A number of CSEA county employees from various departments appeared at the Chautauqua County Legislature meeting Wednesday night. They spoke about the importance of their roles in the community and urged the legislature to not reduce their pay or staffing levels. P-J photo by Gregory Bacon

MAYVILLE – “Chautauqua County works because CSEA works.”

That appeared to be the main message that was brought to county legislators Wednesday, as more than a dozen CSEA employees appeared at the legislature’s monthly meeting.

Bonnie Peters, who is the treasurer of CSEA Unit 6300, said their members decided to show up at Wednesday’s meeting following a comment made last month.

“Some of our members were at the last meeting and it was brought back to us that one of the legislators indicated that a study should be done on our salaries and that it is possible that we make too much money,” she said.

The legislature did not pass any resolutions to form a committee to examine salaries of union employees.

In May, there were two resolutions that were rejected – one to eliminate annual raises for county legislators, and a second one to reduce the pay of the Chautauqua County Clerk, who is an elected official.

During the debate, Legislator John Penhollow, R-Stockton, stated, “I’m open to a discussion in committees about reducing spending. I think we can all sit here and talk like this, but at the end of the day, what are we going to cut? Either we pick up on efficiency or we cut labor.”

Following Penhollow’s comments, Legislator Fred Johnson, R-Westfield added, “If we cut everybody’s salaries – legislators and everybody up and down – we’ll save some real money and I’m all for it.”

During the second privilege of the floor of Wednesday’s meeting, Peters said they had a number of members who wanted to speak. The group was invited to the floor to share their comments.

There were 15 members present, although not all spoke.

First to address the legislature was Samantha Stokes of Dunkirk, an Emergency Medical Services paramedic for the county.

“The establishment of a county-run EMS sent a message to emergency medical services that it’s not just a job, it’s a profession. Having a union job with a pension was a significant step forward for us. However, even with that step in the right direction, we continue to face serious recruitment and retention challenges,” she said.

According to Stokes, the county Emergency Medical Services has been losing staff to other agencies who pay more or who offer better work-life balance.

“Many of us who work for CCEMS have to work two or even three jobs in order to support our families,” she said.

Stokes noted how “emergencies do not stop at nights, on weekends, on holidays, or during severe weather.”

She implored the legislature to ensure county employees are paid fairly. “I respectfully ask you to continue supporting the county workforce and reject efforts that would move employee compensation backwards,” she said.

Travis Weise of Sherman also spoke. He is a member of the county’s Department of Public Facilities.

“The highway division is responsible for maintaining more than 550 miles of county roads and over 7,000 road signs. In 2002 that work was performed by approximately 261 employees. Today that number has shrunk to just 112,” he said. “That means fewer employees are being asked to do more work than ever before. Whether it’s paving the roads in the summer, responding to storms, maintaining county facilities, operating CARTS, keeping our airports running, or working around the clock during winter weather events – we seem to get a lot of those – county employees continue to show up and get the job done.”

Weise called on the legislature to continue its support of the highway department.

“As a proud Chautauqua County resident, county employee, CSEA member, I ask that you support the people who maintain our roads, operate our services, and keep this county moving forward every day,” he said.

Following the 10 minute presentation, Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery, thanked everyone who spoke, but offered no further comment.

None of the other legislators spoke publicly following the CSEA presentation, although a number of them were seen after the meeting talking privately to various union employees.