Archive: News

Village of Lansing officials say the $815,000 Triphammer repaving project is nearing completion.  Village officials say the traffic flow has been generally good and they have even received some compliments on keeping traffic moving during the paving.  Superintendent of Public Works John Courtney said Monday that all paving and striping will be complete by mid-next week.

"I'm hoping to have the striping done by Wednesday of next week," Courtney said.  "But if we get a little bit of rain, that's not good for striping.  The epoxy striping is very sensitive to rain and it can really throw the works out of sequence."

Pam Helming, Floyd Rayburn, Jermaine Bagnall-Graham

Candidates hoping to win retiring Senator Nozzolio's seat in Albany announced endorsements this week as the September 13th primary election draws near.  Multiple candidates from both major parties announced their candidacy soon after Senator Mike Nozzolio (R) announced he would not be running again this year.  The Republican field, which started at about a dozen candidates, has been whittled down to five.  Two Democratic candidates are running.

Canandaigua Town Supervisor Pam Helming (R) announced she has received overwhelming support from elected officials in her Ontario County as candidate for the 54th Senate District.  Last week she announced she had received an endorsement from the 25,000 member Police Conference of New York, Inc.

Town Will No Longer Handle Money for Non-official Committees

To be an official town committee or not to be?  That is the question facing two existing committees that inarguably add value to the quality of life in Lansing.  Town Board members discussed the official status of the Lansing Pathways Committee and the Friends of Salt Point and what that will mean for the groups' autonomy and finance handling.  At issue is whether or not the Town can hold funds for the committees, and who has authority over what they do.

"We're looking at it, and the short answer is the Town should not be managing any money that is not town-owned," Town Attorney Guy Krogh said at a Town Board working meeting Wednesday.  "The (required state) auditing procedures for these accounts have changed.  Now they've got a new set of standards, a new set of auditing requirements.  We're not a 501(c)(3) clearinghouse.  We're not a bill payer for a third party."

The Legislature's Public Safety Committee today recommended that Tompkins County contract with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County (CCE) to provide coordinated reentry services for inmates of the Tompkins County Jail.  The committee, by a unanimous 5-0 vote, recommended that County Administrator Joe Mareane be authorized to execute the one-year contract with Cooperative Extension, to take effect as of September 7.

As part of an extensive review of the County's alternatives-to-incarceration programs, the County's Criminal Justice/Alternatives to Incarceration Board (CJATI) developed the Tompkins County Reentry Plan, presented last fall, to more effectively transition inmates from the jail back into the community—the goal to reduce recidivism rates, reducing the jail population over time.  The recommended contract will support those coordinated, direct inmate reentry services.

Canandaigua - Floyd Rayburn, conservative republican running for New York State Senate, 54th district, says he if he's elected he will introduce the companion bill to Assemblyman Ronald Castorina's bill 'Blue Lives Matter.'  Castorina is an assemblyman from Staten Island who will introduce the bill tomorrow, August 6th.

Castorina's bill would increase the penalties for the use of physical force against a police officer.  He argues two years of demonstrations have put an even larger target on police officers backs than they already had.  The bill would recognize police officers as a protected class.

Castorina highlights the recent assassinations of cops in Dallas, Louisiana and the NYPD in moving forward with this legislation.

Congressman Tom Reed announced his office has successfully completed its 10,000 constituent assistance case. "We care about our friends and neighbors and we stand ready to serve them at any of our office locations," said Reed. "It's only right that we continue to hold our government accountable and  make sure that those who need help getting results from a federal agency find a speedy resolution."

Since assuming office in 2010, Reed has prioritized efforts to remain accessible to the people of the 23rd Congressional district. Reed has held over 200 town hall meetings and has now completed 10,052 constituent assistance cases which include over 2,000 cases for veterans and 1,200 for seniors.

New York state's Medicaid system made as much as $12.1 million in inappropriate payments during 2015, including $2.3 million for dead patients and millions more for recipients who had been dropped from long term care coverage, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. By the end of audit fieldwork, about $2.1 million of the overpayments were recovered.

"My auditors continue to find glitches in the Department of Health's payment control systems that allow wasteful payments to be made," DiNapoli said. "The department agreed with most of our recommendations and is working to fix the problems we have uncovered. It should recover up to $10 million that should not have been spent."

Over 60 people filled the Lansing Town Hall Wednesday for a public hearing on the latest draft of the Town's comprehensive plan revision.  More than three years in the making a 99 page (not counting appendixes) draft was available on the Town Web site, with hard copies in Town and Village of Lansing offices and the Lansing Community Library.  Seven people voiced opinions on the document Wednesday, siting concerns about representation of existing elderly residents, zoning and land use, town-citizen communication, growth and town-wide representation. 

"Primarily it's a guideline," explained Lansing Planning Consultant Michael Long.  "It gives you the basis for making future decisions for other processes.  the things that most likely follow a comprehensive plan is an update to your land use ordinance for your zoning rules and regulations."

The Lansing Board of Education got a look in the crystal ball Monday to see what projects are planned in the district's future.  While the septic project is being closed out and the SMART Project picking up steam, Business Administrator Mary June King told the School Board about additional projects anticipated as far out as 2027.  While necessary infrastructure upgrades and repairs are slated for the near future, additions to instructional space and outdoor athletics facilities are being contemplated.

"We are working diligently on preparing a significantly planned 2018 project based on the building conditions survey that was just conducted," she said.  "We started at about nine or ten million for all of the costs, and we've been trying to wheedle it down a little bit.  There are some things that they cite in our building conditions survey that we can put into our preventative maintenance program.  We don't get the state aid on those things, but they are small."

Lansing Fire District Treasurer George Gesslein warned fire commissioners Tuesday that staying below the state mandated tax cap will impede their ability to maintain their fleet of fire trucks.  Gesslein said that the cap would require a one cent reduction in the tax rate if commissioners choose not to override it.  But he warned that the district won't have funds for future purchases if it can't maintain reserves at a sustainable level.  He estimated the drop in the tax levy will cost the budget $20,000 if the cap is not overridden.

"I can find a place to squeeze it out of if you want to keep to the tax cap," he said.  "My major concern is that we've got some very big apparatus purchases coming up, and I need to know whether to keep them on the capital plan schedule, or change that schedule.  Because we have got to have enough money to pay for these things, rather than go out and borrow."

The Tompkins County Health Department is reminding residents of the continued need for water conservation, despite the rain that's been received in recent days.

"The rain we have received has produced some short-term improvement," notes Tompkins County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa.  "However, it is important to note that weather reports for our area support continued drought, despite some rainfall received over the past three days.  Tompkins County needs 6 to 9 extra inches of rainfall to alleviate much of the drought impact."  Mr. Kruppa noted that three-quarters of an inch of rain per week would help reverse drought conditions.

Much Deliberation, But No Agreement to Schedule Hearing on Proposed Sheriff Local Law
Considering the issue during two hours of deliberation, the Tompkins County Legislature failed to yet move forward with scheduling formal public comment on a proposed Local Law that would modify the position of County Sheriff.  The Legislature's special Charter Review Committee had recommended adoption of the law that, subject to voter approval, would remove law enforcement responsibilities from the elected position of Sheriff and transfer them to an appointed Commissioner's position under a new county Department of Police, with the Sheriff retaining responsibility for the position's civil functions, including operation of the jail.

Any change in the position would not take effect until after the end of the current elective term of Sheriff, as of January 1, 2019.  Saying that it's time to bring the issue to a head, Legislature Chair Mike Lane stressed that the action would not do away with an elected sheriff, but would retain some of its functions and establish a county police department led by a Commissioner that would be selected based on professional qualifications.