinate and implement programs that support older adults.

Just this fall, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz made his community the latest to sign on, joining Westchester, Suffolk, Onondaga and Chemung counties as well as New York City, Syracuse, the City of Elmira and Town of Elmira, Brookhaven Town, the Village of Great Neck Plaza and the Town of Big Flats.

“As our communities age, it is important to remember that needs will continue to change, and by joining the Age Friendly Community Initiative and planning now we will be much better prepared for those inevitable changes in the future,” County Executive Poloncarz said in announcing the designation with AARP. Increased life expectancy and an aging Baby Boomer generation mean over 500 New Yorkers will turn 65 every day in the coming years, based on an AARP analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

New York will go from one in seven people 65 or over in 2010 to nearly one in five by 2035.

As people age they almost universally want to stay in their homes and communities. The extent to which New York can meet the needs of its 50+ residents now, and as they age, will help reduce the likelihood that they will leave.

AARP’s survey of 50+ voters in New York State found:  52% of homeowners among 50+ voters are extremely or very concerned about affording property taxes into the future, while 49% are equally concerned about being able to afford utility costs.  Half of all 50+ voters have been family caregivers in the past five years to an adult spouse or relative - a personal responsibility that impacts day-to-day work schedules, and for some, reduces earning potential.  A majority of 50+ voters say they would be more likely to stay in the state as they age if improvements were made in the areas of health (77%), housing (70%), transportation (66%) and jobs (61%) for older residents.  56% of those still in the workforce say their retirement will be delayed for financial reasons, and 26% do not have any access to a retirement savings plan through their employer.  72% don’t believe the interests of residential utility customers are represented and taken into consideration when utility rate increases are proposed and 70% don’t believe their elected officials are doing enough to help them when home energy costs increase.

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The survey asked respondents about potential solutions and found:  79% of 50+ voters say they’re likely to vote for a candidate that ensures New Yorkers can afford to stay in their homes and 72% for a candidate that helps New Yorkers achieve a financially secure retirement..  76% are extremely or very likely to vote for a candidate who will work on supporting family caregivers.  67% are extremely or very likely to vote for candidates that would maintain safe and independent mobility around town.

Some solutions are up to our state and federal legislators. But county officials have plenty of say in providing services to help family caregivers, designing streets safely for pedestrians, and ensuring housing is age friendly.

Older New Yorkers have plenty to offer our communities, not only in purchasing power but also in brain power, institutional memory, family ties and cultural contributions.

Now is the time for counties to plan for the future and make the improvements that could make the difference in whether retired New Yorkers stay or go.

 77% support legislation to require that new homes built with county or state funds for low-income residents use Universal Design standards so they are accessible to people of all ages and abilities, with 52% strongly in support.  77% support establishing a state retirement plan to help New Yorkers who lack access to a retirement savings option at work.  79% support creating an independent utility consumer advocate office in New York State.

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Answers for infrastructure and cities. www.nysac.org 23

How the New GASB Requirements on Public Pension Funds Impact Financial Reporting

By Thomas P. DiNapoli New York State Comptroller

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ore than 3,000 employers in every county across the state participate in the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS).

Recent changes from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) will change some accounting and financial reporting related to pensions for state and local governments.

GASB has issued two new standards (67 and 68) that will impact public pension plans and governments that participate in those plans.

The new standards are aimed at improving pension information and increasing the transparency, consistency and comparability of pension information across governments.

As many of you know, GASB is a private not-for-profit organization that determines accounting and financial reporting standards for government entities. GASB 67 and 68 establish new accounting rules and financial reporting for pension plans and governments who participate in pension plans. The new standard requires that pension plans (in this case NYSLRS) allocate any unfunded liability proportionally among its participating local governments. Local governments must then record that proportional share of the liability in their financial statements as well as yearto-year changes in that number.

Perhaps the most important point to make about the new standards is that they impact financial disclosure and accounting, not funding. The new standards will not have an impact on your pension bill. Pension bills will continue to be based on actuarial calculations. For your budgeting purposes, the best estimate of your pension contribution will continue to be the estimates we provide to you.

We are aware that employers may be concerned about the upcoming implementation of GASB 67 and 68 standards, and we are working to help employers understand them and meet the new requirements. Please visit the employer section of the NYSLRS website for detailed information.

While the new standards are relatively complicated, the calculation of any proportional liability for counties or other local governments will be done for the counties and other local governments by NYSLRS. We will calculate the proportional share of the liability for each of our participating local governments.

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We will provide a separate audit opinion on these numbers, which means employers should not have to contract for this service.

We will also offer prior and ongoing guidance to employers regarding their proportionate share and related calculations.

We will make this information available to you through the employer portal, the same way we do estimates on bills, invoices and other employer specific information.

Some local government officials have also expressed concern that any new liability number will impact their credit rating or their ability to issue debt cost effectively.

This is unlikely. New York State’s $180.7 billion pension fund is among the best funded pension systems in the country. And because our pension fund is so well funded, (more than 92 percent as of April 1, 2014 and among the highest in the nation) the net pension liability for each local government will be small relative to those in states with more poorly funded systems.

Employers can find useful and up-to-date information about the new standards on a dedicated website page at: http://www. osc.state.ny.us/retire/employers/gasb/ index.php.

Additionally, employers can communicate with NYSLRS representatives via email at NYSLRS_GASB@osc.state.ny.us.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that NYSLRS continues to run smoothly for the more than one million members, retirees and beneficiaries across the state.

Oneida County History

S

ituated in the geographical center of New York State, Oneida County is a county of contrasts; comprised of productive farmland, and forested areas, and of industrialized urban areas and suburban communities. The principal geographical feature, the Mohawk River Valley, bisects the county in an east-west direction. It was through this historic valley that early Native American trails, trappers’ routes and early military routes were located. When permanent settlement by the Europeans began, the Mohawk River Valley was a primary route of westward travel.

For several decades before 1798, when Oneida County was officially chartered, settlement of this region of the state had begun. The earliest white settlements in the county erected Fort Bull near present-day Rome, and in 1758 the British built Fort Stanwix to insure that their control of a vital location in the primary water route that linked the Hudson River with Lake Ontario.

Even before the construction of the Erie Canal, textile plants were constructed along the creeks and waterways which rushed down the valleys into the Mohawk River. At Oriskany and at New York Mills cotton and woolen factories were built and throughout the 19th century produced fabrics that were sold to major eastern markets.

The Chenango Canal afforded central New York the opportunity of importing coal from Pennsylvania.

Oneida County has been a leader in the field of education. In 1812 Hamilton College was granted a charter. During the 19th century, numerous private schools were located in Clinton, and among those

During the Revolutionary war, Fort Stanwix was occupied by American Patriots and in 1777 was besieged by British forces. The Stars and Stripes, the newly adopted flag of the American Colonies, flew in battle for the first time over Fort Stanwix in August 1777.

