Erie County offering assistance with high heating costs
By Mark Poloncarz


The Erie County Department of Senior Services is working hard on behalf of senior citizens throughout Erie County by providing advice and guidance to address higher-than-expected heating bills in the upcoming cold months.

Assistance is available to help defray those costs for qualified persons. In addition, there are also opportunities for homeowners on a fixed income to take advantage of an available duct cleaning and maintenance benefit. Ensuring that your home heating equipment is safe and working appropriately by having it inspected and professionally cleaned is something I encourage seniors to see if they qualify to take advantage of energy savings this winter.

The annual income guidelines to participate in this program are higher than people realize. For example, a senior citizen who lives alone with an annual income of $34,224 or less, would qualify. Another example would be a household of two people with an annual income of $44,760 or less also qualifying for assistance. To find out if you qualify, please reach out to our NY Connects hotline at (716) 858-8526 to speak to someone who can share more information about senior home heating help.

Our “Clean & Tune” benefit is available to assist homeowners in cleaning and tuning their primary heating equipment. This is a general service to assist with your home’s primary heating unit. The goal is to ensure that your home is being heated safely and as efficiently as possible.

Eligible homeowners must have resided in their currently dwelling for at least one year and have not had a clean and tune service performed on their primary health equipment within the past year. More information about this benefit can be found online by visiting www.erie.gov/heap/ceal-tune-benefit or by calling (716) 858-6765.
I encourage anyone who is a senior citizen or knows a local senior to take the time to do your research to see if help with home heating costs is a possibility and we can help avoid having anyone try and live in a cold home this winter.

I also want to provide an update on our inclusive playground installation projects currently happening inside three county parks. New inclusive playground equipment was recently installed at Como Lake, Emery and Ellicott Creek parks. When these projects are completed by Spring 2023, the end result will be brand new inclusive playgrounds at the three county parks mentioned above as well as at Akron and Chestnut Ridge parks. Each playground is a safe place for children of all abilities to enjoy while visiting one of Erie County’s five heritage parks.

I believe investing in our public parks helps ensure that all residents can enjoy them, regardless of their age or ability. I thank all involved with helping in the design and construction of these beautiful spaces and look forward to sharing details of future capital projects inside our public parks.