Thomas Edward Ditzel, 65, Belvedere Lane, Batavia, is charged with attempted grand larceny in the third degree, a felony. He was arrested as a result of an investigation into the misappropriation of funds as a Power of Attorney at 3 p.m. Dec. 24, 2018. Ditzel allegedly attempted to take almost $17,000 by closing an investment account of a family member and have the check sent to an address where he allegedly planned to retrieve it. However, another family member intercepted the check. "The duties of a POA, amongst others, is that the POA must act in the principal's best interest, rather than their own," says the police report. The case was investigated by Genesee County Sheriff's Investigator Christopher A. Parker.

Ifrah Hajimusse Armstrong, 41, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with third-degree grand larceny and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, all Class E felonies. Armstrong was arrested after allegedly not reporting income that she was earning and also filing an application that is used to determine eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits without including the income. The application process was started on Aug. 1, 2017. As a result, it is alleged Armstrong received $5,208 in SNAP benefits that she was not entitled to. The investigation was conducted by the GC Department of Social Services Investigator Dakota Nicholson and she was arrested Oct. 13 by GC Sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello.

Ana Marie Uribe, 27, of Willow Street, Batavia, is charged with third-degree grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, both Class E felonies. It is alleged that at the time of her application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on May 1, 2019, she did not report income she was earning, which is used to determine eligibility. As a result, she allegedly received $3,218 in SNAP benefits that she was not entitled to. The investigation was conducted by the GC Department of Social Services Investigator Dakota Nicholson and she was arrested Oct. 14 by GC Sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello.

Press release:

New Cases – As of 2 p.m.

• Genesee County received four new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in Batavia and Pembroke.
  • The individuals are between the ages of 0-20, 30s, 50s and 60s.
  • None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • We are diligently working on reporting the numbers from the previous days. A complete count will be reflective on the GOW COVID-19 interactive map by tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 16. Thank you for your ongoing patience.
• Orleans County received four new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in Albion and Carlton.
  • The individuals are in their 20s, 40s, and 50s.
  • None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • One of the previous positive individuals has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation
  • Four new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

From Genesee County Sheriff's Investigator R. Pete Welker:

Genesee County Residents:

I am writing in support of re-electing William A. Sheron Jr. as the Sheriff of Genesee County.

I am a 25-year veteran of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, having served as a Corrections Officer, as a Uniformed Deputy Sheriff and, for the last 20 years, as an Investigator.  

With the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office being a relatively young department, including many officers in new supervisory positions, combined with all the new challenges due to New York State reforms being thrust upon the law enforcement community, the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t need change; it needs stability that comes through experience and proven leadership. Leadership that comes from 43 years of experience within the same department; leadership that comes from serving 20 years as the Undersheriff; and leadership that comes from already serving as Sheriff for over 3 years now.

During my entire career here at the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Sheron has served in multiple supervisory positions: first as Chief Deputy (Road Patrol), then as the Undersheriff for 20 years (with former Sheriff Gary Maha), and finally as the Sheriff since January 1, 2017. Before my time here, Sheriff Sheron also served as a Dispatcher, a Deputy (Jail), a Deputy (Road Patrol), a Sergeant (Road Patrol/Drug Task Force), and as an Investigator.

With 43 years of law enforcement experience, all served within the same department, and after climbing through the ranks, Sheriff Sheron has acquired comprehensive knowledge regarding every aspect of the daily operations at our office. Sheriff Sheron oversees well over 100 employees from the Sheriff’s Office, the Jail, the Dispatch Center, the Animal Shelter, Genesee Justice, and the Justice for Children Advocacy Center.  

In addition to all of this, Sheriff Sheron also made a sound decision naming Brad Mazur as his Undersheriff. Brad Mazur served for 20 years at the Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy and then as a Sergeant and was consistently one of our most productive officers. Undersheriff Mazur exhibited great leadership qualities during his time as the Sergeant in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division as well as the Drug Task Force. Brad Mazur has impeccable character and has shown constant professionalism throughout his 20-year career. Brad is not only well respected within the divisions that fall under his supervision, but also within the community. I cannot think of anyone within our department that is better suited or more qualified to hold the position of Undersheriff than Brad Mazur.  

As a result of numerous retirements in recent years, the Sheriff now leads a very young department. We have a great group of outstanding new Deputies and about half of them were hired within the last 5 years. The most noteworthy changes came in the last two years when our two Chief Deputies retired with over 80 years of experience between them.

