PROGRESS Chenango 2011

PROGRESS
Chenango
SECTION
07
2011
Inside
Published by The Evening Sun
P H O TO
BY
FRANK SPEZIALE
Leader of
the Band
At CWSπ, they balance
client care with
business opportunity.
PAGE 43
The annual geranium
sale is a cornerstone
of Hospice’s community
fundraising efforts.
PAGE 44
Chenango County Government
Budget challenges keep county on its toes
BY MELISSA
DECORDOVA
The Evening Sun
“We’ve become a society that thinks we
have to take care of everything and
everybody. Too few people are paying
the taxes for the majority who aren’t.”
t was another nail-biting year in the halls of
Chenango
County’s
government
as
the
nation’s economic downturn seemed to hover
RICHARD DECKER
throughout
most
of
2010.
sion and health insurance system Decker’s position was challenged.
I
There’s new leadership
at an old fixture of the
local economy –
Norwich
Pharmaceuticals.
PAGE 46
Fast Facts
142
Number of indictments handed
up by Chenango County grand
juries in 2010.
Advertisers
in Section 7
Chiarino Insurance
The Children’s Center
Foster Cabinet
Frontier
Gates Cole Insurance
Grandview Optical
Mead Westvaco
Nazzitto’s Wines & Liquors
Preferred Mutual Insurance
Rolling Antiquers Antique Car Club
S&S Appliance
Faced with New York’s $10 billion-plus deficit and a general lack
of faith in the state legislature’s
effectiveness, local lawmakers had
to struggle to find ways to trim a
$68.3 million budget that is already
70 percent laden with mandates.
New York State blasted counties
with a 3 percent increase in spending requirements for mandated
programs and sent down frighteningly hefty increases in state pen-
bills. Medicaid and other state and
federal government programs
increased the local share by well
over $3 million for the coming
year.
Chairman Richard B. Decker, RNorth Norwich, said 2010’s budget
process was the “most difficult”
he’d undertaken in 13 years at the
helm. The economic stress led to
boardroom tension between the 23
supervisors and its leadership,
beginning as early as January when
The seemingly pre-orchestrated
effort by the Democratic Party to
unseat Decker resulted in not one
but two candidates nominated for
the position, and both of them
Republicans. First term Supervisor
William Craine, of Sherburne, and
ninth-term City of Norwich Ward
4, 5, and 6 Supervisor Linda E.
Natoli accepted nominations to the
position. Nonetheless, after the roll
call, Decker came out the victor by
a majority of weighted votes.
The contentiousness continued
to build throughout the year. While
the Personnel Committee negotiated with the various unions representing county employees - and
tried in vain to keep increases to a
minimum - a lack of quorum in two
other standing committees, in addition to several lagging opinions
from the county attorney’s office,
stalled progress. The decisions
regarded economic development at
the county’s airport, leasing county
land for natural gas development,
consolidating departments, and
rules and procedures. There were
also lengthy executive sessions to
discuss personnel and legal matters.
Sales tax collections ticked up a
bit, with a five percent increase
over 2009. The county took in $18
million last year, but was still $.7
million shy of the amount collected
CONTINUED
ON
PAGE 42
DESTINATION: CHENANGO
Blues Festival
P H O TO
BY
FRANK SPEZIALE
T
he Chenango Blues Festival is a
family-friendly event held each
August at the Chenango County
Fairgrounds in Norwich. In addition to
award-winning blues acts the festival
also features arts & crafts vendors, food
and beer concessions, children’s activities and camping.
The Chenango Blues Association
(C.B.A) is a nonprofit organization
whose mission is to foster an appreciation of uniquely American music forms
including blues, jazz, zydeco and gospel. They strive to accomplish this by presenting the highest caliber of artists in diverse
settings for the lowest possible cost. This strategy is designed
to make the music accessible to as many people as possible.
The event draws thousands of people from throughout the
northeast for three days of concerts, workshops, demonstra-
tions and art exhibits. Special attention is given to structuring activities so
they are accessible to all members of the community. They also sponsor a
Free Summer Concert Series in downtown Norwich’s West Side Park, during which they present different genres of music including zydeco, jazz,
bluegrass, and a big-band swing orchestra.
The Blues Festival will celebrate its 19th year in summer 2011. For more
information, visit www.chenangobluesfest.org.