The first settlement after the Revolution in Oneida County was established by Hugh White of Middletown, Connecticut. White established Whitestown in 1784. In 1791, the Holland Land Company purchased a large tract of northern Oneida County wilderness for speculation. That Dutch Company established settlements at Barneveld and Boonville. In 1970, Baron von Steuben settled on the 16,000 acre tract in Oneida County, north of Utica, that he was awarded by New York State for his service to the American cause during the Revolution.

On July 4, 1817, the Erie Canal began at Rome in the heart of Oneida County. The Erie crossed the county and had a profound effect on the development of the county. Farmers and manufacturers now had a cheap, fast means to ship their produce and wares to large eastern markets. The canal provided easy accessibility to upstate New York and New Englanders and immigrants quickly moved into the central New York region and provided a labor force for industrialists who saw in this new frontier an abundance of water power and natural resources.

who studied there were Grover Cleveland, Leland Stanford, and Clara Barton. More recently, in 1946 Utica Collage of Syracuse University was established at Utica; Mohawk Valley Community College was founded, Kirkland College was founded at Clinton, and in 1969, the State University of New York founded the Upper Division College, based in Utica presently.

Much of the rich farmland of the county has, throughout the years, supported a large dairy farming industry. It was within the county, near Rome, that Jesse Williams established the first cheese factory in the United States in 1851. During the latter part of the 19th century, much of the cheese produced in the country was shipped to England. For a brief period hops were raised on large farms in the southern part of the county around the village of Waterville. For a time, this area was known as the hop center of the nation.

In 1970 the county dedicated a contemporary style ten-story office building in downtown Utica. Built adjacent to the older County Courthouse and to the State Office Building, the County Office Building is a convenient center of activity for the government of the county. In Rome, the other County Courthouse, erected in 1851 is, in a classic style, a landmark of which all the county can be proud.

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Maintaining Septic Systems Saves Residents Money and Protects Local Waters, Public Health

By Sandra Fallon National Environmental Services Center

A

re there homes, businesses, or schools in your area that use septic or other onsite wastewater treatment technologies? About one-quarter of the U.S. population uses septic systems, and at least 10 percent are estimated to fail every year; up to 70 percent fail in some communities. Regular maintenance is the single most important step for ensuring that a system continues working over time.

If properly installed and maintained, septic and other onsite systems are effective in treating domestic wastewater from bathrooms, kitchen drains, and washing machines. But when these systems are ignored and not maintained, the wastewater may not be adequately treated.

This can put community members’ health at risk by contaminating nearby drinking water wells or lakes, streams, and rivers. Failing septic systems can cost up to $7,000 or more to repair or replace – much more than the $300 or $400 it would cost every three-five years to have the system inspected and pumped out.

Often, the owner may not realize that they’re responsible for maintenance, or that doing so can save thousands of dollars over the longterm and help protect the investment in their home. They may not know where to go for information or assistance. Failure to maintain their system can cause pollution to enter rivers, streams, or lakes and kill native plants, fish and shellfish--which are issues of concern for the entire community. Local education efforts can help stem these negative impacts.

Many communities across the country are implementing homeowner education programs to remind residents of their responsibility for maintaining the septic system.

How a Septic System Works In a conventional septic system, wastewater flows from a household or other establishment through a pipe to a watertight container that’s buried underground in the yard, usually a concrete, fiberglass, or polyethylene tank. As the wastewater sits in the tank, the solids in the water settle to the bottom (forming sludge), and lighter materials, such as oil and grease, float to the top (forming a scum layer). The remaining liquid wastewater flows out of the tank through a pipe and into a drainfield. This liquid is referred to as septic tank effluent.

The typical drainfield is a shallow, excavated area, also in the yard, usually consisting of trenches with perforated pipes, and gravel or other porous materials that are covered by a layer of soil. The effluent flows into the perforated pipes and spreads throughout the drainfield, then percolates down into the soil where microorganisms remove contaminants and impurities.

Septic maintenance involves periodically removing (pumping out) the contents of the tank and inspecting the drainfield, and should be done by a licensed septic system professional. If too many solids build up in the tank, the incoming wastewater does not have time to settle, and the solids can escape into the drainfield and clog the soil pores, inhibiting the soil’s ability to treat the effluent.

Resources and Strategies for Educating the Public About Septic System Maintenance The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SepticSmart (http://water.epa.gov/ infrastructure/septic/septicsmart.cfm) is a nation-wide public education effort that offers free, downloadable resources about proper system maintenance to help system owners make decisions about their wastewater management needs. SepticSmart’s Local Outreach Toolkit (http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/septic/local-outreach-toolkit.cfm) resources are designed for local government leaders to promote these messages in the community.

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The EPA reports that local education programs about septic system care and maintenance have helped improve local water quality, meet system owners’ desire for information about taking care of their systems, and increased the number of people having their systems pumped and using other best practices. Some example programs are below: University of Minnesota Onsite Sewage Treatment Program – These workshops, offered to homeowners in Minnesota, inform participants about the need to properly maintain septic systems and what’s acceptable to put down the drain. As a result, area water quality has improved, and the workshops have made it clear that “people who own septic systems are hungry for information on how best to take care of them.” Participants indicated that an overabundance of misinformation about septic systems has been circulating among homeowners.

Sewage and Wastewater Elimination Education Program (SWEEP) in Licking County, Ohio – To address new septic system regulations in Ohio, the Licking County Health Department conducted an outreach effort and workshops to educate homeowners on the importance of system maintenance. Results indicate a significant increase in septic system maintenance awareness and in the number of systems being pumped. The Health Department “learned that homeowners are indeed interested in maintaining their septic systems, but need guidance on its importance and the steps to take for proper upkeep.”

King County Wastewater Education Program, Washington – This wastewater education program to teach the public about how daily decisions affect water quality resulted in residents being “surprised that they can make a big difference in their water systems with small

behavioral changes and different choices,” such as how to keep dangerous chemicals out of wastewater and what not to flush down the toilet.

Groups across the U.S. have used a variety of approaches in their education programs, such as direct mail, workshops, house calls, media advertising, and posting information on webpages.

Broadcasting public service announcements (PSAs) is another good way to raise awareness about sound septic system operation and maintenance. The National Environmental Services Center’s (NESC) 30-second Lifestyle PSA’s (http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/subpages/psa. cfm) point out the importance of system maintenance for protecting waterways and property values. They are free to download and can be posted to your website or distributed to local television stations for broadcast.

To talk to an expert about septic system and onsite wastewater issues, call NESC’s toll-free telephone line at 1-800-624-8301 or email info@ mail.nesc.wvu.edu. You’ll be put in touch with one of NESC’s technical specialists who can help answer questions. Be sure to check out NESC’s website (http://www.nesc.wvu.edu) where you’ll find free issues of Pipeline Newsletter. Each issue focuses on a single wastewater topic.

About the National Environmental Services Center (NESC): NESC (www.nesc.wvu.edu; 800-624-8301) offers free information and services including a website, technical assistance via telephone and email, educational resources, and magazines and newsletters addressing water and wastewater issues for small and rural communities, tribes, and water systems.

