The newspapers have recently commented on the “disappointing” continued decline of Chautauqua County’s population. The 2023 estimate has us down to under 125,000 people.

This decline follows a disastrous population drop from the 2010 Census of 135,000, to the 2020 Census of 128,000, a 7,000 loss, or 5.2% of the 2010 population. Some of our county leaders blame this population hemorrhage on our being in New York state and take no responsibility for their stewardship of our county this whole time. The facts prove otherwise.

When the majority party in the County Legislature and the County Executive wanted to raise further the salaries of the Executive, County Clerk, Sheriff and the 19 County Legislators, they appointed a Salary Review Commission. This Commission identified 9 counties in New York State that were “comparable” to Chautauqua County.

Chautauqua County’s population loss is terrible compared to those 9 “comparable” counties. In fact, 5 of those New York Counties actually gained population from 2010 to 2020. The other 4 counties did not lose close to either Chautauqua County’s loss of 7,000 people or the percentage loss of 5.2%.

Unlike Chautauqua County, all of the 9 “comparable” counties either gained population or had tiny population losses from 2010 to 2020 despite being in New York state.

The papers reported in 2023, “There are 60 other counties that are doing better than we are in this state. That’s not Albany’s problem. It is ours.”

More disturbing for the future of our county is the age segment that has declined the most. By coincidence the Census revealed that from 2010 to 2020 our prime working age population declined 27% while our senior citizen population increased 27%.

Is there any wonder as to why Chautauqua County employers are having a hard time finding enough workers?

The United States Department of Labor reports that for 20 years, 1990-2010, Chautauqua County’s labor force was stable at around 68,000. Since 2010 the labor force has collapsed to around 56,000, a loss of 12,000 in Chautauqua County’s labor force, or an 18% drop.

There is only one logical way to turn this disaster around; more jobs. Working age Americans do not move somewhere in response to a slick public relations campaign and then wait for jobs to arrive. Working age Americans move to places where lots of jobs are already summoning them.

Some of our local leaders comfort themselves by telling anecdotes about visiting 100 employers and identifying 500 or so job openings. The reality is even at our depressed “employment” of 56,000, one would expect at least 1% of jobs, about 500, to be open at any given time. Employees retire, get sick, die, become disabled, get Workers Compensation, or leave Chautauqua County for better employment opportunities elsewhere.

How do we add thousands of jobs to begin to climb back to near where we were 20 years ago?

First, we need our County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) to put job creation as their number one goal in evaluating every request for CCIDA benefits. A $10,000,000 wind farm that will pay the CCIDA a fee of $100,000 just to get a Payment In Lieu of Taxes agreement (PILOT) but will create no new jobs, is a poor substitute for the hard work of assisting a $10,000,000 facility that might create 50 new jobs.

Second, we must continue to invest in “shovel-ready” industrial/business sites. As recently as last year the county frankly admitted that it was woefully devoid of shovel-ready sites.

Better late than never, the CCIDA and the county are finally moving forward as of June 2024 on getting the 60 acres of land repurchased from Bush Industries in 2016 shovel-ready in our South County Industrial Park. The approximately 33 developable acres at this site may lead to 100 or so new jobs.

The County and its CCIDA, with the help of $5,000,000 from New York State and $4,800,000 from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act funds (ARPA) is preparing about 129 acres in Ripley to be shovel-ready, possibly leading to hundreds of jobs, primarily in warehouse/ distribution, in the coming years.

These two shovel-ready sites must be viewed only as a beginning of creating sites that could lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs.

Third, we must seek new employment in health care. Governor Hochul’s recent announcement that she is releasing $74,000,000 in State funds to build a new Brooks Hospital is an important start.

Fourth, we must seek a stronger SUNY Fredonia and SUNY JCC. Both of these institutions could provide job growth in the years to come, after the past 10 years of job losses.

Fifth, hopefully Electrovaya in the South County and Immunity Bio in the North County will create a combined 400 new jobs in the next two to five years.

Our county has lost jobs by the hundreds at a time over the past 10 years. Now we must rebuild the Chautauqua County economy by hundreds of jobs at a time.

Fred Larson is a graduate of the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, served as Chautauqua County Attorney from 1998-2005, served on the county’s Industrial Parks Task Force in 1998-1999 and is a current Chautauqua County legislator.