 National Association of Counties * Washington, DC / Vol. 30, No. 14 * July 20, 1998 named County Leader of the Year
Erie County (N.Y.) Executive Dennis Gorski has been named County Leader of the Year by American City & County magazine. Gorski, a three-term Democrat and lifelong resident of Buffalo, has helped turn around Erie County with a business-oriented approach that has, over the past 10 years, helped the county add 10,000 new jobs. His programs have helped eliminate the $75 million deficit he inherited in 1987, produced 10 consecutive balanced budgets and cut the county's welfare burden by 20 percent with job and fraud detection programs. Additionally, Gorski has cut the county's workforce by 1,500 employees and consolidated a number of county departments. Recently, he announced a three-year freeze on property taxes, the first freeze of its kind in the state. Gorski is presently pushing a multi-million dollar regionalism plan that would encourage rehabilitation of brownfields and greenfields to attract new businesses, create a program to market the region, establish a Business Relocation Fund and prepare a "smart growth" master plan. He also intends to establish a Center for Cooperative Economic Growth to help the county's three cities, 25 towns and 16 villages develop a consensus on regional economic priorities. Gorski, who will be profiled in the July issue of the magazine, will receive his award July 21 at NACo's Annual Conference in Portland, Ore.
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In photo at right: Dennis Gorsky,