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. 

 

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!)

39 minutes ago, Pvt Snowball said:

Are you going to be in the Chemung area?

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.

On 5/31/2024 at 12:34 PM, Pvt Snowball said:

 I'm willing to support anyone else to run against him 

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. 

On 6/4/2024 at 6:20 AM, Pvt Snowball said:

Do most of the budget go to NYC?

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

On 5/29/2024 at 1:52 PM, KarenK said:

First thing I thought when I saw that earlier was that it was a huge amount of drama over some tall grass on the corner.  I mean just say you are working on it and carry on.  Sometimes I think Mr Dubina really causes drama where there doesn't need to be any.

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. 🙊

26 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

So, the County can still prepare/submit an ACFR report for the sake of transparency/accountability......even if ineligible to receive the “gold star” COA? 

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. 

10 hours ago, KarenK said:

Just struck me as an attempt to create more drama.

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. 

On 1/23/2024 at 5:07 PM, Chris said:

More and more local politics has become as distasteful as national politics. This back and forth between the Executive and the Legislature is ridiculous. 

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. 

On 1/23/2024 at 12:32 PM, MsKreed said:

 

Quote

Does the Legislature still has access to use Novus to submit and generate Agenda items from their own branch...... or has the IT Department (under Executive direction) disabled their access to the Novus site?

Yes access is still there. (I know you've seen the statements from Margeson regarding this but wanted to make sure to answer it)

Quote

Personally, I think the Charter does need to be revised to have clearer procedures for Agenda policy as well as examining the number of legislators and executive structure.  However, these issues should not be decided by Legislative committees -- the Legislature should pass a resolution to form a Charter Commission (with diverse members outside the elected branches) that can comprehensively evaluate the entire Charter.

😉 100% agree.

If you've haven't had a chance to see what occurred at the meeting last night, let me give a quick recap. 
On 1/8 we were informed by Chairman Margeson that due to the County Exec deciding to change the software being used to submit route slips to the legislature without consultation with the legislature and clerk, that we might not have an agenda for the 1/22 meeting. Margeson had planned that night to make a formal statment but due to the issues with the streaming system, he held off on the statment until last night. During the past two weeks, I have not said anything in hopes that maybe, just maybe, this power struggle could be resolved. I know - a little naive of me, right? But out of respect to the leadership of the Legislature, I sat back. 

Last week, each member of the legislature received an email from the Exec with a statement from him regarding this issue and giving his side to the story. We also recieved all the route slips and needed information for each. Then we received our normal email from the clerk that the agenda had been upload to Novus. But - it was all blank. 
My thought was, ok, a compromise has been reached. We have the information for the 1/22 meeting. There was a glitch with Novus. THEN last night happened. The Chairman in passing said he did not receive the email from the Exec. During the opening of the meeting, he gave his statment. I was thrown off because, again, naive assumptions by me thinking we were going to be able to do our job. 

So - where I'm at. I have a he said/she said side of the story concerning the software so I can not confidently know where the real disconnect has occurred. I see a constant power struggle between the branches that I had been hopeful of seeing progress made given a better starting relationship between the Exec and Chairman. I see the Exec undermining what is considered the legislative workings due to what he has seen as the legislature undermining/trying to control his areas. I see the logic in the leadership of the legislature to not "give in" on this issue because of past events but have the frustration /anger of not being able to do our job because neither is willing to compromise. Truth is, this software could be a zillion times better but since no effort was made to involve the legislature in this process, a process that is set in place by the legislature to ensure a smooth transfer of information for making the needed decisions, we are now where we are. 

I fully believe in the transparency of government, but do believe some conversations need to happen behind closed doors. I do believe this is an issue that the public needs to be made aware of while respecting that every detail of every conversation does not need to be made public. Out of respect for the leadership of the legislature and honestly, because I don't want to cause more harm than good with this, I did not speak out at last night's meeting. There is nothing I could have said to change what was happening. I am fully prepared to be blasted for not saying or doing something. I already have been. Part of this is deciding what fight to fight. I will not speak out/fight when I am not confident of the facts that I have been given and I will not make enemies of those I need to stand with me regarding other matters. I am frustrated with the leadership in not finding some compromise. I respect that they have been talking to the Exec regarding this and if there was a compromise to be had, they would have done so. I can see all sides to this. 