There are also new challenges facing law enforcement with the new bail and discovery reform laws in New York State. It won’t be a simple task learning to navigate through this new set of complications for law enforcement. It will not only affect the day-to-day operations of our patrols, but will also present new budgetary concerns due to the need for added personnel to handle the new discovery demands. With the time that these challenges will demand, it will be imperative that the person occupying the position of Sheriff already possess a proficient working knowledge of all the normal day-to-day operations of the multiple divisions that fall under the supervision of the Sheriff.  

I encourage the citizens of Genesee County to continue to support the professional law enforcement leadership in Genesee County by re-electing William A. Sheron for Sheriff.

Respectfully,

Investigator R. Pete Welker

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Genesee County leaders are advocating a spirit of togetherness as they take a divide-and-conquer approach to fulfilling the requirements of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 203 on community police reform and reinvention.

On Wednesday night at the Old County Courthouse legislative chambers, the Genesee County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative met for the first time, with 15 of the group’s 19 current members attending either in person or via Zoom videoconferencing.

County Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein put out a call for unity and respect as she welcomed those who are tasked to address the policies and procedures of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office per the Executive Order issued on June 12.

“Together … we have an opportunity to learn from each other … to improve and manage public safety … through thoughtful, respectful and robust discussions,” Stein said. “Step by step by step, we will do this together.”

Stein emphasized that each member of the committee – from public officials to representatives of social or minority groups -- was important to meeting the governor’s directive.

“Each community must envision for itself the appropriate role of the police,” she said, “and policies must be developed to allow the police to do their jobs to protect the public and the policies must be with the local community’s acceptance.”

Following her opening statement, Stein introduced Robert Bausch, former County Legislature chair, who will serve as moderator for the group. After that, the committee members who were social-distanced throughout the room said a few words about themselves.

County Manager Matt Landers then read highlights of the Executive Order, focusing on the section that outlines the 15 different policing strategies that must be analyzed by Sheriff William Sheron and the community stakeholders.

Landers distributed a 10-meeting timeline (on Monday nights at 6:30), with five of those meetings dedicated to reviewing those 15 strategies as follows:

• Nov. 2 – Use of force policies, procedural justice, any studies addressing systemic racial bias or racial justice in policing;

• Nov. 16 -- Implicit bias awareness training, de-escalation training and practices, law enforcement assisted diversion programs;

• Dec. 7 -- Restorative justice practices, community-based outreach and conflict resolution, problem-oriented policing;

• Dec. 21 -- Hot spots policing, focused deterrence, crime prevention through environmental design;

• Jan. 4 -- Violence prevention and reduction interventions; model policies and guidelines promulgated by the New York State Municipal Police Training Council; standards promulgated by the New York State Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.

Sheron is scheduled to give a report on his department to legislators and the committee during a regular meeting of the legislature on Oct. 28, and will answer questions afterward.

Last night, the sheriff pointed out that the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office recently was reaccredited by New York State, which means that the agency has met or exceeded 133 standards as set forth by the state. The department was initially accredited in 2000.

Accreditation aside, Sheron said he would appreciate members' input, adding that "constructive criticism" is a vehicle "to making it better for our citizens."

The remainder of the collaborative’s meeting timeline indicates: a review of the draft report on Jan. 18; presentation of the draft to the public for feedback on Feb. 1; review and vote on the final report on Feb. 15; submission to the county Ways & Means Committee on March 3; adoption by the full county legislature on March 10; and delivery to the state Division of the Budget prior to April 1.

The Executive Order stipulates that the reform plan must be submitted to the state by April 1 or else it could jeopardize the locality’s state aid.

Landers said that the timeline isn’t etched in stone and that he is open to adding to the group’s number, especially if the interested person represents “another perspective or opinion.”

He added that the county’s Information Technology staff will be recording the meetings and the public is invited to attend in person (adhering to COVID-19 guidelines) or via Zoom.

Members present at last night’s meeting -- along with Landers, Stein and Sheron -- were:

• Community members Julie Carasone, Perez Dinkins, Barb Starowitz, Tyrone Woods; Genesee Community College international student Rachel Gelabale;

• Nonprofit community group member Lynda Battaglia, Genesee County Community Mental Health Services;

• Faith-based leader John Keller, Northgate Free Methodist Church;

• Educational group member Rachel Siebert, Genesee Valley BOCES;

• Local elected official Gregory Post, Town of Batavia supervisor; Genesee County Public Defender Jerry Ader;

• Genesee County District Attorney Lawrence Friedman;

• Genesee County Sheriff’s Department Officer Howard Carlson.

Other members (who did not attend) are community member Leandro Mateos; John Bennett, Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse; Millie Tomidy-Pepper, YWCA of Genesee County; and Genesee County Undersheriff Bradley Mazur.

