Winter 2024: Legislative Guide

NYSAC News

NEW

YORK

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WINTER 2024

Legislative Guide

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President's Page NYSAC OFFICERS Hon. Daniel P. McCoy Albany County President Hon. Benjamin Boykin II Westchester County President-Elect Hon. Philip R. Church Oswego County First Vice President Dr. Kevin Watkins Cattaraugus County Second Vice President Michael E. Zurlo Clinton County Immediate Past President

BOARD MEMBERS Hon. Luis A. Alvarez, Sullivan County Hon. Bruce Blakeman Nassau County Mr. Christopher Ellis Jr., New York City Office of the Mayor Hon. Richard R. House, Wayne County Hon. Beth A. Hunt, Hamilton County Hon. Margaret M. Kennedy, Otsego County Hon. J. Ryan McMahon, II. Onondaga County Hon. Steven M. Neuhaus, Orange County Hon. Shawna Black, Tompkins County Hon. Paul M. Wendel, Jr., Chautauqua County

PARLIAMENTARIANS Hon. Herman Geist, Esq., Westchester County Hon. A. Douglas Berwanger, Wyoming County

H

appy New Year!

To the 207 newly elected county officials who took their oath of office in early January, I want to say congratulations and welcome to the NYSAC family. To all our new members who have been or will soon be hired or appointed to serve your communities, we are happy to have you aboard and your team at NYSAC looks forward to working with you.

As I look forward to this year, I see plenty of challenges and opportunities.

At this time, we continue to review the state budget advanced by Governor Kathy Hochul to determine its impact on county government operations. Our initial review indicates that the budget is a net positive for counties, and we will work closely with the state legislature to advance our priorities. We appreciate the Governor listening to us over the summer and including some of our priorities, especially on EMS reform.

Additionally, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year on the foreclosure process changed the way counties were operating. Due to this decision, the state needs to amend state law to conform to the High Court’s ruling. We support the Governor’s approach reforming these laws and will work with the state legislature to achieve the right outcome for the homeowner and the government.

United we stand and divided we fall.

As your president I will do everything that I can to help us stand united. Our issues, our concerns, our priorities are not partisan. They are local.

Legislature. When we find ourselves at odds with state leaders, it compromises our ability to achieve great things for our communities and our mutual constituents.

I understand politics, and I understand the different needs around our state, but there are swaths of common ground we can build upon to strengthen New York state now and for future generations.

These issues and policies should be our focus. These are the issues and policies that will keep our residents in our communities, attract new jobs and companies, and help us keep New York moving ever upward—Excelsior!

NYSAC is here to help you serve your residents. We were created by county leaders, just like you and me, 99 years ago, to share best practices, expand our knowledge on critical issues, and unite the county voice in Albany. That’s still what we do. And we do it well.

I look forward to working with you throughout the year and I look forward to standing united with you to overcome the challenges that come our way and seize the opportunities that will make our communities even better than they are today.

Daniel P. McCoy NYSAC President

There is a saying that goes “we are only as strong as our weakest link.” NYSAC often says that we can do more together than we can do separately. I believe that. We can do more for the State of New York when we, as county officials, work with the Governor and State

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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Director's Note NYSAC STAFF (partial listing) Stephen J. Acquario, Esq. Executive Director Karen Catalfamo Office/Financial Manager Patrick Cummings, Esq. Counsel Patricia Gettings Assistant to the Director Ryan Gregoire Legislative Director Alexandra Regan Legislative/Policy Coordinator Mark LaVigne Deputy Director Dave Lucas Director of Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs Juanita Munguia Business Development Manager Tom Oldfather Communications Manager Kate Pierce-Nimz Multimedia Specialist Jeanette Stanziano Director of Education & Training Chancey Young Member Information Manager

A

s we roll up our sleeves and get down to the work of 2024, I first want to look back at one of the highlights of the past year. For the first time in our 99-year history, the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) hosted its annual Fall Seminar in Oneida County.

A record-breaking 700+ attendees gathered at the Turning Stone Resort in September for our three-day annual meeting.

The historic conference was the highestattended Fall Seminar we've ever had—a testament to the incredible effort the county put in to hosting the event, and the world class amenities that Oneida offers. Thank you to my friend, County Executive Picente and the entire Oneida County team for such a warm welcome!

Throughout the entire process, your team here at NYSAC will provide insight and expert analysis on what’s happening in Albany and Washington and how you can help. And we’re always here to answer questions and provide support along the way.

From all of us at your Association, we wish you a healthy, happy, and fulfilling New Year!

Stephen J. Acquario, Esq. NYSAC Executive Director

I also want to acknowledge the members who have retired and are no longer with this great association and congratulate our new members who started their county positions earlier this year.

This edition of our magazine lays out the county policy priorities that our members adopted at our last two conferences. These items will drive the bulk of our advocacy through the state budget, legislative session, and the year.

We look forward to working with you to achieve as much of this agenda as possible, even as we work together to voice concern over those inevitable proposals that could do more harm in our communities than good.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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NYSAC News NEW

YORK

NYSAC News NEW

YORK

STATE

ASSOCIATION

OF

COUNTIES

NYSAC’s mission is to foster excellence in county government and unite the voice of New York’s county leaders.

President Daniel P. McCoy Publisher Stephen J. Acquario Managing Editor Mark F. LaVigne Editor Tom Oldfather Designer Kate Pierce-Nimz Advertising Staff Juanita Munguia

STATE

ASSOCIATION

OF

COUNTIES

Advertise with NYSAC Contact NYSAC Business Development Manager Juanita Munguia at 518-465-1473 or jmunguia@nysac.org 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 90 years. NYSAC’s mission is to foster excellence in county government and unite the voice of New York’s county leaders.

NYSAC NEWS MAGAZINE

515 Broadway, Suite 402, Albany, New York 12207 Phone • (518) 465-1473 Fax • (518) 465-0506 Send submissions to toldfather@nysac.org. Submissions should be 750 to 1,000 words and include a high resolution photo of the author­. All submissions­are subject to editing for clarity, content and/or length.

The advertisements and articles in NYSAC News in no way imply support or endorsement­by NYSAC for any of the products, services or messages conveyed herein. ©2024 New York State Association of Counties

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

Table of Contents Volume 46, Issue 1 Winter 2024

ADVOCATING FOR COUNTIES

36

Strengthening the Local Social Safety Net

10

County Role in Rescuing EMS

38

Investing in the Future of NY’s Drinking Water

14

2024 Top Priorities

40

Farm Bill Priorities in New York

16

Runaway Medicaid Spending

18

Congratulations Newly Elected County Officials

42

Supporting Local News

20

Foreclosed Process

45

Cybersecurity Current and Future Trends

46

Protecting Drinking Water, One Wellhead at a Time

48

Fall Seminar Snapshots

50

Retail Theft Harms Us All

54

Operation Green Light Highlights

57

Management Fellowship

COUNTIES UNITED IN LEADERSHIP

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

22

Enhancing Early Intervention

24

Why New York’s Competency Restoration Law Needs to Be Amended

27

Election Inspectors

28

NY’s Master Plan on Aging Needs Investment to Operationalize

33

Extended Producer Responsibility Must Include Packaging and Paper

Cover Photo NYS Capitol Illuminated Green for Operation Green Light

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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ADVOCATING FOR COUNTIES

County Role in Rescuing EMS

By Ryan Gregoire, NYSAC Legislative Director

M

uch like our three coequal branches of government— the legislative, executive and judicial, emergency medical services (EMS) should be treated as a coequal emergency service, on par with police and fire protection.

Unfortunately, we know that EMS services, including those delivered by fire departments, have been underfunded for decades.

The challenges for EMS and ambulance services include volunteer and paid staffing shortages, a dysfunctional funding model, increased uncompensated training requirements, and a complex bureaucratic web of service providers.

Municipal Role in Providing EMS—New York State Statute Until recently, counties have had a limited role in EMS service delivery, in part because counties do not have any statutory authority to raise funds other than through the general property tax levy or sales tax to pay for EMS services. For the most part, counties served in a coordinating capacity through the county EMS Coordinator. However, as EMS agencies have closed across the state, counties have been stepping up to fill gaps in coverage.

Under current law (General Municipal Law (GML) Article 6, Section 122b), municipalities, including towns, villages and cities can provide ambulance services for their residents.

State law allows municipalities to provide emergency medical service, general ambulance service or some combination of these either directly with a municipally operated service or by contracting with one or more individuals, municipal corporations, associations, or other organizations to provide such service.

For towns, the provision of ambulance services is a town-wide charge, unless a town has established an ambulance district or provided for ambulance services through a fire protection district contract. There is no authority in GML Section 122b or Town Law Section 198 for towns with villages to be charged to the part-town area.

Ambulance districts can also be formed as special taxing districts using New York State Town Law Articles 12 and 12-A, and those districts can contract to provide ambulance service to the properties within the district funded by taxes assessed on the property owners of the district in the manner as other town charges (based on assessed value). Section 198 of Town Law is designed to mimic the sections of GML mentioned above.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

That allows for town-wide service, and specifically Section 198 (10-f)(a) allows ambulance district formation and operation.

User fees are also authorized for ambulance service users within districts. The same qualifications concerning administration and collection of fees apply as for town-wide service.

Most ambulance services receive income from two sources: contracts with local governments (towns and villages); and patient reimbursements, either through insurance companies, direct billing or Medicare/Medicaid payments.

Unfortunately, current Medicare regulations only allow payment for emergency ground ambulance services when individuals are transported to hospitals, critical access hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and dialysis centers.

Staffing EMS Services An EMS agency can be made up of all volunteers, combined departments with volunteers and career staff or, a fully career department. There are two primary EMS service providers outside of physicians and nurses in a hospital: EMTs and Paramedics.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN (EMT) EMTs conduct basic, non-invasive interventions to help save lives and reduce harm at emergency sites. They have the skills needed to transport patients safely. In many places, EMTs provide out-of-hospital care. To be licensed as an EMT, you must take an accredited course. EMT courses are normally between 150 and 180 hours to complete.