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Tioga County Receives Risk Award

By Kevin Crawford Executive Director, New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal

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t the New York Association of Counties 2014 Fall Seminar held this week at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, the County of Tioga was honored by receiving the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR) Risk Management Award which is given annually in recognition of a member municipality’s commitment to sound risk management, safety and training efforts. The award was presented at the NYSAC Business Meeting and Inaugural Luncheon attended by more than 500 county officials from all across New York State.

Tioga County, they have demonstrated again and again that risk management and safety is an important value which they integrate into the day-to-day operations of all their departments. The fact is that the county has stood out among the 832 counties, cities, towns and villages who now participate as members and owners in the NYMIR insurance reciprocal. They have a group of officials and employees who are dedicated to safety and take risk management into account and are proud to do so. Likewise, NYMIR is proud to recognize their efforts today.”

The award’s inscription reads: “In recognition of a commitment to sound risk management, safety and training that makes a difference.” The award was presented to the Chair of the County Legislature Martha Sauerbrey by NYSAC’s Executive Director Stephen Acquario together with NYMIR’s Executive Director Kevin Crawford. The county’s insurance is brokered through the Partners Agency from Vestal, NY.

“NYMIR’s outstanding results year after year are a testament to aggressive risk management programs which have been embraced enthusiastically by its membership,” noted Stephen Acquario. He continued,“ those results have permitted NYMIR to stabilize and reduce premium levels while returning more than $10 m illion in capital funds back to its members over the past six years. We also are proud to have played a small role in helping the county rebound from the difficulties presented by the flooding they experienced in 2006 and again in 2011 and look forward to many more years of a fruitful partnership with them.”

In presenting the glass crystal award, Mr. Crawford stated that, “effective risk management requires a team approach, everyone working together to reduce the liability and exposures which are inherent in so many local government operations. In the case of

NYMIR is a non-profit, statewide property and casualty insurance program for New York State’s local governments. Formed by a partnership among New York State Association of Counties, the New York Conference of Mayors and the Association of Towns of the State of New York, it was licensed by the NYS Insurance Department in 1993. It is now the State’s largest underwriter of municipal property and casualty risk, with 832 town, city, village and county member subscribers from all across the State. NYMIR employs an active risk management program together with an aggressive claims defense philosophy to reduce the frequency and severity its members’ claims experience. Member government premium payments are experience-rated in order to further reward those who practice sound risk management.

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Taste NY Connects Consumers with Homegrown Products

Adapted from the Taste NY website

Fruit and vegetables

Maple Syrup

Whether on your dinner table, in your local grocery store or at a farmers’ market, there is nothing in the world quite like the diverse selection of New York fruits and vegetables.

This production is a huge economic engine across the state. In New York, there are fruits and vegetables for all seasons.

There is nothing in the world quite like pure New York State maple syrup. Simply put, you can “Taste NY” in every delicious morsel. New York is the second largest producer of maple syrup in the United States. The sState had a great year in 2013, with over 574,000 gallons, a 59 percent increase from 2012. Working with industry, New York is also expanding its maple market beyond traditional syrup to products such as ice cream, BBQ sauce, fudge and kettle corn.

Taste NY is also helping to increase the sales of fresh New York fruits and vegetables, as well as the vast array of products made from them.

Dairy and yogurt New York State is a leader in milk production, ranking third in the nation. Most producers are multigenerational farms that market their milk through cooperatives. Milk is most often from the Holstein breed of cows with their distinctive black and white markings.

New York family dairies provided 13 billion pounds of milk produced in New York to make wholesome and delicious products such as cheeses, ice cream, sour cream, yogurt, or bottled milk. For a completely different flavor profile, cheese makers and yogurt makers also use milk from sheep or goats to make specialty products.

Yogurt has been a nutritious dairy staple for decades and New York has long been a major player in the production of yogurt.

Since 2007 yogurt production in New York has tripled, currently 13 percent of New York’s milk production goes into yogurt. Just this past year New York became the yogurt capital of the United States. This increase is in large part due to the emergence of Greek yogurt, which has introduced a yogurt to a new segment of consumers because of its firmer, creamier texture and increased protein content. Greek yogurt is strained of whey, or liquid and contains a specific protein called casein, which contains 9 amino acids needed by the human body for optimal health. “Taste NY” yogurt today.

Wine, Beer and Spirits You may not know it, but New York is home to a thriving spirits industry that is supporting local jobs while helping New York agriculture as well. Using raw grains and fruits, our distillers make vodkas and bourbons, whiskeys and brandies and more. We even have home grown bitters, flavoring syrups and mixers to finish your perfect cocktails.

New York has the second highest number of distilleries in the US; distilleries operate in every corner of the state.

NY Gourmet New York has become the center of a wide variety of gourmet and other foods grown or manufactured in NY. From bagels to condiments to fudge and salsa, NY produces an array of goods. Taste NY is promoting these foods within NY and the US as well as internationally. Some of these goods carry the “Pride of NY” logo.

Recent Taste New York Activities Rare Beer Festival Taste NY partnered with the New York State Brewers Association to host the Craft New York Rare Beer Fest this past summer. The Rare Beer Festival brought together 26 breweries from across the state featuring over 50 rare, unique, and award winning beers paired with a variety of locally sourced foods.

“Highlighting the world-class beer and food from our local brewers and growers is another way that we can raise the profile of small businesses across the state,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Paul Leone, Executive Director of the New York State Brewers Association, said, “With so many beer festivals hitting the state, we thought we would hold an event that only the New York State Brewers Association and Taste NY could pull off, a rare beer festival with a local food element mixed in. It’s important to us that we highlight as much ‘local’ as possible at our events so New Yorkers can get a true taste of what’s available to them in their state and region.”

Tasting New York at Thruway Service Areas A number of Taste NY stores have been opened at the New York Thruway service areas to demonstrate the great produce New York has to offer.

“With Taste NY, we are giving New Yorkers and visitors alike more opportunities to buy our state’s home grown products ,” said Governor Cuomo. “The food, beverages and condiments our farms and businesses produce are now being sold all along the Thruway, one of our state’s largest and busiest highways. This provides a new market for many of our state’s local businesses and lets drivers taste the best New York has to offer.”

Among the Taste NY stores opened at the services areas include Chittenango, Clarence, Pembroke, Seneca and Scottsville.

Dutchess Farmers Market Offers Taste NY An outdoor farmers’ market along the Taconic State Parkway in Dutchess County will feature a Taste NY Market every Friday and Sunday through November 2, 2014. Products come from farms, wineries, brewers, and food producers in the Mid-udson Valley, including the counties of Dutchess, Columbia and Ulster. The market is just south of the Route 55 exit of the Taconic.

www.nysac.org 29

An Intelligent Approach to Energy Storage

By Bob Rudd, Director of Project Developmmment SolarCity

I

n an economic landscape of volatile energy prices, the cost of electricity is becoming the single largest operating expense for many municipalities and water agencies. Tax incentives and financing opportunities over the past five years have opened the doors for many of these entities to adopt on-site solar technology as a strategy to reduce energy costs. While solar continues to be a valuable option for addressing electricity consumption, energy storage is now a viable way to address rising demand charges as well.