The collaborative includes several persons of color and a cross section of people who have deeper views of societal issues through their interaction with minorities in their fields of employment, such as farm ownership, social and mental health services, substance use counseling, pastoral guidance, cultural competence and athletics.

Photo: The first meeting of the Genesee County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative took place Wednesday night at the Old County Courthouse. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

The Batavia Varsity tennis team evened its record at 2-2 with a 7-0 victory at Eastridge. It was the Blue Devils' second straight win after starting the season 0-2. 

Winning at singles were Kylie Tatarka, Lidia Pehrson, Dallas Lama and Savannah Freeman. 

Doubles winners were Maya Schrader/Casey Tatarka, Hannah Carney/Katelyn Witherow, and Mikalina Pellegrino-Scott/Lilana Espinoza.

Batavia will take on division rival Brockport on the road Thursday.

Story submitted by Head Coach James Fazio.

To view and or purchase prints, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

A decrease in the Genesee County property tax rate and a much smaller than anticipated increase in the Town of Batavia property tax rate.

That’s the latest word from the managers of both municipalities who shared developments from today’s meetings with the legislature and town board, respectively, concerning their 2021 budgets.

“We’ve had several budget meetings with our county legislature and at this point and time I’m ready to propose a county budget that has a decrease in the (property) tax rate of approximately 31 cents down to $9.80 (per thousand of assessed value) from $10.11,” said first-year County Manager Matt Landers.

Batavia Town Supervisor Gregory Post had encouraging news as well, reporting that his current budget calls for about a 39-cent increase – from $2.45 per thousand to $2.84 – which is considerably less than the potential 88- or 89-percent increase that was bandied about a couple weeks ago.

“Everyone should thank the county legislators for their hard work to make it possible for the revenue distributions they have just made,” Post said, referring to a final 2020 payment of $6 million and a pledge to distribute $10 million in 2021 to the county’s 13 towns and six villages. “Now, we feel much better about taking $550,000 from our fund balance to make this happen.”

Both budgets are tentative and subject to change, but in all likelihood any modifications should be slight at this point.

Holding the Line Paved the Way

Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein said she was hoping that her colleagues and management would be wrong in August (when they predicted a dire outcome).

“I’m glad we were, so we could increase this amount up to 10 million dollars,” she said of the 2021 revenue distribution, which is $2 million more than previously announced. She then applauded the efforts of everyone involved, noting that she appreciated their “work and consistency and your sticking with us.”

Landers echoed her sentiments, pointing out that the moves the legislature has made over the past six months, under the direction of Stein and former County Manager Jay Gsell, “have helped put us in a (good) position and helped me to put together this budget.”

“We’ve been able to fund our roads and bridges to the level that I’d like to fund them in 2021 … and they made a lot of good decisions … on furloughs, hiring freezes, deferring capital projects, deferring acquisitions.”

In order to lower the tax rate, Landers is proposing using about $2.3 million of the county’s $15 million fund balance. He said that is necessary due to a projected 20-percent (or more) cut in aid from New York State.

“We still don’t know if there’s going to be a stimulus for governments,” he said. “The stimulus isn’t anything I am looking toward for revenue replacement; the stimulus would benefit Genesee County primarily in that it would provide revenue to the state, and the state would not have to cut us.”

A 20-percent cut in state aid translates to a $2 million hit to the county’s budget, which will come in at around $144 million.

Sales Tax Numbers Better Than Anticipated

“As you saw in the resolution tonight (at the legislature meeting where the revenue allocations were approved), we’re going to budget $10 million of revenue distribution to our towns and villages in 2021,” Landers said. “We are projecting a small reduction in sales tax, but not anything that we would have thought six months ago. There were estimates that sales tax would be down 30 to 40 percent, but now we’re projecting a 5- to 10-percent reduction in sales tax.”

With sales tax numbers better than expected, the county is able to provide $10 million next year to support the towns and villages.

Landers said he and department heads went through the budget line-by-line during a couple Saturday morning workshop sessions and he “feels comfortable at this point submitting a budget that has roughly a 31-cent decrease in the tax rate, with a levy increase of approximately $400,000 (due to an increase in the county’s assessed value).

“I wish we could do more; I wish we could reduce taxes more,” he said. “It’s one of those (situations) where I’m glad we could come to a consensus with the legislature. I’m glad that we’ve got a balanced budget that I’m going to be proposing and once it goes from my hands to the legislature, it's their ability to modify it and amend it as they see fit.”

He said he expects the legislature to “tweak a thing or two,” but is relieved to have made it this far in the budget process.