42
PROGRESS CHENANGO 2011
PUBLISHED
BY
THE EVENING SUN
Chenango County Government
Tough decisions in tough fiscal times –
CONTINUED
FROM
PAGE 41
in 2007 prior to the Great
Recession.
The poor economy has led
to an elevated number of
parcels in arrears from past
years. The amount Chenango
County has paid out to keep
villages, schools and districts
whole has been growing, and
rests at $4 million currently.
The county collects the
amount back over a four or
five-year period through
annual sealed bid sales of
delinquent properties, but is
obligated to pay the local
entities up front.
A lean budget
Surprisingly, and only after
months of diligent, cost-savings efforts, the county board
managed to give the average
taxpayer an average 88 cent
tax break per $1,000 of countywide assessed property
value. Sixty-seven percent of
government departments presented either a decreased
local share or a very minimal
increase.
This year’s budget marks
the sixth consecutive year of
average tax rate decrease. The
average rate of $12.87 compares to $17.07 back in 2005.
The tax levy of $23,074,667
is an increased of 1.01 percent from the 2010 fiscal plan
and added about $231,000 of
real growth.
But the trimming required
the application of an extra
$2.3 million dollars of surplus funds and $1.2 million of
set aside federal stimulus,
something that lawmakers
argued over repeatedly in
committee and in the boardroom. During the past five
years, budget officers have
tapped more than $11.7 million in surplus.
No large capital project
outlay is planned within the
2011 budget, and 2012 will
see county government
become completely debt free,
according to the former
Chenango County Treasurer
William Evans, who retired
after 24 years of public service. The estimated $13 to $15
million in unappropriated
surplus funds at year end
should provide “a solid financial base for general fund
operations into the New
Year,” he said.
While no objections were
launched against the Chenango County Board of Supervisors’ proposed 2011 spending
plan at the public hearing,
there were three last-minute
attempts made by supervisors
to make further cuts. Town of
Plymouth Supervisor Jerry
Kreiner, a Republican, moved
to amend portions of the
budget that would have lowered the salary of one
employee, cut another’s parttime job and combined two
departments. The moves
would have saved approximately $12,500. City of Norwich Supervisor James
McNeil, a Democrat, seconded Kreiner’s motion to amend
the budget.
Committee
system
There was much back and
forth discussion about combining Traffic and the Stop
DWI departments during the
year, especially because a
missing
supervisor from
Columbus (who left office
early in the year) presented
quorum problems within two
committees. Ultimately, the
board decided it was too late
in the year to make the cuts
and consolidation, but that it
would take up both this year.
During discussion, the
supervisors from New Berlin,
Preston and Smyrna supported Kreiner’s concern about a
personnel appointment that
Decker had made at the
beginning of the year, and
recommended a rules and
procedures
investigation.
New Berlin’s Ross Iannello,
who is politically unaffiliated, also suggested looking
into the rules that govern
whether the Finance Committee can pass resolutions without having them heard
through the committee system.
Kreiner acknowledged that
his budget amendments
him this year.) The beginning
of 2011 found him looking
over New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo’s preliminary budget address.
“We should be very concerned with what the state
does with their 2011/2012
budget. Cuts in Medicaid,
mental health, alcohol and
drugs, highway, public health
and youth bureau, and then
huge increases in retirement
benefits costs, will definitely
come down our way,” he said.
Albany’s talk of capping
property tax hikes at 2 percent were commendable, he
added, but only if mandates
are slashed accordingly. And
a complete take-over of Medicaid at the state level would
certainly unburden property
taxpayers, but Decker gave it
a “zero chance” of ever happening.
(New York is the only state
where local governments are
required to pay a portion of
Medicaid. Cuomo has suggested the state take control
of Medicaid administration
costs, at least.)
“The cost of the administration is nothing,” said Decker. “It just takes the control
away from locals while still
making them pay. They have
no idea what it’s like out here
in the real world. Lord knows
we have to help people who
need help, but we can’t just
Challenges
continue going down this
ahead
path. We’ve become a society
At 69 years of age and now that thinks we have to take
going on 14 years as Chenan- care of everything and everygo County’s leader, the chair- body. Too few people are
man said he is in no way paying the taxes for the
ready to step down. (There majority who aren’t,” he said.
were no challenges to unseat
would lighten the tax burden
only minimally, but said consolidation was the place to
start. “We keep having to
look at programs, maybe privatization. This is a place to
start,” he said.
