Genesee County lawmakers adopt reduced STOP-DWI budget
LE ROY — The Genesee County Legislature on Wednesday adopted a $253,000 STOP-DWI budget for 2010 that—despite a state revenue drop of more than a third—will not diminish enforcement.
Holding one of their off-site outreach meetings here in the town offices, legislators noted that every line item in the budget, which is $147,000 shy in revenue, is down except for overtime for road patrol enforcement. That funding goes to the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Batavia police and officers in Le Roy and Corfu police agencies.
Earlier, Frank V. Ciaccia, assistant county manager and STOP-DWI coordinator, and Sheriff Gary T. Maha updated the Ways and Means Committee on the 2010 spending plan. They said the amount spent on overtime for special enforcement nights and safety checks will remain the same as this year.
The program includes education, whose funding dropped from this year’s $50,150 to $17,565. Those funds are shared with the county’s Youth Bureau, the sheriff’s DARE program and Regional Action Phone.
STOP-DWI is funded by the state’s programs for enforcement and education, and by DWI fines collected in courts throughout the county. The funding from DWI fines is also down because of a decline in the annual number of DWI arrests. That shows “our efforts are working,” Ciaccia said.
Funds for prosecution, courts and treatment and rehabilitation were all reduced in the new budget.
The legislators also approved several resolutions upgrading computer programs and software.
The largest is a $426,022 capital project to upgrade new financial and payroll services. Funding will come from $322,460 in tobacco-settlement funds and $103,562 from the percentage point of the county sales tax that is used only for capital projects and debt reduction.
The sales tax money is also being used for the $39,998 purchase and installation of a HVAC air-conditioning unit for the Information Technology Department’s computer room. John W. Danforth Co. of Victor was awarded that contract after cooling and humidity problems worsened.
Legislators also accepted a proposed maximum $183,732 in state reimbursement for a Court Facilities Aid program that covers cleaning and minor repairs for one year.
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