Archive: News

On Tuesday, August 14, 2012, the Penfield Central School District is expected to appoint current Lansing Superintendent Dr. Stephen Grimm as their next Superintendent. Dr. Grimm has served the Lansing school and community since January of 2008.

"Dr. Grimm is a first class superintendent," Board President David Dittman said. "He is fiscally adept, academically balanced, transparent, and caring and sensitive, with the education of the children always foremost in his decision process. His management style is collaborative, including teachers and community in important decisions, but as a true leader he takes responsibility for the decisions that he makes. Penfield Central School District is fortunate to have him as their leader. His talents will be very difficult for Lansing Central School District to replace."

The first of many public information sessions on a proposed sewer district in Lansing attracted about 55 residents to the Town Hall Tuesday.  Members of the Sewer Committee gave a presentation on the proposal, and attempted to answer questions from the public.  Town Supervisor Kathy Miller began the meeting by explaining why sewer is vital to the Town, saying that school revenues in particular ar at risk because of the plummeting value of the district's largest taxpayer, the AES Cayuga power plant.

"Although the town collects taxes from AES, it is the schools that have relied on the taxes paid by this business to cover a large part of their budget costs every year," Miller said.  "No one is sure what the future holds for AES, but it is time for the Town and the schools to stop depending on AES.  Unless we can attract business and light industry to Lansing residential payers like you and I will have to make up the lost revenues due to the decline and possible demise of AES Cayuga.  In order to attract business to Lansing we need municipal sewer."

Tompkins County Legislature Chair Martha Robertson was in the nation’s capital last Friday (July 27th), where she met on Capitol Hill with staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to express the Legislature’s concern about hydrofracking.

"My purpose in meeting with the staff of the Senate Energy Committee is to raise awareness of the destructive carbon footprint of shale gas compared to other fossil fuels,” says Robertson.

IncludED Educational Services, a Cedarhurst-based provider of special education services, inappropriately charged New York City’s Department of Education (DoE) and others more than $2.6 million over a two-year period, including more than $850,000 in salaries paid to the sons and other relatives of its executive director, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The findings have been referred to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

“Waste, fraud and abuse cannot be tolerated in our special education programs, but my auditors keep finding it,” DiNapoli said. “Allowing these abuses to continue deprives children with disabilities of the resources intended for them and threatens the entire private special education program. The state and localities need to improve their management and oversight of special education providers to make sure taxpayers get what they’re paying for and students aren’t cheated.”

The Great Recession has created difficulties for many local governments that continue to threaten their fiscal health, according to an analysis issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The study found that nearly 300 local governments had deficits in 2010 or 2011 and more than 100 had inadequate cash on hand to pay their current bills.

The analysis warns that some municipalities and school districts have become increasingly vulnerable to unanticipated expenses such as emergencies, mandates and unexpected spikes in the costs of goods and services. The report is based on an analysis of data from 4,000 local governments and recent audits.

Brixmore Properties representatives presented a plan Tuesday to give the Cayuga Mall a face lift and bring three new national chains to the space vacated by the P&C grocery last year.  Brixmore Construction Vice President Haig Buchakjian and architect James Knittel showed the Village of Lansing Planning Board preliminary drawings of a new building facade and a storage/ garden center-type area to be used by a proposed True Value Hardware/Agway store.

Buchakjian asked the Planning Board to conditionally approve the proposal so he can complete contract negotiations with three new tenants including True Value, JoAnne Fabrics, and Party City.  But unanswered questions about parking and traffic prompted the board to continue a public hearing for another two weeks.

The Village of Lansing Planning Board Monday approved a special permit to construct a new fire station on Oakcrest Road.  The 6,300 square foot fire station is planned for the same property where the old Village fire station was located before it was demolished earlier this year.  Originally built in 1972, the building had deteriorated to the point where Fire Commissioners determined it was not worth repairing the building, and service bays were too small to accomodate large modern fire trucks.

"The old station wasn't big enough to house the units that we needed," Walters says.  "We couldn't house the trucks that we needed there. This will give us more room to fit the vehicles that are needed to answer the calls in the Village, with a new look that we hope will draw people to bunk there."

The Lansing Town Board was briefed on the sewer project Wednesday, and learned that it would not be practical to hold a vote on the sewer in September as Sewer Committee members have hoped.  Town Attorney Guy Krogh laid out the steps needed before the district can officially be formed.

The Town would have to have to have a final map plan and report that meets all the requirements and regulations of State statutes.  Krogh said the last draft of the map plan submitted by Hunt Engineers he saw was missing about a half dozen items necessary to meet those requirements.

The Cayuga Power Plant, Lansing's largest property taxpayer, may be mothballed by January 16th.  In a July 20 letter sent to the New York State Public Service Commission plant manager Jerry Goodenough provided the commission written notice that the plant's two operating units may be shut down.  But new developments planned for a Lansing Town Center could make up for some revenue losses to Lansing schools and the Town.  Four developments on the drawing board could generate more tax monies in their first year than this year's power plant loss.

"If the market rate housing project comes in at $16.5 million that would generate $330,000 in school taxes," Lansing Economic Development Committee Chairman Andy Sciarabba said.  "Four projects (that are currently proposed for the new Town Center)... the year the fourth one is done they will generate $753,000 for the school district and $64,000 for the Town.  That's the market rate project proposed by Calimar, and three projects proposed by NRP that will be affordable."

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of Section 6-108 of the New York State Election Law, that a Democratic Caucus will be held on August 6, 2012, at 7:00 PM at the Lansing Community Center, 29 Auburn Road, in the Town of Lansing, County of Tompkins, State of New York.  The purpose of this caucus is for making nominations of candidates for public office in the Town of Lansing for the election to be held on November 6, 2012.  All duly enrolled members of the Democratic Party in the Town of Lansing are eligible to participate and vote.                                                      


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Weak tax revenues in May and June, coupled with increasing indicators of softening in the economy, indicate a need for heightened caution through the remainder of New York State’s 2012-13 fiscal year, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said today.  

While overall tax collections are higher than projected through the first quarter of the year, a report released by DiNapoli today found unexpected strength in collections was limited to April, when personal-income tax (PIT) collections surpassed expectations due to the settlement of prior tax year liabilities. Combined General Fund PIT revenues for May and June were below projections by $244.5 million. The largest component of income-tax receipts, withholding from current wages and salaries, is projected to rise by 5 percent or $1.5 billion this year, but so far is virtually flat compared to SFY 2011-12.

The State Department of Health (DOH) made $32.9 million in Medicaid overpayments during a five-year period due mainly to the issuance of multiple identification numbers to Medicaid recipients, according to two audits released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. A third audit found $24 million in missed savings for physician-administered drugs.

“Due to a lack of basic oversight, overpayments such as these continue to plague the system,” said DiNapoli. “Previous audits have identified nearly $100 million in Medicaid overpayments resulting from people with multiple identification numbers and missed savings opportunities. There is no reason these problems should persist.”