As the article in today's Gazette points out, Princetown pays NO town taxes, yet receives a disproportionate amount of county road patrol service. And why is the solution always given is consolidation of police services. Why not Duanesburg and Princetown fund their own police service?
It's called "Redistribution" - get used to it if Tuesday goes to Obama.
Vivat Jesus Knights of Columbus, Third Degree Tempus fugit, memento mori.
see he wants to get rid of the policemen and leave us un - protected this is what I mean about the repubs how they operate over here it is a dis- gratzia
Certainly Rotterdam is not unprotected considering the well dressed officers we pay for......they certainly understand the difference in the town between the Eastside bordering with the city and the Westside bordering the cow tippers.......
YES???????
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
When I left the county legislature meeting at 11 pm tues night, I personally walked away from that meeting feeling that the people of Rotterdam are not being represented fairly. That the representatives that we have elected to represent us are not given the respect, equal time or courtesy to voice the concerns for the people of Rotterdam.
For this reason I would suggest looking into abolishing the county legislature and forming a board of supervisors. Would there still be similar issues? Perhaps. But "we the people" would have one less layer of government to go through, and pay for.
It can be achieved by a vote of Legislators (never happen) or referendum. The latest County budget fiasco should be a wake up that we need a Board of Supervisors. It would win 2 to 1 and save County taxpayers millions of dollars. We need to organize and start petitions after the New Year. It will be on the Nov 2009 ballot.
It can be achieved by a vote of Legislators (never happen) or referendum. The latest County budget fiasco should be a wake up that we need a Board of Supervisors. It would win 2 to 1 and save County taxpayers millions of dollars. We need to organize and start petitions after the New Year. It will be on the Nov 2009 ballot.
10% of 150,000 voters = 15,000 signatures. Should be no problem county wide for a referendum.
“Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” Thomas Jefferson
Did anyone get to read this in the gazette today? This is just a small part that may me chuckle a bit.
Quoted Text
Finn, who campaigned on a pledge to control taxes, last week joined Republicans in voting against the county’s 2009 budget, which contained an 8.8 percent increase in the property tax levy. Finn’s vote came after majority Democrats adopted amendments that reduced the increase by 4 percent. Democrats did not need his vote, however, as they had enough to pass the budget. County Democrats also cited state mandates as the main reason for the property tax increase in the 2009 budget.
“Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” Thomas Jefferson
Posted on: 11/05/08 Jackie Sher email: news@spotlightnews.com
Schenectady County Democrats shaved the proposed tax increase from 12.9 percent to 8.9 percent through a series of amendments before approving the 2009 budget, 10-to-5, but GOP legislators argued that the cuts didn’t do enough.
At a meeting of the Schenectady County Legislature on Thursday, Oct. 30, the Democrats proposed a hiring freeze, energy conservation measures and other cost-saving steps, but Legislator Robert Farley, R-Scotia, said, “The simple fact of the matter is that Schenectady County taxes too much and spends too much, giving far too little value to its taxpayers. Programs such as the library and community college are run well, but far too many other programs are overly bloated, packed with patronage and poorly administered.”
Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, unveiled the amendments, which were made to trim the county budget. Under this budget, the average homeowner in Schenectady County, with property valued at $150,000, will see an approximate $86 increase to his or her taxes this year, versus the originally proposed $125 increase.
“From my perspective, I would say this was the most difficult budget that we have had to develop in my five years in the legislature,” said Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady. “I think we did a good job.”
Chairwoman Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, said unfunded mandates continue to be responsible for increases in spending at the county level. She said that they’re managing the costs that they can directly control, but mandated costs continue to increase, and that’s what is driving county tax increases.
“If New York state would assume the cost of Medicaid rather than pass it on to counties, we could reduce property taxes in Schenectady County by 50 percent,” said Savage, in a written statement. “New York is the only state in the nation that requires counties to pick up the cost of Medicaid. New Yorkers are in dire need of real property tax relief, and a state takeover of Medicaid would allow us to provide it.”
Martin Finn, D-Niskayuna, who voted against party lines on the budget, said it was not an easy decision for him, but he is not in favor of increasing taxes at this time.
“It was a very difficult vote for me because I saw how hard Kathy Rooney and her staff worked, trying to do the best they can and in terrible circumstances,” said Finn. “I saw how hard Philip Fields … did the best he could paring down the county manager’s budget. I understand that they’re doing the best they can with a scalpel.”
He also said he believes the overall size of government should be smaller.
“Having spent the last several months walking around my district and talking to people who can’t afford the taxes they’re already paying, I couldn’t approve a tax increase,” said Finn of his vote.
Farley said that the GOP’s version of the budget set a tax levy decrease of 2 percent and pared it down to $59 million.
“We’re in a situation where they raised taxes again. They’ve done it virtually every year since they’ve been in office,” said Farley of the county Democrats.
Angelo Santabarbara, R-Rotterdam, said he was also concerned about the effect the tax increase would have on residents.
“The people we represent have asked us for tax relief. As their elected representatives, it’s our job to find a way to deliver that relief,” said Santabarbara before voting against the budget proposal. “This county is already the 12th highest taxed county in the nation, and this budget does not do enough to reduce taxes -- it raises taxes. I believe we can do more and actually cut taxes this year; we just need to be willing to do it.”
Hughes said legislators did consider the GOP proposals for reducing the budget, but felt that many of the calculations were off the mark.
“We had quite a bit of discussion at the meeting about the minority amendment on the budget,” said Hughes. “We did scrutinize those amendments as closely as we scrutinized the manager’s proposal … and felt that they were significantly out of balance. The map didn’t work in those cuts and would have ultimately resulted in a larger increase than what the manager was proposing. … It’s nice to be able to try to go deeper, but you have to do it in a responsible manor, and those proposals upon close analysis were not careful.”
The proposed amendments that did make it into the county budget included a countywide energy conservation plan, Medicaid fraud reduction strategies, a hiring freeze for non-essential employees, and a request to the state Legislature asking the state to cover Medicaid costs.
“These non-mandated services must be preserved,” said Savage “They make Schenectady County a special place to live and raise a family.”
Logged
It can be achieved by a vote of Legislators (never happen) or referendum. The latest County budget fiasco should be a wake up that we need a Board of Supervisors. It would win 2 to 1 and save County taxpayers millions of dollars. We need to organize and start petitions after the New Year. It will be on the Nov 2009 ballot.
