def get_region_by_county(county_name):
    # Define the dictionary of regions and their associated counties/boroughs
    regions = {
        "Western New York": ["Niagara", "Erie", "Chautauqua", "Cattaraugus"],
        "Finger Lakes": ["Orleans", "Genesee", "Wyoming", "Monroe", "Livingston", "Wayne", "Ontario", "Yates", "Seneca"],
        "Southern Tier": ["Steuben", "Schuyler", "Chemung", "Tompkins", "Tioga", "Chenango", "Broome", "Delaware"],
        "Central New York": ["Cortland", "Cayuga", "Onondaga", "Oswego", "Madison"],
        "North Country": ["Saint Lawrence", "St Lawrence", "St. Lawrence", "Lewis", "Jefferson", "Hamilton", "Essex", "Clinton", "Franklin"],
        "Mohawk Valley": ["Oneida", "Herkimer", "Fulton", "Montgomery", "Otsego", "Schoharie"],
        "Capital District": ["Albany", "Columbia", "Greene", "Warren", "Washington", "Saratoga", "Schenectady", "Rensselaer"],
        "Hudson Valley": ["Sullivan", "Ulster", "Dutchess", "Orange", "Putnam", "Rockland", "Westchester"],
        "New York City": ["New York", "Manhattan", "Bronx", "Queens", "Kings", "Brooklyn", "Richmond", "Staten Island"],
        "Long Island": ["Nassau", "Suffolk"]
    }

    # Trim any leading/trailing whitespace and convert to lowercase
    county_name = county_name.strip().lower()

    # Loop through the regions and check if the county is in any region's list
    for region, counties in regions.items():
        # Compare the county_name in lowercase with each county (also in lowercase)
        if county_name in [county.lower() for county in counties]:
            return region
    
    # Return a message if the county is not found
    return "Error"