Archive: News

Amendments Adopted to 2015 Tentative Budget
The Legislature formally adopted amendments to the County Administrator’s 2015 Tentative Budget and the Capital Program for the next five years, as recommended by the Expanded Budget Committee.  The vote was unanimous, with Legislator Martha Robertson excused.
 
The amended budget would increase the County tax levy by 2.5% and decrease the countywide average tax rate by 0.45%.  The recommended tax rate of $6.86 per thousand is about a penny higher than in the Administrator’s budget, representing an increase of $8.67 for the median-valued $165,000 home.  Since the increase would be below the adjusted 3.14% State property tax cap, the amount would be returned to the homeowner under the new property tax freeze law.  The amended budget also includes a $4.00 decrease—to $52.00 per household—in the County Solid Waste Fee.

County Plan Moves Toward Completion While The Lansings Struggle With Their Plans

The Tompkins County Planning Department held its fifth of six open houses at the Lansing Town Hall Wednesday to answer questions and receive feedback about its draft Comprehensive Plan update.  The County is nearing the end of a nearly two year process, creating a major update to the plan that guides county officials as they make decisions on growth and development.  Deputy Commissioner of Planning Joan Jurkowich says the meetings are part of an ongoing drive to solicit public input into the document that will craft the county's future.

"We're reaching new people," she says.  "We're quite happy with that.  Largely the people we're seeing now are people we haven't seen before, so that's a success for us.  We're not just hearing the same people saying the same thing."

On October 15th County Legislator Mike Sigler, representing Lansing on the Legislature, alerted the Lansing Town Board to a letter by County Planning Commissioner Ed Marx that could negatively impact development on and around Warren Road.  Marx wrote a strongly worded letter urging that current natural gas users reduce their use and that the Energy Committee evaluate the feasibility if switching from natural gas to renewable energy sources.

"I believe this memorandum coming out of the Planning Department will be very detrimental to the Town of Lansing," Sigler said.  "I opposed this at the Planning Committee meeting and will continue to do so."

Six weeks after receiving a recommended 2015 County Budget from County Administrator Joe Mareane, Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee have begun to recommend changes to the budget—all of Tuesday’s proposed amendments adding to the Administrator’s budget.
 
Before deliberations began, Administrator Mareane informed Legislators of an artificial increase in calculation of the County’s tax cap for 2015, from reconciliation of the sales tax credit that goes to five towns.  Although the cap calculation increases about half-a-point—from 2.65% to 3.14%--the calculated cap would decrease by that amount in 2016, and the Administrator advised that 2.65% continue as the benchmark used for the coming year, with the resulting carryover then used to offset the artificial decline in 2016.

TCAT announced Tuesday that Cornell University has committed to increase its fare payment to TCAT, Inc. for the next three years by a total of $1,125,000.
 
At present, Cornell pays nearly $2.6 million each year via a volume discount plan for passes added to ID cards for students, employees and retirees either via discounts offered by the university or free for first‑year students or other members of the Cornell community. As an example, all registered students can ride free after 6 p.m. and on weekends simply by using their IDs at the farebox.  Cornell IDs, used as bus passes in 2013, accounted for 71.4 percent of all of TCAT's ridership.

Lansing Central School District Business Administrator Mary June King told the Board Of Education Tuesday that a New York State Energy Research and Development (NYSERDA) grant for an approximately 2 megawatt solar array has been approved.  The grant will go to Dynamic Energy to construct an approximately 6,000 panel array.  The school district will buy the power from Dynamic Energy, saving an estimated $45,000 in the first year.

"We're very excited about this," King said.  "I'll have several meetings about this in the next several weeks as we negotiate the power purchase agreement, determine which plot of land we can put this array on, etcetera.  Everyone is excited about it."

The Legislature’s Planning, Energy, and Environmental Quality Committee focused on the issue of energy in much of its deliberations today.