Kreiner’s
amendments
were narrowly defeated, and
only by a lack of majority.
In an uncharacteristic
move, and one he recommended twice during the
budget season, Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C.
Flanagan
proposed
an
amendment that would have
raised taxes. However, after a
review of the budget details,
particularly about equalization rates and assessments,
Flanagan rescinded his
motion.
“There no question that this
board has had hard decisions
to make. There’s been a lot of
agony in the Finance Committee. The history is we have
gone up the ladder and dealt
with crises in the past. The
budget is supported by real
bricks and mortar growth,”
said Evans at the time.
City of Norwich Supervisor Linda E. Natoli said that
the county’s committee system had “weakened” this
year, with supervisors and
department directors making
“unilateral” decisions.
CONTINUED
ON
PAGE 45
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43
PROGRESS CHENANGO 2011
THE EVENING SUN
CWS
A unique blend of care and opportunity
BY TYLER MURPHY
The Evening Sun
ome people may
get
confused
when they first
learn that the local packaging company, CWS, is
a not-for-profit business
seeking to make a profit.
S
President and CEO John
McHale said his company is a
unique blend of community
care and employment opportunity that can’t be found
anywhere else in Chenango
County.
The 46-year-old company
surged in revenue by 27 percent in 2010 after completing
several lengthy and regular
audits by state, federal and
third party industry agencies.
“2010 was an extremely,
extremely successful year for
CWS, with significant growth
in sales. We expanded a number of services and completed
a number of quality audits,”
said McHale.
Of its 300 full-time
employees, CWS has about
120 integrated workers living
with vary degrees of physical
and mental disabilities.
“We treat them with the
same respect you would anyone else and they’re offered
the same opportunities,” said
Marketing Specialist Laurie
Isabell.
The workers also draw a
regular pay check. Because of
its status as a non-profit
agency CWS is also granted
limited tax relief. But in order
to establish that status, they
have to go further than just
hiring workers with disabili-
ties.
About another 100 people
with disabilities, some former
workers at the site, participate
in the CWS-funded Dayhabilitation Program or live in
company provided specialneeds housing.
The Dayhab program offers
a number of activities to participants who can spend the
day with specially trained
staff who encourage socializing and the development of
other skills.
CWS also provides independent housing apartments
for the disabled at sites in
Norwich, North Norwich and
Oxford. A staff of about 65
employees, including some
registered nurses, work at the
homes, four of which require
around the clock care,
explained Director of Residential Services Susan Kulis.
McHale said he puts the
company’s last year of success on the shoulders of its
disabled and regular workers
alike, along with their supervisors.
Though some might see a
challenge in how the company is run, McHale said he
only sees mutual opportunity
for both employees and the
business. He also has little
patience for stereotyping. In
fact, one of CWS’ official
goals is to improve the public’s perception of the disabled.
“When I visualize the program, I imagine a modern,
sophisticated pharmaceutical
company utilizing complex
machinery at one end, using
an employee with disabilities,
possessing high level skills,
CWS employee Brendan Conners works at one of the new
machines installed in 2010.
to turn out a valuable, cutting
edge product at the other,” he
said.
CWS attracts potential
workers with disabilities
through New York State
Office for People with Developmental Disabilities representatives called Medicaid
Service Coordinators. The
coordinators are responsible
for locating people with disabilities who qualify for an
Individual Service Plan,
which allows a designated
person to receive certain state
or federal aid depending on
their disability. Typically it’s
from this pool of candidates
CWS has drawn more than a
third of its current work
force.
Kulis said the coordinators
contact CWS when they
locate a person with disabilities in the area who wants to
work, often to create an
income or to develop workrelated skills.
She explained each referral
had an individualized plan
suited to a person’s desires
and strengths, which can vary
greatly depending on the disability. Kulis estimated that
about half the candidates who
apply could be introduced
into a productivity-based
work environment, while others join the work force in a
less competitive degree,
assuming personal improvement plans aimed at improving self-sufficiency and other
skills. As they progress, the
hope is a worker with a disability can gain new skills
and move to a more task-driven environment.
