Archive: News

High winds split a tree on Searles Road in half Thursday shortly before noon, knocking out one utility pole and hitting another.  There was minor damage to one house and to a mailbox. The Lansing Highway Department was on the scene almost immediately clearing debris from the street, using the Town's new Gradeall to remove tree parts.  As soon as they finished NYSEG trucks were on hand to repair damaged poles and power lines.  NYSEG estimated 220 customers were impacted by the outage.  Power was restored four hours after the incident.

The Village of Lansing Board of Trustees passed a $2.9 million budget Monday.  Mayor Donald Hartill said that the budget will keep the tax rate steady at last year's rate.  But he cautioned that expected reductions in sales tax and other revenues may mean putting some Village projects on hold.

"We're clearly going to have some challenges. One of the biggest income items is sales tax," Hartill said. "A lot of it is generated by motor fuels. Certainly my motor fuel consumption has gone way down and I'm assuming everybody else is in the same boat. So what we're going to have to do as we out more through the year, make some prioritized  decisions as to what projects we actually go forward with. We're actually in pretty good shape in terms of our roadways are in good shape. It could delay some of this stuff by a year without too much trouble."

The Town of Lansing is now accepting applications for the newly-established Town of Lansing Broadband Committee, whose role will be to advise the Lansing Town Board and Planning Department on all matters pertaining to or affecting the coordination, development, mapping, and funding of broadband internet access in the Town of Lansing. Please click here to submit an application online.

High-speed broadband service is increasingly essential for education, health care, economic development, tourism, emergency management, entertainment, telemedicine, telecommuting, and support of local businesses and property values, and there is a need to develop, expand, strengthen, and maintain broadband infrastructure throughout the Town at a level that allows for education, business and industry to compete on a global level based on data capacity, speed, and reliability of service. 

This is a limited appointment through the end of 2020; further terms will be made by calendar year at the discretion of the Town Board. Please submit your online application no later than Thursday, May 14th to be considered for inclusion on the Town of Lansing Broadband Committee at the Town Board’s regular meeting on May 20, 2020.

Congressman Tom Reed was joined by a group of New York state officials Tuesday, including State Senators O'Mara, Borrello, and Ortt, as well as Assemblymen Palmesano and Friend, to discuss the gradual reopening of upstate New York.

"As evidenced by the call, we all care about protecting the physical and economic health of our constituents and communities. Working together at every level of government, and in coordination with the private sector, we can slowly and safely begin bringing our region back online," said Reed.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that the New York State Department of Financial Services has initiated administrative proceedings and filed charges against Mallinckrodt plc and its subsidiaries, Mallinckrodt LLC and SpecGX LLC. These charges are the first to be filed in DFS' ongoing investigation into the entities that created and perpetuated the opioid crisis.

"The worst frauds are those that go beyond individual harm to institutionalized systemic fraud - and the opioid scheme is no exception," Cuomo said. "The opioid manufacturers knew how addictive and dangerous their products were and they used it as a business model for their own financial gain at the cost of thousands of human lives and billions of dollars. The damage they have caused by creating and perpetuating the opioid epidemic that is devastating our state and nation has been immeasurable, and we are taking action to ensure these big pharmaceutical companies are held responsible for their fraudulent practices."

Congressman Tom Reed commented Sunday on the ongoing negotiations to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and provide states with additional financial assistance.

"It is readily apparent state aid will not be able to get into the Paycheck Protection Program bill now being negotiated by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Speaker Pelosi. Congress is not in D.C. legislating and leadership will not allow virtual participation by legislators. As a result, passing the Paycheck Protection bill requires complete agreement among every Senator and House member, which makes including state and local aid in the replenishment bill impossible," Reed said. "However, the success gained in Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer agreeing on a revised formula for the distribution of state and local direct aid will help us protect local governments in the upcoming phase four negotiations. I applaud Pelosi and Schumer on these efforts."

Congressman Tom Reed announced Saturday that a new $19 billion United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) program intended to support farmers during the coronavirus crisis. Following the passage of the CARES Act, the USDA heard from the agriculture community and Members of Congress about areas of need and responded on April 17 with the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The program provides direct economic assistance to farmers, including $2.9 billion to dairy producers and $2.1 billion for specialty crop producers.