PARAMEDIC Paramedics are the most skilled emergency responders. To become a certified paramedic, you must complete a nationally accredited paramedic program at the certificate or associate degree level. Paramedic classes take longer, between 1,200 and 1,800 hours to complete. Often, they are offered at a college and allow a student to obtain an associate degree, if they choose.

EMTs and paramedics receive extensive training, work in highrisk and high-stress situations and have great responsibility for the well-being of the people they serve. Yet, they are paid far less than other public safety and healthcare professionals. EMTs and paramedics often leave their jobs to become firefighters, police officers or registered nurses. EMS salaries must increase to provide parity and support EMS as a career choice.

and support them when additional services are needed, but we cannot wait another year, stand ideally by and watch our EMS system collapse around us.

Without state action, response times will continue to lengthen, and patients won’t receive critical healthcare that they need. There is an expectation by the public that we, as government leaders, deliver critical EMS services when they dial 9-1-1 seeking emergency care. Now, we must act to deliver reforms that the EMS community needs in order to maintain this expectation that all New Yorkers deserve.

Addressing the EMS Crisis Through Policy Reforms As discussed above, helping the EMS community reach parity with other emergency services—including fire and police will require a multifaceted set of policy reforms, some of which the EMS community has been advocating for several decades.

In the fall of 2023, NYSAC brought together representatives from for-profit, municipal, and non-profit EMS providers and state legislators who have shown interest in tackling this crisis.

We are looking at opportunities to address staffing shortages, funding issues, and drive additional financial resources to EMS providers. To that end, NYSAC is currently supporting several pieces of legislation, including: •

S.4020-A (Mayer) / A.3392-A (Otis) to provide our EMS partners with the resources they need.

•

S.5000 (May) / A.4077 (Lupardo) to exempt EMS funding from the tax cap calculation.

•

S.6630 (Mannion) / A.6274 (Barrett) to allow volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers to claim both state income and local property tax credits.

•

Provide funding to cover 100% of the cost of EMT and AEMT training and state certification for volunteers.

•

S.5122 (Rivera) / A.5133 (McDonald) to create a Uniform Ambulance Assessment Program, generating additional federal Medicaid funding for non-government EMS providers.

•

Support legislation to reimburse EMS agencies for services delivered at a patient’s residence and for transportation to an alternative healthcare setting such as an urgent care facility.

•

Support legislation to provide a targeted Medicaid rate increase for EMS providers.

As state lawmakers return to Albany for the 2024 legislative session, saving our EMS system, and bringing EMS providers into parity with their peers in fire and police, must be a top priority of the Assembly and Senate. Counties stand ready to partner and aid our municipal peers in the delivery of services, NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

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Top County Priorities for the 2024 Legislative Session and SFY 25 Budget Reconcile with Counties for Outstanding Federal Medicaid Funding Since SFY 2016-17, the State of New York has withheld millions of dollars in the Affordable Care Act and now Family First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) enhanced FMAP funding. Historically, the State has reconciled county Medicaid contributions at the end of each fiscal year, returning additional federal dollars owed to counties. We are asking the state to establish a strategic fund for these eFMAP reconciliations.

Reform the In-Rem Tax Foreclosure Process •

Enact reforms to the in-rem tax foreclosure process to comply with the Tyler v. Hennepin County, MN (2023) Supreme Court decision.

•

Support S.1634-A (Kavanagh) / A.4026 (Rosenthal) to allow local land banks to bring abandoned properties into productive use.

Reform the Public Safety Surcharges & Invest in 9-1-1 Communications •

Support S.4560 (Martinez) / A.6290 (Jean-Pierre) to increase the statewide interoperable communications grant (SICG) and public safety answering points (PSAP) grants by $25 million and $30 million, respectively, to provide needed support for implementing next generation 9-1-1 (NG911) technology and continuity of emergency dispatching services.

•

Support S.4583-A (Martinez) / A.5942-A (Jean-Pierre) to use a portion of the 9-1-1 surcharge revenue to fully fund and deploy a statewide ESInet and related infrastructure for NG911 technologies.

Authorize Sales Tax Collections for the Gig Economy •

Support S.885 (Hinchey)/A.4130-a (Fahy) to authorize gig economy industries, such as VRBO, AirBnB, and other vacation and home rental agencies to collect sales tax (outside of New York City).

Provide a Funding Model to Save the EMS System

14

•

Support S.4020-A (Mayer) / A.3392-A (Otis) to provide our EMS partners with the resources they need.

•

Support S.5000 (May) / A.4077 (Lupardo) to exempt EMS funding from the tax cap calculation.

•

Support S.6630 (Mannion) / A.6274 (Barrett) to allow volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers to claim both state income and local property tax credits.

•

Provide funding to cover 100% of the cost of EMT and AEMT training and state certification for volunteers.

•

Support S.5122 (Rivera) / A.5133 (McDonald) to create a Uniform Ambulance Assessment Program, generating additional federal Medicaid funding for non-government EMS providers.

•

Support legislation to reimburse EMS agencies for services delivered at a patient’s residence and for transportation to an alternative healthcare setting such as an urgent care facility.

NYSAC News | Winter 2024

3

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Runaway Medicaid Spending

By Dave Lucas, NYSAC Director of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs

N

ew York has long been recognized as having one of the most generous and expensive Medicaid programs in the country. However, with record spending, health care quality outcomes in New York State are average compared to other states.

NYS Medicaid income eligibility thresholds were the highest (or tied) in 3 out of 5 categories: •

Children = 405 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) (#1)

By the Number$

•

Parents = 138 percent FPL (#1, tied)

•

Childless Adults = 138 percent FPL (#1, tied)

•

Pregnant women = 223 percent FPL (#14)

•

People w/disabilities = 83 percent FPL (#15)

State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024 Medicaid spending is expected to be $102 billion according to NYS DOB. 40 percent of total state population was covered by Medicaid (7.8 million) in SFY 2023, up from pre-COVID levels of 30 percent.

DOB projects increases in Medicaid spending as follows:

New York’s spend down rules, asset levels and waivers increases costs: •

1 in 4 adults (#4, percent of state population)

General Fund Projections

•

3 in 7 children (6th, tied)

(millions of dollars)

•

1 in 4 Medicare beneficiaries (#5)

Spending Category

Medicaid

•

4 in 9 people w/disabilities (#4)

SFY 2023

$19,204

•

3 in 5 nursing home residents (#35)

SFY 2024

$21,496

•

SFY 2025

$24,231

Comparing the share of low-income people in each state to the share of their total population enrolled in Medicaid, New York State has 35 percent more people enrolled than the average state (#4).

SFY 2026

$26,264

SFY 2027

$28,377

5 Year Growth

48%

Most expansions are made possible by federal funding mechanisms that are temporary in nature, or not guaranteed.

When the enhanced funding is removed, the state usually backfills the loss, worsening the fiscal stability of Medicaid and state finances.

Medicaid Personal Care Services Federal Fiscal Year 2021, NYS Medicaid Spending (Kaiser Family Foundation, Census Bureau)

16

•

#1 per capita spending ($3,798), nearly twice the average of $2,108.

•

#2 in total spending ($75B).

•

NYS spent more than Texas ($46B) & Florida ($28B) combined.

•

#4 per beneficiary spending ($10,067), 32 percent above the national average.

NYSAC News | Winter 2024

According to a 2022 report from the Empire Center, NYS spends more than any other state on personal care. Their analysis shows, in the five years leading into the pandemic “spending on the benefit more than doubled, from $4.6 billion to $11.4 billion, accounting for about 15% of NYS’ total Medicaid spending in SFY 2020.”

The Empire Center’s analysis highlighted that in “…2019 the state’s…personal care outlays of $10.3 billion were 47% of the U.S. total. In other words, New York alone spent nearly as much as the other 49 states combined.”

Average Length of Hospital Stay (June 2023: Definitive Health Care) New York State is #2 (5.7 days). The nationwide average is 4.5 days. Longer stays can stem from patient mix, severity of cases, staffing shortages and physician practice patterns – longer hospital stays lead to higher health care costs. Average hospital emergency department wait times are also about 30 percent above the national average, exacerbated by hospital staffing shortages and declining ambulance/EMT capacity.

Medicaid as a Share of Total State Spending Thirty-five percent of all spending in the state budget supported Medicaid (All Funds) in SFY 2021, #5 among states.

The 57 counties/NYC will spend $7.6 billion in local revenues for Medicaid in 2024. This is more than all the counties in the country combined are mandated to spend for general Medicaid services.

Mandatory & Discretionary Services The state covers more discretionary Medicaid services at higher thresholds. There are 15 mandatory services that all states must cover, including inpatient, outpatient, EPSDT, nursing facilities, home health, physicians, etc. There are 28 discretionary services including prescription drugs, clinic, dental, personal care, physical therapy, hospice, case management, etc. – most are covered by NYS.

How NYS Finances Increases Costs

cost to state and local taxpayers, as well as the state elected officials that determine benefit, eligibility, and service levels under Medicaid.

New York State Health Care Quality is…

Average The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the federal agency charged with improving the safety and quality of healthcare for all Americans. This work includes annual reports on key health care metrics. While these measures and reports do not highlight one system of care, such as Medicaid, it looks at health care delivery and quality outcomes across systems and allows for comparisons across states.

Quality is described in terms of six priorities: patient safety, person-centered care, care coordination, effective treatment, healthy living, and care affordability. The report is based on more than 250 measures of quality and disparities covering an array of healthcare services and settings.

The chart below covers data for New York State between 2018 and 2020 related to health care delivery for all categories mentioned, except care affordability. New York’s scores are average, with the caveat they may be somewhat diminished by New York’s uniquely severe Covid outbreak in 2020.

Medicaid

Unlike other states, New York requires counties to pay a large share of Medicaid costs ($7.6B). Because these local funds are treated as “off-budget” they contribute to higher spending because they mask true state costs.

This “sleight-of-hand budgeting” was amplified in the SFY 2024 budget. The state will intercept $626 million annually in federal ACA eFMAP savings passed through to counties/ NYC since 2013. The state will use these funds for its own spending and counties/NYC will need to replace each federal dollar lost with local taxes.

