Cattaraugus County is a municipal corporation with a
population of approximately 83,955. The County was formed for the purpose
of exercising the powers and discharging such duties of local government
and the administration of public affairs as may be imposed or conferred
upon it by law.
The Legislature is the governing body of the County. It consists
of 21 members elected from 10 legislative districts for four-year terms.
It is the specific duty of the County Legislature to conduct the
peoples' business as a vital unit of local government, assuming responsibility
for planning, financing and operating municipal services County-wide. In
addition, the Legislature must provide adequate employees to carry out
those duties. Cattaraugus County utilizes a County Administrator,
appointed by the Legislature, in order to coordinate the daily operations
of County Government. The County Legislature works under a committee system, which comprises
all the areas of responsibility. These committees include: Finance, Public
Works, Strategic Planning, County Operations, Public Safety, Human Services,
Development & Agriculture, Senior Services and Labor Relations.
The goal of County government and the County Legislature is to provide
the traditional role as an arm of State government, while also taking a
more non-traditional role which seeks to establish the County as an agency
that analyzes service needs, sorts them in an orderly manner, and realigns
and consolidates services so they may be performed most effectively and
financed most economically. |
