The Next Meeting of the Monroe County Legislature will be

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012 - 6:00 P.M.

To sign up to speak at public forum, please contact the Clerk of the Legislature's Office at (585) 753-1950.

To view the June 2012 cycle of proposed legislation currently before the Legislature, click HERE.

Breaking News from the Democratic Caucus

Bauroth Proposes County SOLE Act to Promote Democracy

Rochester, New York – April 19, 2012. Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature have introduced a proposal to allow every legislator to have at least one piece of legislation voted on every two years. The legislation is modeled after a bill introduced in the New York State Assembly by Republican Mark Johns.

Joshua Bauroth (D-Rochester, Brighton), the sponsor of the proposal, said, ‘This legislation would ensure that each person sent to this legislature by the voters has an opportunity to have at least one substantive piece of legislation voted on. Under the current practice, the Minority Party is essentially blocked from having the full legislature vote on a proposal. If we’re really serious about representing our constituents throughout the county, we shouldn’t be afraid to allow new ideas to be heard. Passing my proposal will ensure that happens.”

The proposed legislation will go before the Agenda/Charter Committee on Monday, April 23, at 5:00pm. There will be an opportunity for public comment at the beginning of the meeting.

To view the proposal, click HERE.

Democrats Introduce Legislation to Repeal Medicaid Swap

Rochester, New York – April 16, 2012. Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature have introduced legislation to repeal the Medicaid Intercept, which is a method of paying for Medicaid wherein the State intercepts a portion of the County’s sales tax revenue. Although the Medicaid Intercept has yielded some short-term savings, in coming years it will begin to cost County taxpayers millions more than if it were never enacted.

Democratic Legislator Paul Haney (D-Rochester, Brighton), the sponsor of the legislation, said, “We are very pleased that the Governor and State Legislature have agreed to have the State assume our growth in Medicaid expenses in coming years. To fully reap the benefits of this new Medicaid plan, it is critical that we rescind the decision to opt-in to the intercept. If the intercept is not rescinded, then the taxpayers of our County will soon begin to have to pay more in property taxes for the Medicaid program.”

Although opting in to the intercept was originally an irrevocable decision, the most recent State budget has provided Monroe County with the option to repeal the intercept. However, the County must decide whether to repeal the intercept before January 1, 2013.

Democratic Minority Leader Ted O’Brien (D-Irondequoit) said, “This proposal will surely save our County money over the long-term. It is critical that we enact this legislation so that we don’t miss out on this opportunity. I certainly hope both our Republican colleagues in the legislature and the County Executive will support this legislation.”

The proposed legislation now goes to Legislature President Jeff Adair who will decide which committee will consider the proposal.

View the proposal HERE.

Lightfoot Calls for Community Healing After Deaths

Rochester, New York – April 3, 2012. Willie Joe Lightfoot (D-Rochester), Assistant Democratic Leader in the Monroe County Legislature, today offered the following statement in response to the recent tragic deaths of two young citizens from his district. Please read his statement HERE.

GOP Votes Against Reforming Elected Official Salary Increase Process

Rochester, New York – March 27, 2012. Republicans in the Monroe County Legislature Monday night voted against two proposals that would have reformed the process in which elected officials are provided pay hikes. The reform proposals would have required that the public receive notice of any pay raise before it is passed and that a compensation committee approve the pay raise before it is submitted to the legislature.

Democratic Legislator Michael Patterson (D-Rochester), the sponsor of the public Compensation Committee legislation, said, “Our Republican colleagues voted against two good government proposals last night. I find these votes baffling. It is as though they have made a commitment to maintaining opportunities for legislative abuse of power at the expense of the taxpayers. What does the Republican majority stand for? What kind of Republicans are these?”

Democratic Legislator Josh Bauroth (D-Rochester), the sponsor of the public notice legislation, said, “Clearly there is no legitimate reason why the public should not be notified before this legislature votes on a pay raise for elected officials. I am saddened that our Republican colleagues failed to support accountability and transparency in Monroe County.”

