Archive: News

Legislature Adopts Amended 2008 Tentative Budget
With little discussion and no modification, the Legislature, by a vote of 8 to 4, adopted amendments to County Administrator Steve Whicher's 2008 tentative budget and 2008-2012 capital program, as recommended by the Legislature's Expanded Budget Committee over the past month. Legislators Kathy Luz Herrera, Greg Stevenson, Mike Hattery and Frank Proto voted no. (With the resignation of Legislator Dick Booth, the Legislature currently stands at 14 members, and Legislators Mike Sigler and Tyke Randall were absent.) Legislator Luz Herrera attributed her negative vote to the capital program, specifically citing the process which led to selection of the Brown Road site for a new Health Department headquarters.

With the action, this "Legislative Tentative Budget" becomes the basis of budget deliberations. The tentative budget would increase the total tax levy by 2.93 percent, slightly above the Legislature's 2 percent levy increase goal, and would increase the tax rate to $6.87 per thousand dollars assessed valuation, an increase of 1.6 percent.

Mike siglerStereotypically the Democrats own Tompkins County.  But the reality is that it is geographically split with much of Lansing and Dryden, all of Groton, part of Caroline, and most of Newfield favoring Republicans.  Even so, the Democrats have 43.8% of registered voters in the county as compared with 28.7% Republicans. 

In Lansing Republicans have been historically successful at getting candidates into office without much campaigning effort on their part.  Democrats in the town have been more successful at public relations, but currently have only two elected officials, Councilwoman Connie Wilcox and Justice William Burin, in the town government.  While a map of Tompkins County looks a bit like a target with a blue bullseye surrounded by a ring of red, the political demographics are changing in favor of the Democrats.  "When you're talking about the bullseye the blue sections are getting much bluer," says Mike Sigler, the new chairman of the Tompkins County Republican  Party.  "You're losing the middle.  Up here I don't think we're getting redder.  I think we're more Giuliani Republicans."

The oldest log cabin in Tompkins and Cayuga Counties was built in Lansing in 1749 near the intersection of Searles and Conlon Roads.  Since then it has been moved at least three times, spending nearly 50 years in Auburn before it was brought home to Lansing this year.  It came one step closer to being restored Saturday when about a half dozen Cornell students restacked the logs to make them safe for Winter.  Town Councilman Bud Shattuck says that the restacking will prevent damage to the logs during the winter while a committee of volunteers decides where it will be assembled.

Lansing Town Clerk Bonny Boles grew up in Ludlowville, and has lived in Lansing her entire life. After graduating from Lansing High School she went to work for the town in 1974. She worked as a senior clerk for a couple of years in the Ithaca Chamberlain's Office until she began raising a family in 1980, when she was asked to come back to Lansing full time as Deputy Clerk. When Town Clerk Jane Bush Horky retired in 1987 Boles was appointed to complete her term. In November of that year she ran for Town Clerk and won the post. She has run unopposed in each election after that.

Boles notes that when she started working for the Town in 1974 the tax roll had 2,652 parcels and a levy of $989,254.04, and two water districts had about 50 customers. Over the years the town has grown tremendously to 4,396 parcels and a total 2007 levy of $11,329,573.50. The consolidated water district now serves 1,350 customers with quarterly billings of $107,000.00.

The Star interviewed Boles in the Clerk's office in the Town Hall. We paused as people called or stopped by for information, and at one point she brought out town records 100 years old to show, including handwritten town board minutes. She clearly knew where to find information, and was enthusiastic about keeping up to date with new procedures and technologies to make her functions more accessible to town residents.

Tompkins County Legislature Chairman Tim Joseph weighed in to support of Governor Eliot Spitzer's New Driver's License Policy.  The policy, which is hotly debated all over New York State, is being challenged in court by Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola on the grounds that granting licenses to illegal aliens violates New York and federal law.  New York Assembly Republican leader James Tedisco also filed a lawsuit yesterday in the State Supreme Court in Albany County challenging the policy.

"Governor Eliot Spitzer's new license policy represents a major victory for the security, safety and economy for all New Yorkers and will serve as a national blueprint for meeting federal licensing requirements and state's responsibilities to deal with their undocumented populations," Joseph said.  "The Governor was dealt the impossible task of balancing the congressionally mandated Real ID and Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requirements with trying to deal with the nearly one million undocumented populations living in New York State. Considering this landscape, which no other Governor has been able to reconcile, Governor Spitzer moved forward with a plan that gives our state the most secure license system in the country, preserves the upstate economy and works to make undocumented immigrants identifiable and accountable to law enforcement agencies."

Supervisor Candidates Tackle the Issues
Election Extra!

Lansing Town Supervisor candidates Steve Farkas and Scott Pinney laid out their positions on the top issues at a Candidate's Forum on WHCH this morning.  With Greg Fry filling in for Dave Vieser, the two talked about sewer, development, and what it takes to run a town.  Pinney challenged the current government on sewer, a vision for a future town center, and the handling of issues regarding some town employees.  "I am pro the town center," he said.  "I'm against the sewer system that they proposed.  I'm for an open government.  The zoning office definitely needs some correction.  I've talked to residents and they are unhappy with the way they've been treated.  The town constable: I know the Town doesn't think it's an issue, but there are a lot of residents that think it's a serious issue, and I would look at that in depth and try to straighten the issues out."

Both said they favor a town center that could be located on a parcel of land already owned by the Town across 34B from the Town Hall.  While Farkas favors a mixed use center with housing and business, Pinney said he prefers a business-only center there with residential growth in the South part of town.

	Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola is taking Governor Elliot Spitzer to court to strike down Spitzers policy on granting drivers licenses to illegal aliens.  Merola says the policy violates State law, which requires a Social Security number to obtain a license.  Merola and 20 other county clerks have said they will not follow the policy.  Tompkins County Clerk Aurora R. Valenti has said she will issue the licenses.  Merola says that granting licenses to illegal aliens would mean that a New York State driver's license will no longer be a valid official identification.  "You can't cherry-pick the law," he says.

New York State Assemblywoman held a press conference in Ithaca last Friday in support of Governor Elliot Spitzer's plan to change the state Department of Motor Vehicles regulations to allow the granting of driver's licenses to people who have entered the United States illegally.  Lifton said that the policy is a matter of public safety.

"Bringing more New Yorkers into the licensing system establishes a documented record and, when necessary, can help law enforcement solve and prevent crimes, rather than deter such efforts," she said.  "In addition, the New York State Department of Insurance estimates that the increase in licensed and insured drivers will reduce auto insurance premiums for other New Yorkers by $120 million per year.  Those insured drivers are now picking up the tab for the unlicensed and uninsured."

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This November Scott Pinney is challenging incumbent Steve Farkas to become Lansing Town Supervisor.  Pinney has lived in Lansing his entire life, 41 years.  He and his wife Tracey have three children, 14, 8, and 7 years old.  He owns Alex Cole Excavating and Paving company, named for his oldest children.  He also owns other properties around town including half of Portland Point and the old Egan's Market building that is behind Rogue's Harbor Inn.

	Supervisor Candidates Steve Farkas and Scott Pinney will participate in a Supervisors Forum 11/02 in the 7 o'clock hour on WHCU 870 AM

Pinney has had some run-ins with the Town, especially with the planning board.  He has been quite vocal about that.  He says he won a lawsuit against the Town on this issue, and he has attended Town Board meetings to ask them to terminate one employee in particular.  He has also been at Town meetings to support others with planning or zoning issues.

It took a long time to get an interview with Pinney.  I originally contacted all the candidates for interviews on September 10th.  We finally arranged a time on the 29th, but I stupidly, though not intentionally, missed it.  At that time he asked to reschedule on a rainy day because this is prime paving season.  I got a call on a rainy Friday morning, and interviewed him in his home two weeks ago.

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Albany- New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio today announced that legislation he is sponsoring that would require the State Department of Transportation to designate certain highway routes for the transportation of hazardous materials has been adopted in the State Senate. If approved, the measure would significantly reduce commercial truck traffic on upstate scenic byways and local roads.

"Truck traffic is overwhelming our local towns and villages in the Finger Lakes region," said Senator Nozzolio. "This legislation will require the State Department of Transportation to begin supervising and coordinating the routes that commercial trucks carrying hazardous materials are taking when driving through upstate New York. Our local roads were not constructed to withstand the current amount of truck traffic and this legislation will keep more of these trucks on the Thruway, where they belong."

Ciaschi Dietershagen Little & Mickelson's Jerry Mickelson had bad news for Lansing's Board Of Education last week when he presented the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007.  Fund balances are alarming low, and district spending was $21,000 over budget last year, with the school lunch program also showing a deficit of $9,000.  "The decrease in fund balances is attributable to the excess of expenditures of $1,231,000 this past year," Mickelson  said.  "This is after the appropriation of some $506,000 from the debt service fund as a revenue source to the general fund, as well as a utilization of $200,000 of reserve funds as a revenue source.  In addition the budget was over spent some $21,000."

This was no surprise to board members who have been metaphorically robbing Paul to pay Peter, using reserve fund monies for years to keep the tax levy low without significantly cutting budgets in key areas where expenses are high.

The largest area of expenditure is in instructional staff, which accounted for 73.9% of the budget in 2006-2007.  The board has been reluctant to make cuts in teachers in the past several budget cycles, but with that segment weighing so heavily on the overall budget cuts in other areas have not been significant enough to match annual revenues from taxes and aid.

After seven prior sessions and four hours of discussion today, Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee recommended an amended tentative Tompkins County budget which would increase the tax levy by less than 3 percent.

The proposed amended budget, recommended by a vote of 8-6, would increase the levy - the total amount of property tax revenue collected - by 2.93 percent, and the tax rate by 1.6 percent, to $6.87 per thousand dollars assessed property value. Voting against the proposal were Legislators Dick Booth, Mike Hattery, Frank Proto, Tyke Randall, Mike Sigler and Greg Stevenson. (An Ithaca City budget commitment forced Legislator Leslyn McBean-Clairborne to be absent for the final committee vote.) The recommended amended budget will be considered by the County Legislature at its next meeting on November 7 and, if adopted at that time will be called the "Legislative Tentative Budget" and will become the basis for budget deliberations after that time.

Independent PartyHugh BaharHugh Bahar is challenging incumbents Connie Wilcox and Marty Christopher for one of the two seats that are up for reelection on the Town Board.  Bahar has lived in Tompkins County much of his life, living in the Village of Lansing for about four years in the '90s, and in the Town on and off since 1999.  He is a Senior Engineer at Cornell Utilities Department, and a single parent of a nine year old son.

Bahar was at the forefront of the anti-sewer movement with his nolansingsewers.com Web site, and was outspoken against the now defunct sewer project in this and other publications.  He accused Town Board members, the Town Engineer, and sewer committee members of having special interests that swayed the project, and suggests that killing the project was politically motivated.  He has criticized the Town Board for not soliciting public opinion, but was challenged at the Lansing Democratic Caucus for not attending Town Board meetings to learn the facts of how Lansing is governed and to give his input to the Board.

The Star caught up with Bahar at the RINK, where his son was skating after school one day.  We spoke for about an hour, interrupted by a torrential rain and hail storm that was so loud under the metal roof of the building that we couldn't hear each other.  When the storm passed we picked up where we left off.