Budget Hearings Day 3 Part 1 (Public Safety and Audit & Control Committees) 10/07/26

Chautauqua County’s Public Safety and Audit & Control committees held a 2027 budget hearing on October 7, 2026. The tentative budget was described as holding the property-tax levy level with 2026, while the hearing also noted a countywide gap of about $12 million between revenues and expenses. The committee approved a $300,000 increase to District Attorney revenue based on anticipated Aid to Prosecution funding. The DA’s budget also includes grant-supported courtroom technology modernization, a $50,000 crime-lab feasibility study with Architectural Resources, and a $125,000 annual contract for the STRIVE intimate-partner-violence intervention program. The feasibility study is examining a possible crime lab partnership with SUNY Fredonia; no construction decision was made.

Other budget items included two proposed full-time EMT positions to expand ambulance coverage, with a $127,500 EMS revenue adjustment proposed but no vote on it captured in the transcript. Emergency-services technical staff requested a 4x4 van to carry equipment and reach radio tower sites; a roughly $55,000 vehicle purchase allocation was discussed, with no purchase approval recorded. The committees also discussed rising software and storage costs, possible jail renovations estimated at $125 million to $250 million, and ongoing replacement of hazmat gas meters. Finance was asked to develop a recommendation for Audit & Control regarding a possible budget adjustment for the Public Defender’s office. The Public Safety chair asked departments to bring potentially community-impacting programs to the committee before implementation; no other contract awards or procurement approvals were recorded.