Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel delivers 2024 State of the County address (April 24, 2024)
Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel celebrated successes of 2023 while sharing goals for 2024 in his annual State of the County address.
Wendel delivered his address at the monthly County Legislature meeting.
He said the county is in a solid fiscal position, “Chautauqua County’s property tax rate stands at $6.91 per $1,000 of assessed valuation—a notable 89 cents below last year’s rate and the lowest since 1982. Since taking office, we’ve reduced the property tax rate by $1.51, providing significant relief to our residents. ”
Wendel said investing American Rescue Plan monies in the New York State Municipal Trust has resulted in $1 million additional revenue to the County. He said $800,000 of that was used in 2024 budget with remaining funds returned to ARPA funds.
Wendel said his administration is taking steps this year to drive economic growth, address population decline, and enhance the quality of life in the county.
He cited the recently launched Live CHQ and Choose CHQ branding campaigns that showcase the county as a premier location for business, families, and recreation, “These campaigns emphasize our strong quality of life indicators, robust outdoor recreation opportunities and welcoming business landscape. With dedicated websites for both initiatives, we aim to attract new businesses, residents, and visitors to our vibrant community.”
Wendel said a 150 acre shovel ready site is moving forward in the town of Ripley that will be the second largest industrial park in Chautauqua County. He added that private-public partnerships will be used to transform vacant properties as well.
Wendel announced that through a partnership with ECC Technologies, a broadband expansion strategy has been developed, “In this process, we’ve identified over 3,600 underserved locations across the county. We have demonstrated our commitment to bringing broadband to each and every household in this county. We recently finalized contracts with DFT Communications and Charter-Spectrum to complete these efforts in infrastructure upgrades that are crucial for economic development and enhancing residents’ quality of life, enabling remote work, better access to services, education, and healthcare.”
Wendel also announced the initiative “Vision 2024” that will involve the comprehensive analysis of office space and configuration of county office buildings, “We need to evaluate current office layout and configuration to optimize space and workflow. Engineers and architects alike will review and provide recommendations to best reconfigure our building’s internal footprint at the Gerace Office Building and Hall R. Clothier Building on our Mayville campus.”
Wendel said the county is also working with the town of Chautauqua to hold civil service exams in the former Mayville High School building, which he said will “alleviate congestion” in the Gerace Office Building and provide a larger space for people taking exams.
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