Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is keeping his emergency powers.
The County Legislature voted 7-4 along party lines Thursday to defeat proposals seeking to end the state of emergency that gives Poloncarz the power to take actions without Legislature approval.
A number of counties, including Monroe County, have reinstated their states of emergency within the past few months due to the holiday and Omicron-related surge in Covid cases. In addition, of state counties that are run by county executives, Albany and Suffolk counties are among those that have also maintained states of emergency due to Covid-19, according to the Albany County Executive's Office and Suffolk County documents.
Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin wanted to send the proposals from the Republican-supported minority caucus to committee, but the minority caucus wanted the matter to get an up-or-down vote from the floor.
Democrats, who are in the majority, argued that the state of emergency enables the timely distribution of resources, leaves the county poised to address the next Omicron variant, and keeps the county eligible for emergency funding. They also said they and their constituents feel the county administration is doing a good job and that the Legislature has no legal authority to end the state of emergency.
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Republicans argued that after two years of continuous emergency status, with some Covid results that are worse than Monroe County, Covid-related decision-making should return to the Legislature. They said that some mandates are outdated, and that other response initiatives could be improved.
Below, watch the extended County Legislature debate during Thursday's work session about whether County Executive Mark Poloncarz should keep or give up his emergency powers. Forward to the 6-minute mark.