With the increasing adoption of solar power, utility companies are starting to base rates less on the overall amount of electricity consumed, and more on “peak demand”, or the maximum amount of electricity used at a specific point in time. Solar power can significantly offset the overall amount of electricity used at a facility (kWh), but if the facility’s “peak” demand (kW) is still high during the late afternoon when solar production has decreased, the facility will still be charged for the full peak demand charges. As such, solar is not an effective method to reduce peak demand given, and energy storage technology has emerged as an economical solution for reducing a facility’s peak demand charges.

“Utilities have altered their rate structures such that demand charges are rising faster than overall energy rates, and businesses are bearing the bulk of those increases,” said Peter Rive, SolarCity’s Chief Technology Officer. “Time is money, but so are control and predictability.”

Certain storage technologies, such as lithium ion batteries, have been utilized for many years, and are now reaching the price points where energy storage projects make financial sense. In order to address this market opportunity, SolarCity has launched DemandLogic, an energy storage system coupled with a solar PV array that both lowers peak demand charges ($ / kW) as well as the standard supply charges ($ / kWh). SolarCity’s energy storage system features an advanced battery technology developed by Tesla Motors and uses an intelligent algorithm to track energy usage trends and discharge the stored energy to peak demand periods, optimizing utility charge savings for customers.

“The economics and scale that Tesla has achieved in the automotive market now make stationary energy storage more cost effective and reliable than it has ever been in the past. We expect this market to grow very rapidly now that we have crossed this economic threshold,” said Tesla CTO and co-founder JB Straubel.

DemandLogic is offered by SolarCity to new solar power customers through 10-year service agreements including monthly payments, with no upfront cost required. In addition, for those customers with an existing solar system, or customers seeking a stand-alone storage system, SolarCity can develop unique energy storage solutions that are customized to meet your facility’s energy needs. Depending on the client’s preference, the storage systems can either be purchased outright, or financed by SolarCity. Unlike load shifting approaches to demand management, these products require no change in operations and the battery charge / discharge is managed via a fully automated software platform.

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Responding to Health Care Reform: How Can Integrated Care Networks Help?

By Diane Oyler, Ph.D. Coordinator of Neighborhood Services for the Erie County Department of Senior Services

T

he size and diversity of the older adult population has always posed challenges for Area Agencies on Aging (known in many counties as the Office for the Aging). Those traditional challenges are currently being compounded by policy changes that are transforming the way home and community-based support services are delivered to the elderly and disabled. The Affordable Care Act and New York State Medicaid Redesign represents a true paradigm shift for the way the aging network will do business in the foreseeable future.

in place to support contracting with managed care organizations.

The challenges facing these community-based organizations include lack of experience negotiating contracts and limited ability to accept risk-bearing terms; difficulty obtaining a national provider ID number needed for any organization that wants to do Medicare billing; lack of capacity to conduct population health analytics, quality assurance and quality improvement; and insufficient capacity to handle billing, collections and claims adjudication.

Health care reform is a welcome source of new opportunities for Area Agencies on Aging, and will strengthen community-based organizations financially and programmatically in the years ahead.

However, in many counties there is a lack of local expertise to help implement reforms in a way that maximizes the potential of community-based service providers to participate in a cost-effective, sustainable way.

However, these service providers do have the experience, expertise and capacity to deliver a diverse listing of evidence-based programs and services to populations in need of high quality longterm services and supports. In order to address their challenges and position themselves so they can bring their collective strength to the marketplace, aging and disability service providers around the country are considering integrated care network models with corresponding Management Services Organizations to remove barriers to contracting with managed care organizations.

In May 2013, the Administration for Community Living, within the federal Department of Health and Human Services, launched a national learning collaborative to provide targeted technical assistance to Area Agencies on Aging to help build systems that will address new servicedelivery demands. The Erie County Department of Senior Services and the Niagara County Office for the Aging, together with a group of service providers that has been an integral part of the region’s aging network for decades, was one of nine networks selected across the country for participation in the collaborative.

The goals of the national learning collaborative are comprehensive and ambitious. Short term goals include helping Area Agencies on Aging understand the new health care marketplace, and building the acumen needed to thrive in that marketplace. This requires learning about the revenue streams that can appropriately pay for services, new payment models, and developing a comprehensive understanding of how funding is tied to performance outcomes. The long-term goal is to equip Area Agencies on Aging with the expertise they need to develop updated service systems that can deliver the integrated service packages that health care reform demands.

One strategy for meeting new service delivery demands that is being explored by Erie and Niagara counties is forming a community-based integrated care network. Conceptually, these networks are similar to physicians’ Independent Practice Associations (IPAs). Doctors continue to own their own practices, while the IPA is a contracting/management vehicle when it comes to working with health plans. This allows practices to expand their reach as well as the types of services offered, and offers economies of scale when it comes to core business functions.

Integrated care networks offer the same advantages to communitybased organizations.

The service providers that make up aging networks locally and nationally are a diverse group that have historically operated on a mixture of grants and Medicaid waiver funding. As a result, most of these organizations do not have the infrastructure and business processes

With guidance from the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, a three-phase process has been established to guide the work of Erie and Niagara counties as they explore integrated care network models and their potential to help community-based organizations overcome the challenges they face. Phase I, the planning phase, has already been completed with resources including technical assistance and project management support provided by the Health Foundation. During Phase I, a Steering Committee laid the groundwork for deep exploration during Phase II of national network models as well as the local health and long-term services marketplace. Phase II will culminate in a formal recommendation on whether an integrated care network would be beneficial, and the type of model best suited to regional needs and culture. The work of Phase III will depend on the recommendations coming out of Phase II, and may include implementation of recommendations.

The primary rationale for doing this work is to build a stronger aging network that is well-equipped, in terms of technical skills and subjectmatter expertise, to allow it to work more effectively with a formal health care system that has traditionally worked parallel to it, rather than in conjunction with it. The process of strengthening the network, using an intentionally regional strategy, will provide the additional benefit of helping to resolve long standing problems delivering service to older adults residing in more remote parts of our counties where geographic boundaries have proven to be a logistical obstacle to providing seamless service throughout the Buffalo-Niagara region.

As counties adapt to and embrace new service-delivery models of caring for our aging population, we will need to address the specific needs of each county and its residents. The plan and model used by Erie and Niagara counties will be helpful to other regions of the state as they consider moving to integrated care networks. Ensuring that the older members of our community are cared for is among New York counties’ most important roles. www.nysac.org 31

Housing Affordability in New York State

By Robin Blakely-Armitage and Jan Vink Cornell University

I

n the United States, “housing affordability” is typically measured by the percent of household income spent on housing. If this figure exceeds 30 percent, a household is considered to be housing-cost burdened (those households spending more than 50% of their income on housing are considered severely housing cost burdened). Originally conceived in the 1930s as a way to establish eligibility for public rental housing programs, the 30 percent rule eventually began to be used as a threshold indicator of affordability for owner-occupied housing as well1.