“I’m glad to get through my first budget session. I never envisioned putting one together in a pandemic and a financial crisis, but I am glad that we are able to have a stabilized tax rate for Genesee County citizens,” he said. “I understand that it is going to utilize a little more fund balance than we like to, but that’s what the ‘rainy day’ fund is for. If we potentially didn’t have a 20-percent reduction in our state aid, we might have been able to have the possibility of further reductions (in the tax rate), which would have been great.”

Landers said the county’s fund balance is at 12 to 13 percent of its general fund expenditures – the proper level according to guidelines from the state Comptroller’s office.

The spending plan will be presented at a public hearing scheduled for Nov. 4 at the Old County Courthouse. It is slated to be adopted by the legislature on Nov. 23.

Town Supervisor Breathes a Bit Easier

Post said he expects to get a good night’s sleep tonight for the first time in months after coming out of a budget workshop this afternoon at the Batavia Town Hall on West Main Street Road.

The town received word that it would be getting another revenue check from the county in the amount of $1 million this year and just shy of $1.7 million from the county in 2021.

While the $1.7 million is less than what board members originally had hoped for, it is enough for them to be able to allot $550,000 from the fund balance to lower the tax rate.

“That, plus the fact that our investments are beating the market rate by a factor of six times, puts us in position to do that,” Post said, letting out a sigh of relief.

He attributed the town’s ability to weather the economic storm to its collaboration with the county, City of Batavia and Genesee County Economic Development Center that has resulted in developing “multiple streams of income.”

“This all started 12 years ago … by incentivizing businesses that provide sales tax revenue,” Post explained. “All of these entities have collectively applied those principals to our community and we’re reaping the benefits.”

The town board has indicated it will conduct a special work session at 5 p.m. on Oct. 20, prior to adopting a preliminary budget on Oct. 21. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Press release:

New Cases – As of 2 p.m.

• Genesee County Due to ongoing technology/internet issues, we do not have an update for Genesee County.  We expect to report more information on these cases tomorrow. We apologize for the inconvenience.
  • Monday there was one new positive case.
  • Tuesday there were two new positive cases.
  • Wednesday there are two new positive cases.
  • Since Oct. 9, 37 new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.
• Orleans County received two new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in Albion.
  • The individuals are in their 20s, and 30s.
  • Both of the individuals were not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Fifteen new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Press release:

Legacy Insurance Group will be having a Grand Opening & Open House at their new office location 212 E. Main St., Batavia, from 2 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 20th.

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 o'clock. Social distancing and masks required.

Legacy Insurance will be a local resource for Medicare Advantage plans through UnitedHealthcare, as well as several life insurance options, and can help with navigating health insurance choices on the NYS of Health Marketplace. As of now, due to offsite events and individual appointments, hours will be by appointment or by chance.

Agent Diana M. Wagner resides in Stafford with her husband, Ron, and two of her three children, Bobby and Rachel.

She greatly enjoys the relationship that she builds with her clients, being a local point of contact, and being a resource in the community.

Most Fridays during market season, Wagner can be found with a Medicare information table set up at the Genesee Country Farmer's Market. She is also on hand at local retailers such as Walgreens and Tops, as well as senior residences like 400 Towers, and various other venues to bring Medicare information and answer questions. 

Please stop by to enjoy some cider, donuts and coffee!

A drive-thru chicken barbecue to benefit the Elba Volunteer Fire Department will be held on Sunday, Oct. 25 at the fire rec hall on Route 98 in Elba.

It starts at 11:30 a.m. and goes until sold out. Cost is $12.

Coronavirus protocols will be observed. Please wear a face mask and remain in your vehicle.

"Because of the (COVID-19) shutdown, last month was the first chicken barbecue we held this year," said an organizer, Barbie Starowitz, of Star Growers Farm LLC. "It sold out so fast! Now that we can be outside again we wanted to do another one. We're hoping for a nice (weather) day."

The address of Elba Firemen's Recreation Hall is 7143 Oak Orchard Road (Route 98).

Press release:

Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) has cosponsored the State Municipal Assistance for Response and Transition (SMART) Act.

“Many local governments in Western New York did not meet the 500,000 resident threshold to receive coronavirus funding from the CARES Act," Jacobs said. "Without additional aid to state and local governments our hospitals, first responders, and schools are facing the risk of layoffs and cuts to critical services they provide our communities."

The SMART Act would provide $500 billion for a Coronavirus Local Community Stabilization Fund to provide aid to state, local, and tribal governments. The latter would get $16 billion of the funds. The other $484 billion would be distributed to localities in three tranches based on the population, relative revenue loss, and COVID-19 caseload in the state as of June 1^st.

