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2007 Transition Team

Erie County seal

State of the County Address

Erie County Executive Chris Collins
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
11:00 AM
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
1285 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222

State of the County 2008

Good morning and thank you for being here today.

I want to thank everyone here at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for hosting us today.

Their leadership and commitment to our community is second to none.

And, they have been tremendously generous and helpful as we planned today's event.

I would like to thank Pastor Karl Eastlack from Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church for offering this morning's blessing.

Also, thank you to Celeste Lawson of the Buffalo & Erie County Arts Council.

Celeste was one of the very first people to reach out to me after Election Day, and I appreciate her hard work on behalf of our local arts and cultural community.

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In office only three months, I come before you today to report the current state of our county.

But first, I think we must realize that if we are unhappy with our current state, we really have no one to blame but ourselves.

Because for too long, we have allowed ourselves to accept Erie County's steady decline.

Instead, we must demand that our community do better and be better.

We must hold our leaders accountable for their actions or inactions.

We must reject the status-quo policies that have held this region back for the last two generations.

We must take pride in our community and stop apologizing for living and believing in Buffalo.

We must stop defining success as less failure than the year before.

In short: we must change.

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This year, change is defining American politics… driving the campaign for the Presidency across the nation..

But here in Erie County we were ahead of the curve.

Last fall, the taxpayers of this community proved they too were ready for change.

A change in how we approach government and the vital services we provide.

A change in how we treat taxpayers and their hard earned dollars.

And a change from the failed leadership of career politicians to an era of effective and efficient government managed by people who know what it takes to deliver.

On election night, I promised you that my administration would:

I am proud to say that after only three months on the job – we have lived up to every single one of these promises.

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We mean business in our approach to government.

Every day we are doing what the voters of this county overwhelming asked us to do: run Erie County like the billion-dollar business it is.

Through the leadership of my Deputy County Executive Mark Davis, we have studied the function of each department and restructured where necessary.

We are holding people accountable and demanding respect for tax dollars.

We are applying common sense to every decision and repeatedly asking the question why?

Too often we hear ‘because that's how we have always done it.”

People now realize that in my administration that answer is simply not acceptable.

We are cutting costs and are not afraid to go after pennies because we all know that pennies add up to dollars.

To lead by example, we restructured the County Executive's office and trimmed $95,000 from our budget.

We have asked each department head to cut their discretionary budgets by 25 percent, which will save county taxpayers nearly $6 million this year.

We undertook a comprehensive review of all county cell phones and take home vehicles, asking employees to justify their use.

In the end, we eliminated more than 250 phones, pagers and other electronic devices…a reduction of over 35 percent.

These cuts impacted all employees from rank and file to Commissioners and Department Heads.

In the process, we will save nearly $150,000 annually.

Continuing to lead by example, I declined the use of a county take home car and eliminated them for my senior staff.

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Under our Director of Space Utilization, Michelle Mazzone, we are finally getting smart about how we use county owned facilities.

By maximizing and using space more efficiently in the Rath Building, we will be able to eliminate or renegotiate our leased space.

This effort will save taxpayers at least a half a million dollars in 2008 alone.

We have implemented a new hiring program designed to maximize the use of Regular Part Time or “RPT” employees.

These employees work as many as 39 hours a week, but receive half of the regular employee time-off benefit package.

By filling county vacancies with RPT employees, Erie County will save nearly $800,000 annually.

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We are serious about transforming county government through Lean Six Sigma.

Under our dynamic director Al Hammonds, hundreds of employees are beginning to learn the Lean Six Sigma process and how it will positively impact their daily work and Erie County's bottom line.

We expect this effort to mushroom as our newly trained employees impact other employees.

We are empowering our workforce through Lean Six Sigma as we bring efficiency and a customer focus to the Rath Building.

With the pilot funding we have today, we can expect approximately $1.1 million in Six Sigma savings in 2008 alone.The more we invest, the greater the return.

I know that our approach will not only reduce the cost of government, but boost employee morale.

I encourage county employees to embrace this opportunity and for the Legislature and the Control Board to continue to support our Six Sigma initiative.

If we work together, I am confident Erie County can become the first Six Sigma community in America...setting an example for struggling municipalities nationwide.

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After my election, cynics thought that my business approach would alienate the Legislature, paralyzing county government.

Once again, we proved the cynics wrong.

Only days after taking office, we reached across the aisle to reform-minded legislators, to successfully build a bi-partisan, working majority and elect a dedicated public servant in Lynn Marinelli as Chairwoman.

