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Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorDear Editor,

I consider laughable the tempest in the teapot over Supervisor Pinney's and the Town Board's efforts to determine which entity will better serve the community - SPCA or Country Acres.  All of a sudden, Mr. Pinney and Co. are trying to become fiscally responsible!!  What a joke!

According to the school tax article in today's edition of the Lansing Star, which explained the $17.76 tax per $1,000 of assessed property value, I have just seen my school taxes be raised by more than $500.00 in one year alone.  This is for a house of modest value - $140,000, to be exact.

Mr. Pinney seemed concerned about the SPCA cost to the homeowner of a $500,000 home.  Well, Mr. Pinney, we have news for you.  There aren't many people in this community who have $500,000 homes and, among those who do, 1% more for their tax cost is not going to break them, as it might the young married couple or retired person who lives modestly in a home that is valued between $100,000 - $250,000.  This is because the Town Board is encouraging developers to continue to "develop" Lansing and bring more and more families into the region.

These families bring children, which puts more and more stress on the quality of education our school district can provide.  Most recently, the Town is considering approval of a 138-unit condo project  which will bring even more children into the district, increase traffic along Triphammer Road, destroy the wildlife, landscape, general quality of life for the people in the area and cause our taxes to rise even HIGHER.

Let's get our priorities straight.

Forget about a piddling $3.00.

Let's concentrate on the big picture - the big issues - the high-cost issues.  Let's eliminate them.  Except for the developers who are getting richer at the expense of the run-of-the mill residents of this community, and these include Mr. Pinney and many of his cohorts on the Town Board, let's reduce this development and concentrate on quality of life issues - such as clean water, clean air, maintenance of attractive country views, proper care of animals, etc. and not make a big issue out of a $3.00 item.

While we're at it, let's be sure to keep the services of that wonderful organization, the SPCA.

Elisabeth Hegarty
Ithaca, NY  14850

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