Archive: Opinions

In my 8 year tenure on the Lansing Town Board I have always prided myself in not being Political of having any personal agenda. The Democrat Caucus on July 28 was an example of how Political and Special Interest has grown in popularity in our Town. I find this to be very disturbing. I would like to clarify that I am in support of our Community Library and Our Pathways. I think all of the volunteers at the Library have done a phenomenal job, and still show a commitment to making the Library thrive. I support the Pathways Committee as well, they have shown a huge commitment and have gotten our first recreational path functional.

What I am not in favor of is a special interest group(s) who do not take into consideration the whole picture. They seem to focus only on what is important to them and perhaps not what may be important to all town residents. I have nothing personal against the 69 people that showed up at the Democrat Caucus, and determined the candidate for Town Supervisor, but unfortunately the majority of them all had two things in common, The Library and Pathways. Some of them I have known all my life and some of them I have never seen, and some I only know by face, but I don’t feel they are focused on the whole town, only what they think is important their corner of the world and that is what makes me very sad. It is sad but true, we have turned into a “what can you do for me society”.

I think Lansing has always been a town that shows true spirit when it comes to working towards a goal. People will come out and work very hard to realize a common goal. We need to look at other ways to raise funds for some of these projects other than taxpayer’s dollars. As a board last budget season we had to make some very hard decisions on what we could legally and not legally do for some the organizations we had always supported. We continue to look for ways we can support these organizations without putting the town at legal risk. The Lansing Community Council is an example of how to do these things without asking for tax dollars, they imagine it, and they do it.

I think in this economic climate we need to focus on cutting spending so our town residents are not overburdened by taxes, I think the School Board has focused on just how much of a burden they can place on the taxpayers shoulders and are adjusting. We will be interested to see what the County comes up with. Our employees show a huge commitment, other than their incremental increases for their job classifications they have not had a raise in two years and it is time to take care of them as they have taken care of the Town.

Hydro-Fracking and Gas Drilling is also something we need to focus on, but we also need to move forward cautiously as it can be a very divisive issue. There is a land coalition that is in favor of drilling, and thinks it can be done safely, and they stand gain economically, while there is another group that is dead set against it, and then you have those who have no opinion either way. I think by updating our zoning ordinance and putting regulations, and local laws in place we can significantly reduce the impact of the drilling. A Committee was formed two years ago, and to date I don’t believe that committee has ever reported back to the Town Board with any recommendations. We need to go back and reorganize that committee and get some recommendations. Tompkins County Council of Governments has hired a consultant to look at the drilling issue, I feel the Town should contribute to that study and in the long run will save us money and we won’t be reinventing the wheel.

I have always been available to meet with anyone or speak on the phone to anyone who has so requested. Sometimes, I have not always been able to give them an answer immediately, but in most cases I have investigated and gotten back to them. Often the right answer is not the popular one, but at least I’m straight forward.

I very much hope to be able to continue to support the residents of the Town by serving as Supervisor, but that will be the will of the people. My only hope is that it will be a whole town decision, not just a small group of people.

Connie Wilcox

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