Archive: News

The Lansing Fire Commissioners held a public budget hearing Tuesday, but the meeting room at Central Station was virtually empty.  Not one member of the public showed up to offer advice or comment on the proposed 2009 budget.

Nevertheless, the news on the $1,370,985 budget was good.  "We have some revenues coming in and some unexpended balances," explained District Treasurer George Gesslein.  "Property taxes will total $1,280,985.  That's the levy, and the tax rate is 99 cents.  That's about three cents below last year."

Legislature Adopts 2009 Budget Amendments
The Legislature, by a vote of 11-4, adopted amendments to the 2009 Tompkins County tentative budget, as recommended by its Expanded Budget Committee.  Legislators Dooley Kiefer, Mike Sigler, Will Burbank and Mike Hattery voted no.  The amended budget would increase the tax levy by 2.99 percent, meeting the Legislature’s 3 percent tax levy increase goal, and decreasing the countywide average tax rate by 13.5 percent, to $5.93 per thousand. 

The proposal applies $80,000 in contingency funding to keep the levy increase below 3 percent, and puts the County’s surplus fund balance at $844,856, nearly $200,000 less than the million-dollar level the County Administrator has recommended.  Legislators Hattery and Kiefer both said they oppose the budget because they feel the fund balance level is too low.

The County Legislature will consider recommended amendments to the County’s 2009 tentative budget that would meet the Legislature’s 2009 3 percent tax levy increase goal and maintain the County’s surplus fund balance at close to the $1 million level that has been urged by County Administrator Steve Whicher.  The recommendation from Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee came after a series of votes during the committee’s tenth and final review session since receiving the Administrator’s proposed budget nearly two months ago.

The proposed amended budget, recommended by a vote of 9-4, applies $80,000 in contingency funding to keep the levy increase below 3 percent.  The amended budget would increase the tax levy (the total amount of property tax revenue needed to balance the budget) by 2.99 percent.  Because of the effect of the 2008 assessment revaluation, the countywide average tax rate would decrease by 13.5 percent to $5.93 per thousand dollars assessed property value. Voting against the proposed amendments were Legislators Will Burbank, Dooley Kiefer, Frank Proto and Mike Sigler.  The surplus fund balance in the amended package stands at $924,856.

Bill Currie, President of the Corporate Development Committee (CDC) presented Lansing's Board Of Education with a check for $60,000 Tuesday.  The money will be used to purchase six electronic white boards, a CAD controlled pneumatic cutter for the technology program, and a broadcast center for the elementary school.  "Bill Currie has been working tremendously hard along with the committee to bring this to fruition," says Lansing School Superintendent Stephen Grimm.  "We want to thank them greatly for this wonderful, unprecedented donation."

Currie presented the oversized check to School Board President Anne Drake.  "Our sole mission is to support and further the educational opportunities of Lansing students by providing equipment and technology," he said.

Ladoga Park residents received a setback Wednesday when a letter from Fire Chief Scott Purcell stated that a blocked railroad crossing does not pose a safety hazard as far as the Lansing Fire Department is concerned.  "I have concerns that are not directly related to the closing of the crossing," Purcell wrote.  "Whether the crossing is opened or closed has very little do do with our access through the entire road."


Since Norfolk Southern Railroad closed a private railroad crossing last April, residents have met with New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio as well as Town and Fire District officials to solicit their help in getting the crossing back open.  Nozzolio said he would fight to get the crossing open if he could partner with the Town and Fire Department.  "It's the right thing to do," Nozzolio said when he visited the site in August.  "If it's something that takes additional funding I can certainly commit to trying to find that funding.  But I believe the issue is safety and we need to insure that it's the safest place possible."

The Triphammer Road bridge that crosses over Route 13 in the Village of Lansing will be fixed next summer, an entire year after it was damaged.  Last June the overpass was hit by a truck that was loaded too high with pylons used to make windmills.  Mayor Donald Hartill says he has gotten word from state officials that the repairs have tentatively been scheduled for June.

