ERIE COUNTY (WBEN - Brendan Keany) - In a roughly 40-minute speech at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, County Executive Mark Poloncarz touched on numerous initiatives and proposals he's focused on in the coming months and years.
The following is a basic list of what the county executive addressed in the speech:
- Investment into the Botanical Gardens expansion project
- Decreased unemployment in Erie County
- ECIDA business requirements
- Healthcare Professional Opportunity Grant Program
- Outreach to Canada for increased business investment
- Calling on Trump administration to end tariffs against Canadian steel and aluminum products
- Bethlehem Steel site development
- The proposal of an Office of Agriculture to be created in the Department of Environment and Planning
- Public Health
- The "Live Well Erie" campaign
- Housing Discrimination
- Investment into county parks
- Investment in road and bridge infrastructure
- County reaction to climate change
- The ErieNet proposal
- High-Tech Crime
- Importance of accurate census information
INTERNET ACCESS
Just this week, it was learned that Poloncarz is proposing a $20 million investment into a county-owned fiber-optic network that he's calling the ErieNet project.
Full speed Internet access is not a luxury, it is an essential utility. If our region is to remain competitive it must have a contemporary communications infrastructure that offers equal access to all county residents regardless of where they live. #StateOfErieCounty
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) March 27, 2019He explained more regarding his proposal during his speech.
"ErieNet will offer Internet access to all communities in Erie County," said Poloncarz. "It will reach into the corners of our urban areas and suburbs that have no fiber Internet options."
He also spoke to media following the event to clarify and explain some of his ideas.
"We did a study in 2011 that examined the broadband capabilities of our county and found that out that there were significant areas that had poor service of no service," he said. "If you live in the City of Buffalo or Cheektowaga, which are considered major hubs of our community, you can't get Verizon Fios; if you live in the rural section, the southern/lowest towns of Erie County, you in all likelihood can't even get cable. We are going to get left behind if we don't invest in an Internet broadband system."
He also addressed why he believes it's a good idea for the county to be directly involved.
"The advantage of the county doing the investment is that we will own the system, we can lease it, we can generate revenue to help pay for the system, and then we believe it will be revenue positive in year six," Poloncarz added. "This is something that we need to do to benefit Grand Island in the northwest of the county to Sardinia in the southeast of the county, and everywhere in between."
INFRASTRUCTURE
Poloncarz made it a clear point that he is and has been invested in repairing roads and bridges throughout the county.
With this year's work included, my administration will have invested nearly $500 million….half a billion dollars….in infrastructure investments over eight years. Don't let anyone tell you we aren't fixing our roads! #StateOfErieCounty
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) March 27, 2019ECONOMY
"When I took office as Erie County executive in January 2012, unemployment in our region was 8.9-percent," began Poloncarz. "I am proud to say that by the end of 2018, it had been reduced to 3.9-percent - the lowest end of year unemployment rate in Erie County in more than four decades."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, since 2017 WNY's unemployment rate has been the sixth-most improved in the U.S. and programs like those at the Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Investment Board are a large part of that success #StateOfErieCounty pic.twitter.com/eU5vdtWZ57
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) March 27, 2019He also touched on the utilization of Canadian-based investment and how that has been a good source of revenue for the region.
"Another example of how we were able to grow our local economy was to benefit from one of the largest economies in the world just 90 miles away," he said.
Together with #InvestBuffaloNiagara, we've welcomed 45 Canadian companies to the Buffalo-Niagara Region who have invested more than 146 million dollars in #WesternNewYork operations and 1,030 jobs. #StateOfErieCounty pic.twitter.com/r3tuzdYTf8
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) March 27, 2019HEALTH
The county executive also announced a commitment to a healthier Erie County.
In recent years, farmer's markets have grown increasingly popular across @ErieCountyNY & are providing ways to connect more county residents with healthy, wholesome local produce. #StateOfErieCounty pic.twitter.com/vva77XpBSC
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) March 27, 2019Some of the initiatives he cited included the push to combat lead poisoning, which has been a problem for Buffalo residents, especially. He also discussed the recently-passed legislation to ban pharmacies from selling tobacco products.
Finally, Poloncarz touched on a new Health and Human Services Plan - "Live Erie Well" - which will be unveiled in further detail later this year.
"I heard a lot of plans that will cost money, but I didn't hear anything that would that would give taxpayers a break," said Dixon. "He unveiled a vision, a lot of plans, and everything pretty much comes with a price tag. There was not mention of addressing poverty in Buffalo and Erie County, which remains among the highest in the nation."
She also brought notice to the fact that Poloncarz wants to add more government offices, as he proposed an Office of Agriculture to be created in the Department of Environment and Planning.
"I heard about a few plans and opening new offices within county government; I didn't hear about how many people he wanted to staff it with or how we're going to pay for those," she said.The problem is with everything I heard today, and I certainly appreciate his viewpoints, his suggestion and his vision, but what I didn't hear were details, and what I didn't hear was how we're going to pay for everything."