Additionally, the state imposes taxes on health care providers and insurers that it uses to match federal funds to pay for Medicaid. These health care taxes are $5.2 billion for SFY 2024 and are collected as surcharges on hospital revenues, and an assessment on insurance carriers for every person they insure. These special taxes have been repeatedly extended and increased over the last 30 years. These health care taxes become part of the cost of services provided under Medicaid, commercial health insurance, and out-of-pocket payors. None of these taxes show up on a bill any consumer ever sees.

Replacing what were once state general fund dollars with taxes paid by health care providers and insurers obscures the true

There are areas where the state excels, especially in addressing heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and cigarette use.

However, there are demographic challenges the state faces with an aging population and being behind the curve in improving the social determinants of health. By the state’s own measure of 99 key indicators under the Department of Health’s Prevention Agenda, less than 30 percent of targets have been met with 65 percent of indicators showing no change or getting worse.

Statewide, hospitals rank below the national average in federal Quality Star ratings maintained by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), and nursing homes rate only slightly above average.

While New York’s Medicaid spending is the highest by many measures, our health care outcomes lag much of the country.

Future reforms efforts need to prioritize quality outcomes and fiscal stability to ensure this program can be sustained for those most in need.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

17

Congratulations Newly Elected County Officials!

LEWIS Barry D. Lyndaker Herb Frost Jeffery G. Tompkins Thomas M. Kalamas

CLINTON

ERIE

Ellen C. Rosano

Kevin Randall

Lindsay Lorigo

LIVINGSTON

Mark Robinson

COLUMBIA

ESSEX

Richard White

Ryan M. Conway

James E. MacArthur

Cathleen Reusser Bradley

MADISON

Susan C. Quine-Laurilliard

Christopher Liberati-Conant

Chelsea M. Merrihew

Kyle M. Reger

Mike Dvorchak

Chris T. Clark

Michelle Ironside Kinville

Ian Jones

Richard Wolf

Favor J. Smith

Thomas G. Daviau

BROOME

Russell M. Gonzales

Matthew J. Brassard

MONROE

F. Paul Battisti

CORTLAND

FULTON

Francis M. Ciardi

CATTARAUGUS

Brooke K. Kemak

Brandon T. Lehr

Lystra E. McCoy

Jeffrey R. Stoltenberg

Dominick R. Mantella

Christina VanValkenburgh

Rose E. Bonnick

Timothy J. Nagle

Keith D. VanGorder

Constantine (Dino) Orfan

Santos E. Cruz

CAYUGA

Reed LL Cleland

James S. Isabella

Tom Sinclair

William P. McGovern

John David Praught

Virginia E. McIntyre

Brian Scanian

DELAWARE

Joseph C. DiGiacomo

MONTGOMERY

Jonathan Charles Anna

Donald T. Smith

Ralph J. Palcovic

Chad J. Majewski

Stephanie DeVito

Glen A. Faulkner

Thomas Roehl

Tom A. Winslow Sr.

Lisa Driscoll

GENESEE

NASSAU

CHAUTAUQUA

Maya Bukai

Donald E. Newton, Jr

Patrick C. Mullaney

Rebecca L. Walley

GREENE

Samantha A. Goetz

Shawn Smith

Breanna M. Lennon

Scott Davis

Timothy S. Kelso

HAMITON

Scott P. Strauss

ALLEGANY

Benjamin Vitale

Dalton J. Anthony Fred Johnson Marcus S. Buchanan

Michael J. Giangregorio

Frederick A. Larson

DUTCHESS

Phil Landy

Andrew J. House

Beth Hunt

CHEMUNG

Anthony Parisi

Jodie Small

NEW YORK CITY

Bob Gorman

Marsha King Purdue

Kristy Marmotato

Brendan Lawler

RaChelle M. Martz

Chris Banks

Chris Drago

HERKIMER

Susan Zhuang

Katlyn Colombani-Ruiz

CHENANGO Bernard E. McDermott Patricia Pittsley Patty Murray Susan McIntyre Wendy Rifanburg

Chris Rolison Lisa Kaul Lynne Miele-Versaci Robert Faust Ryan Travelpiece Susan J. Serino

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Vincent P. Nortz

ALBANY

NYSAC News | Winter 2024

Anthony Fernandez

Cynthia A. Bennett

Seth I. Koslow Carla L. Speranza

Yusef Salaam

John Brewer

NIAGARA

Michael Bick

Christopher J. McKimmie

JEFFERSON

ONEIDA

Brian S. Peck

Enessa M. Carbone

Christopher S. Boulio

Michael C. Gentile

Tina M. Bartlett Bearup

Todd Carville

Scott Hahn

ONONDAGA

SARATOGA

SULLIVAN

Daniel F. Romeo

Angela Thompson

Amanda R.B. Ward

EmilyA. Essi

Cynthia C. Young

Brian McPhillips

Kevin J. Meaker

David F. Ball

Cat Scott

Maurice Mo Brown

Jesse A. Fish Jr.

Matt McPhillips

WAYNE

Nodesia R. Hernandez

Michele Madigan

Terry L. Blosser-Bernardo

David Fantuzzo

Palmer L. Harvey

Ian Murray

ULSTER

Dawn Pisciotti

Richard McCarron, Jr.

SCHENECTADY

ONTARIO

Debra Clinton

Haileab Samual

Eric J. Kitchen

Dale C. Stell

SCHOHARIE

Greg McCoullough

Fred Stressing

John P. Youmans

Jason J. Kovacs

Jean Chrisman

Lawrence Caza

Jeff Collins

John B. Cowley

SENECA

Joe Donaldson

WESTCHESTER

Limina Grace Harmon

Emiljana Ulaj

Manny Nneji

Judah J Holstein

Richard T. Walls

Shane V. Williams

Nancy H. Yacci Thomas A. Cheney

OSWEGO

Frank Schmitter John Nabinger Joseph Stevens

Thomas Vincent Vicky Campbell Benjamin Aman

Frank Paddock Gary A. Rose Lester Carr Scott J. Converse Summer L. Johnson

Anthony DiMartino

Lucas Latini

WARREN

WYOMING

Kevin Hill

Timothy Thompson, Jr.

Carrie Black

Eric Smith

Paul Connolly

ST. LAWRENCE

Christine Norton

Mark Merrill

David Strainor

Stanley Klein

Haley Gilligan

YATES

John Maday Sr

Brian Champlin

Joshua Patchett

Francis Ryan

Kevin M. Bean

George E Lawson

Nancy Turner

Leigh MacKerchar

Nathan Etu

Molly Linehan

WASHINGTON

Winona B. Flynn

OTSEGO Edward Stanimer Jennifer Basile Nora Mendez

RENSSELAER Kyle Bourgault

ROCKLAND

Rick Engle

STEUBEN Joe Tobia Shannon Logsdon William A. Thew

SUFFOLK Ann E. Walker

Beth Davidson

Catherine L. Stark

Dana Stilley

Chad H. Lennon

Jesse Malowitz

Edward P. Romaine

Paul C. Cleary

Steven C. Englebright

Raymond W. Sheridan, III

Rebecca Sanin

Lance Allen Wang Lisa J. Boyce Nathaniel C. Baker

Thomas F. Diviny Will Kennelly

Newly Elected Toolkit NYSAC has curated a toolkit on our website that provides host of resources tailored to new county off icials.

(It’s also a helpful ref resher for not-so-newlyelected county off icials).

NYSAC.org/NewlyElected NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

19

Foreclosed Process U.S. Supreme Court Decision to Bar Localities from Keeping Surplus Equity Will Impact NYS

By Rachel Mackey, Legislative Director, National Association of Counties and Patrick Cummings, Counsel, New York State Association of Counties

0

n May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, a case with major implications for county governments in several states including New York. Tyler centered on a lawsuit brought forth

by Geraldine Tyler, who owed Hennepin County, Minnesota $15,000 in unpaid property taxes, interest and penalties for a condo she did not reside in. She received a statutorily prescribed notice of foreclosure, failed to answer, and then never tried to redeem the property during the 3-year period allowed by the state. She also did not seek to repurchase the property.

After the county sold the condo for $40,000 and kept the proceeds above and beyond Tyler’s $15,000 debt, Tyler sued, arguing that she was owed the $25,000 surplus under the Fifth Amendment’s Taking Clause, which bars the government from taking private property for public use without adequately compensating the property owners, as well as the Eighth Amendment’s ban on excessive fines.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) joined an amicus brief along with the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA), National League of Cities (NLC) and Government Finance Officers Association in support of Hennepin County, arguing that the ability to keep surplus proceeds helps county governments afford the administrative costs associated with seizing and selling forfeited property.

In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court held that the County violated the Takings Clause. Under the majority opinion, county governments are not legally entitled to keep the profits from the sale of tax-forfeited property beyond the existing tax debt. However, the ruling preserves the ability of local governments to impose interest and late fees when a taxpayer fails to pay taxes and seize property to recover a tax debt, which are important enforcement mechanisms.

States and counties that currently allow for the retention of the surplus equity will need to update their statutes or risk significant liability following the Court’s ruling. Along with barring local governments from keeping any surplus equity after the sale of a forfeited property, states and counties must also prepare for the possibility of class-action lawsuits around their historic use of the practice now that it has been declared unconstitutional.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

Shortly after the Court issued its decision, 43 counties in Michigan agreed to a $2 billion settlement in just such a suit.

In positive news for local governments, in its decision, the Court specifically noted that interest and fees on a tax debt would not be considered a Taking. The Court’s ruling also leaves open the possibility that states can seize surplus equity so long as they provide a mechanism for its return after the sale of the property.

How Will New York Addressing Real Property Tax Foreclosures in a Post Tyler v. Hennepin World Tyler v. Hennepin’s ruling reached beyond Minnesota, directly impacting New York State’s delinquent property tax enforcement process. Like Minnesota’s process, New York State’s law permitted governmental bodies to keep funds beyond the taxes owed when a property was foreclosed on and sold. However, there are three factors that are unique to New York that make this decision requiring the return of excess funds more difficult to implement: 1.

New York’s In Rem process is more legally complex and non-uniform across the state. County, city, and even town governments perform In Rem foreclosures and each entity can have a different process while following various sections of Real Property Tax law, as well as local and Charter laws;

2.

New York State’s reliance of funding public services with property taxes, resulting in some of the highest property tax rates in the country; and

3.

State law requires county governments to make school and town budgets whole when taxes are not paid by the property owner.

The high expense of allowing schools and towns remain fiscally whole when taxes are not paid is the main reason county governments ever needed to retain any excess property taxes obtained through the In Rem process.

Counties only foreclosed on tax delinquent properties after years of notice, working with the property owner on payment options, and if payments were not possible, allowing time for the property owner themselves to sell the property in order for them to keep any funds over the taxes owed.

Fixing this system to comply with Tyler in New York is not going to be easy. A uniform state law must be developed, while keeping local and state services uninterrupted.

Now that the Legislative Session has begun and the Governor’s SFY 2025 Executive State Budget proposal has been released, negotiations on a final solution are underway.

NYSAC and a team of county officials continue to work closely with the Governor’s office and Legislature. The Governor’s budget proposal meets the requirements of the Supreme Court ruling, and has made the system less complex, allowing for: 1.

the collection of taxes owed;

2.

the ability to collect reasonable service fees including but not limited to attorney costs; and

3.

the ability to send back in a timely manner any excess funds to one property owner and not to be involved in any 3rd party debt, liens, or claims against the original property owner regarding such excess funds.

Did You Know?

Continued negotiations between the Governor and state lawmakers will likely further address how to: 1.

2.

3.

Determine fair value of an In Rem property. Currently many counties perform public auctions, and this determines value, but some advocates and lawmakers question whether this achieves proper market value. Governor Hochul’s SFY 2025 budget proposal defines public auction and further states such sales could not be challenged because the property was worth more than what it sold for at public auction.

Continue to build on the success of our land bank programs.

Counties and cities work closely with land banks, which use state and local funds to restore properties and get them back on the tax roll. However, many of the properties used by land banks are donated by the local government after the In Rem foreclosure process and prior to any auction.

Any new process must include a solution to allow land banks to purchase these properties. The Governor’s SFY 2025 proposal does provide a pathway that could help land banks to continue to acquire properties in a beneficial way.

Manage the risk of liability. As mentioned above, county governments cannot be involved in legal disputes after returning the excess funds regarding debt or liens owed to 3rd parties by the original landowner. There are additional liability concerns such as retroactive excess funds claims.

There are already lawsuits against local governments throughout the state seeking the excess funds collected prior to Tyler. The state needs to recognize that local governments cannot be fiscally harmed by retroactive lawsuits against a state’s existing foreclosure system. Any fiscal harm to local government over retroactive lawsuits must be paid by the state to ensure the stability of existing local government service functions.

• NYSHIP is available to virtually all public employers across New York State • Over 800 counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts and special districts participate in NYSHIP • More than 1.2 million public employees, retirees and their families have health insurance through NYSHIP

A unique health insurance plan developed for New York’s public employees For additional information regarding The Empire Plan or the Excelsior Plan, public employers may visit our website at www.cs.ny.gov or email the Public Employer Liaison Unit (PELU) for the New York State Health Insurance Program at PELU@cs.ny.gov.

Employee Benefits Division of the New York State DepartmentNYSAC of CivilNews Service | www.nysac.org

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CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Enhancing Early Intervention Addressing Challenges and Exploring Solutions in New York State

By Sarah Ravenhall, Executive Director NYSACHO

T

he Early Intervention Program (EIP) plays a pivotal role in providing crucial developmental services to infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders, hearing loss, and speech or language impairments, and their families.

Administered by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and implemented at the county level by local health departments (LHDs) or local departments of social services (LDSSs), the EIP is an essential component of the national Early Intervention Program established under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1986.

Under federal and state law, counties have a legal obligation to ensure eligible children receive EIP services, and this critical program has been proven to significantly improve health and developmental outcomes for children with diagnosed disabilities and delays.

However, the EIP faces significant challenges in New York State, including stagnant reimbursement rates, delays in funding disbursement, and a surge in service waitlists due to provider shortages.

Current provider rates for early intervention (EI) services are lower than rates in the 1990s. For instance, in 2018, one Western New York county’s rate was $86 per one-hour unit, compared to the $94 in 1996. Adjusting for inflation, a commensurate service rate for providers would be closer to $151 per service today (Figure 1).1 In 2021 the New York State Legislature introduced a Covered Lives Assessment (CLA) for the EIP, intended to infuse $40

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

million from commercial insurance companies into the state’s EI funding pool. However, even over 2 years later, delays in disbursement of funds have hindered counties from receiving their allocated share. This delay has further negatively impacted counties’ ability to coordinate and deliver EI services locally. It is critical that the state releases CLA funding to counties immediately to support local administration of the EIP. According to data collected by the New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO) in summer 2023, the number of children on EI waitlists increased by 500% since 2020 (Figure 2). Lack of provider capacity has also resulted in equity issues, with children in high-poverty rural and urban areas being less likely to receive services in a timely manner.

To address provider shortages and stabilize recruitment and retention in the EIP, NYSAC and NYSACHO members believe an 11% increase in reimbursement rates for all services should be administered using state funding.

Further, to address program inequities, this increase should be differentiated for children in areas with higher poverty rates and those requiring providers to travel significant distances between sessions. Importantly, our associations maintain that the cost of this increase should not be shouldered by counties but rather covered by the state or through an increase in the CLA assessment.

Figure 3 shows the number of children across New York State waiting for services by service type between 2020 and 2023. Speech services have consistently had the largest waitlists of any EI service type since 2020. New York is experiencing dire shortages of qualified professionals to provide speech language pathology and audiology services

to children in the EIP. One potential way to address this issue would be to allow SpeechLanguage Pathology Assistants (SLPAs) to provide services under the supervision of a licensed Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), as at least 40 other states currently do. This could optimize service delivery for common speech issues to SLP-As, allowing qualified SLPs to focus on specialized services such as feeding therapy, addressing the shortage of qualified professionals.

As several local health department leaders have pointed out, the issues in the EIP are not just money focused, but an issue of “people” as well. The EIP needs an influx of providers to be able to meet the needs of children with developmental delays and disabilities who qualify for the program. One proposed idea to increase recruitment into the EIP is to implement a state-managed provider loan forgiveness program. This initiative would encourage professionals to join the EIP workforce, particularly in underserved areas, by alleviating the financial burden of educational loans.

Challenges aside, counties play an instrumental role in the administration of this program to improve health outcomes in children across New York State.

As a NYSAC member and leader, you can help by: Speaking with the local agency administering the EIP in your communities to better understand the challenges faced by county workers and families in the program; When meeting with leaders from Executive Chamber, encourage them to release the funding owed to counties via the 2021 enacted CLA; Speak with local and state elected officials about the importance of protecting the current county funding share of the program while also discussing solutions like provider rate increases, expanding the role of SLP-A’s in service delivery, and establishing a state-managed loan forgiveness program; Provide lawmakers with the NYSAC adopted resolution package that contains solutions to improve the EIP program.

Enhancing the EIP in New York State requires a comprehensive approach. By addressing issues such as reimbursement rates, funding delays, and service waitlists, the state can ensure that infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities receive timely and effective interventions.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

23

Why New York’s Competency Restoration Law Needs to Be Amended

By Jed Wolkenbreit, Counsel, NYS Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors

O

ne major legislative priority for the coming legislative year for both NYSAC and the NYS Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors will be to seek changes in section 730 of the New York State Criminal Procedure Law (CPL).

This archaic and partially unconstitutional statute remains on the books at the increasing expense of most county governments and is in drastic need of updating if not wholesale renovation.

CPL 730 is the section of the Criminal Procedure Law that governs the procedures to determine competency to stand trial.

In 1960, the US Supreme Court, in Dusky v. US, held that to be competent to stand trial, a defendant must have sufficient ability to rationally consult with his or her lawyer and a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings.

In New York, if a doubt is raised with regard to competency of a defendant, the court can order the defendant to be examined by psychiatric examiners and then conduct a hearing to determine competence.

If the court finds the defendant to be incompetent, then he or she can be sent to a state institution to receive services that are intended to restore that defendant to competency and allow the trial to proceed. Restoration services may include some traditional mental health treatment elements such as providing medications but mainly include classroom training as to how to act in court and how to answer questions asked by the judge to establish ability to stand trial.

The cost of such restoration now ranges between $1261.70 and $1588.54 per day depending on the state facility and that cost is borne 100% by the county where the court issuing the order is located.

Sadly, many judges do not understand that restoration is not treatment and honestly believe they are helping the defendant to move toward recovery by ordering a 730 restoration. This is simply not the case.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

Mental health treatment leads to recovery, restoration only leads to a courtroom. In too many cases we see a defendant sent for 180 days of restoration at a cost to the county of $227,106, only to return to the courtroom to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and be released, still suffering from the same mental disability which led to the original charge.

Too often, that same defendant, still suffering from untreated mental illness, will end up right back in front of the same judge on another charge. Wouldn’t that money be better spent in the community by arranging for that defendant to receive real mental health treatment aimed at helping him or her to recover from their illness and to become a contributing member of the community?

A bill, currently introduced in the Assembly by Assemblywoman Gunther (A.5063) and in the Senate by Senator Brouk (S.1874), would make significant improvements to the current competency restoration process by, among several other provisions, creating a clear definition of restoration services, requiring improved progress reporting, creating new regulations, and allowing the Court rather than the DA to decide if a person can be sent for restoration services in the community rather than in a state facility.

The focus of this bill is on getting mentally ill people that are involved in the criminal justice system into real mental health treatment rather than simply spending funds on getting them ready to go to trial or enabling them to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

Many of the provisions of this proposed legislation were also recommended by the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Court’s Responses to Mental Illness which was established by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators.

Their recommendations included some of the provisions set forth in this proposed legislation. Among other things they recommended that: •

Courts and communities should reserve the competency process, including evaluation of competence to stand trial, for defendants who are charged with serious crimes.