Hartill says the repairs will likely take two months to complete, but repairs to the state-owned overpass will not incur a cost to the Village, except a couple of months of inconvenience.  "June and July are going to be somewhat painful getting across the bridge," he says.

At the final session designated to propose new modifications to the tentative County budget, Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee Tuesday recommended no changes that would affect the tax levy, which still stands at an increase of 3.13 percent, just above the Legislature’s 3 percent target for 2009.  But they made three spending changes which, taken together, would decrease the County’s surplus fund balance by $75,000. 

At the end of the night, that line stood at a little more than $870,000, nearly $130,000 less than the million-dollar level County Administrator Steve Whicher has strongly recommended, to leave the County able to respond effectively to State budget reductions that are still largely undefined.

Tompkins County Sheriff's Deputies investigated a serious injury motor vehicle collision near 969 East Shore Drive Wednesday at approximately 2:30 pm in the Village of Lansing.  A northbound 10-wheel dump truck owned by Becker Industries of Brooktondale and operated by Aaron R. Smith (27) of Moravia lost control and subsequently crossed the center line to strike a southbound Dodge pickup truck operated by Linda Nickse (53) of Lansing.

The resulting collision caused the southbound pickup truck to leave the west side of the road and strike a utility pole owned by NYSEG.

Village of Lansing Mayor Donald Hartill told Village Trustees Monday that the rate the Town charges for snow removal could double next year.  "(Town Supervisor) Scott Pinney would like the Town to not float us as they've done in the past," Hartill said.  "Costs have gone up significantly.  Diesel, salt's gone up 30% or more.  He would like us to pay $51,000 instead of $25,000.  I have no objections to that."

But others on the board were not sure they liked the idea.  "What happened to the notion that we shouldn't be paying it at all?" asked Deputy Mayor Larry Fresinski.  "Talk about a collision of ideas -- how about doubling the rate?  How about nothing at all?"

The world got a little bigger for Ithacans Monday when Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport welcomed Continental Airlines back into the fold.  "I'm delighted to welcome Continental Connection service from Ithaca to Newark Liberty International Airport," said Airport Manager Bob Nicholas.  "The addition of a third carrier gives local passengers access to four other airports and literally hundreds of national and international destinations."

Local business leaders, press, and airline executives filled the cafe wing of the terminal for the ribbon cutting, which featured Congressman Michael Arcuri, and speakers from the airport's Air Service Board, The Tompkins County Legislature, Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, Tompkins County Area Development

(Webster, NY) -  Paloma Capanna, candidate for the NYS Senate (D, WFP, Webster) today announced that her campaign has been endorsed by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
 
"It is an honor to receive the endorsement from Senator Hillary Clinton in this historic year for women in politics," said Capanna.  "I look forward to working with Senator Clinton in areas that we share a passion, such as health insurance and public education."

Legislature Takes Compromise Stand on Lake Monitoring Program
In what was described as a much-discussed compromise proposal, the Legislature, by unanimous vote endorsed efforts undertaken through the County’s Water Resources Council (WRC) to develop a comprehensive monitoring plan to help identify sources of pollution in southern Cayuga Lake.  (Legislators Kathy Luz Herrera and Tyke Randall were absent.) 

The action commends the WRC and Cornell University on their collaboration to develop the lake monitoring plan and supports the plan’s overall approach.  The measure, however, makes it clear that the Legislature believes that the plan and monitoring related to Cornell’s Lake Source Cooling plant are two issues that must be addressed separately and that the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) should require continuation of lake source cooling monitoring sites in any lake source cooling plant permit renewal.  The Legislature stands by its opposition three years ago to any reduction in monitoring sites required by the state .  The University has indicated that, should it be relieved of its monitoring responsibilities under the permit, it would redirect its $100,000 monitoring expense to the comprehensive monitoring program set out in the comprehensive plan.