Archive: News

Legislature Sets Legislator Salaries for Upcoming Term
County legislators have established legislator salaries for the next legislative term, which begins January 1, 2010.  From action by the County Legislature tonight, Legislator salaries will hold at their current level for the term’s first two years, then will rise by $500 for years three and four—but only if the county’s unemployment rate is 4% or less.

What was termed a compromise resolution to establish salaries for the new term was introduced by Legislator Nathan Shinagawa, who had been excused from the last Legislature meeting, where several proposals were considered and a proposal to hold Legislator pay steady for the entire four-year term failed to gain the eight votes sufficient for approval. Tonight’s proposal was approved by a 9 to 6 vote, with Legislators Mike Hattery, Frank Proto, Tyke Randall, Mike Sigler, Kathy Luz Herrera and Greg Stevenson voting no. 

Albany- State Senator Mike Nozzolio today blasted Senate Democrats for voting against a comprehensive list of amendments to the State budget that would cut taxes, reduce utility costs, eliminate wasteful government spending, and re-prioritize the budget to stop the drain of upstate tax dollars to New York City.

“The Tax Foundation of America has reported that the new budget ensures New York State will surpass New Jersey in having the worst tax code for business of all fifty states in our Nation,” said Senator Nozzolio. “The New York State Budget will present serious negative impact on the individuals, homeowners, families, farmers and job-producing businesses in the Finger Lakes Region. Governor Paterson and the Senate Democrats are taxing too much, spending too much, and killing upstate jobs.”

State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., today presented a Public Health Excellence Award to the Tompkins County Health Department, the City of Ithaca, and Tobacco Free Tompkins for their collaborative efforts to protect New Yorkers against exposure to second-hand smoke. The commissioner's stop in Ithaca is part of his visits highlighting effective community public health efforts during National Public Health Week.

Commissioner Daines was joined by city, county and Tobacco Free Tompkins coalition leaders on a section of the downtown Ithaca Commons that would be designated "tobacco free" under a proposed city ordinance under consideration by the Common Council. Smoking would also be prohibited in outdoor dining areas on public property, at outdoor events on public property, and areas where children congregate, including public playgrounds and other outdoor recreational facilities open to the public.

Does Lansing want its own public library?  Answering that question has been like playing with a yoyo after two votes and the prospect of a third on may 19th.  A group of Lansing people headed by Dan Pace is expected to gather enough signatures to put the library on the school district ballot for the third time.

"It has to be a properly worded proposition," says Lansing School Superintendent Stephen Grimm.  "The first one that was submitted a couple of months ago was not properly worded in that it called for the voters to make a decision on something they could not control, which is the state of the library after being disbanded.  In this case I am pretty confident that what they are going to bring back will be properly worded."

Communities are evolving entities.  Changes occur on every level of society.  Generations of settlers in this region have made their imprint on the landscape of our area.  Over the past 200 years, forests have been cut down and turned into fields.  Clay, salt and other minerals have been dug and mined from the ground.   These raw materials were sent to mills and factories where they were made into lumber, brick, glass and other building supplies.  With these products, houses, barns, schools, businesses and churches were built.
 
At the peak of prosperity, there were some half dozen mills along Salmon Creek. One room school houses, country churches, old homesteads and barns dotted our landscape.  In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these structures represented the prosperity of our region.  Sadly, most of these structures have disappeared from our landscape as a result of neglect, natural causes, and the need to make room for new and improved structures. 

The Lansing Board Of Education approved a $23,944,315 budget Monday for the 2009-2010 school budget.  That represents a 4.84% rise over this year's budget.  But by moving large sums of money around, additional revenue -- notably the anticipated AES Cayuga PILOT money, and adding state and federal aid that was originally slated to be cut, Superintendent Stephen Grimm announced that the change in the tax levy will only be 2.51%.  The tax rate change will be zero.