“Many don’t even realize
what they’re capable of until
they start to learn how. Some
never even imagined being
able to have a job at all,” she
said.
Sales Manager Jason
Lasicki put it this way:
“When an individual comes
into a program, we strive to
find each individual’s unique
gift rather than look at limited
abilities. We focus on what
they can do and not on what’s
incapable.”
Lasicki said CWS produces
between 80,000 and 100,000
individual packaged units a
day for its 35 customers. He
also said the company diversified its customers base and
the 10 largest accounted for
about 50 percent of the company’s revenue in 2010.
Director of Operations Eric
Moore also added the company faced a routine slew of
audits from the FDA, state
and customers. “The audits
inject a series of benchmarks
and achievable goals that
ensure constant quality,” he
said.
Another issue facing the
company is a hiring freeze
and possible staffing cuts to
OPWDD, whose representatives refer people with disabilities to CWS looking for
work.
In order to help recruit
local disabled community
members on their owns Vice
President of Rehabilitation
Lisa Bernard said CWS is
developing s relationship
with the Norwich High
School’s special education
programs. Bernard said she
hopes the cooperation will
create new opportunities for
young adults with disabilities.
“We’ve expanding to offer
experiences to students
whose school life experiences
differ quite a bit from the
work experience. We hope
the programs show them how
they can develop a productive
career some never knew they
could have. They also develop an idea of what to expect
as they grow into productive
members of our community,”
she said.
“I’m always impressed
with the compassion our staff
has here. Walking around at
one part of our company, you
could
observe
regular
employees and workers with
disabilities integrated side by
side, then at another location
you might come across a staff
member getting a hug hello
from a resident at an independent home facility. I don’t
know of many companies
who can say that,” said
McHale.
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Antique
& Flea Market
OPEN DAILY 8 AM - 5 PM
Rain or Shine
General Admission $5
Children under 12 Free
Rolling Antiquers
Old Car Club,
Norwich Region AACA
Chenango County Fairgrounds - 168 East Main St., Norwich, NY 13815 Information and Forms visit
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2011
Saturday, May 28 & Sunday, May 29
SATURDAY, MAY 28
Muscle Cars & Street Rods
SUNDAY, MAY 29
Antique Cars
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or call Sewain Conklin
607-336-1888
• Antiques and
Collectibles
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• Muscle Cars
• Military Vehicles
• Street Rods
• Motorcycles
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GENERAL ANTIQUES
Sylvia Drelich 607-334-5038
50 NORTH BROAD ST., NORWICH, NY
CAR PARTS
Dennis McCarthy 607-334-5486
MUSCLE CARS
Barb Strobel 607-334-8549
Clyde Beach 607-334-2901
SHOW CARS
Jim Roberts 315-765-0882
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Dennis McCarthy 607-334-5486
• Food & Beverages
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• Free Shuttle Buses to
and from parking lots
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Monday thru Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
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44
PROGRESS CHENANGO 2011
PUBLISHED
BY
THE EVENING SUN
Success Stories
Hospice & Palliative Care
of Chenango County
NBT Bank
Hospice & Palliative Care of Chenango County has cared for those facing the end of
life for nearly 25 years. Most Hospice patients wish to stay in the comfort of their home
receiving frequent visits from our professional staff and trained volunteers. Early on, Hospice primarily cared for cancer patients. While that myth persists, it is certainly no longer
true. Currently, half the people we care for have other end stage illnesses unrelated to cancer. Another significant evolution is the way individuals make their way into the Hospice
program. “It used to be that when the office phone rang, it was a Doctor’s office referring
a patient in need of Hospice care.” says Executive Director Patricia Outhouse. “Today,
however, the many of our patients begin care after a concerned family member requests
an informational visit to evaluate their loved one. We’re pleased with this change because
it demonstrates that the public is aware of our services, and they understand that they can
reach out independantly and ask for help.”
