Avon and County Enjoy Round-Table with Sen. Schumer

AVON – The Town of Avon was host to Senator Chuck Schumer Wednesday morning for a press conference on FCC regulations and an open round-table discussion with county officials.

Avon Town Supervisor David LeFeber was among eight local officials to meet with Schumer for an open talk on anything they wanted, from local taxes and dairy farming to how NAFTA will affect local agriculture and how rural communities can maintain access to high-speed internet.

“It’s important to know that the Senator is aware of broadband internet access concerns and is aware of NAFTA and how it affects agriculture,” said LeFeber. “It was good to hear his stances on tax reform and some of his ideas on taxes in NYS, property, income and sales tax are some of the highest in the country. We ask that any federal tax plan take that into consideration and make sure we’re on a level playing field with other states. It’s important to have this opportunity for grassroots to connect with someone in Washington and for us to hear the latest on what is happening in Washington in the next couple of weeks.”

The discussion included: Eric Gott, Livonia Town Supervisor and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors; County Administrator Ian Coyle; Bill Bacon, Director of the Livingston County Industrial Development Agency; Heather Grant, Livingston County Grants and Public Information Director; Laura Lane, President and CEO of the Livingston County Area Chamber of Commerce; Livingston County Planning Director Angela Ellis; Avon Village Mayor Thomas Freeman, and representatives of the NY Farm Bureau.

That round table followed a press conference during which Schumer laid out a comprehensive plan to provide major federal investments in high-speed internet called ‘A Better Deal: Universal High-Speed Internet.’ Schumer said that the FCC downgrading the minimum benchmark definition of internet service would ‘create the mirage of more widespread broadband service without actually improving quality or accessibility for high-speed home internet for Livingston County residents and businesses.’

He emphasized that the FCC pushing a lower standard would undermine access to genuine high-speed broadband for Livingston County residents and diminish access to vital broadband. Schumer called on the FCC to end all attempts to ‘define access down.’

You can see that press conference in full on our Facebook page here.

The Town presented Schumer with some cool whip from Kraft-Heinz down the road.

“We are glad to be able to have the Senator here and talk about the ways that he can help Avon and the County,” said Avon Town Supervisor David LeFeber. “It’s certainly a pleasure to have him in Avon and its shows that he cares about this community.”