BUFFALO, N.Y. — Political bickering is nothing new on the Erie County Legislature and it continued Thursday, the only difference, it was done virtually.
Legislators debated over whether $30 million in tax dollars should be saved or spent on costs not related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the Republican Caucus wanted to save the money, perhaps to reduce county debt. Democrats decided to spend it.
The $30 million will be used for costs in the Department of Social Services and in the District Attorney's Office, to comply with state criminal justice reform mandates.
Earlier this week, county comptroller Stefan Mychajliw declared a deficit, saying he expects the county to lose millions in state aid and hotel tax revenue.
The comptroller projects a $206 million shortfall.
With that figure in mind, members of the Republican Caucus say they want to save every penny.
"It is our job as the fiscal house of county government to ensure that we have every penny available to prevent layoffs," conservative legislator Joe Lorigo said.
Responding to that was Democratic Legislator April Baskin.
"There are priorities that we as a body established are our priorities financially that we should act on," she said.
The legislature did set aside an additional $24 million to offset some revenue losses due to the pandemic.
All this is happening as the County Executive's Office is looking for plans from every county department to make 13 percent cuts across the board.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz issued this statement: "I thank Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin, Majority Leader Tim Meyers, and the majority caucus for understanding the urgency of passing these critical budget balancing amendments and for taking steps to help Erie County today. They recognize the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic is having on their districts and on the county overall and I thank them for acting responsibly to roll over already-existing 2019 funds to use against this 2020 crisis. With today's action we can close the books on 2019 and allocate resources to the COVID-19 response or possible deficits."