My last statment on this matter: we need our Exec to be open to listening and taking ideas and suggestions that are not his own. To understand not everyone is out to undermine his leadership. That this county is a partnership of the Exec, Legislature, and the people for the good of the people. 

I would love to hear some feedback from more in the community regarding the resolution we passed through committee last night that supports an end-to-end audit of the NYS voter rolls. I have heard a few voices for and a few against and all are very passionate in their stance.  

I voted it through the committee and am most likely going to vote it through on the floor for a few reasons:

1. I see this resolution as a show of support to those in the community who feel like something is off with our voter rolls in the state. I honestly don't think that resolutions from the counties and towns do much to sway the state floor. During Covid, one of the biggest frustrations for me was feeling like concerns were simply swept under the rug. I remember conversations with school officials that I left feeling like I wasn't taken seriously and that I was given a pat on the head and told to run along rather than having my concerns actually addressed. Those interactions made me think there was some stuff going on that shouldn't be. If there's nothing to hide, will it really hurt to put the concerns and fears to bed? I don't see how asking for confirmation that all is well feeds into the "misinformation."

2. I appreciate all the work our county BOE does (there are things they go above and beyond to do that are not required to help ensure our county rolls are accurate), but as I saw while out campaigning, there is cleanup needed.

3. I like to think I am an honest person with integrity and that I don't have a scammer's imagination, BUT I can think of at least 4 different ways how I could commit election fraud. I can't even begin to imagine all the ways someone with bad intent and lots of resources could do so.

17 hours ago, Adam said:

Not sure if right topic to post this but: A genuine thanks to Legislator Morse for engaging on this site, there are 2-3 others i have had good interactions with, but it would be nice to have more of them, as well as the management team, using this site to engage various people seeing how it is much more drama free rather than the book

That's the only thing I can promise, to listen and to engage as much as I can. Everyone I talk to has something different that they are passionate about and would like to have someone address that topic. It does get overwhemling trying to sort through all the input and figuring out what to put at the front of the line to advocate for. But as long as ya'll are patient and respectful, even when you disagree, I will continue to engage to the best of my ability. 

On 11/29/2023 at 11:19 PM, Adam said:

i guess, in light of that info, being that there are two members of the Legislature on the Board, as well as Mr. Roman and Ms. Burlew( both Supervisors of municipalities i believe), where is the accountability to tax payers that do ultimately fund this entity?

it appears to many of us that the IDA operates as if answerable to no one but themselves and given the situations with the last two tenants of that building accountability and even replacement of members is long overdue

 

A side note related to this, there has been a bill that keeps trying to go round at state level to stop elected officials from holding a place on the IDA boards. 

Legislator Chalk spoke to me a few meetings ago and told me that he specifically asked to be on the IDA board because he too was concerned with the amount of time the meeting went to executive session and because he has a desire for the transparency to be there. There are a few members of that board that are new as of 2023. I believe they are seeking the greater transarency, accountability, and to make positive changes, but it is slow going. It is not easy to come onto a board and implement changes. It takes some time. The frustration on the public side is the lack of communication. If the new members would just say "hey, this is what changes I'm working towards and this is what is being accomplished" it would go a long way to create some trust from the public ESPECIALLY when the prior leadship of an organization has caused a lot of mistrust. 

18 hours ago, Hal said:

Respectfully, I am ever so slightly confused here . “At current, the arena is owned by the IDA (not the county) “ . So , the IDA is a County  sanctioned private entity or a straight up part of the County Legislature itself ? Who funds the CCIDA to run and maintain the Arena ? 
 

Here is a publications regarding the background of the IDA. It is from May of 2006. 
Industrial Development Agencies in New York State: Background, Issues and Recommendations (ny.gov)

The IDA is not a county entity. The IDA organization is a state creation. They have oversite from the OSC. Each IDA has a governing board and a director that is in charge of the day to day operations. 

"Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) are public benefit corporations originally authorized by the Industrial Development Agency Act of 1969 and governed by the provisions of Article 18-A of the General Municipal Law. Since that time, 177 IDAs have been legislatively authorized and 115 remain active today." (At time of publication of above document)

The county gives organizational funding to the IDA each year just as funding is given to CCE, STC, Soil and Water, etc. (You can see this information on the budget overview portion of the 2024 county budget.) 
IDAs receive funding from the state. They also can issue bonds, hold a lease, and "typically maintain their operations by charging various fees to the businesses that participate in their projects".

I am unsure if the IDAs are able to go after grant funding themselves also but they do work with other organizations that can obtain project grants. 

I fully admit that I am still learning and gathering information on the IDA organizations across the state and how they have actually helped the communities. Anyone that has resources and articles that give the facts of the IDAs across the state, please feel free to email me links. 

On 10/17/2023 at 9:26 PM, Chris said:

Has anything more ever come out of this? Seems by now we’d have heard about a lawsuit. Perhaps someone decided to take his medicine and lay low?

There was a full report given at the republican committee meeting on 11/8. Both Joe and Art have a life time ban from the committee and the report has been sent to the state election board. 

On 8/19/2023 at 10:41 PM, MsKreed said:

I sort of thought that was the case...that the Ag Society and Fair Board are essentially tenants that rent the fairgrounds from County like any other organization does throughout the year.

Which begs the question....does the County have some Board of its own that is tasked with developing ideas and bringing in events? (Particularly regarding the proposed Community Center /Farm Market project). Or does the County pretty just wait for interested groups to submit an application to use the grounds and process the paperwork?

It seems like a diverse group of people from the around community and local organizations (that can actively engage in generating interest and events) would be far more valuable than a “passive” ownership and management by the County (where the Building & Grounds Department simply processes applications as they are submitted and collects the requisite fees).

Like the “team” Margeson has said the Arena will have.  And honestly, I think the type of venue a new Building offers (along with the Fairgrounds as a whole – indoor usage, grandstands, all that space) would be far more practical, more utilized, and draw more visitors (local and out of area) than the Arena ever will.

No the county does not have a board such as you are speaking of.  It has been talked about by quite a few to get something like that together. I am pushing to get the county leaders and leaders of the different groups that mainly utilize the fairgrounds to get together for a round table and get some items dealt with. After which, putting together a community event to bring information to everyone. 

Yes there is a group working on the plans for the proposed building. I have put together a preliminary vision plan to give an idea of how the building would be utilized and am working on getting numbers together for a full business plan. 

17 hours ago, Kevin said:

I was under the impression they already had enough people ready to take over. That's something I may look into if it's not the case. 

Yes there are some that are returning to the board and there are some who left in previous years that are returning but there is still room for more. With anything, it’s always the same people on these boards so getting some fresh faces and ideas would be very valuable. 
I have sat and listened to some of the ideas being batted around for 2024 and it’s encouraging IF it can happen and if we can get the community excited about the fair again. 
Those that have stepped up so far are willing to listen and communicate in ways the previous board did not. The fair year starts now with planning. So much goes into it from dealing with contracts and budget. The previous board did not have a written budget or plan. The current members want to get processes documented and a solid budget in place to present to the county so they can start booking the big attractions. 
Even if someone is not interested in being on the board, sitting in on a meeting now and then would be informative and helpful for getting accurate information out to the community.  
 

On 8/10/2023 at 8:55 PM, Kevin said:

Most of the current fair board members are in their 70's and are retiring after this year. So next year's fair will have a mostly new board. I am hoping they can turn it around.

September 19th 6:30pm at Ag Society office at fairgrounds there will be the annual meeting of Ag Society to bring on new board members to begin planning for 2024 fair. They are looking for 4-7 new members. Show up if interested in being part of bringing the fair back to something to be proud of.