These proposals are in response to a last minute pay raise given to the Sheriff by Republicans in the Legislature last December. The Sheriff’s salary will increase to $160,000 April 1st, 2012, with the early passage of the State Budget. There is no identified source of revenue to pay for the Sheriff’s raise, so it remains unclear where that funding will come from.

To view Legislator Bauroth's proposal, click HERE.

To view Legislator Patterson's proposal, click HERE.

Democrats Propose Residential Property Improvement Tax Relief

Rochester, New York – March 21, 2012. Democrats in the County Legislature today submitted a proposal offering residential property homeowners an exemption from property taxes when homeowners make improvements that increase the assessed value of their properties. The proposal will encourage improvement to the housing stock in the County while allowing qualified homeowners to not suffer the adverse impact of increased taxes resulting from an increase in the property’s assessed value.

Deputy Minority Leader Vincent Esposito (D-Irondequoit), sponsor of the tax relief legislation, said, “This proposal will provide homeowners with an opportunity to increase the value of their property through improvements without having to be penalized by increased county property taxes. “In addition it will provide a boost to the local construction industry at a time when we need more jobs and economic activity.”

Under the proposal, an increase in assessment that results from a home improvement would be phased in over an eight year period. Homeowners would be limited to $80,000 in improvements; any amount over $80,000 would not be covered by this proposal.

The proposal will be voted on during the March 26 meeting of the Agenda Charter Committee. The meeting begins at 5pm and is open to the public.

To view the proposal, click HERE.

Lightfoot Nominated to National County Leadership Institute

Rochester, New York – March 16, 2012. Willie Joe Lightfoot, Assistant Minority Leader of the Monroe County Legislature, has been nominated to participate in a nationwide County Leadership Institute, hosted by the National Association of Counties (NACo).

The selective County Leadership Institute accepts only one participant from each state, and no more than 30 total. According to NACo, “County leaders who participate in the Institute gain a broad perspective—about themselves as leaders, about the issues facing their counties and about how to engage broad networks of interested parties to develop solutions to difficult challenges facing their communities.”

Now in its ninth year, the County Leadership Institute has helped guide local efforts for hundreds of county elected officials from across the country.

“I am honored and humbled to have been nominated for this prestigious conference,” Legislator Lightfoot said. “I look forward to exploring new approaches to collaboration, communications, technology, and coalition building, and bringing those lessons back to lead Monroe County as we move forward in a positive way.”

Lightfoot was nominated as the New York State attendee by Stephen Acquario, Executive Director of the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC).

“Legislator Lightfoot was a clear choice to nominate as New York State’s 2012 County Leadership Institute attendee,” said Acquario. “He is a strong leader in Monroe County, and his determination to continuously enhance his leadership knowledge and skills is commendable. Willie will return from the Institute with new ideas and solutions to the challenges facing Monroe County.”

The Institute will be held June 3-7 at the IBM Center for the Business of Government in Washington, DC.

Sunshine Week: Democrats Propose Transparency Measures for Pay Increases

Rochester, New York – March 14, 2012. Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature have introduced two proposals, in an effort to add accountability measures that would reform the way elected officials can legally receive a pay raise. The reform proposals would require that the public receive notice of any pay raise before it is passed and that the Compensation Committee approve of any pay raise before it is submitted to the Legislature.

Democratic Legislator Michael Patterson (D-Rochester), the sponsor of the “Accountability for Salaries of Monroe County Officials” legislation said, “This proposal would provide much needed oversight to a system that is currently run amok. The last minute pay raise that our Republican colleagues provided to the Sheriff last December should serve as a lesson that elected official pay should not be arbitrarily increased.”