•

Individuals charged with misdemeanors and assessed as low risk to recidivate and whose clinical conditions are not likely to substantially improve should be diverted to treatment.

•

Courts should actively manage the progress of a competency case to avoid an individual languishing in jail and decompensating. Hearings should be scheduled and held without delay at every juncture.

•

Courts should encourage development of restoration sites other than institutional settings such as state hospitals and jails;

•

The statute should create and promote a presumption of outpatient restoration;

•

Courts should actively monitor restoration progress, with appropriate timelines;

•

The statute should replace legal education with treatment as the primary focus of restoration efforts.

Passage of A.5063/S.1874 would be a major step forward for New York to follow some of these recommendations and to greatly improve the chances for mentally ill defendants to break the cycle of engagement in the criminal justice system and move to recovery and a better life.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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Election Inspectors The Backbone of Democracy John P. Quigley, Commissioner, Ulster County Board of Elections

I

n the intricate machinery of a democratic society, election inspectors serve as the unsung heroes who ensure the gears of democracy turn smoothly. They are the individuals who oversee the voting process, guaranteeing that every eligible citizen can cast their ballot and that the integrity of the electoral system remains intact. As we navigate the everevolving landscape of elections, especially here in New York, the role of election inspectors has become even more critical.

This article emphasizes the importance of election inspectors, the need to recruit them, and the future of training these vital election workers through state-wide certification and trainthe-trainer programs.

Election inspectors, also known as poll workers, election clerks, or election coordinators, play a pivotal role in the electoral process. Their duties encompass a wide range of responsibilities, from verifying voter identities to ensuring the accuracy of ballots. New York State election law recognizes the significance of this role, mandating that these individuals receive regular training and certification to carry out their responsibilities effectively.

Election inspectors are the guardians of democracy, working tirelessly from 6am to 9pm on election day, sometimes after long days and hours for early voting, to protect the rights of voters while maintaining the integrity of the electoral process. They assist voters with disabilities, ensure the proper processing of ballots, and help voters whose names are not on the registration list.

These dedicated individuals are responsible for preventing electioneering, voter intimidation, and other violations at polling places, ensuring that elections are conducted in a fair and unbiased manner.

With the use of advanced voting machines and systems, election inspectors must possess technical proficiency. They are often required to operate and troubleshoot electronic poll pads, accessible voting machines, and ballot scanners or markers, making their role even more crucial in the modern electoral landscape.

The importance of election inspectors cannot be overstated, yet recruiting and retaining these essential workers can be challenging as they only are called upon once or twice a year. However, the future of election worker recruitment has brightened since the state adopted new legislation requiring the development of state-wide certification programs and train-the-trainer initiatives.

In an effort to standardize and improve the quality of election inspector training, New York State will establish a statewide certification program that goes above and beyond the one currently in place. This program will set a mandatory core curriculum, covering key topics such as election law, voter rights, ballot handling, and more. Its goal is to ensure that election inspectors receive consistent and up-to-date training that aligns with state and local election procedures.

The state’s “one size fits all” approach does present challenges for a state with counties as diverse in size as New York’s. However, with its challenge comes opportunities for each county to share their best practices, incorporate them into other counties, and push our training programs into the 21st century.

Complementing the state-wide certification program is the “train-the-trainer" initiative. This program will empower experienced election staff with the knowledge and skills to become trainers themselves. These "master trainers" can then provide instruction to new recruits, expanding the pool of qualified election inspectors. It will be crucial for the State Board of Elections to gather input from counties of all sizes in the development of this program so that what works in our smallest of counties can work in the largest of counties.

As we move forward, we must recognize the invaluable contributions of election inspectors. They are the linchpin that holds our democracy together, ensuring that every voice is heard, and every vote is counted. If you have ever considered being an election inspector, now is the time! Through ongoing recruitment efforts and enhanced training programs, we can strengthen our democracy and ensure that the gears of our electoral system continue to turn smoothly. The commitment and dedication of election inspectors deserve our admiration and support as they safeguard the cornerstone of our nation— free and fair elections.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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NY’s Master Plan on Aging Needs Investment to Operationalize

By Becky Preve, Executive Director, Association on Aging in New York

T

he Association on Aging is pleased to be serving as an integral member of the Master Plan on Aging team, along with over 300 members of the health and human services providers. The laser focus on creating an environment where individuals can grow up and grow older is an opportunity to highlight the desperate need for further federal and state support for the services that allow individuals to remain in homes and communities across New York State.

The Association on Aging is a not-for-profit membership organization that is tasked with supporting and enhancing the capacity of New York’s county-based Area Agencies on Aging and works in collaboration with a network of almost 1,200 aging service providers to promote independence, preserve dignity, and advocate on behalf of aging New Yorkers and their families. In New York State there are 59 county-based Area Agencies on Aging, who work daily to provide services and supports to older residents and their families.

The mission of the Area Agencies on Aging is shared with the New York State Office for the Aging: to assist older New Yorkers and their families to live autonomous and fulfilling lives.

We provide a myriad of programs, services, and supports to individuals 60 years of age and older, their families, friends, and natural supports to achieve this mission. Although our services are focused on individuals that may need some assistance, it is important to note that the older population deserves these services, as they are the backbone of the state economy.

The older population is the basis for a strong economy in New York State, and in the country. Older residents have a tremendous amount of capital and contribute significant income to the state. According to the 50+ Longevity Economy, the 50-plus population’s overall contribution of the economic and unpaid activities was worth more than $9 trillion in 2018 and will triple to $28.2 trillion by 2050.

In New York, the over-60 population will rise from 4.6 million today to 5.6 million by 2040. Keeping these individuals in New York State is vital to our economic success. This data makes it abundantly clear that the state must make it a priority to make New York a place where individuals remain as they age.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

The return on investment, by ensuring we provide appropriate care and support, makes sense from an economic standpoint, and our network provides that assistance.

Our strengths as a network are helping individuals and families, but we are also an important part of meeting state goals and priorities including the Master Plan on Aging, reduction in Medicaid expenditures, and allowing individuals to age in place.

Funding to support our long-term care services, specifically for hands-on care for the most vulnerable, is a combination of federal, state, and county funding that has not kept pace with the needs of our aging population. New York is fourth in the nation for population over 60 at 4.6 million, with anticipated growth to 5.3 million in less than ten years. Additionally, 1 in 5 older residents live with a disability, and data shows that 70% of individuals over the age of 65 will need some form of longterm care services. This data highlights the significant need for individuals to be supported in homes and communities, and the only way to control costs to the health care system is to invest in preventative services. As highlighted, the aging services network serves older residents that are not enrolled in Medicaid at a fraction of the cost. These individuals have the same chronic conditions and need assistance with many basic tasks; however, we can keep them in homes and communities for less than $10,000 per year. The cost benefit to Medicaid, and health systems, is paramount in cost containment for NYS, and it is imperative that funding to support older residents and their families keeps pace with the need. As noted, the value of the older population to the state cannot be overlooked, and the state needs to support those older residents that need care.

The Association on Aging, on behalf of the 59 Area Agencies on Aging, will continue to support the aging population and the service providers that work tirelessly to ensure access to services. It is imperative that this network receives adequate and equitable funding. To ensure a successful Master Plan on Aging and an Age Friendly State, we need to be resourced not only for our current needs, but also to address the rise in the aging population through 2040.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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CLEAN ENERGY CREATES JOBS More than 171,000 New Yorkers now work in Clean Energy*

*NYSERDA New York Clean Energy Industry Report 2023 32

NYSAC News | Winter 2024

Extended Producer Responsibility Must Include Packaging and Paper

By Dawn Timm, Director, Division of Environmental/Solid Waste, Niagara County Department of Public Works

T

he last two budgets prepared by Governor Hochul have included Extended Producer Responsibility legislation for packaging and paper products (EPR for PPP) as a major priority to address the state’s recycling crisis and relieve pressure on municipal budgets. Both times, however, EPR for PPP failed to make the final cut and struggled through the legislative process in 2022 and 2023.

Despite our collective best effort, New Yorkers have not been able to budge recycling rates which have been stuck in a plateau of less than 20 percent for more than decade. Even that low performing system comes at a tremendous expense to local governments. EPR for PPP is a proven strategy to improve recycling program access and boost recycling rates by bringing funding from the brands and producers, or those who put packaging and paper products on the market. This proven strategy was highlighted as a key policy to meet the state’s climate goals in the Waste Action Plan developed under the direction of the Climate Action Council implementing the ambitious goals laid out in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

For decades, local governments in New York have subsidized the handling of millions of tons of packaging and paper products generated in the state. Historically, some of the costs of recycling programs were offset by recycled commodity revenues. But now, markets for recycled materials have seen unprecedented volatility, operating expenses have skyrocketed, and governments are forced with a “no win” situation of either cancelling recycling programs or paying exorbitant amounts to process recyclables.

On average, New York is diverting only 18 percent of municipal waste for recycling at an annual expense that exceeds $300 million dollars per year. Local governments and rate payers across the state are paying into a broken system in which only consumer brands determine the types of materials that are used, while we pay the bill to manage it at end of life.

New York needs to foster a political paradigm shift, one that simultaneously advances recycling access and improves local programs, reimburses local governments for recycling related expenses and expands recycling related infrastructure, all while meeting climate objectives. With some smart amendments, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act

(S.4246A (Harckham) and A.5322A (Glick)) can accomplish this.

EPR for PPP policy in New York must follow best practices that have proven to work well and efficiently in other jurisdictions.

EPR for PPP programs are typically overseen by a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) that works on behalf of brands and producers to meet their obligations to fund recycling programs. The PRO is required to work with municipalities, service providers and other stakeholders to develop a program plan that must be approved by the state, which lays out how they will meet their obligation. Unfortunately, the Harkham/ Glick bill differs from best practice in that it requires the DEC to contract with a PRO through a heavy regulatory and bureaucratic process. If the bill is not amended to change this provision, relief to municipalities will be slow in coming and the improvements to recycling will be limited.

Also critical to the success of an EPR for PPP program in New York that also addresses climate goals, is the inclusion of paper as a product (i.e. junk mail, office paper and greeting cards).