States would be required to release at least one third of these funds – totaling $161.3 billion – to municipal and county governments.

“Our local governments and services they provide are critical to rural communities,” Jacobs said. "Ensuring they have the resources they need is a top priority during this pandemic. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation to support these communities, and I will continue to advocate for targeted funding for local governments in additional COVID-19 relief legislation."

Steve Robinson, white shirt, was honored with a proclamation Tuesday night by the Batavia City Council for his 30 years of service to the residents of Batavia.

Robinson started his career as a dispatcher for Batavia Police Department, continued as a dispatcher when the county and city 9-1-1 centers were consolidated, and stayed on part time with Batavia PD in a desk role after the consolidation.

On a vote of 7-2, the Batavia City Council approved an additional $1,000 a month stipend for interim City Manager Rachael Tabelski, who has been filling the role since June after the resignation of Martin Moore.

Council members Bob Bialkowski and Rose Mary Christian voted against the stipend.

Christian said she opposed the same stipend for Matt Worth when he was interim city manager after Jason Molino left, and to be consistent, she needed to oppose it for Tabelski.

"I'm concerned about a lot of people," Christian said. "We have long lines at food banks; people can't pay their rent or mortgage."

Bialkowski said he was applying the standard of the private sector, that when you're on salary you do the work assigned even if you fill in for a vacant slot at the same salary you were getting.

Council President Eugene Jankowski spoke in favor of the stipend. The assistant acts as a department head for administrative staff as well as other administrative duties and while department heads have helped pick up some duties the workload for Tabelski has increased substantially.

He also noted the City Charter requires the city to have a city manager and assistant manager. 

"If you're doing both jobs, it's a burden," Jankowski said.

Tabelski's base salary is $52,339.

Moore's salary was $110,838.

Jankowski noted that the stipend is not a cost that will put the city in a hole because they're currently saving money operating without a city manager.

The Council is in the process of identifying candidates, which may include Tabelski, to become the city's next city manager.

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To trick-or-treat or not to trick-or-treat? That seems to be the question on the minds of a lot of families in Batavia as our first pandemic-era Halloween approaches.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski said he's received calls from residents wondering if the city will permit traditional Halloween activities and he said there are even residents concerned that if they don't leave a light on for young ghosts and ghouls their houses might be targeted for vandalism.

Interim City Manager Rachel Tabelski said after reviewing information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), including a chart she said shows Genesee County as one of the few counties in the area the CDC has marked safe for trick-or-treating, she sees no reason right now to cancel Halloween in the city.

She said residents should be informed of the CDC's guidelines, which include:

• Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters.
• Give out treats outdoors, if possible.
• Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take.
• Wash hands before handling treats.
• Wear a mask.

Tabelski suggested residents who want to hand out treats, not have trick-or-treaters come to their door but instead meet them one at a time on their sidewalk.

"We are not banning trick-or-treat unless the county or state come down and ask us to ban it," Tabelski said. "We think it's a great idea for parents and residents to be informed to help them feel safe."

She said she didn't anticipate any trouble for residents who choose to turn off their porch light and not participate.

"I think people understand some people may not feel comfortable opening their doors," Tabelski said.

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When the coronavirus pandemic first hit Genesee County, the revenue outlook for the City of Batavia was pretty bleak -- a projected $2.4 million in losses because of an anticipated 30-percent decrease in economic activity.

As it turns out, sales tax revenue in the county is down only 4 percent, Interim City Manager Rachel Tabelski informed the City Council on Tuesday night.

The city also received an 80-percent payment from the state for video lottery terminal (VTL) revenue from Batavia Downs.

Better news but not necessarily good news. There's still a shortage in revenue of $793,000.

"While we still have many freezes and cuts to the departments, we are weathering the storm well of comfort," Tabelski said.

City department managers continue to work to control costs, making cuts in purchasing in vehicles, equipment and supplies, deferring what they can, and some departments are still under a hiring freeze. Those cost-saving measures are projected to save $611,000.

Whether those cuts are for the long term is yet to be seen.

"That's definitely hard to predict," Tabelski said. "We have rising contractual costs of employees coming into next year's budget and we still have New York State's 2 percent property tax cap that we try to look at and maintain, and stay within if we possibly can. The hope is that as we get closer and closer to the next quarter of sales tax collection, we'll have a better revenue picture and we'll be able to tell if we have a better budget outlook to present to Council in January."

Reporting takes time and time is money. We could use more reporters to do more reporting. You can help make that happen. Please become a supporter.