Archive: News

Presenting the results of his initial review of how Governor Spitzer's proposed 2008 state budget might affect County operations, County Administrator Steve Whicher told the legislature's Budget and Capital Committee Monday the potential impact could be "really negative," unless the County institutes program changes projected to generate additional funds. Without those new initiatives, the administrator predicted a negative likely impact in the range of $500,000 to $1 million.

Mr. Whicher observed that the Governor has proposed reductions in state aid in a number of areas and has offset those with giving localities the authority to increase fees. He compiled the impact summary at the request of Legislature Chair Mike Koplinka-Loehr. The report includes information provided by county departments and the administrator's analysis.

For as long as anyone can remember Lansing School District voters have been able to show up on the day of a vote, sign their name and address, and go directly to the voting machine to cast their vote on district budgets, capital improvement projects, and school board elections.  While changing to a more regulated system of voter registration has been discussed from time to time, it took on new urgency after opponents of the Lansing Library charged that voter fraud had tainted the December vote.

Last Monday Superintendent Stephen Grimm presented the Board Of Education with a first draft of by-laws that will move the district to a system of registered voters.  The board has made it a priority with the intention of putting the new system in place before next May's budget vote, if at all possible.  "I was very careful to find out what it really takes to make it happen," Grimm told the board.  "I don't want us to move forward to improve something and then find out it's going to cost a lot more or that it includes things we can't do internally."

After much discussion the Village of Lansing decided not to pursue an anti-solicitation law in their meeting at the Village Office last Monday.  The law would have required door to door solicitors to obtain a permit from the Village.  The idea was raised late last year by Trustee John O'Neill, who says that a handful of residents in his neighborhood have complained to him about door to door salesmen.  "Pesky little things," O'Neill said.  "The only thing that would change is the occasional resident who wants something to back him or herself up in saying 'go away' to a peddler."

O'Neill charged that so-called magazine salespeople, 'putting themselves through college' are suspect, but that the annoyance of having solicitors come to your door is more a problem in the Village than dishonest salespeople.  He also said that the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) representative that appeared in his neighborhood was unpleasant and persistent.  "That upset two or three of our neighbors, because the individual that came to our neighborhood was exceedingly pushy," he said.

Legislature Hears Empire Zone Update
The coordinator of the County's Empire Zone Program told legislators the Tompkins County Empire Zone, designated by New York State in 2006, has exceeded expectations during its first full year of operation. The Empire Zone program provides up to ten years of state tax incentives to qualifying businesses which locate or expand within designated Zone areas. A business must meet minimum job creation and investment thresholds, then apply for Zone Certification, with Empire Zone benefits accruing in the form of income tax incentives after the jobs are created and investments made. Businesses apply for Zone Certification based on their projected growth over the next five years, but don't receive any benefits until they've actually created jobs or made capital investments.

From two businesses certified at the end of 2006, employing an average of 131 people with overall annual capital investments of $2.8 million and earning $98,000 in Empire Zone tax credits, Filiberto reported 34 more business certified in 2007, with those businesses projecting 762 new jobs and $91 million in capital investments over the next five years. She predicted dramatic increases in the number of jobs, capital investments and tax incentives earned for the 2007 tax year, arising from last year's significant participation growth.

Lansing's Board Of Education (BOE) was presented with a 'rollover budget' at their Monday school board meeting this week.  The budget shows how much more money they will need to pay the bills in 2008 - 2009 if everything remains the same as it was this year.  Interim District Business Administrator Dave Klemm warned the board that in order to get control of spiralling costs they will have to take a hard look at the level of staffing in the schools.

"We all know that education is labor intensive," Klemm explained.  "That's where most of our monies are.  If you look at the expenses in the rollover budget, I expect about $11.7 million of expenditures in salaries for next year, whereas the budget amount for last year was $10.8 million.  I estimate salaries are going to increase about 7.69%."

First it was $40 million in 2006.  That one didn't even go to the voters.  Then in 2007 it was $20 million.  That vote was 635 to 651.  It lost by 16 votes.  Then the news came that all but one of Lansing School District's buildings had failed a state inspection.  The problems identified in that inspection weren't news top the Board Of Education (BOE).  But they would have to be fixed.  How about $0?  Or money coming into the district?

In October of 2005 the BOE considered entering into an energy performance contract with Johnson Controls, a global automotive experience, building efficiency, and power solutions consulting company.  At that time Johnson Control's David Angello presented a proposal that would mean an up front expenditure on equipment and repairs that would not only pay for itself in energy savings, but also pay for his company's services and still yield a significant savings to the school district over an 18 year period.  The deal was that if the BOE didn't actually realize the agreed upon savings or better Angello's company would write them a check for the difference.

Lansing's first new law of the year grants a new class of veterans a tax exemption on their town real property taxes.  The new law defines Cold War Veterans veterans who were discharged or released from the US Armed Forces under honorable conditions, served at least one year (exclusive of active duty for training) between September 2, 1945 through December 26, 1991 and was awarded the Cold War recognition certificate.

"New York State dictates what exemptions may be permitted by different types of taxing authorities for certain classes of citizens," explained Town Attorney Guy Krogh at the January Town Board meeting.  "For example, there are discounts for the elderly, disabled citizens discounts.  The Legislature has passed a cold war veterans exemption."

Although Scott Pinney has been Lansing Town Supervisor for only one month, he has already shaken up things in the Town Hall.  On his second day in office he brought an agenda of five items that would change some of the town personnel, procedures, and begin to pave the way for a future town center.  He has been in the Town Hall full time as he gets up to speed on the job and the town workplace, as well as following up on his agenda and learning the ropes.

Pinney agreed to an interview to talk about how things are going and how he envisions the town going forward.  We met in his office last Wednesday, where he had just received the new drawing depicting a possible plan for relocating the town ballfields across the street from their current location as a first step in creating a commercial town center.  He seemed relaxed and comfortable as he discussed his vision for Lansing.

Albany- State Senator Michael Nozzolio today announced his strong opposition to Governor Spitzer's proposal to eliminate the State Police School Resource Officer (SRO) program. Under Governor Spitzer's plan, 92 Troopers in the SRO program will be reassigned to Upstate's inner-cities to work side-by-side with local police officers under Operation IMPACT.

Nozzolio has sent a letter to State Police Superintendent Preston Felton calling for SROs to continue serving rural school districts and explained the importance of the Troopers in the communities in which they have become ingrained. Attached is Senator Nozzolio's letter to Superintendent Felton.

The Tompkins County Board of Elections held an open meeting on Monday January 28 at 2:00 p.m. to choose a ballot marking device (BMD) to use in this fall's elections.

Commissioners Elizabeth W. Cree and Stephen M. DeWitt presented a brief summary of recent court decisions regarding New York State's implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Following a question and comment period, the Commissioners voted unanimously for the Sequoia ImageCast as their first choice, followed by the Premier AutoMark and the ES&S AutoMark.

This month New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker announced that the Town of Lansing would be receiving a $25,000 grant to be used to develop a farmland protection plan.  The grant is part of a $500,000 fund that will help 21 New york counties create such plans.

"One of the most important roles of a municipality is the regulation of land use," Hooker said in an Auburn news conference two weeks ago. "This responsibility gives them the authority and opportunity to provide a supportive environment for agriculture. I applaud these towns for taking the initiative to address evolving land use issues in their area and plan for the protection of viable and active farmland. It is their participation in the planning process and commitment to providing a supportive business environment for agriculture that will make smart growth a reality here in New York State."