Unfortunately, the Harkham/Glick bill excludes paper products from the program. Currently, 20 to 30 percent of materials going to landfills and waste-to-energy facilities are paper products, generating GHG emissions and other pollutants.

Furthermore, about 30 percent of the materials handled by municipal recycling programs are paper products. If paper products are excluded from the law, there is a risk that 20 to 30 percent of the program will not be funded by Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. New York is past due for sensible policy that can modernize recycling while accomplishing our climate goals. For the last several years as global commodity markets have collapsed and the cost of collecting and processing recyclables have increased, local governments are paying into an antiquated program that is flooded with materials we cannot recycle. The promise of EPR for PPP has substantially increased recycling rates, reduced contamination, green jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer savings each year, and reduced waste through ambitious, yet achievable standards.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

Advertiser Index Absolute Auctions & Realty, Inc..................................... 26 Alliance for Clean Energy New York............................. 32 Assured Partners Buffalo New York................................. 6 Auctions International, Inc............................................. 23 Barton & Loguidice......................................................... 37 Blink Charging................................................................. 15 Bond, Schoeneck & King................................................ 48 CANARX.......................................................................... 44 Capital Markets Advisors, LLC....................................... 54 CDPHP............................................................................. 56 Fiscal Advisors & Marketing, Inc..................................... 4 IEM................................................................................... 35 John W. Danforth Company........................................... 59 LaBella Associates........................................................... 47 MEGA............................................................................... 29 N.K. Bhandari, Architecture & Engineering, P.C.......... 47 Nationwide Retirement Solutions.................................. 55 New York Power Authority............................................. 34 New York Power Authority............................................. 44 New York Power Authority............................................. 58 New York Safety Program............................................... 51 New York State Health Insurance Program .................. 21 NYCLASS......................................................................... 25 NYMIR............................................................................. 12 NYSTEC............................................................................. 6 PERMA............................................................................... 2 PFM Financial Services................................................... 53 PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP............................................ 13 ProAct, Inc....................................................................... 60 Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux.................................. 11 SMRT Architects and Engineers .................................... 56 Systems East, Inc.............................................................. 39

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Tectonic Engineering Consultants, Geologists & Land Surveyors, D.P.C.............................................................. 43 The Bonadio Group........................................................... 3 three+one..........................................................................30 Venesky and Company...................................................... 4 Venesky and Company.................................................... 49

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NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

35

Strengthening the Local Social Safety Net

By Matt Barron, Director of Policy & Communications, New York Public Welfare Association

T

he New York Public Welfare Association (NYPWA) represents all fifty-eight local departments of social services statewide. Our members are dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of social welfare policy so that it is accountable to taxpayers and protective of vulnerable people.

approach to the problem. When people live without shelter, or in temporary shelter, their circumstances are exacerbated by antiquated funding policies that keep them trapped in poverty.

For instance, it was roughly two decades ago when the public assistance rental allowance was last increased.

With pandemic emergency funds and programs winding down, there is never a more momentous time to focus on social services and the welfare of New York State residents. There are a few major items that the NYPWA are focused on in this upcoming legislative session.

•

Restore the state Safety Net Assistance (SNA) share from 29% back to 50%.

•

Restore the state share of administration for SNA and SNAP from 0% back to 50%.

Medicaid

•

Raise Family Assistance and SNA allowances for shelter, basic needs & home energy.

•

Calculate Code Blue allocations using methodology that better represents current & future needs, which are indexed annually to account for inflation. It is also important to provide adequate support and regulatory flexibility to districts to better ensure the safety of provider staff and residents who work and reside in shelter programs.

Medicaid is the largest expense in a county’s budget, and the longstanding administrative cap and eFMAP savings have helped keep Medicaid costs and property taxes in check.

That said, the state’s unexpected move to intercept all future Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (eFMAP) funds, and the confusion surrounding eFMAP reconciliations and the timing of the ACA-related phaseout, has strained already tight county budgets. Local districts have been active partners with the state during the ongoing state takeover of Medicaid Administration.

Now is not the time to shift additional Medicaid costs onto counties. Local investments in human services for children and families and other vital services will be jeopardized as a result.

Housing and Safety Net Assistance Perhaps no other issue looms as large for local districts as the growing emergency housing crisis and the need for an innovative

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

In response, the NYPWA recommends the following:

Childcare The NYPWA fully supports efforts to make childcare a priority.

Access to quality, affordable childcare is essential for every family, especially those living on low incomes and tight budgets.

In recent years, the state has expanded childcare eligibility, supported, in part, by temporary federal pandemic dollars.

However, eligibility is just one side of the childcare coin.

To maintain and build on the progress already made, the NYPWA recommends the following: •

•

Commit multi-year funding so counties can determine long-term program funding needs to help prevent the implementation of waitlists to manage the expansion of childcare services.

Continue to address loss of providers to counteract ‘childcare deserts.’

Child Welfare Safe, affordable housing and childcare can help ensure a child’s future. However, when families struggle, the state and local districts share the common goal of supporting children at home and preventing costly child welfare placements. To better reach this goal, the NYPWA recommends the following: •

Maintain open-ended child welfare funding and restore preventive services to 65% state share—as required by existing statute—for the non-federal share of child protective and preventive services.

•

Carve KinGap and the increased rates stemming from the state’s MSAR legal settlement out of the Foster Care Block Grant (FCBG).

•

Coordinate OPWDD, OMH, and OCFS to better serve children with complex needs and avoid lengthy hospital and residential stays.

Workforce Local Social Services staff are on the frontlines of making sure people have housing, food, health care, child welfare services, and other assistance.

Unfortunately, districts are facing staff burnout, widespread vacancies, and a high number of provisional appointments.

The NYPWA thanks the Governor, and our state agency partners, for introducing the Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement (HELP) Program, which removed the civil service exam requirement for a wide range of public workforce titles.

HELP’s success demonstrated the need to modernize civil service. Without sufficient staff, the ability to provide assistance is jeopardized. That is why the NYPWA recommends an extension of HELP and the addition of more titles, especially clerical and accounting titles.

We look forward to a beneficial and successful legislative session.

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37

Investing in the Future of NY’s Drinking Water

By Jenny Ingrao-Aman, Executive Director, New York Section American Water Works Association

T

he New York Section American Water Works Association (NYSAWWA) represents drinking water utilities across New York State, providing safe, reliable, and affordable water to over 15 million residents. Our core principle is the protection of public health, and we take pride in New York State’s leadership role in advancing these initiatives. Thanks to collaborative efforts with legislators, the state department of health, and regulators, we have established practical and feasible laws that prioritize the public’s interest.

Despite these successes, water and wastewater providers are facing significant challenges in the immediate future, including staggering costs and extremely tight timelines to maintain and replace aging/failing infrastructure and meet new regulations.

We’re also working to install new technologies to treat water that is being polluted by others and recruit the next operators to keep our water safe.

The burden of these costs and compliance timelines is astronomical and cuts into budgets for operations and capital improvements. In addition, it has a negative impact on affordability to NYS residents.

Every day, water professionals must figure out how to keep water affordable and somehow pay for the increased costs to treat that water and keep it safe for public consumption and the environment. There is only a finite amount of water in the world and it’s our job to keep it safe.

Now is the time to work together with the water sector and take action. Together, we can ensure that New York’s water supply remains of the highest possible quality now and in the future!

In 2024 our Top Priorities include:

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•

Working with legislators to give NYS water suppliers flexibility on deadlines to meet new regulations.

•

Securing additional funding for NYS Water and Wastewater municipalities to help cover the costs to meet new regulations. The needs exceed the current resources.

•

Securing funds for the Safe Water Infrastructure Action Plan (SWAP) in the 2024 budget and to replace dwindling American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).

NYSAC News | Winter 2024

•

Reforming Tier 6 of the New York State Retirement and Civil Service Systems to ensure a skilled workforce for public health and environmental protection. The water industry is experiencing a significant workforce shortage due to retirements and the need for technically skilled operators.

•

Collaborating with drinking water industry professionals to keep New York at the forefront of the nation in innovation and cutting-edge technologies - continuing to protect public health.

•

Providing communications guidance to local governments and water suppliers. As more communities discover emerging contaminants that exceed growing notification levels and MCLs, water suppliers and local governments are ill-equipped to communicate health risks to the public. It is crucial that clear health risk communication is provided by DOH for water suppliers’ dissemination to their communities.

For more information on New York State Drinking Water Legislative Priorities scan the QR code, or contact Jenny Ingrao-Aman, Executive Director of the New York Section American Water Works Association at jenny@nysawwa.org www.nysawwa.org/advocacy.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

39

Farm Bill Priorities in New York

By Ashley Oeser, Associate Director of Public Policy and National Affairs Coordinator, New York Farm Bureau

A

s we reflect on 2023, we think of all the successes, challenges, and new opportunities that we have addressed in the agricultural community. As we ring in the new year of 2024, we think of all the new opportunities that lie ahead, in both agriculture and in Congress. One opportunity that awaits is the passage of a bipartisan Farm Bill.

As we all likely remember, at the end of September, Congress was facing a potential shutdown. This was also the deadline of the next Farm Bill. Due to other factors, however, the Farm Bill was not completed and has received extensions since then.

The Farm Bill is crucial for farmers and consumers across our country. This vital piece of legislation, comprised of 12 titles, is passed roughly once every five years.

At New York Farm Bureau (NYFB), our members create policy at both the state and federal levels and create priorities that are representative of our unique agricultural industry in New York.

At the federal level, we have various priorities for the Farm Bill.

This article will focus on our top priorities for the Farm Bill: dairy programs; specialty crop initiatives; agricultural research; nutrition programs; and conservation programs.

The dairy industry continues to be an economic driver for New York State’s agricultural economy. New York ranks first in the country for creamed cottage cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, sour cream, and yogurt production. However, this industry has been faced with many challenges in recent years due to increased input costs and volatile milk prices.

To address farmers’ concerns, the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program was authorized in the last Farm Bill and provides payments to dairy farmers when the national average income over feed cost margin falls below the coverage level.