Democratic Legislator Josh Bauroth (D-Rochester), sponsor of the ‘Requiring the Disclosure of Pay Raises’ legislation said, “There is absolutely no legitimate reason why the public should not be notified before this legislature votes on a pay raise for elected officials. In recognition of ‘Sunshine Week,’ we must make every effort to ensure that we act transparently and this proposal is a solid step in that direction.”

To view Legislator Bauroth's proposal, click HERE.

To view Legislator Patterson's proposal, click HERE.

Democrats Introduce Legislation to Rescind Sheriff’s Pay Raise

Rochester, New York – February 23, 2012. Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature have introduced legislation that would rescind a pay raise granted to the Sheriff on a party line vote during the late night hours of last December’s Legislature meeting.

The proposal, sponsored by Legislator Michael Patterson (D-Rochester), would restore the Sheriff pay to $123,030. If the Democratic proposal doesn’t pass, the Sheriff could see his pay rise to $174,000 by 2014.

“The Sheriff is an elected official and his previous pay of $123,030 was already the highest pay of any Sheriff in Upstate NY, higher than the pay of the Sheriffs in Buffalo and Syracuse. The notion that any politician in this time of limited public resources would get a raise is outrageous. Families are struggling to make ends meet and he gets a raise and funds it by cutting a staff position? What responsible public official does that? We must not frivolously spend taxpayer dollars in this way. My proposal will restore a sense of fiscal discipline to the Sheriff’s salary while also saving public resources. I certainly hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join us in being fiscally responsible,” Legislator Patterson said.

“When this pay raise was authorized, the magnitude of the dollar amount was not apparent. Now that we know exactly how much is at stake, I would certainly expect our Republican colleagues to give this proposal serious consideration,” said Democratic Minority Leader Ted O’Brien.

The proposal will be voted on during the meeting of the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, February 29, at 6:00pm. The public will have an opportunity to speak offer comments about the pay raise at the beginning of the meeting. View the proposal HERE.

Democrats Re-Elect Ted O’Brien Leader in County Legislature

Rochester, New York – December 19, 2011. Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature have unanimously reelected Ted O’Brien (D-Irondequoit) as the Minority Leader.

“I am tremendously humbled and honored to have been reelected to lead my fellow Democratic Caucus members. I am confident we can continue our diligent work to protect taxpayers and provide a valuable check and balance in county government,” Democratic Leader O’Brien said.

Assistant Democratic Leader Carrie Andrews (D-Rochester) was reelected to her post, while Legislator Willie J. Lightfoot was elected Assistant Democratic Leader to fill the vacancy left by Calvin Lee (D-Rochester) who is term-limited.

“I look forward to continuing to serve the families of our community by advocating for them in County government. At every opportunity, I will strive to reach consensus while ensuring critically important quality of life services, such as child care, are protected,” Legislator Andrews said.

“It is very humbling to have been elected by my fellow caucus members to a leadership position. I will do everything in my power to ensure our constituents are heard and our caucus never strays from our goals of protecting taxpayers, providing sound oversight of the administration, and advocating for those in need,” Legislator Lightfoot said.

Legislator Vincent Esposito (D-Irondequoit) was reelected to the position of Deputy to the Leadership. All the leadership votes were unanimous.

Esposito Releases Statement on County Ethics Training

The following is a statement from Legislator Vincent Esposito (D-Irondequoit) regarding Monroe County’s online ethics training.

Democrats Propose Tax Cut in Brooks 2012 Budget

Rochester, New York – November 3, 2011. Democrats in the County Legislature today introduced a proposal to cut irresponsible spending found in the 2012 budget and return those cut expenses to the citizens by way of a tax cut.

Democratic Legislator Dick Beebe (D-Greece), said, “At a time when our County has the highest property taxes in the nation, the status quo simply won’t cut it. We need to do everything we can to reduce taxes and this proposal represents an important first step towards that end.”

