Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz took the stage at SUNY Erie on Wednesday to deliver his 2025 State of the County address, where he outlined major upcoming investments and projects across the region.
Poloncarz says the County is committed to making major improvements at SUNY Erie, including renovation its sport fields, and building a new campus.
"What worked for the 1980s is an antiquated set of unnecessary buildings today. That is why, as of the end of this academic year, SUNY Erie will be moving its programs from the old campus in Hamburg to a beautiful new location in Orchard Park. New classrooms, labs, offices and study spaces designed for the modern educational experience will greet our students this fall. This will make the SUNY area location the destination choice for students in southern Erie County," stated Poloncarz.
Poloncarz announced the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo will be expanding its jurisdiction to include all felony charges in the city of Buffalo, except for homicides, and include all criminal defendants in Cheektowaga.
"Everyone has certain guarantee rights, including criminal defendants. Upholding these rights require competent counsel for each criminal defendant, no matter their ability to pay for a criminal defense attorney. Providing that representation is not cheap. Last year, my budget office estimated County taxpayers spent over $17 million and these costs are increasing," stated Poloncarz. "We will restructure how we provide these services by moving towards an institutional provider and away from our current model that relies on private attorneys."
Erie County is now committing an additional $2 million to Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Garden, bringing the total investment to $7 million. Poloncarz says the money will be used to finish the expansion project that was crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Very soon, construction will commence, and the 125 year old gardens will become new again, thereby honoring its wonderful historic past and ensuring a strong future for another century."
Poloncarz also announced the launch of Envision Erie, a resident survey initiative.
"This survey will provide a platform for our residents to voice their needs and priority priorities, ensuring that county policies and initiatives reflect the community's concerns. It will focus on key issues such as housing affordability, health care, infrastructure, education, public transportation and Youth Services, just to name a few. To ensure a broad input, we will work with community leaders to offer the survey online, on social media and in paper form at local community centers. Once completed, the results will be analyzed and published in a report that will guide a resident driven action plan making our county government more responsive, effective and aligned with the needs of our community," explained Poloncarz.
Erie County Legislator and Minority Leader John Mills, says while he did appreciate the beginning of the address when Poloncarz talked about the County, he didn't appreciate it when he switched gears to about President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Poloncarz also made time to talk about national topics, including President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
"Even if the state of Erie County is strong, we cannot ignore what is happening with the presidency, what's happening with Congress, how judicial orders from the federal government are being ignored. The United States Supreme Court, in a nine-zero decision, said they had to return the one individual from El Salvador, and the President said, I can't do it. He ignored an order from the United States Supreme Court. I can guarantee you this, if the President of the United States wanted to do something in El Salvador, he can do it. He's thumbing his nose at the Constitution, and all of us are paying the price, because our government is not the democracy it should be," stated Poloncarz.
Erie County Legislator and Minority Leader John Mills says while he did appreciate all of the county talk, he didn't appreciate it when Poloncarz switched gears to talk politics.
"I thought that was outrageous. What we're trying to do, at least at this level of government, is work together. And that was not the speech I wanted him to say today. He wasn't working together. He didn't reach out to the administration, the federal level. And you can't take shots at people in politics. I learned that a long time ago. You got to work with people. Up until that speech on politics at the end, everything was going along fine," stated Mills.
Erie County Legislator Lindsay Lorigo was disappointed by the speech and says this was not the time for him to be sharing his opinion.
"If Mark Poloncarz wants to run for federal office, he's been passed by his own party several times. Go run for federal office and let somebody be Erie County Executive that's going to focus on Erie County. I was really disappointed to see that the county executive spent a lot of the State of the County talking about national politics. I wanted to hear solutions for county problems. I wanted to hear solutions for county budget issues. Instead, we heard a lot about his opinions on the federal government, and I don't think that's appropriate from our county executive," stated Lorigo.