Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz says, starting tomorrow, the county's Rodent Control Program will be restored to full strength. Poloncarz pledged its reinstatement, if elected.
"Tomorrow is a bad day to be a rat," Poloncarz joked.
Speaking to reporters at the Rath Building, the County Executive noted the previous administration cut the Rodent Control Program to the bone. That, according to Poloncarz, proved to be a serious mistake.
"We all know that this was not in the best interest of the community. This created a public health risk and as we've seen in the last year with the increasing rodent population in Erie County, by not having the rodent control program in place, we were putting the public at risk," Poloncarz said.
Beginning tomorrow the County Health Department-run Rodent Control Program will employ several additional personnel to perform rodent baiting and conduct proactive neighborhood blitzes, at a cost of approximately $500,000. The state will reimburse the County one-third, or $166,000, of the yearly cost.
Poloncarz says reinstating the Rodent Control Program makes good sense, both from a health perspective and a savings perspective. He says residents have asked him about reinstatement of the program often over the last two years.