As a result, we have moved the initial items of my reform agenda through the Legislature and I look forward to continuing to work with its members in the best interest of taxpayers.

While I may not always agree with the Legislature and the Control Board on every issue, we must continue to make progress on the important things that we do agree on.

We are on the verge of great things for Erie County, if we can continue to cooperate on the issues that matter most.

Our community is crying out for action, and we must not let politics impede the taxpayers' call for change.

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We have appointed the best and brightest into key positions throughout our government.

These professionals are dedicated to the taxpayers and have the experience and determination to help Erie County turn the corner.

Many of my appointees come from the private sector and bring with them solid business principles.

Others are outstanding public officials with a strong history of service who I retained or promoted from within.

I am also proud to announce that I have appointed more women to high ranking positions than at any other time in Erie County's history.

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We are being transparent by defending each and every decision in the light of day.

We are using the county's website to provide taxpayers with an honest look at county government and updates on what we are doing and where we want to go next.

And as we work to communicate our positions and policies, we are inviting more people to be part of the process.

I have spent time meeting and listening to diverse groups throughout Erie County.

But our inclusiveness doesn't stop when the meetings end.

We have opened Erie County to groups that have felt ignored including the Seneca Nation of Indians.

We are also encouraging the general public to apply for hundreds of board positions through our website.

As a result, my board appointments will reflect the perspectives and life experience often absent from our decision making table.

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While I am proud of what we are accomplishing in the present…it is the future where I am focused.

Four years from now in 2011, I plan to deliver a much different State of the County address…one where we no longer need to be reminded how good we are and how great we can be.

A State of the County address where we no longer just talk about growth, but celebrate its long overdue arrival.

A State of the County address where together we can take pride in the brighter future we have built for our children and grandchildren right here in Erie County.

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We have significant obstacles to overcome, but I see tremendous opportunity in the solutions.

We must negotiate new union contracts that make sense in 2008 and can be sustained for the next 50 years.

It is time for our municipal union contracts to reflect the reality of the world we live in today.

We can not tinker around the edges and pretend everything will be okay.

We need a ‘blank sheet of paper' approach, starting with the current benefit package.

Unlike their counterparts in the private sector who on average receive 6 weeks of paid time off, our unions receive 16 weeks of paid time off.

Compared to the average private sector employee, that equates to an extra 10 weeks off per year when you total vacation, sick and personal days, holidays, paid lunches and summer hours.

These benefit packages are simply unsustainable in our current economic times.

As you know, every Erie County union contract has expired.

My door is open and I look forward to fair negotiations.

The key word is fair.

Fair to the hardworking employees who deserve a raise and fair to the hardworking taxpayers who pay their wages and benefits.

But to proceed fairly, my Charter-mandated duty to negotiate new contracts must not be undermined.

That is exactly what happened last month when the AFSCME union was awarded $800,000 without regard to our budget and without a single giveback.

This set a dangerous precedent and I have called on the Control Board to reject it.

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Public sector unions are also a key factor in resetting healthcare delivery in Erie County for generations to come.

As you all know, New York State – through the Berger Commission – recommended the complete and total merger of Erie County Medical Center and Kaleida Health.

Sadly, the State Health Department is now backing away from its own recommendations, putting Erie County taxpayers in a very dangerous place.

We need to stand up to the public sector unions and demand that Albany dissolve the public benefit corporation that is ECMC.

Because of its status as a public hospital, ECMC's labor costs are 30% higher than those at Kaleida.

There is only one way to bring these two hospitals together, and that requires bold action to stand up to the special interests on behalf of the taxpayers and dissolve the public benefit corporation.

Ultimately if this fails, Erie County taxpayers will have to pick up the tab.

I will not stand quietly by and let that happen.

Erie County should not get the short end of the stick again because Albany continues to buckle under the pressure of public sector unions.

A true and total merger of ECMC and Kaleida is what is best for area healthcare and area taxpayers.

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When it comes to rebuilding our economy, we need a completely new mindset.

Simply put: we must grow or we will die.

I did not sign up for this job to manage Erie County's continued decline.

My administration is committed to rebuilding our economy by creating economic opportunity.

Our focus on economic development starts with a very easy and symbolic action.

Currently, Erie County has a department of Environment & Planning that I am renaming the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Planning.

This may only be a simple name change, but it's symbolic of my administration's commitment to economic development as our most important priority.

With the already completed Framework for Regional Growth, coupled with a regional economic development strategy...our region is poised to move forward.

As an example of our commitment to the Framework, I have issued my first executive order which instructs all of Erie County's departments to fully comply with the policies set forth in that document.

