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It's time for fiscally conservative Chautauqua County legislators

In Our Opinion

Republicans in Chautauqua County may have made a decision that we will all regret - perhaps not tomorrow, but at some point down the road - by agreeing to mandatory yearly cost-of-living raises for the salary ranges for county managers at the top and bottom of the salary scale. It’s the sort of decision a county can make when it has a fat pile of cash in its savings account. And it’s the sort of decision that can come back to bite you when that fat pile of cash isn’t quite as fat. In 2013, Chautauqua County's unappropriated fund balance was $12,600,000. Do you know what you ...

County’s 2027 budget isn’t prudent

Local Commentaries

A recent Observer/Post-Journal editorial asked if the Chautauqua County 2027 budget is realistic. I think a better question is: “Is the 2027 budget prudent?” The answer to that question is “No.” I was the County Budget Director from 2017-2023. I worked for three county executives, including Executive Wendel. The executives and the Finance Department agreed the budget should be structurally balanced, the tax levy should not exceed the levy limit, and general fund balance should only be used for unusual or unexpected expenditures. In this year’s tentative budget, two of those ...

It’s all downhill from here

Local Commentaries

When I sit down at the end of the day and look out upon Chautauqua Lake, it reminds me of the colloquialism that “it is all downhill from here.” That is, the water that I am looking at is flowing south toward the Allegheny River, then the Ohio and finally down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico (now called by some the Gulf of America.) In further reflection, this phrase about going downhill could also describe me at my age... but I resist that description. Getting old is not so much about going “downhill” as it is about being on “cruise control.” It doesn’t take much ...

There are choices to be made in November

Local Commentaries

In 1776 the United States formally declared its independence from a monarchy. 250 years later, we need to rededicate ourselves to the ideals of that founding document. It states that we are, “endowed by our creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Nowhere does it say, “but only if you can afford it.” In a Democracy, representatives are elected to work on behalf of the populace. Rules and laws are enacted, primarily with the goal of serving the needs of the greatest number of people. Everyone deserves enough food to ...

Change is in our vote

Local Commentaries

There are few rights more fundamental to the American experiment than the right to vote. It is the quiet power placed in the hands of ordinary citizens, the power to choose their representatives, hold their government accountable and determine the course their communities and their country ...

Blakeman brings energy, enthusiasm to campaign

Local Commentaries

DUNKIRK—Let’s pick up where we left off last week. It’s worth encouraging “Never Trumps to imagine what would have become of the law if Donald Trump had lost the 2016 presidential election and not filled the three Supreme Court vacancies from 2017 to 2020.” Please think about ...