Chautauqua County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon

Pierre Chagnon, the chairman of the Chautauqua County Legislature, vows to do what he can to both protect county taxpayers financially and fund essential services that are facing major cuts.

Chagnon, R-Ellery, was recently interviewed about his goals for 2026. He was reappointed chairman by the legislature at the organizational meeting.

“The first goal is to protect the county property taxpayers from federal and state cost shifts and policy changes,” he said.

Chagnon noted the county is facing “dramatic new local costs” resulting from cuts at both the federal and state level.

He gave the example of President Trump’s recent order to suspend select Social Service programs to five states.

The programs are the Child Care and Development Fund, which subsidizes child care for children from low-income families; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant, a smaller fund that provides money for a variety of programs.

After the announcement was made, a federal judge ruled that for now President Donald Trump’s administration cannot block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting needy children and their families from flowing to five Democratic-led states.

Chagnon noted that the state requires the county to run the programs, but the federal government was looking to withhold the funding.

“Where does that leave the county? Those are some extremely difficult decisions that have to be made,” he said.

Chagnon said there are no simple solutions.

“The easy answer is, ‘Oh, if we’re not getting the funding, we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing but now we’re going to have to pay for it.’ That simple decision isn’t fair to the property taxpayers. It needs a lot more evaluation, assessment, alternative evaluations, and hard decisions to be made,” he said.

Even though this issue could be settled between the state and the federal government, Chagnon said more instances like this could arise in the near future.

“It’s a developing situation that we need to keep very close tabs on and make sure we are protecting the taxpayers of Chautauqua County,” he said.

But along with protecting county property taxpayers, Chagnon’s second goal is to protect essential services federal and state cost shifts and policy changes.

He said these essential services are those that provide a variety of critical functions that support public health, safety and welfare. Key categories include healthcare services such as hospitals, clinics and emergency medical services; utilities, including electricity, gas, water and waste management services; public safety, like police, fire, and emergency response services; and transportation, including the public transit system, essential transportation services, as well as roads and bridges.

“In my mind, those are the obligations of county government – to take care of those things,” Chagnon said. “If we get funding reductions or we get cost shifts to the county, these are the essential services that we have to protect.”

He admits that if necessary, the county may need to cut back on non-essential services, in order to protect the essential services. Chagnon did not specifically name any program or department that he would eye cuts to if necessary.

OTHER GOALS

Chagnon has three other goals for 2026:

– Expanding partnerships to increase economic development, housing, and infrastructure investments;

– Continue to support and assist the Army Corps of Engineers’ Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project;

– Secure the funding and begin engineering design for the plan to extend the Center and Chautauqua Lake Sewer District from Midway State Park through Point Chautauqua.

Regarding the first goal of economic development, housing and infrastructure investments, Chagnon said “partnerships” is the key word. “Sometimes in county government, we hear people telling us what we should be doing, what we have to do, what we need to do. I’m more interested in partnerships,” he said.

Chagnon gave the example of if a city wants to partner with the county on a specific housing or economic development project. “In my mind it will necessitate a community saying, ‘Take us up on our offer or our interest,” he said.

He does not see the county working on these topics for a municipality solo.

For the restoration project at Chautauqua Lake, the county is holding virtual meetings every two weeks with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Chagnon said the county continues to provide them with data, information, perspectives, and connect them with other governmental leaders and organizations to get them information they want and need.

“The goal is to get their draft report available to the public this summer,” Chagnon said. “Based on the feedback they get, they will be considering modifications or improvements to their report. Ultimately their report has to be approved by their district headquarters and then goes on to the Army Corps headquarters in Washington for their approval and then it goes to Congress.”

The study is designed to address what it will take for the restoration of the Chautauqua Lake ecosystem. “Chautauqua Lake has problems with harmful algal blooms, which are dangerous to public health, et cetera. We also have far too many weeds, which are problematic for recreation and use of the lake. We have too much sediment coming into the lake … The restoration of the ecosystem involves more than just the lake itself,” Chagnon said.

For the final goal of sewer expansion, Chagnon said once the sewer work is completed from Midway State Park through Point Chautauqua in Dewittville, this will complete public sewers around the entirety of Chautauqua Lake.

Chagnon said they’ve already applied for funds and he’s hopeful that the state will be making an announcement in the near future to help move this project forward.