MarthaSauerbrey, District 2 Legislator & Legislative Chair
Martha Sauerbrey
District 2 Legislator & Legislative Chair

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Telephone:
607-687-8240

56 Main Street
Owego, NY 13827

Main Phone:
607-687-8240
Fax:
607-687-8232

State of the County Address - 2019

Last Updated: 12/2/2020

Below is text of the remarks given by the Chair of the Tioga County Legislature, Martha C. Sauerbrey, on March 10th, 2020 covering the efforts made in 2019. 

New York State Counties deliver vital programs and services to the people in their communities. They are at the heart of our state, working directly with and for their residents. However, over the past three years the direction has been diverted by the State of New York and by the mandated programs that are pushed down to the county.

In order to achieve the goals of delivering the quality public services demanded by taxpayers, counties rely on a strong and consistent fiscal partnership with the State however, recent changes in the legal system, laws and mandates have greatly affected Tioga County Government and specifically the workflow in County Attorney’s Office.  In 2019, the County Attorney’s Office worked on implementing a series of wide ranging Criminal Justice Reforms.  These reforms have brought about great changes to both the adult and juvenile justice systems. 

The 2019-2020 New York State Budget includes criminal justice reforms that limit bail, amend the discovery and speedy trial process, change civil asset forfeiture, and improve the community re-entry process. 

Due to changes in the law, Tioga County has completely changed the arraignment process for criminal defendants.  We created a new centralized arraignment court and holding facility. Law Enforcement is now able to drop off an arrestee at the public safety facility and held there until the next court session.   This collective effort involved the County Attorney’s Office, Probation Department, Sheriff’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, local justice court officials and the NYS Office of Court Administration to get this Centralized Arraignment Part program up and running. 

Changes affect many departments across the county.  Finding a solution for CAP Court (Centralized Arraignment Part), required locating, planning and training staff for the new CAP Court at the Sheriff’s Office.  Implementation of new policies and training was required for the New Discovery Legislation along with extensive recordkeeping to insure the DA and Public Defender get accurate information.

Tioga County has been a front-runner in ensuring that defendants have counsel at each court appearance.  Tioga was one of the first counties to provide counsel at all daytime arraignments and with the CAP Court has implemented what the NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services has called a model program to implement required changes to public defender services.

Changes in the law affect departments across the county.  Buildings and Grounds Division created space within a space to facilitate current and new employees in the District Attorney’s Office and the County Attorney’s Office. The new hires are required because of mandates from New York State.

Unfunded mandates from New York State continued to affect the Tioga County Probation Department last year.  Revenue from New York State remained flat for the seventh year in a row, with state funds covering only 9% of the Probation Department budget, the other 91% covered by Tioga County taxpayers.

Probation provided detailed investigations to 20 different courts in Tioga County prior to sentencing hearings. The Department also supervised almost 300 adults and juveniles who were court ordered to variable terms of supervision.

Using Raise the Age money, we were able to contract with an agency, Cayuga Counseling Services, to provide daily contact with schools and juveniles involved with the department. We initiated an evidence-based intervention program for juveniles called Decision Points. 

The Governor's 2021 Executive Budget contains several proposals that will have a significant negative effect on local taxpayers.  What is concerning about this s the modification of the existing local share Medicaid caps and the capping of Federal Affordable Care Act credit that flows to counties. These provisions lack clarity, a clear rationale, and do not solve the problems at the heart of the current $4 billion Medicaid shortfall.

The local Medicaid cost cap remains the most important, meaningful property tax reduction, and mandate relief initiative enacted by the State in decades.  Stepping back from this policy will threaten counties capacity to stay within the property tax cap.  In the future, this could affect our ability to fund outside agencies such as veterans services, libraries, and museums. 

Mirroring the National trend, Tioga County continues to see an increasing number of youth and young adults with challenging behaviors, trauma, and mental health concerns, which significantly impacts the PINS (Persons in Need of Supervision) Diversion services.  In addition, New York State ended funding for services for this population, increasing the challenge of meeting their needs.

The Department increased collaboration with multiple agencies including Veteran’s Services, Rehabilitation Support Services, Tioga County Law Department, and Tioga County Probation Department in a growing effort to better serve the families they are working with.

The average number of families in the Family Assistance caseload reached the lowest levels in decades.  A low unemployment rate and job opportunities allowed our consumers to maintain gainful employment in record numbers.

The Mental Hygiene Department continues to offer a comprehensive range of care for citizens of Tioga County who have needs related to Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and/or Developmental Disabilities.  They have been on the frontlines in dealing with the negative impacts of Opiate/Opioid Addiction.

They are extremely proud of their two coalitions; Tioga Allies in Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) and the Suicide Prevention Coalition they support that provide valuable service to Tioga County. 

The new Dental Van “Tioga Smiles”, went into action in 2019 and in the first year provided about 2,000 dental screenings.

The Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan was completed, which identified health behaviors and how they relate to poor or good health outcomes.  Working with their partners, the goal is to make Tioga the healthiest county in NY.

Public Health hit the ground running this year as Coronavirus appeared, and continues to make headlines.  Yes, COVID-19 is a threat, one of many that they continuously monitor and manage; be it disease outbreaks or environmental exposures.   Public Health remains proactively engaged providing Tioga County with a robust public health presence focused on prevention, and when warranted, response, against both existing and emerging public health threats.

The Tioga Career Center continues to bring us good news.  This week the sixth annual Job Fair was held on March 11 in Owego with about 90 businesses participating.  In order to participate the businesses must have jobs and if anyone wants to work, there is a job for you. Our unemployment rate is down; jobs are plentiful.

Information Technology and Communication Services or IT Department has been busy throughout the year gearing up for significant projects and making steady improvements to the County’s technology infrastructure.

As part of a Shared Services Project, ITCS has been working with the Town of Owego, Village of Waverly, and Town of Barton. This will bring them valuable technical assistance and significant cost savings.  The County is able to spread its existing cost structure across a larger base, resulting in net savings for all parties.

Looking into 2020, the Department will continue onboarding the three shared services municipalities and integrating their operations into the County infrastructure.

Our Chief Information Officer is leading County efforts to facilitate additional construction of broadband to the rural or underserved areas of the County.

Last fall, the Personnel Department instituted an online Application portal to allow applicants to apply for examinations and vacancies online, as well as pay application fees electronically. 

The Institute for Advancement offered an additional three advanced training sessions, which were Budget Preparation & MUNIS, Interviewing and Hiring, and Workplace Ethics.

As of October 1st, airline travelers will not be able to board a domestic flight without a REAL ID compliant identity document and visitors to Federal buildings and military bases will need a Real ID for entry. The Tioga County DMV Office has been extremely busy meeting the demand for upgraded REAL ID driver’s licenses to meet the October 1st deadline.

Counties play an important role in sustainable waste management in New York State. However, the future of these operations is threatened by global market volatility that has resulted in unsustainable cost increases.  This along with the recent challenges has affected Tioga County as to how our recycling programs will look in the future.  We are looking at better more effective ways of recycling while, educating the public how to reduce, reuse, and recycle. 

2019 was an amazing year for the Veterans Service Agency. They were busy with continued outreach programs including informational sessions; specific programs remembering Vietnam Veterans; STOP 22 and Field of the Forgotten Fallen display.  The Annual Veterans Expo brings together many programs and people that are beneficial to our veterans and their families.  March is a busy month with special events throughout the month including the first recognition event for of Women Veterans as we celebrate Women’s’ History Month.

More Good News:  Under Economic Development and Planning. The newly created Tioga County Property Development Corporation (Land Bank) was successful in demolishing seven properties in the Village of Waverly and three properties in the Village of Owego that were considered blighted properties.  Additionally, two properties in the Village of Waverly were readied for renovation.

A new company arrived - Voight and Schweitzer New York Galvanizing broke ground and completed construction on their $15.5 million steel galvanization plant in the Town of Owego.  It is expected V&S will employ close to 60 people once running at full capacity.

The Workforce Pipeline Strategy remains in the forefront of our activities by Identify priorities and actions needed to help employers attract and develop talent for today and for the future.  The goal is to connect local school districts and higher learning institutions with employers to create a highly qualified and skilled workforce pipeline for Tioga County.

Groundwork was laid for a successful 2020 Census with numerous outreach efforts to make residents aware of the importance of participating in the Census.  Tioga Counts!

The Real Property Office works in conjunction with the County’s GIS Mapping Technician in the maintenance of the County tax map, which is extremely important when it comes to the Census. 

Work in partnership with the Village of Owego is ongoing as ED&P is working with the Village for the 32 upcoming Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects that will be in position to move forward in 2020.

The end of the decade brought more than fifty statewide Election Law changes, updated regulations, and new procedures to the Board of Elections. The most prominent change was the implementation of Early Voting. For the first time in New York State, every county offered voters an opportunity to vote early for nine days prior to the General Election. 

Upgrading our Emergency Communications System has been a key focus and after several years of research, a plan is in place to replace the current radio system.  Upgrades will be made to the 911 Dispatch Center, increasing the number of radio towers and upgrading our radio equipment.  This will allow interoperable communications between police, fire, EMS, and local government as well as making it possible for our emergency service agencies to be able to communicate with surrounding counties. This is a multi-year program and will be a major improvement for the safety of Tioga County residents.

It is important that you learn about the projects and the challenges we face on a daily basis.  If you followed the presentation you heard me mention numerous times that our Legislators and employees work together to solve issues and make improvements.  That is how it works around here.  We work together to meet the challenges to serve people of Tioga County.  We will continue to do so no matter the challenge.


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