NYFB supports retaining this coverage with supplemental and feed cost updates. For broader dairy topics in the Farm Bill, we support promoting the access of whole milk into schools, nutrition assistance programs, and the U.S. military.

New York agriculture is also unique in how strong our specialty crop industry is. New York ranks second in our country for apple, cabbage, and snap bean production. For specialty crop initiatives in the Farm Bill, we support adequate funding for the specialty crop industry with an emphasis on fundamental research, marketing, and promotions, and pest management programs. We also request the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to give deference to specialty crop growers when the USDA is considering planting history numbers for various programs.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

NYFB continues to support funding for agricultural research and education, as well as funding for research into the health risks and strategies for mitigating risks associated with chemical contaminants in water and food. We also support investment in urban agriculture to assist producers and funding to collect data on urban farms to better assist those growers. We also continue to support Farm Bill programs that assist beginning farmers.

It is important that these farmers have access to programs that will assist them to continue the next generation of farming.

In the Nutrition title, we support the inclusion of a block grant program that would allow food banks and food access networks to directly purchase specialty crops from farmers.

We also support technical and monetary assistance be given to farmers to help facilitate online SNAP sales and to streamline the requirement to collect SNAP benefits.

In the Conservation title, NYFB supports maintaining funding for necessary federal conservation programs which preserve environmental benefits. We support many of the conservation programs, and funding of these programs including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). We also strongly support disaster assistance that meets the needs of Northeast states for drought, extreme rain and snow, and allows for expedited assistance to reach farmers.

As the drafting for the Farm Bill continues, we respectfully urge Congress to finalize and pass a Farm Bill as soon as possible to continue to provide funding for programs that are vital to our farmers, allowing them to continue their good work of providing fresh, nutritious food to communities all across our country.

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he latest New York State budget is steering more than $1 billion in Medicaid funding away from county governments, a move that threatens property tax increases unless they can fill the gap. That gap will be a very challenging 4% for most counties, which translates to more than $1 million in many cases. That’s a big hit.

But, there are options to save internally before resorting to property tax increases.

One such solution is CANARX, an international prescription service provider (IPSP) known to save government organizations an average of 70% on the costs of providing a prescription program. How? They source brand-name maintenance medications from Tier 1 countries like Canada, Australia and the U.K. for significant savings to government health plans.

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As an added benefit, members of this voluntary program get their brand-name maintenance medications delivered right to their door for free and at zero copay. It’s simply a win-win situation for county governments looking to fill the new Medicaid gap.

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NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

41

COUNTIES UNITED IN LEADERSHIP

Supporting Local News How Counties Can Advocate for an Expanded State Definition of “Official Newspaper”

By Dominick Recckio, Communications Director, Tompkins County

T

he disappearance of local news outlets is an issue experienced in counties across New York State and the nation. Less robust local news makes it harder for local governments to get information to constituents and encourage sustained, well-informed civic engagement. Community cohesion erodes when people lose touch with stories about how the world around them is changing, and even just knowing what’s happening locally.

Today, according to the 2023 Northwestern University State of Local News Report, every county in New York State has at least one news source, though 15 counties have only one source.

Across the United States 204 counties do not have a single local news outlet, and that number will continue to grow.

Northwestern’s report looks for solutions, highlighting 17 promising models for sustainable local news. They argue that the stakeholders responsible for change include policymakers and civic-minded individuals.

Counties have a role to play in supporting local news outlets.

According to NYS General Construction (GCN) CHAPTER 22, ARTICLE 2, counties must name an official newspaper and post public notices within them.

To be designated, a newspaper must have a paid circulation and a U.S. Postal Service periodical permit, and it must publish news, articles of opinions, features, advertising, or other general interest matters (this would exclude a shopper-type publication from consideration). Such a newspaper must be published, circulated, printed, or distributed in the county.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

An official paper is entitled to the county’s public notices.

Surely, some counties in New York have robust local papers, but for Tompkins that means spending tens of thousands of dollars with a conglomerate-owned paper supported by one local contracted reporter and producing little news of immediate relevance to the community. We’re not able to invest those funds with a growing, eager, or innovative publication that meets the information and news needs of community members.

In an effort to call attention to the issue and seek change at the state level, the Tompkins County Legislature recently passed a resolution calling for New York State to allow the publication of public notices in an online publication. County staff will work with State Assembly and Senate representatives to draft a

new bill in 2024 in hopes of addressing the outdated definition and expanding options for counties. Tompkins County’s Public Information Advisory Board, which advises the Legislature on these issues, supported the resolution and published an op-ed detailing the opportunity to improve local news coverage.

Other counties can join or mirror this effort and examine other local ways to support local news. Refer to the Northwestern Study or the Rebuilding Local News Coalition (www. rebuildlocalnews.org) for inspiration.

The twin issues of declining local news and difficulties with the current definition of an official newspaper for counties arose in a facilitated discussion with county public information officers and communications professionals during a 2023 NYSAC Legislative Conference workshop.

The discussion highlighted how difficult it can be for small and mid-sized counties without a robust local news outlet to communicate important or valuable information with their constituents. County communicators were eager to find solutions and discuss best practices. We all seemed to share the realization that sustained local news outlets are a key piece of the public information puzzle.

As Counties face these challenges, we must balance traditional communication methods with thinking beyond a press release's margins. While there’s always hope that advocacy efforts like that of Tompkins County will move the needle for local news, counties have to continue to innovate and invest resources in public information – that includes paid advertising in local publications that produce meaningful local news (even if they’re not the traditional “newspapers”), revamping websites, and offering email newsletters, all efforts that we’re lucky to be able to do in Tompkins County.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

Cybersecurity Current and Future Trends

By Faisal Shah, Chief Information Officer, Broome County

O

ur society, economy, critical infrastructure, and in some instances, lives, have become dependent on information technology solutions. As the times change and our dependance on technology increases, cyber-attacks have become more attractive and potentially more disastrous. There are individuals, institutions and organizations who are aware that they have been compromised and are dealing with the consequences and lessons learned from those breaches. Then there are those who have been compromised but are unaware of the intrusion. This article discusses some of the historical and future cybersecurity main trends.

Data breaches are an ever-present threat to all types of organizations. Although the types of breaches are different, the impact of loss of data is always the same. Ransomware is at the core of many data breaches we hear about today. It not only results in loss of data, but the threat actors utilize the breach to extort the victims financially, politically, or otherwise.

One of the solutions that organizations are relying on is MultiFactor Authentication (MFA). While the process is not new, the increase in utilization has helped reduce the number of data breaches. Multi-Factor Authentication, as the name suggests, requires multiple data points to be verified to access the system.

Using the MFA process leads to a better user experience and more secure systems. We have seen widespread adoption of MFA over the past year. Continuing the deployment of MFA will further strengthen cybersecurity.

The most likely area in which we will see a future rise in attacks is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is the notion of turning everything into a computer. Examples include printers connected to an actual computer or network, smart home gadgets, cars and smart infrastructure grid devices.

As the IoT trend is taking shape, everything is becoming a computer. In such a scenario, if everything can be a computer and every computer can be compromised, suddenly everything can be hacked. It is an area that we ought to give more attention to, especially in the development of the IoTs. The nefarious use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by threat actors could be very harmful. As AI rapidly matures, we must do a better job of security analysis, root cause analysis, analysis of what these indicators of compromise ultimately mean, and determine how to mitigate them.

Threat actors could use AI to design new types of attacks to compromise our systems. This could be achieved by developing nefarious attacks that are specific to an AI. As our daily lives and businesses become more dependent on AI, we rely on our body of knowledge to manage our existing systems. If we were to poison this body of knowledge, AI would be giving advice and making decisions based on misleading information. It is one of many types of AI-based attack, what I call “Nemeses-AI”.

We are already seeing examples of the weaponization of peaceful AI. The use of deepfakes, for example, demonstrates that the risk is real and the consequences potentially far-ranging. With the passage of time, more use of AI by the threat actors means we must find more ways of using AI to increase our knowledge base and develop better tools.

One of the greatest needs of cybersecurity, and information technology in general, is closure of the skills gap. For several years there has been a persistently high number of vacant full-time cybersecurity positions. A recent report from Cybersecurity ventures, noted that the number of unfilled jobs leveled off in 2022 but remains at 3.5 million in 2023 globally with more than 750,000 of those positions in the United States.

Closing the skills-gap requires out of the box thinking. Some might surrender because they simply accept that they are resource constrained. They may be content with keeping the executive staff informed of the risks they are assuming due to lack of resources and call it a day. This is not the path I would recommend. This is an opportunity to create new pathways to success for their teams and individual contributors. US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of cybersecurity jobs will grow by 32% between 2022 and 2032.

We can work smarter using AI to guide our security efforts, use good tools to automate our security responses, do better analysis and become force multipliers for the staff that we do have. We need to do a lot more training for our existing staff, not only our end users. Better training will reduce the number of issues, while also creating more security professionals. It must be a multi-faceted approach.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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Protecting Drinking Water, One Wellhead at a Time

By Daniel Scherrer, Public Health Sanitarian, Tioga County Public Health Department

A

t the end of 2022, the Tioga County Public Health Department received funding from the New York State Department of Health for a wellhead replacement pilot project. This project was to be the first of its kind in the State. The objective is to address the issue of individual water wellheads that pose a risk of contamination and subsequent health problems.

The program goes beyond water sampling and addresses barriers to replacing wellheads. The pilot project is approaching its 12-month anniversary, and due to the importance of the work and the community’s needs, the project is expanding and will continue with the support of additional funds.

The pilot project involves identifying at-risk wells through water testing for coliform and E. coli bacteria and a visual assessment of the current wellhead. If replacement is recommended, the wellheads are replaced with either a new well cap, a wellhead extension, or both.

Replacing the aluminum or thermoplastic cap keeps foreign objects, nitrates, and other soil contaminants from entering the well. Broken or missing well caps can allow contaminants like runoff, soil, rodents, and fertilizers to enter the well and introduce contaminants such as nitrates into the water supply.

They also pose a risk to residents living near roads that are often salted in winter to excessive salt in their well water.

Therefore, the well cap should be intact and be above-ground level. An extension is necessary when the well cap is too close to ground level or does not meet code compliance.