Although a family may not know the exact time to call Hospice, “we like to say, that it
is always appropriate to call for information,” says Outhouse. “However, most patients
come into the program when a cure is no longer the goal, and a shift toward comfort and
symptom management occurs.” Hospice has an Admission Nurse who takes calls, and
makes visits to discuss the benefits of Hospice care. Outhouse makes clear that there is
never any pressure for patients to “give up hope.” In fact, she says that Hospice is all about
hope. Hope that a patient can stay at home and be made comfortable so he/she can enjoy
family, friends and activities for as long possible. Recent studies have shown that Hospice
patients often outlive their prognosis because physical symptoms and pain is reduced, and
emotional pressures are eased. A multi-disciplinary clinical team of nurses, social workers, bereavement, and spiritual care counselors are available to help with difficulties as
they arise.
There were more than twice as many Medicare Hospice patients in 2010 than in 2000
although many seniors still don’t realize that Medicare has a Hospice Care Benefit for
which they may opt. An advantage for opting in is that once done, all medications related to the terminal diagnosis are paid for by Hospice with no co-pays. The medication benefit alone can save a patient hundreds of dollars a month. By the time patients enter Hospice they often feel buried in confusing bills and insurance forms. Our health care model
streamlines financial issues for families because we receive a per diem reimbursement
rate that is the same for every patient, whether that patient needs many nursing visits and
takes multiple medications, or the patient is relatively stable. The idea is that the reimbursement rate will average itself out in the end.
Hospice was fortunate to have three talented individuals join our staff in 2010. Nancy
Vosbrink was hired in the newly created position of Clinical Outreach Coordinator. She
acts as a liaison between health care providers and Hospice of Chenango County. Nancy
has spent her entire career in the health care field. She worked for 10 years at another
upstate Hospice, and has also worked in long term care as a Director of Social Work and
Adult Home Administrator. Nancy says she’s happy to return to Hospice work and wants
to help others learn how Hospice might benefit them. Kendall Drexler is our Volunteer
Coordinator. Kendall graduated from Sherburne Earlville HS, and earned her Master’s in
Social Work from Syracuse University. She wanted to work for Hospice because she
believes that people have the right to decide how to spend the final stage of their life.
Maureen Casey-Bryant has taken on the position of Bereavement Coordinator. She grew
up in Sullivan County and received both her undergraduate degree in Psychology, and
Master’s Degree in Counseling from SUNY Oneonta. Maureen has always been interested in working for an organization that cares for people. She was drawn to Hospice following the loss of her father.
Hospice’s interactive web-site is about to celebrate its first anniversary. It is an excellent place to start your Hospice search. There are pages designed to dispel long held
myths, and answer questions about referring a patient. Another area explains and encourages volunteerism, and a calendar of agency events and support groups is updated frequently. You can go online to read our Newsletters, email a staff member, and even purchase your spring flowers in a few months. The website can be found at www.hospicechenango.org. If you have other questions about Hospice or wish to become a
patient/family or administrative volunteer you can call the office at 334-3556.
While many in Norwich remember the NBT Operations Center at 51 South Broad Street as the former
A&P Supermarket, today the building houses over 150
employees who support NBT Bancorp’s operations and
systems. With 124 banking locations in three states, an
insurance company and a 401(k) plan recordkeeping
firm serving customers nationally, there’s an ample
amount of effort involved in maintaining daily operations and developing NBT Bancorp’s systems and technology to meet the company’s longer-term strategic
needs.
Despite the scope of their work assignments, NBT
Operations Center employees find time to initiate a
number of giving opportunities for their team. “I’m
very proud of the way my division has embraced the
spirit of community support and volunteerism that’s so
much a part of NBT’s culture and traditions,” commented Chief Information Officer Joe Stagliano. “As residents of the local community, we want to ensure that we
stay connected and look for opportunities to be
involved.”
The American Cancer Society is one organization
that has greatly benefited from this outpouring of support. During 2010, NBT Operations Center employees
continued their participation in the Relay for Life event
held annually in Norwich. To support this cause, their
Relay for Life team organized events throughout the
year – including raffles, candy bar sales, cook offs,
dress-down days and ice cream socials – to raise more
than $4,600 for Relay for Life.
Operations Director Ed Mitchell noted that NBT
Operations Center employees also support Catholic
Charities and Roots and Wings with annual drives to
collect school supplies in the fall and food and toys during the holiday season. “We kicked off our 2011 Relay
for Life fund-raising efforts last fall and held two dressdown days before year-end. Our team is looking forward to motivating even more employees to get
involved and exceeding our 2010 fund-raising total for
this year’s event,” said Mitchell.