The percent of New York State (NYS) owner-households who are housing-cost burdened increased from 26.4% in 2000 to 33.9% in 2012 (for renter households, the figures are 40.5% and 50.6%, respectively)2 Over 70% of downstate and over 36% of upstate households earning less than $40,000 a year experienced a housing-cost burden in 2012. Owners tend to be more housing-cost burdened than renters at income levels above $50,000, most significantly in the downstate region.

Percentages of NYS Rental & Owner Households Housing-Cost Burdened,

by Household Income, 2012

W

hile many households, especially in the higher income brackets, may not actually be “burdened” if their housing costs exceed 30% of their income – their higher costs instead reflecting their choice for larger, more luxurious homes - this issue is much more of a problem for households at middle- and lower-income levels where stagnant or declining incomes combined with rising housing costs have made housing even less affordable.

32 NYS AC News Fal l 201 4

Additional Resources: Census Bureau Housing Topics: http://www.census.gov/housing/ National Association of Realtors, Housing Statistics: http://www.realtor.org/researchand-statistics/housing-statistics The State of the Nation’s Housing 2014, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, June 2014: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/research/state_nations_housing Source: http://pad.human.cornell.edu/NYMinutes/NYMinute62stats.cfm, (includes both 2000 and 2012 data)

How Cooperative Purchasing Can Help Counties Save Time and Money

By Mark LaVigne, Deputy Director N ew York State Association of Counties

I

t’s been said again and again: counties in New York are constantly being challenged to do more with less. These are the days of cutbacks and limited resources yet expectations continue to rise.

To help streamline the procurement process and cut costs, counties can turn to cooperative contracts as a resource. Participating in a cooperative purchasing program is an established best practice in public procurement. Cooperative purchasing consolidates the buying power of government agencies, schools and nonprofits nationally to provide benefits in pricing, product quality and contract efficiencies.

Aggregating the purchasing power of these organizations can lower costs, increase services and save time.

There are a variety of regional and national cooperatives available, and as counties explore this purchasing option, there are many factors to consider beyond just product offerings. Most purchasing cooperatives offer cost and time savings, which are key to an effective procurement process.

Other factors to consider in your due diligence process include assessing the history and purchasing power of the cooperative. Those with years of experience, a substantial customer base, and significant sales volume are in the best position to deliver contracts that offer the most competitive pricing. Beyond pricing, your county will need to evaluate the process in which the contract/supplier was solicited and awarded. To ensure compliance with state-specific guidelines, procurement officials should select a purchasing cooperative that adheres to a competitive bid solicitation process through a lead public agency. Cooperative purchasing programs that engage in this best practice will also offer transparency to taxpayers by providing access to documentation to confirm compliance. Additionally, counties that implement stringent supplier commitments, audits, and price benchmarking will enable you to participate in the program with confidence.

The largest national cooperative, U.S. Communities, is the only purchasing cooperative founded by public agencies, for public agencies. The five distinguished sponsors that cofounded and co-own

U.S. Communities include: the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National League of Cities (NLC), the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), and the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP).

In addition, the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC), along with over 90 state associations, shows their support for U.S. Communities through sponsorship.

When it comes to cooperative procurement options, U.S. Communities delivers on key elements critical to the procurement process. U.S. Communities’ supplier partners each commit to providing their most competitive government pricing to all participating agencies. Regularly scheduled internal and third-party audits ensure compliance with contract pricing, terms and conditions, while benchmarking analyses evaluate the overall value delivered. Supplier contracts are also reviewed quarterly by the Lead Public Agency, and all documents are publicly posted on the U.S. Communities website for complete transparency.

Since its founding in 1991, U.S. Communities has generated millions of dollars in savings for participating agencies. With more than 500 purchasing professionals joining each month, the continued rapid growth is a testament to the program’s record of integrity and unparalleled value. There are no fees to participate and no purchasing minimums, allowing maximum flexibility for participating counties. As you assess the programs available to your county, be sure to include U.S. Communities on your list.

About U.S. Communities: U.S. Communities is the leading national government purchasing cooperative, providing solutions and savings to members by aggregating the purchasing power of public agencies nationwide. U.S. Communities provides members with access to a wide variety of competitively solicited contracts with national suppliers that have committed to providing their lowest overall public agency pricing.

NYSAC is an exclusive sponsor of U.S. Communities.

For more information, visit www.uscommunities.org

www.nysac.org 33

Post-Hurricane Sandy Citizen Engagement Project Suffolk County, New York / Population: 1,499,273

Snapshot Following Hurricane Sandy, Suffolk County leveraged the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) to engage residents in resources and opportunities available through county government. Multi-department teams met with residents to link them with county resources and the county’s constituent engagement unit followed up with each person to ensure that he or she accessed needed resources.

Opportunity Hurricane Sandy damaged more than 16,000 homes in Suffolk County, impacting housing stability for owners and renters alike and leaving unprecedented impacts on the community. A sudden need for temporary housing and access to food, water and health care became critical.

Cleanup needs not only included vegetative debris, but issues related to oil spills, mold spores and other chemical agents that posed public health risks to residents. Furthermore, damage to the Long Island Power Authority substation as well as damage to critical infrastructure threatened public safety on Long Island.

Desperate outreach from residents seeking the county’s help mounted quickly in the days following the storm, as many families who had never previously interacted with government or needed help were suddenly in a newfound predicament.

Solution Approximately 28,000 Suffolk County residents applied for assistance with FEMA after Hurricane Sandy. In response to the extensive need, FEMA set up DRCs in Suffolk County towns of Mastic, Lindenhurst, East Islip, Hauppauge and Riverhead. Eleven days after Sandy made landfall in Suffolk County, the county began collocating resources at FEMA DRCs in conjunction with state agencies.

Suffolk County staffers working in general support functions assisted understaffed FEMA representatives by greeting residents, logging them in and directing them to the government work stations. Though this process, residents were provided with agency-specific assistance at all DRC locations, including vaccinations offered by the Suffolk County Health Department; social services applications for emergency need-based housing; in-take and guidance; and assistance with labor, economic development, food stability, clothing and community housing issues.

Each day residents from the most impacted communities completed intake forms, providing the county with basic demographic information of residents in need; it also identified specific challenges facing each resident. These forms were provided to the constituent services coordinators who called every person who spoke to a county employee to ensure their questions were answered, offer additional resources where appropriate and verify that residents were armed with information about how to access government resources and support.

34 NYSAC News Fal l 201 4

The engagement team also tracked each form, logging it into an access database and identifying residents who were particularly fragile or in need so that regular follow-up calls could be made to assess emerging issues. In acute cases, residents were called daily to ensure that they were safe and their basic needs were being addressed.

