From the Desk of Warren County Administrator John Taflan
On May 23rd, Warren County issued Emergency Order 1 of 2023 to preempt the unilateral relocation of groups of asylum seekers from New York City to Warren County. I wanted to explain the purpose behind this Emergency Order and the steps Warren County has taken since the issuance of that order.
First and foremost, it is not our intent to prevent migrants from coming to Warren County. We have jobs here that migrants could possibly fill. Warren County has always embodied resilience and compassion. We successfully incorporated several families displaced by the war in Ukraine. However, there are substantial issues we need to resolve in order to assimilate large numbers of migrants into our County.
We issued the emergency order to allow us time to try to address some of these challenges:
1. Housing: There is a limited quantity of affordable housing in Warren County. Unlike urban centers, Warren County could not currently accommodate a sudden surge of people seeking shelter. Our existing housing infrastructure is stretched thin, with limited rental options and insufficient capacity to house a large influx of migrants. Our hotels and motels are fairly full this time of year with limited vacancies. After solving the challenge of finding sufficient temporary housing, we will need to find ways to permanently house the new arrivals. Our current housing market provides few long-term options.
2. Infrastructure and Essential Services: Our county human services agencies and healthcare facilities are already struggling to provide those essential services necessary for current residents. Already short-staffed and having difficulty filling vacancies, they will find it difficult to meet the human and medical services needs of the new arrivals. Transportation in our area poses its own challenges, as we lack the robust public transportation systems available in urban areas. The strain on social services, counseling, and legal aid could overwhelm agencies that are already overloaded.
3. Economic Challenges: New York City intends to cover the costs of hotels and food for an unspecified amount of time but the county would bear the cost of most of the necessary support and services. It could cost the county approximately five thousand dollars per person per month to properly host and accommodate the people who are relocated here. While Warren County is fortunate to have a solid budget position, our general fund reserve unquestionably will be impacted. We must have time to plan for this.
4. Employment: While there are ample jobs available in our county, asylum seekers are not eligible to work for six months after their arrival in the country. We need to have processes in place to help them find work when they’re eligible to start, and also to make sure they are able to get to and from work once hired.
We have formed a task force of Warren County human service organizations, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, community health facilities such as Hudson Headwaters Health Network and Glens Falls Hospital, and community charitable organizations such as Open Door Mission and The Salvation Army of Glens Falls.
The task force’s charter is to develop plans that will enable us to provide world-class, compassionate, sensible, long-term support to those who come here as asylum seekers. While well-meaning, suggestions that we house groups in church fellowship halls, firehouses or school gymnasiums are not feasible, sustainable or even humane without a long-term plan.
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