ALBANY-Chautauqua County recently received a Regional Impact Award from New York State in recognition of its efforts for regional infrastructure, emergency medical services and local government reorganization.
The award was presented by New York State Secretary of State Rossana Rosado at the New York State Department of State Division of Local Government Services’ third annual Local Government Innovation Conference, which was held Nov. 13 and 14.
Accepting the award on behalf of Chautauqua County was Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan; Chautauqua County Legislator, County Executive-elect, and Regional Solutions Commission Chairman George Borrello; Executive Assistant Dan Heitzenrater; City of Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi; and Village of Westfield Mayor Michael VandeVelde.
“I am thrilled to see that all our hard work and strong partnerships with local government officials are being recognized by our senior state leaders,” said Horrigan. “This recognition is one more example of why Chautauqua County is on the move and thriving.”
The Regional Impact Award recognizes a local government that has supported a project or series of projects that have a significant regional impact within their area of New York State. Chautauqua County, on behalf of the local governments within the county, received the award for a series of projects completed and currently underway. These projects include the establishment of the North Chautauqua County Water District, the development of the countywide EMS plan, and innovative support for local government consolidation efforts throughout the county.
While presenting the award to Chautauqua County, Rosado referenced the county’s leadership efforts to assist municipalities through the recently established Local Government Reduction Initiative. The initiative, which was adopted by local law, grants one year’s worth of sales tax revenue from the dissolved entity to the new merged municipalities to assist with unexpected expenses following a consolidation. This legislation was adopted in May 2017 and was introduced and sponsored by Chautauqua County Legislator Terry Niebel and Borrello.
“It was an honor to have our leadership efforts in creating better, more efficient government recognized by the Secretary of State, the Governor’s Office, as well as other municipal leaders from around the state,” said Borrello.
Chautauqua County was one of only four award recipients across the state. Other awardees included Tompkins County with the Secretary’s Choice Award, the Town of Fishkill with the Trailblazer Award, and the Development Authority of the North County with the Best Partner Award.