Constituent services coordinators reached out to the nonprofit sector and developed a resource database in order to provide Suffolk County residents with information regarding opportunities for resources and assistance.

Impacts County staff met and followed up with 2,861 residents from Suffolk County who visited the DRCs to address their needs.

County resources were quickly deployed in tandem with federal resources to meet critical needs, particularly in regard to food stamp replacement, employment disruption, assistance for the elderly and cleanup efforts.

Citizen participation and understanding of county government was exponentially enhanced and the county was able to better introduce residents to the resources available through county government.

Take-Aways Suffolk County creatively worked hand in hand with other levels of government to ensure that residents are best served during a crisis situation.

Suffolk County identified an opportunity to enhance the level of citizen understanding and engagement with government programs and resources, while offering a critical bridge to county, federal, state, nonprofit and private resources.

Constituent services were improved during a time when individuals lacked access to phones and regular modes of communications.

Intergovernmental communication was enhanced because county staffers were able to provide assistance and guide residents to FEMA, state agencies and other non-county resources that also could meet their needs.

During a time of crisis, Suffolk County government proactively went out into communities to find out where resources were needed, as opposed to waiting for residents to reach out to county government for help.

Contact Rebecca Sanin, Assistant Deputy County Executive, Performance Management, Suffolk County, New York (631) 853-4000 • Rebecca.Sanin@suffolkcounty.gov/Home.aspx For more information: www.suffolkcounty.gov/Home.aspx

NYSAC Thanks the Following Exhibitors and Sponsors of the 2014 Fall Seminar EXHIBITORS

PERMA

PLATINUM SPONSORS

AARP

PFM Financial Services, LLC

Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc.

Pharmacy Benefit Dimensions

Computer Sciences Corporation

American Red Cross

POMCO Group

Harris Corporation

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Premier APS

Iseman, Cunningham, Riester & Hyde, LLP

Arthur J. Gallagher

Premier Consulting Associates, LLC

POMCO Group

ATC Taxes

ProAct, Inc.

Auctions International, Inc.

Propel Financial Services

CanaRx Group Inc.

Satellite Tracking of People, LLC

CannonDesign

ShoreTel

Cardiac Life

Siemens Industry, Inc.

CGI Communications, Inc.

SMRT Architects and Engineers

CivicPlus

SolarCity

Computer Sciences Corporation

Strategic Response Initiatives LLC

Direct Energy Business

Trinity Swanson Services Group

General Code

Visit Buffalo Niagara

Rocky Mountain Offender Management Systems

General Services Administration

VMC Group, Inc.

SmartWatt Energy

Gravity Renewables

Wendel

groSolar

Workday

The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center

Harris Corporation

ZeroBase

TransPro Consulting, LLC

Integrys Energy Services, Inc.

EXCELSIOR SPONSORS

Iseman, Cunningham, Riester & Hyde, LLP

CanaRx Group Inc.

SILVER SPONSORS

KBM Management

SolarCity

Health Economics Group, Inc.

KHEOPS Architecture, Engineering & Survey, D.P.C. LaBella Associates, D.P.C. Lend Lease (US) Construction LexisNexis Risk Solutions LiRo Engineers, Inc. Motorola Solutions, Inc. Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance National Association of Counties – NACo Nationwide Retirement Solutions New World Systems New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General NYMIR

SPECIAL EVENT SPONSORS

Arthur J. Gallagher

GOLD SPONSORS Finger Lakes Technologies Group Inc. Harris Beach PLLC Information Builders Jefferies LLC LeChase Construction Services, LLC Microsoft Corporation

Araya Auctions International, Inc. Bank of America Merrill Lynch BMO Harris Bank

AARP

Bonadio & Co., CPA’s P.C.

Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C.

C&S Companies

FTN Financial

Crown Benefits Group, Inc.

Nationwide Retirement Solutions

Effective NY

NYMIR

Fiscal Advisors & Marketing, Inc.

O’Connor Davies, LLP Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Mil-tek Northeast Recycling & Waste Solutions

PERMA

Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West LLC

Salient HHS

Park Strategies Phillips Lytle LLP

CORPORATE SPONSORS KeyBanc Siemens

Robert A. Ungar Associates, Inc. SaxBST, LLP Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP SWBR Architects

NYS & Local Retirement System

The Paige Group

NYS Department of Public Service

The Satellite.Biz

NYSAuctions.com

Tyler Technologies

NYSERDA

www.nysac.org 35

Pelletier Institute Committed to Educating New York’s County Leaders

T

he Dennis A. Pelletier County Government Institute offers a comprehensive educational program for county officials. The purpose of the institute is to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for county officials to engage in informed, constructive and civil discussions on the challenges they face as public servants.

The Pelletier County Government Institute is co-sponsored through a partnership with NYSAC and Cornell University and the Community and Regional Development Institute (CaRDI).

To register for the Pelletier Institute, visit www.nysac.org/Pelletier_Institute/index.php.

Here’s what some recent Pelletier graduates are saying: “The Pelletier Program provides elected and appointed county officials the resources necessary to run their open government effectively. I am very proud to be amongst the 2013 graduating class”

Randall Douglas, Essex County

“I feel the Pelletier Institute Program is a wonderful tool and experience for any elected or appointed official. Being a legislator for thirteen years now, I still learn new things with each class I take. It is a privilege to be a part of such a beneficial program. “

Thomas Gifford, Schuyler County “The Dennis Pelletier Government Institute gives fresh perspectives and a powerful network dedicated to strengthening government statewide. The education gained and connections established have given me the power and ability to intelligently and effectively serve the people who confide in me as their representative. The instructors are knowledgeable and witty and the workshops are fun and enlightening. NYSAC is a vital source of education and professional development. All the arrows point in the same direction: toward GOOD GOVERNMENT!”

Harmony Speciale, Oneida County “Pelletier courses and presentations have helped me stay current with the fast-paced changes occurring in county government.”

Karen DeMay, Ontario County

“The Pelletier Institute has provided me with an array of tools to place in my toolbox to do a better job for my constituents.”

William Kenny, Warren County “The Pelletier Institute has provided me the opportunity to network and learn from my peers in a professional yet informal environment. I have found the speakers at the NYSAC Finance School as well as the Spring and Fall Seminars engaging and received a library of information on current topics.”

Cheryl Mayer, Wyoming County “Taking part in the varied training and networking opportunities of the Pelletier program has been extremely beneficial to me as I face the many challenges in local government.”

Daryl Rogers, Wyoming County

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“The Pelletier Institute is a valuable effort by NYSAC to educate legislators in the intricate details of county government that exhibits we are never too old to learn”.

Frederick Wadnola, Ulster County “The Pelletier Institute has been a great source of knowledge that has enabled me to do my job better, resulting in a direct benefit to my Legislature and Steuben County. I highly recommend all newly appointed/ elected public officials participate in the Pelletier Institute.”