If Erie County is to grow, we must support practices that promote growth in the new economy with a focus on global minded innovation and a knowledge-based economy.

Forces that affect Erie County are global in nature.

My administration is prepared to lead our region's rebranding as a community that celebrates and invests in its quality of life, its specialness of place, its unique industries and institutions, and its natural geographic advantages as a global gateway to the world.

Sometimes we forget, but we live on the doorstep of a major international border crossing.

We need to start exploiting that fact.

Our bi-national region is a gateway to markets around the globe, encompasses 15 million people, and boasts significant historic, natural and cultural resources.

With partners like Dave Smith at the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, we are capitalizing on our economic development potential with Canadian businesses and helping them create jobs here in Erie County.

Erie County will be a strong partner to continue that development and broaden our reach to attract even more companies to Western New York.

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While our past is industry, our future is innovation.

To drive a knowledge based economy, we must focus on the life sciences, including the great work happening every day on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

That effort includes our full support of UB's 2020 initiative, which will expand UB's economic impact to $2.6 billion and add an additional 12,000 faculty, staff and students to our community.

We must think green by concentrating on next generation energy technology and research geared toward capitalizing on our abundance of wind and freshwater.

As the owner of the first LEED certified green factory in New York, I understand the benefit that environmentally-sound businesses bring to our economy.

Erie County will harness that potential to create a new sector of sustainable, 21st century jobs for our region.

We also must focus on attracting additional “back-office” operations like Geico, Citigroup and Tops.

Outside employers will come to know that our inexpensive office space and trained, dedicated workforce make Western New York the right place for them to do business.

For Erie County to take its rightful place in America's new economy, we must have a shared regional vision.

We must be inclusive and not allow our region to be dominated by a few voices rooted in the past.

We must promote optimistic leadership and stop making excuses instead of accomplishing good.

And we must be willing to embrace collaboration and change.

Change is what I am bringing to the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.

Later this month, my new board appointments will take their seats after performing a detailed review of ECIDA policy and practices.

With my appointments will come a renewed focus on the taxpayer and a commitment to make sure our community truly benefits from the tax incentives we award.

As my appointees understand, small businesses are the backbone of our economy, creating 80 percent of new jobs. We should never turn our back on an employer looking to bring 200 jobs to Erie County.

But while we wait, there are 50 local, small businesses that, with our help, could each grow by four or five employees.

To promote this growth, we will establish a robust business development and client management function at the ECIDA to help support and keep business right here in Erie County.

We will also lead a renewed effort to collaborate with our IDA partners across the county.

Smart businesses know how to treat their customers.

Smart governments know that businesses are customers.

Our economic development efforts will respond at the speed of business… giving companies what they need, when they need it.

This includes converting brownfields to build an inventory of shovel ready sites, in older urban areas and expediting the review and permitting process.

Erie County's economic delivery system must jump to a new level of service and speed.

We must require that government…including all local IDAs and economic development partners…make speed and quality our top priority.

I am fully supportive of a scorecard concept for our IDA efforts …a scale to rank local projects based on their compliance with the Regional Framework for Growth, the number and quality of jobs , the prospect for expansion, and the use of brownfield sites or green technologies.

These rankings will help implement a tiered tax abatement system and promote consistent standards all across Erie County.

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Despite our challenges, we currently have significant development underway in Buffalo and Erie County.

I do believe the City of Buffalo is undergoing a rebirth and I want to acknowledge Mayor Brown for all the good work he is accomplishing.

I look forward to continuing to work together because a better Buffalo is a better Erie County.

To assist in building a better community, Erie County has committed $ 7 million of county funding to perform asbestos abatement and finally tear down Memorial Auditorium...making way for the exciting and long awaited development of our Inner Harbor.

The County is also supporting waterfront development by investing and coordinating projects to bring increased access and recreation opportunities to our shore line.

I want to thank Congressman Brian Higgins for helping to deliver on the promise of Buffalo's waterfront.

Along the waterfront in Lackawanna, Erie County is currently overseeing the Master Plan and zoning revisions for the Bethlehem Steel site.

We are working with the New York State to direct $4.2 million help develop this site.

In the City of Tonawanda, the County is a financial partner in helping to safely demolish Spaulding Fibre.

Along with our state and federal partners, we are taking the necessary steps to make this site something Tonawanda can be proud of again.

While we work to replace two former industrial giants in two of our cities…we must not forget the daily economic contribution generated from our rural centers.

Farming is big business in Erie County.

On average, Erie County farmers sell $100 million of product a year…generating millions more in payroll and property tax payments.