"We have been talking to our farmers regularly and hear their needs and concerns. Understanding our communities are hurting, the USDA has mobilized quickly to help farmers since receiving feedback from Congress last week," said Reed. "I am glad to stand with Secretary Purdue to support our farmers with this much-needed assistance. Between direct financial relief and purchasing programs, I am optimistic we can get through this crisis, standing together."

With directives coming from Albany daily because of COVID-19, municipalities are struggling to keep up.  Something that was open today might be closed tomorrow.  Or vice versa.  Empire State Development, the state agency that determines essential and nonessential businesses, made it possible last Friday for golf courses, previously closed, to reopen.  The agency also said marinas, boat launches, and boatyards could reopen.  But what does that mean?  Lansing officials grappled with how state coronavirus directives impact the town marina at the April Town Board meeting.

"The reference to closing marinas to prohibit launching of recreational boats, that's considered non-essential that came up under the guidance issued under 202.6 and 202.8, which means by definition it is guidance that's applicable to nonprofits and businesses, not governments," said Lansing Town Attorney Guy Krogh. "Secondly, it only deals with recreational boating. So,  if someone is going out as a commercially harvest perch for food service of some sort. Is that recreational? I don't know, but I know a lot of perch fishermen will suddenly say it's commercial.  If it's a charter, clearly it's recreational for people that have booked the charter, but it's a commercial boat and it's a commercial offer. I don't know what it means."

Legislature Passes Resolution Urging NYS to Release Enhanced Federal Medicaid Matching Funds, Receives Update on County COVID-19 Operations

The Tompkins County Legislature unanimously passed (14-0) a resolution calling on the State of New York to release enhanced federal Medicaid matching funds to Counties and New York City. The resolution, introduced by Legislator Shawna Black (D Town of Ithaca), urges New York State to return funds related to the Affordable Care Act "reconciliation funds" that have been held for over three years. Contact, Shawna Black, Chair, Health and Human Services Committee, 607-351-7855

County Administrator Jason Molino presented a timeline document detailing operations and communications since the last Legislature meeting. The presentation included data on food distribution by school districts and food banks in Tompkins County, inquiries to the 2-1-1 information hotline, and the increased number of visitors to the Tompkins County Health Department website over the past month. Contact Jason Molino 607-274-5551.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that the New York State Department of Financial Services will direct health insurers to provide cash flow relief to, and ease administrative burdens on, New York State hospitals in response to COVID-19. Relief provided to hospitals during the pandemic includes insurers' immediate payment of outstanding accounts receivables, suspension of preauthorization requirements for all hospital services, and prohibition of retrospective review of claims.

Nationwide nearly 160 million Americans are estimated to be less than three months away from running out of money.  16 million people were put out of work in a three week period because of COVID-19.  So many people have attempted to file for unemployment in New York State that the state's unemployment website 'collapsed', and this week Governor Cuomo instituted a streamlined form for applying for pandemic unemployment relief.  204,716 unemployment claims were made in New York State the week of April 13. By comparison, 12,048 the week of April 15, 2019.

All this loss of jobs will surely have an impact on income taxes. But for taxpayers, income tax only applies if you are earning income.  Property taxpayers have to pay no matter what their income is, and New York has the 9th highest property taxes of the 50 states.  The property tax portion of municipal revenue actually isn't an issue for the towns and villages.  Unpaid taxes are reimbursed by Tompkins County, which then takes on the responsibility of collecting the money,  What happens to properties whose owners have defaulted on their taxes because of lost jobs or any other reason?  That could be a problem.

Tompkins County Democrats running for New York State Senate and Assembly, and Tompkins County District Attorney held a 'Virtual Candidates Forum' forum Tuesday. The forum was hosted by Tompkins County Democratic Committee Chair Jim Gustafson in a Zoom meeting while being live-streamed on Youtube. Rather than summarizing the candidates' presentations we have embedded the video in this article so you can view the forum (below) to see for yourself what the candidates have to say.

The primary is scheduled for June 23rd. The Tompkins County Board of Elections (BOE) is recommending that voters request an absentee ballot, and submit the application via email, mail, or fax.  The application is available on the BOE Web site.