“The Pelletier Institute classes have helped me better understand my duties and responsibilities as a local elected representative and have provided much of the information necessary to make the difficult decisions that we must make at the county level in today’s economy.”

Dorothy Huber, Ontario County

Richard Madl, Chemung County

Gregory Fagan, Fulton County “The Pelletier Program is an excellent venue for public officials to share common concerns in pursuit of practical solutions”

“I found the Pelletier program both rewarding and challenging. I would encourage anyone who is desirous of understanding the complex relationships between the federal, state and local governments to enroll in this program.”

John Sheppard, Seneca County

Richard Mayfield, Orange County

I first met Dennis in Western NY Inter-county meeting at Watkins Glen. Dennis and I sat in the back seat of a 12 passenger van while going around the race track. Our friendship grew from that day forward. He was a true gentleman and a role model.”

“The Pelletier Institute has been an invaluable education on how to better understand & execute my job to the highest level which, in effect, ultimately serves the public.”

Brenda Mori, Steuben County “The Pelletier Program has enabled me to continue my government training in areas where I would not necessarily have had such an opportunity. “

“Attending seminars through the Pelletier program has enabled me to be a better representative. I have gained information at the conferences that I have not learned anywhere else.”

Richard Othmer, Putnam County

Larry Rogers, Wyoming County “The Pelletier Institute has given me the cutting edge in representing my taxpayers”

Lynn Johnson, Orleans County “Participation in the Pelletier Program has provided invaluable knowledge and experience that I can pass on to others in my county. We can achieve so much working together to make things better for our constituents.”

Donna Draxler, Chemung County

“The classes have helped me better understand the role of our County Board and the relationships with State Government, I highly recommend that every elected official try to become accredited.”

Milfred Potter, Oswego County

“My experience with the Pelletier program has been extremely valuable to me and I’ve been able to incorporate the things I’ve learned directly into my daily life as a county clerk.”

Indy Jaycox, Schoharie County “The programs offered through the Pelletier Institute have provided me with an excellent opportunity to broaden my knowledge of local government and put that knowledge into practice.”

Peter Crouse, Albany County

www.nysac.org 37

State Court Strikes Down Local Anti-Cyberbullying Law Court Ruling Leaves Door Open for Local Legislative Amendments

By Patrick Cummings Assistant Counsel, New York State Association of Counties

O

n July 1, 2014, the New York State Court of Appeals struck down a county anti-cyberbullying local law, but in doing so may have offered a roadmap on how such future laws may be passed. In The People v. Marquan M. / County of Albany New York’s highest court stated a county may have the constitutional authority to pass and enforce anti-cyberbullying measures protecting children, but the local law must be narrowly tailored to protect an individual’s freedom of speech rights. To understand why and what the court ruled, it is important to look at the fact pattern that preceded the case.

How the Local Law Came to Be In 2010, Albany County, like other counties throughout the state and country, passed a local law with the intent to prevent or deter cyberbullying within the county. The Albany County Legislature and Executive recognized the disturbing bullying epidemic that is growing by way of electronic means. The county stated that children historically have been victims of bullying and have unfortunately had to deal with the physiological effects associated with such abuse, but this generation faces a new challenge in the form of cyberbullying, which can be spread publicly and done anonymously by the bullier.

To combat this problem, Albany County adopted a local law defining and criminalizing cyberbullying that occurs within the county. The law defined cyberbullying as: “…any act of communicating or causing a communication to be sent by mechanical or electronic means, including posting statements on the internet or through a computer or email network, disseminating embarrassing or sexually explicit photographs; disseminating private, personal, false or sexual information, or sending hate mail, with no legitimate private, personal, or public purpose, with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten, abuse, taunt, intimidate, torment, humiliate, or otherwise inflict significant emotional harm on another person.”

The local law criminalized any cyberbullying within the county against any minor or person (emphasis added because this term person will later help shape the court determination). The penalty for such action is guilt of a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and/ or a fine of up to $1,000.00.

Counsel’s Corner

The Law’s Validity is Challenged One month after the local law was enacted, according to court records, a high school student within the county used the social media website Facebook to create an anonymous page where he posted pictures of classmates and detailed descriptions of their alleged sexual practices and other types of personal information. A police investigation ensued and authorities discovered the identity and elicited a confession of the act from the creator of the Facebook content. This individual was later charged with violating the newly created local law.

The defendant challenged the validity of the local law as part of his defense in city court, stating, amongst other defenses, that the local law violated the Constitution’s First Amendment. The court ruled that the county’s local law was constitutional to the extent that it prohibited such bullying towards minors and the county court affirmed on appeal.

The High Court’s Ruling This holding was then appealed to the State’s highest court by the defendant with the support of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Again the defendant stated that the local law was too broad in nature, violating the 1st Amendment, freedom of speech, and the 14th Amendment, equal protection.

The High Court lauded the county’s intent to protect minors from cyberbullying. However, the court found this local law, as constructed, was too vague in nature. The court states, “(a)lthough the First Amendment may not give the defendant the right to engage in these activities, the text of Albany County’s law envelopes far more than acts of cyberbullying against children…”

In reaching this conclusion the Court drew from past landmark First Amendment rulings. In the ruling, the Court cited U.S. v. Stevens, as a general First Amendment canon, “the government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter or its content”. However, the Court points out there are exceptions to this general rule as prohibitions of speech may be allowed in cases of “… fighting words, true threats, incitement, obscenity, child pornography, fraud, defamation or statements integral to criminal conduct.” The Court also stated that the government has an “unquestionable compelling interest in protecting children from harm and that cyberbullying is not conceptually immune from government regulation.”

Continued on page 39 38 NYSAC News Fal l 201 4

Continued from page 38

With the possibility of government regulation recognized for this type of speech, the Court turned to look at this specific local law to see if it overreached into constitutionally protected rights. The Court determined this specific local law was too vague/overly broad. They found the intent of the law was to protect children from cyberbullying, yet the law itself includes criminalizing such acts against any minor or person. As written the Court found this law could be enforced against adults. Additionally, the Court found that the definition of electronic means may be too broad, it may include unintended technologies such as phone or radio transmissions. Ultimately, the Court stated if the local law was tailored more narrowly when defining electronic means and only to prohibit these intentionally sent communications to minors that infect emotional harm, this local law may (please note, the Court seemed deliberate with “may,” implying this issue could still be a case-by-case basis) be constitutionally valid. The Court also concluded it was not within their power to invalidate only pieces of the law, like “or persons” and validate the remaining portions dealing with child protection because this would rewrite this specific law too greatly and thereby crossing over into separation of powers issues.

The Amended Law In repose to this holding, on September 8, 2014 the Albany County Legislature passed an amended cyberbullying law. This local law was drafted by the county with the direction given by the High Court. This amended local law includes the following updated provisions: 1) limits the potential victims to those under 18 years of age; 2) more narrowly defines electronic communication; 3) adds the term “not of public concern” making more types of speech allowable under the law; and 4) adds a clause allowing any county resident, not just those that are charged, to challenge the constitutional validity of the local law within 60 days of its adoption. With these added provisions, Albany County believes they are in keeping with the Court of Appeals direction and will achieve their goal of adding more protection of cyberbullying to the children of their county.