The committee, without dissent, recommended that the Legislature formally oppose underground hydrocarbon storage adjacent to Seneca Lake.  Considering the matter in response to a request to Legislature Chair Mike Lane from retired healthcare executive Dr. Rob Mackenzie, who resides in the Schuyler County Town of Hector, the resolution, to go before the full Legislature November 6, joins other municipalities in respectfully requesting that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation withhold or rescind approval of any plan for gas storage adjacent to Seneca Lake.

New York State has instituted a rebate to property taxpayers that theoretically makes up for the difference between last year's school tax and this year's.  But the plan is complicated and requires local taxing authorities to not only keep below the so-called 2% tax cap, but to document and meet other requirements.  At a joint Town Board and Board of Education meeting Wednesday, former lansing Town Councilwoman Connie Wilcox told the Town Board that the Town could end up spending more to qualify its taxpayers for the checks than the rebate is worth.

"To me it makes no sense to put the time, effort and resources into coming up with these figures when you look at what the possible payback to taxpayers will be," Wilcox said.  "The majority of people in this town would rather see town resources put to better use than to deal with this ridiculousness that will probably not net the taxpayer a significant amount.  I urge you to follow suit with the Village of Lansing and the City of Ithaca, and not move forward with this futile exercise."

Kingdom Farm has been for sale for many years, but 'For Sale' signs have only appeared relatively recently.  The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is reportedly asking $3 million dollars for the 500 acre farm, and there has been interest from local and not-so-local farmers and developers.  Local farmers and Lansing Agriculture Plan Committee told the Lansing Planning Board what they would like to see happen, but lamented that the price is too rich, and at least some of the soil is not rich enough for their palate.  Some wondered if the Town could intervene to help local farmers purchase the land and keep it as farm land.

"It's always been the intent that we keep the northern part of this town a rural agricultural area," Ag Plan Committee member and former Councilwoman Connie Wilcox said.  "I think it's a real shame that kingdom Farm is asking as much as they are.  I know a couple of farmers that would have bought it if it wasn't $6,000 per acre.  A farm I know of looked at it, and another consortium as well.  But the soil is not that good.  I hate to see it turn into a big development.  Just look at Buck Road.  That used to be farms and now it's just houses."

Program Income Funds Committed to Continue Housing Fund
The Legislature approved the funding commitment necessary to continue its partnership role in the Tompkins County Housing Fund for another six years.  The Legislature, by unanimous vote (Legislators Martha Robertson and Kathy Luz Herrera were excused) committed the County to provide up to $600,000 over six years to be loaned or granted through the Housing Fund, provided that the City of Ithaca also commit at least that amount and Cornell University at least $1.2 million for the period 2015-2020.  The commitment is also contingent upon the Legislature, City of Ithaca, and Cornell University accepting and approving a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to continue the Housing Fund.
 
The action would extend the arrangements made among the three parties in 2009, when the Housing Fund was created, and would replace the initial MOU, which expires in April of next year.  The County’s funding has come from repayment of homeowner assistance loans using Community Development Block Grant awards from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and New York State.  Under HUD rules, the program income funds must be re-spent for like purposes as the original grants.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced last week a new reduction in management fees for the state's 529 College Savings Program's Direct Plan. It is the fourth fee reduction since 2009 for Direct Plan account holders across the state. New York's Direct Plan has more than 650,000 accounts valued at more than $16 billion.

"New York's 529 College Savings Program has provided more than $524 million to help parents across the state pay for college this year," said DiNapoli. "The latest reduction to the Direct Plan's management fees means that more money will be available to help parents plan ahead for college. As the price of higher education continues to rise nationwide, every little bit helps parents make their money go further."

Lansing Fire District Treasurer George Gesslein confirmed Tuesday that the tax rate for fire taxes will be 90 cents, down from 94 cents last year.  With two major capital projects complete, and healthy reserves for upcoming projects, Gesslein says that even with the lower tax rate he expects to be able to add 300,000 new dollars into reserves.

"The budget was also made with a lower assessment for the district," noted Fire Commission Chairman Robert Wagner.