NBT Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company
headquartered in Norwich, with total assets of $5.5 billion at September 30, 2010. The company primarily
operates through NBT Bank, N.A., a full-service community bank with two divisions, and through two financial services companies. NBT Bank, N.A. has 124 locations, including 86 NBT Bank offices in upstate New
York and northwestern Vermont and 37 Pennstar Bank
offices in northeastern Pennsylvania. EPIC Advisors,
Inc., based in Rochester, is a full-service 401(k) plan
recordkeeping firm. Mang Insurance Agency, LLC,
based in Norwich, is a full-service insurance agency.
More information about NBT and its divisions can be
found on the Internet at: www.nbtbancorp.com,
www.nbtbank.com,
www.pennstarbank.com,
www.epic1st.com and www.manginsurance.com.
Foster’s Cabinet Shop
“Woodworking is in my blood,” says Dan Foster,
owner of Foster’s Cabinet Shop, State Highway 23,
Norwich, NY. Since junior high school he has enjoyed
working in this medium.
After high school graduation Dan went to college for
air conditioning and refrigeration. This turned out to be
something he didn’t like to do. After quitting that
endeavor, Dan went to work for The Knotty Pine Shop
in New Berlin, NY, discovering once again he liked
working in wood.
A restoration shop in Norwich hired Dan to restore
antique furniture, teaching him a great deal about furniture construction, especially period pieces.
Always producing fine furniture for over 35 years in
a wide variety of reproductions and custom built, Dan
continues to enjoy his craft. Branching out to build custom design kitchens, libraries and baths keeps him
busy. His favorite woods to use are cherry, figured
maple, mahogany and walnut.
Dan has run a successful business for almost 30
years doing something he loves. Being very particular
as to the quality of his work – is a passion for him in
whatever he is working on, from the most simple piece
to the most complex.
Over the years he has had very few disappointed
customers. Dan says, “I always listen to the customer
as to what they want. After all, it is their project!”
Call Dan at 334-9145 or e-mail him at foster132370@yahoo.com with inquiries about your next
project.
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw
all the paint you can on it.”
DANNY KAYE
3rd ANNUAL
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PUBLISHED
BY
45
PROGRESS CHENANGO 2011
THE EVENING SUN
Chenango County Government
Supervisors struggle with state mandates –
CONTINUED
FROM
PAGE 42
Social Services
At the start of the 2011
budget development process,
Chenango County received a
promise of fiscal relief
through federal stimulus
monies for medical assistance. However, by mid session, the reality of lost
Department of Social Services administrative revenue
coupled with increased
spending requirements in
mandated programs quickly
eliminated most of it.
While caseloads climbed
considerably in 2010, DSS
Commissioner Bette Osborne
said the numbers of people
seeking assistance may be
leveling off now. DSS finished the year below anticipated (and budgeted) costs.
The commissioner has begun
to redeploy staff to higher
impacted areas as the needs
arise, such as in child protective services, cash assistance,
and food stamps.
Osborne said the biggest
challenge for 2011 will be the
change of leadership and
what will result. “We will
most probably be required to
implement more than the
usual changes to program
regulations and laws,” she
said.
In January 2010, 31 staff
moved into the renovated
administration building in
the former sheriff’s offices
across the street. Restructuring of remaining offices in
the County Office Building
began in the summer in order
to incorporate an interview
office area adjacent to a waiting room. Full time security
was incorporated into the first
floor interview area.
Prohibitive levels of arsenic
were discovered in the water
supply at Preston Manor and
septic systems continued to
plagued the county’s retirement home. Early in 2011,
engineers will be doing a
pilot system to determine the
feasibility of replacing the
water system. “We have every
hope of finishing the project
this year, said Osborne.
Unfunded
mandates
Chenango County’s towns
will directly feel the impact
of mandates passed off this
year when they begin picking
up dog licensing duties. The
state relinquished the job in
October, but still mandated
that towns purchase record
keeping software, tags,
licenses and pay the state $1
for every spayed dog and $3
for every unspayed dog to the
state.
“It’s a backdoor tax like
everything else,” said Decker.
Counties also got hit with
enforcing the new Leandra’s
Law, an ignition control lock
device that must now be
installed in DWI offenders’
vehicles and monitored by the
Chenango County Probation
Department.
Natural Gas
With continued interest in
developing New York’s Marcellus Shale, big oil and gas
companies moving into
Broome County and local
landowners wanted to lease in
the most environmentally
responsible manner, Decker
said the county’s Natural Gas
Advisory Committee has
done “an excellent job keeping us all informed.” The
committee is chaired by Preston Supervisor Peter Flanagan and supported by a consultant for economic development.
Town of Smyrna Supervisor James Bays, whose town
is the busiest with natural gas
activity, suggested the county Public Works
should support a co-generaPetroleum prices will
tion facility for its electrical
determine
how many miles of
needs.
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“In light of the budget and
the economic times we are
facing, we’ve got the gas here
and the gas is passing by. Mr.
Chairman we need to take a
very serious look at the possibility of revenues for our
county and reduced electricity rates for our taxpayers,” he
said.
Decker said the state and
national
debate
about
whether high water volume
hydraulic fracturing is environmentally safe needs to
“play itself out,” and he will
defer to the governor’s new
DEC director for direction.
“The EPA is looking into
new rules whether it is safe
for our drinking water, and
the governor has a new DEC
person on board who says,
‘wait.’ At our level we don’t
have a choice,” he said.
The legality for leasing
county properties to natural
gas companies is still on hold
at the state level. Despite the
region’s representatives being
on board with amending a
local law that currently prevents leasing, the legislation
is still being held up in
Albany.
In the past, the chairman
said he would be in favor of
developing a co-generation
power plant, more education
and training programs for
potential workers in the
industry and “anything that
will help local residents cut
down on energy costs and
that could benefit the taxpayers.”
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road resurfacing and paving
the highway department will
be able to do this year.
According to DPW Director
Randy Gibbon, 2011’s projections are for a bit less, or
36.53 miles. Bridges planned
include a new wooden deck
on Joslyn Road in Coventry
and the complete replacement
for Bliven Road in Preston.
Two culverts will be replaced,
one in CR 8 in McDonough
and one on CR 38 in Guilford.
“The amount of Consolidated Highway Improvement
funding for 2011 is up in the
air,” said Gibbon. “We won’t
know until the Governor
presents his budget.” CHIPS
determines what county and
local highway departments
can afford to do each year.
In 2010, the highway
department serviced 41.3
miles of county roads, including 28.52 miles of stone and
oil resurfacing in German,
McDonough,
Pharsalia,
Smyrna, Sherburne, Columbus, Norwich and Guilford
and 12.78 miles of asphalt
overlay on roads in Plymouth, Norwich, North Norwich, Oxford and Guilford.
Bridges in Greene, Norwich
and Smithville were replaced
or rehabbed.
A Recap
Decker is committed to
focusing on county government, and moving ahead. He
suggested that perhaps an
increase in personal income
tax might relieve some of the
pressure. Other suggestions
have included contracting for
nurses, finding another
provider for the alcohol and
drug program, consolidating
departments and creating a
capital project account for the
highway department and an
operations account for the
Public Safety Facility.
The board can be proud, he
claims, for budgeting and
paying off the Public Safety
Facility, the Department of
Social Services building, the
911 Emergency Communications Tower project and only
has one more bond to pay off
on the Pharsalia Landfill.
“I can’t control what happens at the state and federal
level,” he said, adding that
county has another two to
three years of surplus to sustain the economic doldrums.
But the chairman worries
about rising food and fuel
costs, coupled with a decline
in property tax collections.
“What are families going to
do?” he asked. “If they keep
passing on these mandates,
counties won’t be able to sustain it. We will all be in trouble.”
Two new supervisors came
onto the board with November’s elections: Pam Weidman, representing Columbus,
and Charles Mastro, representing Sherburne.
Sadly, the county mourned
the loss of one of its longtime
supervisors upon the death of
Harry Conley, who represented the Town of Sherburne for
21 years. And, in addition to
Evan’s retirement, the Mental
Hygiene Services Department seasoned director, Mary
Ann Spryn, retired, also after
21 years of service.