The project’s main objective is to assist homeowners by identifying at-risk wellheads and providing financial support when replacement and extensions are needed. While sampling programs have helped identify problems, many homeowners lack the funding to do a replacement. Therefore, this project addresses small problems before they become significant.

To ensure the pilot project's success, Tioga County Public Health took a multi-faceted approach to its implementation.

The first step was to identify staffing needs and develop a plan for training. Utilizing a Public Health Fellow allowed us to accommodate an additional project.

A veteran Public Health Sanitarian provided project oversight and guidance, but fortunately, the Public Health Fellow can manage the day-to-day tasks. Additionally, the project is promoted through the health department’s Health Education

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

and Outreach Division, which utilizes multiple media platforms to promote the project. Residents hear about the project through social media campaigns, print ads in the local Pennysaver, and the county website. Tabling events have increased the community’s knowledge about wellheads and when well caps and extensions are necessary. Lastly, we have contracted with a local plumbing company to complete the necessary work, eliminating the burden of finding a plumber to complete the work.

Given the importance of groundwater as the primary source of drinking water for most Tioga County residents, this program has become an essential component of the county's public health initiative and has received additional funds to include UV systems and chlorination interventions, plus funding for excavation projects. We’re pleased to report that the project is meeting its objective of providing safe and reliable drinking water to residents with private wells in the county.

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NYSAC News | www.nysac.org www.nkbpc.com | 315.428.117747

FALL SEMINAR SNAPSHOTS For the first time in its 98-year history, Oneida County hosted the 2023 NYSAC Fall Seminar. A record-breaking 700+ attendees gathered at the Turning Stone Resort on September 13-15th for the three-day event, the highest-attended Fall Seminar we've ever had. Thank you to County Executive Picente and the entire Oneida County team, including commissioners, department heads and legislators, for hosting an extraordinary event.

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Retail Theft Harms Us All

By Todd Baxter, Monroe County Sheriff

T

he only accountability for stealing in New York these days is your bank account.

When someone steals a $100 item from a big box store, New York State immediately loses $4 in sales tax. Monroe County loses an additional $4. Before the January 2020 enactment of bail reform, a very conservative estimate of sales tax revenue lost to larcenies annually in Monroe County was $1.8 million.

In our post-bail reform world, the estimate is more than triple that – $7 million each year. If you consider the number of thefts from retail businesses of any size are underreported by at least half, the reality is more like $14 million annually.

As well-intentioned as bail reform was, it spawned a cycle of unintended consequences – casualties if you will – that invisibly eat tax dollars in a destructive cycle all their own. When the formula for processing people caught stealing changed, so did thieves’ perspectives.

In Monroe County, we run a “Retail Theft Detail.” Law enforcement works with security personnel, our Opioid Task Force, and others to detain serial larcenists. Their priority isn’t to arrest people. Their primary mission is helping thieves redirect their lives so they no longer rely on stealing for a living.

They are offered rapid access to human services – substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, medical attention, employment assistance, and more.

Retail Theft Detail officers report a dramatic shift in the dynamics of stealing. Driven largely by drug addiction, many support their habit by stealing. Catch-and-release policies of bail reform encourage thieves to steal to live, steal to die, and die to steal. They simply don’t care about anyone or anything, not even themselves, and certainly not their futures. They tell cops, “Just give me my appearance ticket,” so they can get back to the business of stealing. Most don’t want help fixing their lives.

Just between several big box stores in Monroe County, loss prevention experts conservatively estimate that between January 2020 and October 2022 (a 33-month period) they lost more than $71 million to retail theft – another $5.5 million lost in sales tax revenue.

Bail reform in its current state doesn’t work. Getting arrested for theft in New York State has become a mere inconvenience for criminals. If the accused doesn’t show up for court, a warrant is issued, and if they’re picked up on the warrant, they’re issued another appearance ticket and released.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

It almost sounds stupid.

Behind most theft is something much darker than lost sales tax revenue or even businesses closing because they can’t sustain losses and increased costs of doing business.

Remember the person who stole the $100 item? They took it to a pawn shop or a second-hand dealer and got $30 for it. They used the $30 to buy drugs. The drug dealer uses the $30 to buy more drugs and guns. The drugs drive more people to steal.

Guns perpetuate street violence. The cycle continues.

Some of the best intentions produce the worst consequences; many minor incidents trigger the biggest tragedies. Even the pettiest theft eventually funds violence in our communities, sucking tax dollars away from both agencies battling crime and human services meant to help people. We live both those realities in Monroe County every day.

And in the end, we all pay.

There is no such thing as a “petty” crime, particularly if you’re a victim.

Individually, collectively, and accumulatively, crime costs everyone.

Doing nothing, or doing the wrong things, to fix this indelibly damages our kids’ and grandkids’ futures.

“Compassionate justice” is a two-way street. We must consider victims first, and then offenders.

All our futures are connected.

Loss and Cost Short List: The Impacts FOR BUSINESSES 1.

Physical and financial loss of product

2.

Damaged image and loss of customers

3.

Increases costs for insurance, security measures, etc.

4.

Loss of employees

5.

Compromised credit ratings

6.

Goods and services inflation (everything costs more)

7.

Compromised growth and investment

8.

Increased liability risk

9.

Consumer loss in confidence of safety

NYSAC has teamed up with the New York Safety Program to offer a money-saving and point-reducing online driver safety course.

The discounted course • $22.95 • is open to county employees, their families, and friends. www.nysac.org/driversafety

Reduce up to four points on your license

1.

Lost lives, families destroyed

• Save on your auto insurance.

• Drive safer and with more confidence.

2.

Loss of businesses

3.

Loss of sales and tax revenue

• Prevent needless accidents.

4.

Loss of jobs

5.

Damaged image – neighborhoods, commercial districts, government

6.

Loss of residents

7.

Loss of financial investment

8.

Compromised growth (actual and potential)

9.

Increased reliance on public assistance

FOR COMMUNITIES

Get Started Today schools,

10. Increased burdens on public health and human services 11. Decreased influence over public policy 12. Reductions in charitable giving 13. Compromised government credit ratings 14. Goods and services inflation 15. Increased burdens on hospitals, mental health facilities 16. Increased and sustained drug addiction 17. Increased risks to first responders and the public

• Visit www.nysac.org/driversafety to get started.

• Register to take the 6 hour course (course does not have to be completed in one sitting, but it needs to be completed within one month of registration).

• Certified DMV approved 6-Hour Defensive Driving Class.

• Take it online for only $22.95 (for county employees and family members).

• After completing the Point/Insurance Reduction Program, you are eligible for a 10% discount on your Collision and Liability Insurance for three full years.

• Reduce up to four (4) points on your DMV Driving Record.

FOR INDIVIDUALS/FAMILIES 1.

Job and income loss

2.

Damaged personal and career image

3.

Actual property damage/cost of repair/replacement

4.

Physical and mental traumas

5.

Lost lives, families destroyed

6.

Goods inflation (everything costs more)

7.

Loss of transportation, independence, freedom

Now Available ONLINE 24/7 www.nysac.org/driversafety to register

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

51

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Nationwide, through its affiliated retirement plan service and product providers, has endorsement relationships with the National Association of Counties and the International Association of Fire Fighters-Financial Corporation. More information about the endorsement relationships may be found online at www.nrsforu.com. Nationwide and its agents, representatives and employees are prohibited by law from offering investment, legal or tax advice and do not do so. Please consult with your tax or legal advisor before making any decisions about plan matters.

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

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Management Fellowship Livingston County Growing Public Administration Profession Through Program

By Sean Farnsworth, Grants & Public Information Coordinator, Livingston County

T

he Livingston County Administrator’s Office has undertaken a unique approach in developing the next generation of public administrators by providing practical experience in a real-world environment through its Dominic F. Mazza County Management Fellowship Program.

The opportunity, which is paid an hourly rate and supports for both in-person and remote work, offers students pursing a master's degree in public administration first-hand experience in learning the intricacies of management in a progressive, award-winning county government setting.

“The Dominic F. Mazza County Management Fellowship Program’s goal is to provide an experiential learning opportunity where those interested in working in public administration can build an understanding of the topics facing local governments and the work being done to provide outstanding services and supports to constituents,” said Ian M. Coyle, Livingston County Administrator. “The fellowship is a great way for young professionals to strengthen their resume while also getting an inside look into the intricacies of local government.”

The program is designed to attract candidates with a passion for developing and implementing creative publicly-focused initiatives and who seek to improve the quality of public programming – specifically within a local government structure.

One of the most innovative counties in New York State and beyond, Livingston County is home to more than 62,000 residents. Nestled in the heart of the beautiful Finger Lakes region, the county is made up of 17 distinctive towns and nine charming, retail-driven downtown districts.

Located just south of Rochester, Livingston County’s historic landscape provides an urban exodus. With ample green space, including Letchworth State Park, Conesus and Hemlock Lakes, the area can be characterized as an adventurer’s dream. Steeped in a rich tradition of agriculture with numerous cultural conveniences and recreational attractions, Livingston County, through its fellowship program, offers qualified candidates an opportunity to gain insight and experience with a multitude of topics ranging from workforce development, public and mental health, economic development, agricultural preservation, social services, law enforcement, veteran affairs, emergency management and services, purchasing and more.

“This program is much more robust in scope than a traditional internship in that candidates will be working alongside myself and other departmental leaders in areas like broadband deployment, mobility and transportation programs, expansion of housing opportunities and other areas that will help in shaping the County’s future,” continued Coyle. “The skills learned through this opportunity will not only have a positive impact here but can also play a significant role in forming future initiatives of another municipality.”

The Dominic F. Mazza County Management Fellowship Program was created in 2018 by Livingston County to honor its first County Administrator, Dominic F. “Nick” Mazza. A wellrespected practitioner of local government and a credentialed ICMA manager, Mazza served Livingston County from 19892009. He is a former President of the New York State City/ County Management Association and has taught ethics and budget training programs for the New York State Association of Counties for many years.

NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

57

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NYSAC News | Winter 2024

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NYSAC News | www.nysac.org

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