The Debrief Podcast

It's been a long summer for local municipalities that are struggling to adapt to COVID-19 budget issues. However, we're getting closer to final budgets in many of them. What's happening here? Also, the latest on a series of headlines from the regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh Durso and Ted Baker discuss on this week's episode of the Weekend Debrief.

Some of the smallest communities in Upstate New York - villages - could be hardest hit by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Over the last decade the Village of Newark has been very good at long-term planning. They have bolstered their downtown business district, taken advantage of the Erie Canal which runs through the village, and focused on giving employers the space to grow if they desire to there.

Last year the village of Newark passed an impressive milestone. They had more jobs than residents. It's something that Mayor Jonthan Taylor was proud of then; and is even prouder of today since a big share of those employers have remained in-tact through the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Today we debrief municipal planning with Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor, looking at one of the communities that has an outsized impact on its county and region.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is 78.5 billion dollars per year. This includes the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.

It's a big number, and translates to very real, and equally sad outcomes. Data from 2018 shows that there are 128 fatal overdoses in the U.S. every day; and it's a problem that's getting worse in many communities.

Throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic, experts in addiction treatment say there is a looming wave of addiction data brought on by economic shutdown, loss of jobs, and months of being 'locked down'. 

Today we debrief the topic of addiction - speaking with Monika Salvage about the HEALing Communities Study in Cayuga County. 

Over the last several weeks FingerLakes1.com has been bringing you conversations about Back to School. Our series has featured one-on-one conversations with administrators. However, all of those conversations were recorded before students returned.

This time we catch up with Canandaigua Superintendent Jamie Farr, who walks us through what the first days of school were like in his district. 

He discusses the concerns he has moving forward, as well as the financial challenges his district could face if federal funding does not arrive soon.

Dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic has been difficult for communities across New York State.

Undoubtedly, small communities like Yates County are those that could feel the most-adverse impact from the financial fallout associated with the Coronavirus. Especially given how heavily-reliant counties like Yates are on sales tax revenue.

However, that is not the case. Long-term planning over the last several months - dating all the way back to March and April - have insulated the county from dealing with significant, harsh rammifcations caused by the pandemic. 

According to Nonie Flynn, Yates County Administrator, it has taken a true team approach to ensuring that the County's financials maintain themselves into 2021. "I think about the taxpayers who cannot afford even a $50 increase in property taxes," she explained during a recent appearance on The Debrief. 

"We started back in April, with a lot of cuts from the economic fallout," she explained. "So we did a lot of reductions beginning in in April to avert any permanent cuts later this year and into next year. And our department heads were great in cooperating with us on that. And that's just carried on into the budget for 2021. And they they knew they had to bring their budgets in on what you need basis and not what do you want for next year, and every department head was really great with that."

She says that uncertainty connected to 20% reductions in local aid would mean a couple million dollars. To that end, Flynn has positioned Yates in such a way financially that it will be ready for the next two years. She says support from the Yates County Legislature has proven invaluable in that effort, in addition to the help issued by department heads.

When was the last time you went to the movie theater?

Theaters were forced to close along with most other businesses, and not allowed to reopen until it was safe to do so amid the Coronavirus Pandemic. 

Jason Yantz, who runs Rochester Theater Management with his brother, says original expectation for reopening was mid-July as part of 'Phase 4'. RTM operates four locations in Auburn, Canandaigua, Geneseo, and Brockport.

"I've been in this business now for 20 years, and people still want to get out. We've been trapped at home. We've been quarantine we've been in lockdown," Yantz explained. "And now that we can get back out, especially during the winter months people want to get out of the house, they want to see other people, they want fresh popcorn - so as an industry - we'll be back."

New York Coalition for Open Government President Paul Wolf says a reform of open meetings law in the Empire State is desperately needed. There are states that have better models -- Massachusetts as an example grants authority to the AG's office to investigate and reprimand in cases of negligence by elected officials.

The concept is simple: Violate open meetings law and deal with consequences.

But transparency in government doesn't start or end with the laws that govern meetings of public bodies. There is the FOIL request process, which journalists and concerned citizens alike must go through in order to obtain information in the name of transparency and access.

Today on the show a conversation with Wolf about the Coalition's work, and how it could shape future legislation.

The Canandaigua Emergency Squad is the busiest 911 response center in Ontario County, and has served it for more than 80 years. 

Chief Matt Sproul says his team responds to more than 6,000 calls for service per year in a coverage area that includes the towns of Canandaigua, Hopewell, Gorham, Bristol and East Bloomfield, and the village of Bloomfield. 

As an independent not-for-profit community service agency, CES’s operating and capital funds come from billing for service, grants, and donations from the community. Donations make it possible for CES to upgrade and improve services, but those donations don't come at the rate at which costs increase.

Sproul discusses the challenges and successes throughout the pandemic, and what it will take for emergency response teams like his to keep moving forward.

"Teachers love to teach, and that's what they want to do," Zielinski said during a conversation with FingerLakes1.com. He says that for the volume of concerns that have been raised about reopening -- as well as learning models -- administrators and teachers alike are ready.

And the first day of school is here.

Our Back To School series continues with the leader from the South Seneca Central School District. One of the smallest districts in New York. However, it's size doesn't mean it's ill-prepared for fall. While Zielinski was dealing with expected stresses less than 24 hours before the start of a new school year -- he was optimistic about how things would go.

It starts and ends with relationships. That is the takeaway we were left with from our conversation with Dr. Tim Terranova, superintendent of the Victor Central School District. 

"Education starts and ends with relationships," he explained during a conversation on The Debrief's deep dive into school reopening plans. "Reopening will be a test of relationship building and strengthening. If we can collectively get that piece right -- the hybrid model can work."

Terranova discussed the importance of reopening plans, and the work that went into them. And even though Victor is considered a district of means, there is plenty of concern among residents and taxpayers about the future. Administrators are worried about what it will take to continue delivering the level of education people expect - as the state threatens to cut funding by 20%.