46
PROGRESS CHENANGO 2011
PUBLISHED
BY
THE EVENING SUN
Norwich Pharmaceuticals
New leadership, and a new vision for the future
BY BRIAN GOLDEN
The Evening Sun
onsidering
he’s
only been on the
job for a little a little over a month, it’s no
wonder Norwich Pharmaceuticals President
Terry Novak is focused
on the future of the contract manufacturer and
developer rather than its
past.
C
For Novak, there were several reasons for his acceptance of the position – the
impressive quality of the
leadership team and the 300plus employees at the plant,
the commitment to excellence in the pharmaceutical
industry both groups project
on a daily basis and the long
history the company has
within the community, dating
back to the days of Norwich
Eaton Pharmaceuticals and
Procter & Gamble.
In 2010, Norwich Pharmaceuticals greatly expanded its
pilot development suite to a
full-fledged research and
development suite, which
allowed the company much
more capacity for new customers, particularly in the
development phase.
According to Norwich
Pharmaceuticals Acting Vice
President and COO for parent
company Alvogen Elin
Gabriel, this was an exciting
opportunity to expand the
Norwich plant’s contract
development services with
much of the pharmaceutical
industry consolidating.
“This is part of Alvogen’s
corporate business plan for
“We have very few limits on
what we can and can not do.”
TERRY NOVAK
the Norwich site, and contract
development is where the real
growth has been,” she added.
While contract development – in 2010 – represented
approximately 20 percent of
total revenue for the company, Gabriel said that figure is
expected to increase to over
40 percent in 2011.
Development leads to a
new entity – or product –
which leads in turn to further
research and development.
Once filed and approved, the
new product is ready to go to
commercial production. At
the end of that process, the
North Norwich plant has
“basically participated in the
entire life-cycle of the product,” said Novak.
This gives Norwich a distinct advantage as Alvogen
continues to launch new
products and delve further
into research and development.
“The whole idea is that
we’re building this pipeline
which will amplify production in 2012 and 2013,” said
Gabriel. “This industry has a
very long cycle, sometimes
12 to 16 months, before you
see commercial development,
pending approval.”
Due to the nature of the
pharmaceutical industry and
the broad range of products
produced at the North Norwich plant – pills, tablets, liquid medications and contra-
ceptive products, just to name
a few – it’s no surprise that
Norwich Pharmaceuticals is
heavily driven by regulation,
commented Gabriel.
Due to the company’s outstanding regulatory reputation, there are many advantages for customers – and
potential customers – to come
to Norwich.
“One of the great competitive advantages we have in
Norwich is our wide range,”
said Novak.
“We have very few limits
on what we can and can not
do.”
In fact, the company
recently completed a Food
and Drug Administration
inspection, reported Gabriel,
which it typically receives
once per year.
“We have a long-standing
and excellent history of compliance when it comes to
pharmaceutical regulations,”
added Gabriel. “We receive
inspections from our customers, the FDA and, internationally, from the European
Medicines Agency.”
For 2011, the plan is to
continue investing in development capabilities, said
Gabriel, and over 50 percent
of the company’s budget is
expected to aid in that expansion, all in an effort to meet
these new business opportunities.
It’s a sign of growth, she
added, one that’s exciting for
everyone involved.
In addition, Norwich Pharmaceuticals is expected to
increase new business by
approximately 60 percent
over and above 2010 statistics, stated Novak.
This growth is of particular
importance to the dedicated
employees at the North Norwich plant, some of whom
remember the days, 20 to 30
years ago, when both volume
and activity were much
greater.
“We’re now in the early
days of rebuilding the Norwich plant into a flourishing
business enterprise they can
be proud of. People like to be
part of something successful
and we’re beginning to see
that,” said Gabriel. “We have
a really strong, excellent,
base of employees and
they’re extremely important
to our success. I’m personally
proud that we have this team
of people in place.”
That dedication spills over
into the community as well,
commented Novak, and Norwich Pharmaceuticals continues to be locally involved
with organizations such as the
Chenango United Way and
Relay For Life.
“This area is where the
majority of our employees
live, and in small communities like this, your job is a big
part of your life,” said Novak.
“We’re reclaiming that sense
of being one of the premier
employers in the area and
we’re definitely on an upward
climb. ”
For more information visit A Norwich Pharmaceutical inspector closely monitors his
www. norwichpharma.com.
assigned area, checking to make sure individual bottles of pills
are filling properly prior to their completed packaging further
down the production line.