"We want to make sure in this budget cycle that we have listened to the community," says Grimm.  "We're very aware of the need for the school district to keep spending down and keep the impact to taxpayers down.  We've tried very hard to do that in this budget.  Although the budget to budget percentage is higher than one would normally expect to see, we'll be able to explain why that is and also show how we're able to keep the combined tax levy down to 2.5% and to keep the tax rate at zero percent, which is what we're committing to as a board as a promise to the community."

Village of Lansing Trustees passed their 2009-2010 $3,829,110 budget Monday.  Taxpayers will be responsible for only $538,035 of that, representing a 2.7% rise in the tax levy.  "My general philosophy is that we should be increasing the levy at roughly the inflation rate," explained mayor Donald Hartill.  "If you're not increasing it at the inflation rate you're fooling yourself.  Our costs go up at inflation just like your personal costs go up."

Hartill said that the Triphammer Road project was spread out such that the Village could fund it as they went along.  This means the Village has no long term debt except for a sewer bond issue that would be more costly to pay off than to keep, because of an early payment penalty clause.

Despite widespread advertising and outreach on the part of the Lansing Central School District to solicit community input on the upcoming budget, only three people (including a reporter from the Lansing Star) showed up at a Town Meeting last week.  With widespread reports of severe cuts in next year's budget school officials expected a healthy turnout.  School Business Administrator said that people may be so overloaded with bad news these days that they stayed  away.  But King and Superintendent Stephen Grimm went through the presentation they prepared anyway.

Grimm explained that the state reduced aid by $746,000.  By reassigning money from other accounts, the district plans to put $600,000 back into the fund balance.  "That takes that disaster stress off of our system," Grimm said.  "We can survive for four years using this plan.  And we want to engage our financial advisors to help us create a five year plan that is more extensive."

Two years ago the oldest log cabin in Tompkins and Cayuga Counties was dismantled and brought home to Lansing after spending 50 years in Auburn.  That was the third time in the cabin's 218 years that it was reduced to a pile of logs for transport.  If Town Councilman Bud Shattuck has his way it will be reassembled for the third time this summer.   A site at the entrance to Salt Point has been chosen because it is easily accessible to the public, next to an existing parking lot, and visible from Myers Road.

"My hope is to get the cabin built, and to get it built this summer," Shattuck says.  "It's been an ongoing project that we've spent a couple of years hashing over, thinking about, realizing that there's not financial resources for, but there are a lot of physical resources.  People in the town that have volunteered to commit their time and their energy for it.  We know we have a multitude of other resources."

Tompkins County, on behalf of the Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG), has received $82,245 from New York State to create a countywide evaluation of water and wastewater systems. Tompkins County Area Development, Inc. (TCAD) led the effort to select the consultant and apply for the grant under the New York State Shared Municipal Services Initiative (SMSI) program.

The grant award was announced in April 2008, but the contract was subsequently delayed to permit additional State review related to the economic downturn. Although the grant amount is slightly less than the initial award, the modified grant is sufficient to complete the project. More than $9,000 in local matching funds will come from the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

Albany- Calling the proposed New York State Budget a total economic disaster, Senator Mike Nozzolio today urged Governor Paterson and Legislative Leaders to scrap their record spending and taxing proposals, and open the budget process to greater public scrutiny.

“A $132 billion budget proposal that increases spending by almost 10%, seven times the inflation rate; raises income taxes by as much as 31%; eliminates STAR rebates and fails to provide property tax relief; increases all New Yorkers’ cost of health insurance, and raises our energy bills; establishes over $9 billion of new taxes and fees; and provides no mandate relief or local government reform, is a formula for further job losses and economic disaster,” said Senator Nozzolio.

My email account has a really neat feature. It will warn me when storage capacity is nearing 100%. The screen takes on a look of dread and danger. A bright red line appears across the entire width of the screen, just like an old fashioned thermometer, with a warning in bold letters: STORAGE NEARLY FULL. HURRY AND BUY MORE STORAGE.

The first time this appeared on my computer, I panicked. Thoughts of lost files, lost photos, lost stories; my entire life would be lost at any moment if I did not act quickly and buy more storage. After all, there was important archival information stored on my email account.