For More Information: Albany County’s original 2010 law – http://www.albanycounty.com/Libraries/Crime_ Victims_and_Sexual_Violence_Center/LocalLaw_ No_11_for_2010_CyberBullying.sflb.ashx

Albany County’s 2014 amended local law – access.albanycounty.com/legislature/ resolutions/2014/20140908/2014-LL_F.pdf

Court of Appeals determination – The People v. Marquan M. /County of Albany – www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2014/ Jul14/139opn14-Decision.pdf

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www.nysac.org 39

Affiliate Focus: Coroners in NYS: No Training Required

By Scott M. Schmidt, CFSP President, New York State Association of County Coroners and Medical Examiners

H

aving just started my third term as president of the NY Association of County Coroners and Medical Examiners (NYSACCME), I still have one project I would like to see through. Since the early 1990’s NYSACCME has been working to develop minimum training requirements for newly elected or appointed coroners. Believe it or not, there is currently no training requirement for coroners in New York State.

NYSACCME continues to offer training and is leading the charge in advocating for state legislation that would require minimum training for Newly Elected Coroners.

I urge all county supervisors, legislators, and public health department directors to, at the very least, have your coroners join NYSACCME and attend our bi-annual educational conferences. Experienced and properly trained public officials (such as your coroners,) are an asset of your county. Coroners without proper training are a liability and are sitting ducks for any defense attorney during a homicide trial.

Medical Examiners are appointed as well, but there are requirements for the position: they have to be medical doctors, preferably pathologists or, even better, a Forensic Pathologist. Their knowledge of Medicolegal Death Investigation is usually cutting edge and they have staff to aid them in determining cause and manner of death. A coroner, while holding the same power and responsibility as a medical examiner, has only these requirements: to be at least 18 years old, have lived in the county where he/she works for at least 30 days, and be elected by the constituency or appointed by the county legislature or board of supervisors. Anyone can become a coroner—there is no training required.

For over 15 years, NYSACCME has offered a “Coroner 101” class to newly elected coroners, sitting coroners, medical examiners, law enforcement, investigators and anyone involved with the investigation of a death.

The class provides enrollees with basic but important

40 NYSAC News Fal l 201 4

information regarding how to handle their first case.

Topics include determining cause and manner of death, scene investigation, working collaboratively with other agencies, talking to the press, and communicating with the family. This class is an indispensable asset to those taking the position for the first time and is a valuable refresher for the seasoned public servant. We typically offer this class every three years and have had excellent class attendance and tremendous reviews about the content.

With that said, since 1997, bills have been introduced seeking minimum training requirements for newly elected coroners. Our 101 class has been included in the language of several of those bills as a possible resource to satisfy the requirements. NYSACCME has spent significant funds to record the class on DVD and adapt to the language of a recent re-write of the bill which would require the Coroner-elect to take the class within 60 days of being elected. NYSACCME’s position is that this training should eventually fall under the auspices of the State Education Department as well as the Department of State for licensing purposes, but our training is a good starting point while the legislation gets off the ground. State lawmakers must pass this bill during the next session.

However, this important piece of legislation keeps getting referred back to committee. We don’t know if this is because of ego, political affiliation of the bill sponsor or lack of proper information. However, we do know that a county coroner with no training or proper relevant education can bring serious potential liability to his/her county.

For more information on membership and Educational Conferences, call the NYSACCME office at 585-589-5410 or visit: www.NYSACCME.org

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NYSAC Scenes

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NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Ac quario (left) and NY Patrick Cummings SAC Counsel met recently with members of the Ca Legislature. yuga County

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From left to right, NYSAC Treasurer Bob Currier, NYSAC Executive Assistant Trish Milkiewicz, and NYSAC Parliamentarian Herman Geist.

AARP Ne w York h eld a “Bo forum to om Town release th ” e findings o cal study f a crition aging in New Y ork State Cou nt New y dele gat Yor es f NA ka rom Co’ t ten sA ded nnu al B usin ess

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Twitter is a web-based, rapid-fire information and opinion network made up of 140-character messages called “Tweets.” Spaces and punctuation count toward this limit, so Twitter has its own kind of shorthand that you will begin to learn.

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Twitter contains information you will find valuable—Messages come from users you choose to follow and will show up on your homepage for you to read. This can be things like traffic alerts, board meeting updates, general news around your community, county, state and even nation.

Use it to find out what’s going on in your community, state government, federal government and other organizations and businesses of interest to you. You can send out tweets to communicate with your residents, the local media, local businesses, county services and more.

You have a lead on the message with Twitter— make sure you are the one telling your constituents what you’re doing in your county and on Capitol Hill, and how that will benefit them.

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Some variation on your name would be best.

Your followers will see this every time you send a tweet. ●●Tweet important information relevant to your followers/county residents. Include links back to official pages for full information. E.g.: – County Commission meets tonight 6-9p, 1400 Courthouse Rd 3rd fl, public

comments 815p, more info http://bit.ly/ fakeURL – Board of Supervisors approves 2013 budget, visit www.county.co.us.gov for info – Annual Green Valley Park Festival this wkend! I will be @ Meet Your County booth Saturday, stop by and say hi! ●●Mention another user by using their handle.

They will see that you mentioned them, and chances are they will look you up. If you have similar interests, they might follow you back.

– E.g.: Looking forward to Telco/Tech Committee mtg today @NACoTweets Legislative Conference ●●Retweet (RT) messages from others that you like or think are important. The “RT” prefix indicates you are giving credit to OP (original poster). For example, if you follow @ NACoTweets and think your followers would like to know what NACo has tweeted about, your tweet might look like the following: – RT @NACoTweets: Check out the latest version of eNews to stay current with nation’s counties, http://bit.ly/fakeURL ●●Use hashtags (#). Tags make it easier to follow an event in real-time. The tag #NACoAnn will allow anyone who clicks on it to find every other tweet in the universe that contains the same tag. Any word can be a tag so long as you place the pound (#) sign in front of it.

At conferences or other public forums, you can follow what others are saying about the meeting or workshops they are attending. E.g.: – About to hear #mountain climber Aron Ralson speak @NACoTweets general session #NACoAnn ●●Follow associations of interest. Chances are your county visitor’s bureau, library and/or parks department is already on Twitter. And of course—follow your state association and NACo!

Remember: Engagement is key!

Social media is all about facilitating the conversation.

If you have any questions about social media or would like to learn more about getting started, applying it to your needs and using it effectively, don’t hesitate to contact…

Matthew Fellows: New Media Manager q 202.942.4205 E mfellows@naco.org Jim Philipps: Media Relations Manager q 202.942.4220 E jphilipps@naco.org

Join the NACo Network…

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