Democrats propose rolling back recent pay increases to political appointees—also known as Management and Professional employees—which would save taxpayers $1.48 million this year alone. Additionally, Democrats would cut cell phones, county vehicles, frivolous lease agreements and reduce professional services expenditures to achieve a total savings of $5.4 million.

Democratic Legislator Vincent Esposito (D-Irondequoit), said, “The County Executive’s budget is loaded with frivolous spending that we cannot afford during these difficult times. Property taxpayers should not have to pay more so political appointees can get another raise when nearly 1 in 10 of our neighbors are unemployed. This proposal returns money to people who will spend it better than this administration.”

Under the Democratic proposal, the County property tax rate will be cut by $0.14 per thousand of assessed value. The current rate is $8.99 per thousand of assessed value; under the Democratic plan, the rate would drop to $8.85 per thousand of assessed value. This amounts to a $5.4 million cut from the tax levy and a total reduction in County property taxes of 1.5%.

To view the tax cut proposal, click HERE.

County & City Representatives Denounce Brooks Lead Inspection Cut

Rochester, New York – November 1, 2011. Democrats in the County Legislature today joined with Rochester City Council members to denounce County Executive Maggie Brooks proposed 2012 budget, which would cut hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for the lead poisoning prevention program.

The proposed cuts will undoubtedly have a negative impact on lead levels amongst children in the city, who have for several years been making progress in their fight against lead poisoning. On top of this year’s funding cuts, the Brooks Administration in recent years has also cut funding for downtown police patrols, charged city residents more per capita than any other municipality to fund Monroe Community College and eliminated all funding for the Alternative to Incarceration program.

Democratic Legislator Steve Eckel (D-Rochester, Gates), said, “We implore the County Executive to reverse her decision to cut this important quality of life funding. If allowed to go through, we will undoubtedly see an increase in the number of children in our community suffering from lead poisoning and that is simply unacceptable.”

Lead poisoning can bring about many serious medical ailments, including learning disabilities, depression, short-term memory loss, slurred speech and anemia. These cuts will force the City to reduce the number of lead inspectors by at least twenty-five percent.

Rochester City Council President Lovely Warren (D-Rochester), said, “Instead of cutting funding for this critically important service, we need to be continuing to build on the progress we’ve made in recent years in the fight against lead poisoning. These proposed cuts will only take us backwards, and that means that children in our community will be needlessly exposed to this poison. Simply put, we cannot allow these cuts to stand.”

On December 13, when the Legislature considers the budget, Democratic County Legislators will offer an amendment to restore the $440,000 in lead funding cut by County Executive Brooks.

Brooks Budget Fails Taxpayers, Does Not Solve Long-Term Problems

Rochester, New York – October 27, 2011. Democrats in the County Legislature today offered their preliminary response to County Executive Brooks proposed 2012 Budget, calling it a laughable piece of fiction that fails to solve the County’s long-term budget problems.

Democratic Leader Ted O’Brien (D-Irondequoit), said, “This budget is nothing but pure fiction. It is supposedly balanced, but in reality it does nothing more than kick the can down the road. It relies on revenues which we know will never be realized, and it underestimates or simply ignores expenses which we know will have to be paid.”

Democratic Legislator Paul Haney (D-Rochester, Brighton), said, “While this budget certainly makes for a nice campaign document, it does nothing to serve the taxpayers we were elected to represent. With the highest property taxes in the country, we were certainly hopeful that the County Executive would offer some type of true reforms, but clearly that hasn’t happened.”

This budget relies on revenue from the sale of County owned buildings which were supposed to have been sold to balance the 2011 budget and the sale of more than $30 million in tax liens—both one-shot funding sources which, if realized, will not recur in future years.

“We still have the second worst credit rating of any county in this state, and the reality is that this budget continues the trend of raising the tax levy, now up by 26% during the County Executive’s time in office. In that same time period, the county services chargeback—another form of property taxes—is up by 245%. Clearly, the County Executive is lying every time she claims to have kept taxes flat,” Haney added.