Colden, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Legislators congregated in Legislature Chambers on Thursday to discuss a number of matters pertaining to the asylum seekers currently housed in the county during a special informational meeting.
There were several items discussed on Thursday, but perhaps the most notable topic of concern for local lawmakers was the question of whether any county dollars were being spent on migrants and services for those seeking asylum. Aside from money going towards housing a pair of incarcerated migrants at the Erie County Holding Center, members of the administration assured lawmakers no additional funds were going towards the migrant situation.
Other related issues that were discussed during Thursday's meeting included other law enforcement services responding to migrants, the vaccination status of migrant children attending schools in Erie County, and much more.
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Republican candidate for Erie County Executive in this November's election, Chrissy Casilio says this meeting regarding asylum seekers was long overdue.
"This should have happened months ago, probably even before this crisis even came to Erie County, because we need to know the facts," said Casilio ahead of Thursday's informational meeting in Downtown Buffalo.
"At the end of the day, whether it's federal dollars, state dollars or county dollars, it is our taxpayer dollars, and we have a right to know how that is being spent, what is being spent, and why."
The GOP candidate also called out the incumbent County Executive, Mark Poloncarz, on his choice to bring the migrant crisis to Erie County before it was ever discussed amongst other local leaders.
"Why did he lecture all of us and call us morally repugnant? Because from Day 1, we simply asked for the facts. We asked for information, we asked about the costs, we asked what the plan will be. We still do not have that answer, and hopefully we'll get a little bit of that answer today," Casilio said.
While plenty of information and details related to the migrant situation was explained to local lawmakers on Thursday, some feel it still wasn't enough in the end. Legislature Minority Leader John Mills is hopeful for another informational meeting to take place come next Thursday in order for more answers to come to light with how the region is dealing and handling the migrant situation.
"This has become a crisis in our county. That's my personal opinion, I think some of my colleagues share the same issues and opinion. It's too many facets from health, inoculations of children going to our schools, to public safety," said Mills following Thursday's meeting. "That's the biggest thing that's going on here is public safety. They were brought in, they were not vetted properly with our local officials - our Sheriff's [Office], our local police organizations. Some of the things that people really are concerned about in Erie County is getting the kids to soccer practice, getting the roads plowed, roadwork done, and public safety, and we took away public safety by bringing migrants in the way they came into our county. That's inappropriate, and it's outrageous."
"Today's four months to the day since I held the press conference outside to try and be proactive, and deal with this crisis that's come across the country. What's here is not a surprise," added Erie County Legislator Jim Malczewski on Thursday. "The disappointing part about today is the major players were not here: DocGo, the District Attorney, and County Executive. Those are three major players in this that could have put a stop to this, and we wouldn't be standing here today if they would have acted four months ago when I called it out."
Casilio was also disappointed by the absence of Poloncarz at Thursday's meeting, feeling the County Executive has the most information about the ongoing migrant situation that he is not providing the community clarity on.
"He's the one that welcomed all of this, and has been, apparently, the one in communication with New York City. He should be here answering questions, but he's not going to be," Casilio said. "We just need to know the costs. We have a right to know, because it's our money. This is our money that is being spent. How is it being spent?"
As Poloncarz explains, it is very rare he ever appears before the Erie County Legislature, as he has a reliable administrative staff to be on-hand and relay any pertinent information between both his office and the Legislature.
"I've appeared before the Legislature twice during my tenure, and it was both regarding the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Bills stadium. I was intimately involved in the negotiations, and I felt it was important that I let the community know of how important it was to get these Bills stadium approvals done. But we have department heads, we have administrators," said Poloncarz on Thursday during an event in the Town of Colden.
Poloncarz understands why some people may be critical of his absence on Thursday, given it's nearing another political season and he's up for another election. However, he emphasized, again, on Thursday that housing, lodging, food, and other matters with migrants being housed in Erie County continues to be paid for by New York City.
As Poloncarz has said, this migrant situation has been a national problem that requires federal solution. He says he was pleased to learn on Wednesday of a step that will help some Venezuelan migrants in Western New York potential get working quite soon.
"I can say there was an important action that was taken by the Biden administration yesterday in that they announced they're providing temporary protected status to all Venezuelans who came across the border from 2021 through mid-July of this year, which is approximately half of the asylum seekers in Erie County," Poloncarz detailed. "Why is this important? Because with temporary protected status, they can now qualify for work permits and we can get those individuals, those men, those women working in the jobs that are needed in our community. There's a ton of jobs."
Poloncarz adds the folks with refugee services like Journey's End and Jericho Road are working to identify all those individuals who qualify so they could get their work permits.
"They're legally in the community, they can start getting housing, getting their own apartment and working, and then getting them off of the costs, which, for now, have been paid for by New York City," Poloncarz said.
When it comes to his battle heading into the November election for County Executive, Poloncarz is well aware of the public comments and actions Casilio is taking against him as she ramps up her push for office.
"My opponent, she's been very critical of me, but when asked what would she do in response, she said, 'I don't know. I can't imagine what I would do.' If you're running to be a leader of this community, you've got to imagine what to do. You've got to come up with what happens in the worst-case scenario," Poloncarz said.
"If you're running to be the County Executive, running to be the leader of a community of a million people, very diverse - three cities, 25 towns - you better have a plan. She doesn't have one, and I think you're gonna hear a lot more about it in the next few days about why she's wrong for Erie County. I look forward to continuing to represent the people of Erie County going forward."
With less than two months until November's election, Poloncarz can proudly say he's running for office again and can lean back on his strong record of accomplishment as Erie County Executive.
"We have the lowest unemployment rate in Erie County's history, repeatedly. We have the lowest property tax rate in Erie County's history, and that's going to be going down as a result of an agreement we have for the 2024 budget. We have the strongest economy that this community has ever seen," Poloncarz detailed. "Actually, the GDP of Erie County is not only greater than four states, the GDP, the gross domestic product of Erie County is greater than Iceland's, greater than Panama's, greater than Lebanon. I mean, we're greater than countries. I look at it is we've accomplished a lot. I'm running for one more term to finish the work that we've done."
As it turns out, it was never Poloncarz's intention to run for a fourth term when he last won office of County Executive in 2019. However, he had no idea what the community was set to endure over the next four years, which resulted in him putting aside some of goals of his administration for some time.
"I took office on Jan. 1 for this third term in 2020, and then what happened within three months? The COVID pandemic, in which everything was shut down. Then finally we get to a little better point, and then we have the mass shooting, and then county government's intimately involved in the response to that with regards to food security, as well as mental health counseling, which we're still doing. We get through that, gets a little better, then we have the November superstorm - seven feet of snow again. Then we have the December blizzard, and then even after that, we're dealing with issues with Damar Hamlin and the impact that had on the community. So a lot of the things, major things I thought I was gonna be able to accomplish in my third term had to get put on the backburner," Poloncarz said.
"I'm stating right now, if the people give me the opportunity to serve one more term, this will be the last time I ever run for County Executive."
More from Poloncarz is available in the player below: