Lawana Morse

My opinion: The emerging house hunting demographic is Gen Z. Millenials are pretty much established in the housing scene but they can be characterized by the following thoughts too. These generations are not really looking for that white picket fence, that ownership responsibility, the stay at a job for 30+ for the sake of loyalty and the retirement at the end where then they will travel and see the world. These generations are looking for someplace affordable to live in an area that calls to them on a different level. It isn't work/live/play as it was in my parents generation and mine to an extent. But it has become play/live/work. They are looking for areas where they can travel to and enjoy life now. They see the fleetingness of life and want to enjoy all there is to offer. They go to work to have money to spend on the fun. Yes, the needs but mainly they work for the weekend. If they find a location that they love to be at for the "play" then they might decide they want to live there and then find a job to go along with it. Rather than basing where they are going to live on the work they do, they base the work on where they decide to live based on loving to be there. With this in mind, affordable/market rate housing is what they are looking for as a "starter" home. These "kids" (anyone younger than me is a kid. I've gotten old lately) are also carrying with them some crazy college debt. My generation (I JUST make the Gen X generation category and I'm very happy for that) was one that was greatly pushed into college. That was the only way to go and you were throwing your life away if you didn't go (words spoken to me when I chose not to go to college after highschool but instead got married at 19 and started my family). The millenials to follow me and early into the Gen Z generations greatly continued that trend (thankfully the country is waking up to the great need of skilled trade workers). The credit worthiness and generational ties to the community that my fellow legislator aspires to have as a benchmark for how we do housing, simply does not speak to those entering the housing market search. They just want someplace they can lay their head that isn't going to cost them the opportunity to travel. They might not be able (nor want) to go to the bank and get that 30 year mortgage because they have the student loans coming along with them. 30 years ago....wait....that was 1994.....50 years ago, a 30 year mortgage was as much as these kids are carrying with them from college. They also are not looking for housing in the community they grew up in. The generational ties are not a driving force for them. I speak from the standpoint of having 2 children head off to college (they had very specific career goals that aligned with getting a college degree) and while I would love to think maybe my eldest will come back in the next couple years, she and her fiancee are looking at locations all over the country. They are looking for the place they WANT to live based on what it has to offer and then going to find the job. The ties of coming back home are not as strong as they use to be. Travel is easy. Keeping in touch with family is easy. There's no reason to simply come back to the ties because of nostalgia. We as a community have to rethink our approach. We have to build a community that draws people in and gives young adults and families things to DO. Once they find the area attractive, they then have to be able to find those affordable housing areas and fullfilling jobs. If we want our kids to stay/come back, we have to give them a solid reason. Building these affordable housing complexes is not a bad thing. (There are always going to be residents that don't want "X Y or Z in my back yard" no matter what is proposed.) Affordable housing does not mean crime ridden tenants or scum landlords. It can mean quality community members who are wanting to contribute to the area by being productive laborers and volunteers and board members and promoters. Its all about how WE present the community. If we provide the quality community to live in, we will attract the quality relocating neighbors.

From a compassionate human standpoint, I think all of us want to help those less fortunate. Reality is, there are those that want help and they seek the programs and are willing to follow the rules of those programs and get serious about getting out the of the situation they are in. Then there are those that simply do not care. No amount of facilities or programs will be able to help them if they don't want the help. Those are the ones that need the "tough love" of being either forced to get clean in a mandatory rehab facility or else need to be in another type of facility that will protect the rest of the community from them. There are those that are dangerous or if not dangerous, simply do not have any respect for their fellow humans. I see many call for a shelter. That we don't have enough shelters. So let's get hypothetical - because I would truly appreciate the feedback and civil conversation about the problem we have in this county - state - country. I am open to realistic ideas. (And just because it really was a slap in the face hearing comments from last week's city council meeting, I would like to remind anyone reading this that I did request the city council come speak to the county legislature and when Mayor Mandell came to present the struggles the city is facing with the homelessness, I asked point blank what can we as the county do to support the city. The answer was "I don't know. Our hands are tied. It's a nationwide epidemic." - or something along those lines. So if anyone would like to suggest again that we don't care, that we haven't had conversations, please feel free to reach out. Just because we don't all advertise everything we do off camera for the community doesn't mean we are sitting back doing nothing. End rant.) Back to the hypothetical. Let's say we take all the remaining ARP money in the county and surrounding municipalities and build/renovate a building for a homeless shelter. Enough space for every homeless person in the county. Grand idea. This would be a county facility. Now what? There will have to be security because we know from experience without proper security, there are issues which is why Catholic Charities closed down the shelter a couple years ago. There was safety concerns with the staff. Many of those seeking the shelter don't want to follow the rules, which is why some (not all) are in the situation they are in. They don't want to be productive in the community. Next, it will have to be staffed. Even if there are no programs run from that facility, there has to be staff - janitorial. Food service. Medical possibly. Secretarial type. The building has to be maintained. Plumbing. Heating. AC. Regular repairs. Where is the funding coming from? Again, we can use ARP money to start, but that's not going to keep things going for long. How much are you willing for your taxes to go up for the county to run these facilities? Or the city? It is better for us to support the non-profits who have the organization structure and programs to handle these shelters. They are better suited to go after non-direct taxpayer funds and grants from philanthropic types. They are also less bound by certain policies that have been put in place than a gov't entity would be. The county, the city, the police forces are bound by these policies that say we can do X but not Y when it comes to the individual rights. Whereas, a private facility that someone goes to voluntarily can make it a condition of the stay to go out on litter detail for example. If a group of people have a vision, get together, start a non-profit, go after funding, make it happen. Stop demanding that the government do it all and then have a fit when taxes go up. The government *should* be there to keep order and protect citizens from threats, domestic and foreign. Period. The church and philanthropic entities *should* be there to support the community in all other ways. Since the day of the government taking over the welfare aspects of society, it has been a disaster. This is not a left/right, blue/red thing. It comes down to wanting the idealistic in a very non-idealistic world. No matter the desire to help, there are limitations.

I firmly believe great candidates come from the "fringe" parties but you are right in this - maybe not so much ballot access in this area but simply to win. I saw it in my district. If I had not won the republican primary, I wouldn't have stood a chance of winning the general on my independent line. The numbers tell the story that people vote party lines. My reasoning is because the majority simply don't pay attention to much except what party they are going to support in the end due to media stirring up the hate between the parties. I talked about this with my husband a lot during my campaign that, while I would probably identify more as an independent/conservative, the truth is as a candidate I had to understand and know my audience. In this district, the winner will be a rebuplican. Which is sad and honestly I would love to completely change elections to the point of not having the party affiliation even known. Simply put the candidate on the ballot. (And do away with the petitioning process. You want to run? Just go talk to the BOE and put your name on the ballot.) This was a topic of conversation with a couple people on the rebuplican committee last night as we discussed the 2025 and 2026 open positions and wanting to really find great people who care about the community and county to run for office. I know many (and some of you are reading this!) that would be AMAZING to have in office - but due to "the way it is", getting you elected would be a challenge if you ran on the party you are registered with. And again, it comes down to the numbers. I saw it play out in the town of Veteran. Two appointed board members were not rebuplican. They were fantastic people and absolutley a benefit to the board, but the witch hunt ensued and they didn't attempt to run this past November. They were replaced by two republicans. My advice to anyone who is thinking of running, while it may be a hard pill to swallow, know your voting audience and do what you have to do to give yourself a chance - even if that means switching parties. Great people can play the game as it is and THEN work from the inside to bring about change. WE NEED GREAT PEOPLE TO STEP UP IN 2026. There is going to be a large turn over in the county in 2026. We need people to step up to be candidates and/or help recruit for the positions.

While this is not fair related, it is agricultural which fits in this discussion. The latest Ag Census data came out early this year and since then, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chemung County has been working to put all that data for Chemung County in easy to understand formats for all of us. For those of you that are interested in how agriculture has been changing in the county, you may find this interesting. Side note, I took on the presidency of the county Farm Bureau last October and we are looking for members for the chapter but also active farmers (of any commodity) to join our board. We have quite a few vacancies and honestly, I don't want to be president for another year 😂 I need committee or non-committe members to help with various aspects to help bolster the county numbers and presence in the community. So if anyone reading this is a member or is thinking about it or wants more information about joining - you do not have to be a farmer to join! - feel free to drop an email at ChemungCountyFarmBureau@gmail.com or see me at the fair in the cabin! (Except when I'm in the dunk booth...then you can come see me there and try your best to dunk me!)

