A look back at a year of accomplishment and progress
From Steuben County,
BATH – The year 2023 was a year of notable and far-reaching accomplishments for Steuben County lawmakers and their related departments and agencies, ranging from developing the county’s first Comprehensive Plan to distributing long-awaited Opioid Settlement funds. Other achievements in 2023 include a new service for veterans, providing monetary incentives for volunteer emergency medical technicians and a noteworthy trend in the decline of the average property tax rate.
Comprehensive Plan — The plan has been the subject of extensive effort by the county and 28 related agencies since August 2022 and will provide guidance for the development of nine issues shaped by the county’s mission statement.
Key to the development of the plan was more than a dozen public input sessions held in central locations, outreach to municipal officials, a virtual meeting and months-long access to the survey on the county webpage.
With the county Legislature now heading the state’s required environmental review, the Comprehensive Plan is expected to be adopted, after a public hearing, early in 2024.
Veterans One-Stop Center — The new service, administered by the county Office of Community Services through a contract with the Veterans One-Stop Center of Western New York (VOCWNY) in Buffalo and approved by the county Legislature has been successfully ”battle-tested” in other counties for years.
The idea behind the program is for veterans to engage with each other through social activities and meaningful peer support to build trust-based relationships and to assist in re-integrating back into their communities.
In the One-Stop program, vets meet vets to play a game of cards — or RISK — grab a cup of coffee or tea, snacks, talk or not talk and have a good time. Or maybe go for a hike, a ball game, a family dinner, meals – something that offers something new for vets to do with their vet buddies.
Opioid Settlement Funds — A longtime leader in the battle against substance use disorders, Steuben County legislators approved funding to prevent and treat the disorders.
With a history of providing support through county departments, and funding to the many non-profit agencies, county lawmakers interviewed several leading agencies looking to boost services.
The Steuben lawmakers agreed to the use of $533,319 in funding, through the Opioid Settlement Fund, for distribution through the county Community Services Office to CASA-Trinity, Catholic Charities Steuben/Livingston and the Family Service Society, Inc.
Volunteer Emergency Medical Services — A legislative plan to improve volunteer emergency medical services, and chaired by outgoing count Legislator John Malter, D-Perkinsville has resulted in financial assistance to offset the high cost of training.
The plan calls for anyone now a member of a volunteer emergency medical services agency to receive $1,800 after completing Emergency Medical Technician Certification. Volunteers will receive a stipend of $400 for completing their EMT re-certification and remaining a member of a volunteer emergency services provider.
Those completing this training will be required to join a volunteer EMS agency and provide those services to the community upon their course completion to receive the stipend. The stipend will also cover the volunteers’ documented time, mileage and expenses for participating in the EMT training.
Decline In Tax Rate — Despite a countywide health crisis in 2020 and unreliable fiscal directives from the state, property owners in Steuben County will see a drop in their average tax rate for the 11th straight year.
The decline for 2024 is all the more remarkable with the adopted budget levy driven by state mandates and intercepts of federal funding designated for counties in New York.
The adopted 2024 average tax rate of 6.80 per $1,000 full assessed value dropped $0.55 per $1,000 from the $7.35 per $1,000 in 2023. It is associated with tax levy of $52.8 million, a 1 percent increase compared to the tax levy of $52.3 million in 2023.
County officials credit department heads, healthy county reserves and sales tax revenues for the decline.