The success of our agricultural community means success for other Erie County businesses.

To protect this asset, Erie County will seriously address agricultural planning to help preserve and promote our farmland and its appropriate use.

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At the state level, I applaud Governor Paterson's re-commitment to the $1 billion Upstate Revitalization Fund to help our region wake from its long economic slumber.

At the same time, I believe Albany must focus on reducing the cost of government which is critically important for Erie County to attract and expand business.

I have also asked the Governor's Upstate Economic Development Director, Dan Gunderson to grant Erie County the authority to designate Regionally Significant Projects.

This status would allow local companies located outside of Empire Zones to enjoy many of the same incentives, as they decide to grow and invest here in Erie County.

Many counties across our State already have this power and I believe it is only fair that Erie County be placed on a level playing field with other counties across New York.

Since 2005, only 3 Regionally Significant Projects have been approved outside of existing Empire Zone boundaries in Erie County.

In the same time frame, 23 projects have been approved in Monroe County.

New York State needs to give Erie County utilization of this program so we can grow companies locally instead of watching them pack up for other parts of the State or Country.

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I selected the Albright-Knox for my first State of the County speech for a very specific reason.

You are currently sitting in one the finest contemporary art museums in the world and it is right here in our own back yard.

Erie County has an abundance of cultural riches and I am convinced that they will and must be an integral part of our future.

Properly supported arts and culture drive economic development.

My administration is committed to a newly invigorated Cultural Resources Advisory Board so we can continue to make wise investments in our arts and cultural community.

We also have bi-partisan support in Albany for our proposal to dedicate a percentage of revenues from the future Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino to promote cultural tourism here in Erie County.

In addition, we are investing in our convention and tourism attraction efforts.

My administration recently concluded successful contract negotiations with the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau.

As a result, we will be drafting a county-wide, five year strategic plan to direct and guide the marketing and branding of Erie County as a cultural destination for visitors throughout the world.

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My vision for growth assumes there will be more people here tomorrow than there are today.

Sadly, our county's infrastructure is not prepared to welcome them.

Our roads, bridges, parks, beaches and community college campuses have been neglected…victimized by broken budgeting and inferior planning.

For example, in the Southtowns, Zoar Valley Road is partially closed as more and more of it crumbles each day.

In the North, Tonawanda Creek Road is literally sliding into the creek, forcing another partial closure.

Despite the hard work of our Public Works Commissioner Jerry Sentz and his Highway crews, these two examples highlight a growing problem.

It's the same story for the county's bridges.

It would take a total federal, state and county investment of hundreds of millions of dollars to make our roads and bridges acceptable.

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Sadly, our County parks and beaches are suffering as well.

Since taking office, I have toured many of our parks with Commissioner Jim Hornung.

I am often left with the undeniable feeling that we are letting some of our most valuable assets slip away.

Once a crown jewel of our community, our park system is a shell of what it was or could be.

However, our new Parks Department is done making excuses, and Commissioner Hornung is finding innovative ways to leverage our limited resources.

Later this summer, the dedicated employees of the Menthelatum Corporation in Orchard Park will volunteer their time to help clean-up Chestnut Ridge Park and install a new $20,000 playground.

This generous gift of time and money is a tremendous example of what we can do when we partner with the private sector to improve our community.

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Thousands of our young people choose Erie Community College each year as they prepare and plan for their future.

Unfortunately, we as a county have not prepared or planned for the future of ECC's three campuses.

All three are in need of substantial capital improvements.

I believe we must invest in all three locations…giving our students what they demand – solid curriculum, maximum flexibility, and close proximity.

But real leadership requires outside the box thinking to address these issues.

We need to implement bold and creative solutions that leverage our limited assets and attract private-market resources to invest in our infrastructure.

It will take bold leadership willing to challenge the political establishment, but that's exactly what I was elected to do.

Over the coming months, I will make bold proposals to meet these investment challenges head-on.

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Despite our challenges, I know Erie County's best days are ahead of us.

In my world, all great success starts with a vision.

My vision for Erie County was the cornerstone of my campaign and continues to guide my administration.

Let me share it again with you today.

Sit back for a minute and imagine a future when Erie County is vibrant and growing.

Imagine a future when county government works for you, not against you.

A future when taxes are fair and reasonable… and provide true value to the taxpayer.

Imagine a future with a true partnership between the public sector and private sector.

And most importantly, imagine a future with abundant opportunities for our children and grandchildren to live their lives right here in Erie County.

That is the future I see.

That is the future every family in Erie County deserves.

And by working together, I know that is the future we can achieve.

Thank you.