Needs to happen. Students can ace a class and absolutely freeze when faced with these tests and fail. Doesn't mean they don't know the material. Just means they struggle with the pressure placed on them with these tests. Does a regents diploma matter? No. It really doesn't. Colleges are more concerned with ACT/SAT scores - that is if a student is looking at a 4 year school right off. Even then, it depends on the school and what the student wants to do. They can enroll online and at that point the enrollment numbers are not as much of a factor so a school will simply take those that pay the fee. In fact, if you struggle with high school you can enter a community school with a GED and placement exams to get that 2 year degree and then move to a 4 year school. Along that lines, tell me an entry level job around here that is going to ask to see your regents diploma. Entry level, non-degree needed jobs, simply require high school graduate or equivalent. Although some don't even require that. Losing regents doesn't equal a dumbing down. The curriculum should be teaching the basics and teaching kids how to handle life. That's where the fail is. Not can Johnny do high level mathmatics or have a great understanding of geology and pass this ridiculous test but rather does Johnny have the skills needed to be a productive member of society. Have the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic been taught alongside managing finances, caring for a household, being a worthy employee, and caring about community involvement?

In regards to hosting a candidating training program? I plan to have it open to anyone in Chemung County - or surrounding if someone is interested. As far as where it will be held, I will go wherever the interest is. Probably will start with a county centralized session and then go from there based on feedback and interested. As far as recruiting candidates for offices, everyone needs to be talking to neighbors and "evaluating" them for their potential for various elected positions within the county, whether it be town, school, or county level. Or ecen state level. Those who care and pay attention should always be looking for those who would make good candidates. I never would have run if someone didn't first approach me about it. I feel that is an area we have all been lacking in. We just wait for someone to step up and then get frustrated when it's always the same ones. It was the argument against term limits - that no one runs. We have to be looking for those people to run and put in place mentoring. I hesitate to say "groom" candidates due to the negative conotations, but that's what needs to be done: preparing quality people for campaigns and the job of office.

I am willing to talk to anyone interested in running against him. I do not know if he is planning on running in 2026. I've heard conflicting information. I would love to see a page full of candidates for all seats at all levels. We passed the terms limits for Legislature and Executive and now we have to prove that quality candidates will step forward. One of the opposition arguments was no one steps up to run. I am talking with others to put together a candidate bootcamp type of program. Whatever level of government, we need to help candidates navigate running campaigns. BUT we also need recruitment at all levels. Finding those willing to run who may not have thought about it or who feel like they don't have what it takes.

No - the mandated costs that are part of the Chemung County budget stay in Chemung County. This just shows the programs that we are forced to fund within the county. The costs of these programs tend to eat up most of the property taxes collected so we then have to rely on sales tax revenue to fund the remaining needs.

As there is always intelligent conversations happening in this forum, I thought I would share this publication from the New York State Association of Counties. It is a bit dated (2019) but gives a nice basis of understanding of what the local goverments have to deal with when budget season arrives. We are a few months out from the 2025 County budget discussions yet good conversation and feedback is always appreciated. https://www.nysac.org/media/mipozilb/state-of-state-mandates-2019.pdf

This is a very true statement. All I did was post a response to an email that I received because I had quite a few constituents reaching out to me about those intersections. Figured a quick public post was easier than sending the info one by one and would help anyone else with the concerns to know it was being looked into. NEVER thought it was news worthy and certainly didn't see it taking the angle it took...but - will say, it hightlights the frustration of communication I have seen over the past year and a half. 🙊

Absolutely. It is not prepared by the auditor. It is prepared by the treasurer’s office and it can be included in the audit booklet or as a separate document. The auditor would have to review it to make sure it complies with the GASB standards . The ACFR is not required by law to be prepared, only the basic financials are but the preparation of it does represent the best practice of government finance. For those that are not aware of the difference between run of the mill financials and the ACFR, the ACFR gives more detail. You get guided through the financials, you are given statistics and analysis. You are also given a comparison to how the actual matched up to the budgeted. For basic financials you are just given the income stmt, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows and left to understand it yourself.

