County makes gains in 2006 — more expected in 2007
JOEL GIAMBRA Erie County Executive
As 2006 comes to an end, it is time to take a look back at the gains we have made. It was a year

that saw the County of Erie regain sound financial footing and make for a bright future. Despite a political climate that predicted higher deficits and doom and gloom, we will end the year with $30 million in surplus. This was no small feat considering the state mandates we face as a county in New York.

Each year, Albany has shifted more and more financial burden on the local governments, and it has created hardships throughout. 2007 will be a very tough year for our neighbors to the east in Monroe County, facing the type of deficit Erie County went through in 2005. Cuts in services and increased property and sales taxes are the outlook for the Rochester area, but not here in Buffalo.

You can’t believe everything you read as the saying goes, and what you hear as well. While the pundits and media may have forecast a dim future for our county, I am glad to say they were wrong. You as a taxpayer in 2007 will be paying a lower property tax rate than you did in 2000 when we took office. Your roads are better and your bridges safer as we invested in an infrastructure that was crumbling.

We have assembled an emergency response team that is second to none and shined through the October storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are using the Erie County Emergency Operations Center as a model for the rest of the nation.

In fact, Gary Shoffstall of the Corps of Engineers wrote “Nothing succeeds better than good planning. FEMA has seen a lot of disasters involving debris, and despite a minor glitch here and there, they are impressed with Erie County and how they handled their operations. You get a Gold Star!“

In 2007 we are investing more in cultural activities and restoring some of the services we lost during the 2005 budget crisis. We hope for a new downtown Erie Community College campus and investments on our waterfront. There is every reason to believe that the New Year will be even better than the last.

Erie County is a great place to live and I am proud to be your county executive. Have a Merry Christmas, a happy

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and a very healthy and prosperous New Year.