Bingo

Note worthy, if you look into what the award is, it has nothing to do with the financial health of the county but rather shows that the county is putting together extra reporting during the audit process of financial disclosures in order to receive the certificate. Not being eligible because of the type of opinion issued by Insero doesn’t mean the treasurers office can’t still make the choice to produce the work for the required reporting. As I have looked into what this award means and does for the county, the only benefit to the extra work on an already overworked department is further transparency for the tax payers which can be achieved without the certification. https://www.gfoa.org/coa-award

A few things to weigh in with: The original Novus system was not implemented at the request of the exec branch as had been said by another member of the community in other forums. It was at the request of the then clerks to make their job easier with dealing with route slips. The executive branch can not tell the Legislative branch what software to use to do it's job and vice versa so when it comes to how the exec communicates and get route slip information from the dept heads, he can do it however he wants. Carrier pigeons. Telegram. Chalkboard meetings. Whatever. The Novous system was adopted by previous execs for simple ease and streamline but the clerks had the administrative access. (A comment was made that Moss doesn't like the clerks to be able to see the process until he has finalized things on his end. ) Novus will no longer be supported after July so a new system does need to be in place. Granicus/Peak has bought the Novus platform and in 2022 the Legislature did approve for the Granicus system to be used for the live streaming and web services - but not approved as a replacement for the legislative route slip system. Research was showing that there were too many issues and even though it had bought out Novus, it would not migrate the years of archives over. The blow up of this issue came about due to the exec choosing the Peak system - which maybe in the buried fine print of approving Peak for the web services, had the route slip system included in contract - and telling the Granicus team to not speak talk to any member of the legislative body and to not give the clerks administrative access to the system. The legislative leadership team was looking at Civic Plus already due to the fact that they will migrate the old archives seamlessly, it is being used by multiple other legislative bodies within the state, AND talking with other municpalities that have used Peak, they are making the switch over to Civic Plus because Peak just does not deliver for the needs. Now again, if the exec wants to use Peak to gather the information from his department heads, he is more than welcome to BUT the rules and procedures set in place by the legislature in 2008 state that in order to do business with us, the exec branch needs to follow the rules of putting his information into our system. If the rules said he needed to submit route slips to us on the back of a 50 year old land tortoise that we would provide, then that's how it would need to be done. Not because there is a want of a pissing match, but because we all know there is need for procedures to be set out to keep things running smoothly. Now my personal opinion - I don't care what software is use as long as it does the job. My issue with this (along with others that I am jumping into the hot pan regarding and will be putting a target on my back of being one who does not comply so stay tuned! LOL) is that there has to be communication and collaboration and that is not happening and while this issue seems to be silly and a waste of time/money and taking us away from doing the real work we should be focusing on, this idea that we can constantly be steam rolled into compliance can not continue. And that is why the leadership is making this a fight. And as frustrated as I am, I will stand behind the leadership and our attorny and let them fight this fight as they see fit. We do not have department heads coming to meetings to answer questions. We play the back and forth game and just don't get good information to make decisions. And I'm really to the point that I feel like I need to vote against everything brought to us because of the refusal of communication which would not be in the best interest of the community but as with everything in this world, things seems to be reaching boiling points. I will try to keep popping in and giving my feedback as I can. I'm full throttle in every area of life right now.

Yes. It's frustrating watching from the outside and frustrating seeing it more in depth from the inside - especially when you're damned if you do - damned if you don't. I saw on another forum someone playing the party blame game "This wouldn't be happening if partyX was in control". All I can say to that is a big ole' "B-S". This isn't a party issue. It's a personality issue. An issue of forgetting - or never even caring - why you are elected in the first place. There is blame on both sides and nothing is going to change unless the desire for complete control is abandoned.