In part of his efforts to close the increasing gap in the state budget, Gov. David Paterson has made some unpopular decisions — one of which was hotly debated Wednesday.
Lyndonville Mayor Marc Scarr came before the Orleans County Legislature to express his frustration with the supplemental Covered Lives Assessment. The assessment, created as part of the state deficit reduction plan, called for an increase to Covered Lives Assessment, retroactive to October 2008. The effect would be that businesses and private citizens would see an increase in their health insurance premiums, creating more tax burdens for state residents.
“I’ve spoken to a couple legislators about this. ... Recently, I got a letter from my insurance company saying I’m going to get a charge to pay for county health insurance,” Scarr said. He said with the number of county employees, it will cost Orleans County residents anywhere from $100 to $400 per employee, depending on the size of their family.
“I’ve come in to say, ‘Come on guys, give us a break — this has got to stop,’ ” Scarr said. “I have problems in my little village, and I have only five employees; you have 400. You know it will be trickled down, and the guy on the bottom will pay for it.”
The Legislature then passed a resolution “respectfully requesting that state leaders focus on tax relief and programmatic reform including the reversal of the supplemental covered lives assessment included in the 2009-10 state budget.”
In other news, the Legislature took a moment to react to Thom Jennings column last Thursday, in which Jennings suggested lowering sales tax rate by 1 percent to attract more consumers to the area and use it as a “promotional tool.” Jennings also went on to say in the past few years, “County government’s sales tax revenue has exceeded the budget’s projections.”
According to Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Nesbitt, for the past five years, the county has been within an average of 3.8 percent for their budgets, saying Jennings’ accusation regarding the budget projections was untrue.
“To make up for the revenue lost in that 1 percent of taxes, we’d have to see $117 million in new purchases,” Nesbitt explained.
Legislator Lynne Johnson said that the 1 percent would be equivalent to $2.33 per thousand of assessed value.
“If we weren’t going to pass that onto the taxpayer, we couldn’t even make up for it by cutting out all of our road patrol,” Johnson said. “We’re hopeful the Senate will address that.”
Local News
County rebels against state plan
- Local News
-
-
Local pro-lifers protest in D.C.
Thousands of abortion opponents marched to the Supreme Court on Monday to mark the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, and supportive lawmakers urged them to further their cause by working to defeat President Barack Obama in the fall.
-
Cardenas trail set for March
The trial of Carlos Cardenas will move forward in March at the Orleans County Court following the conclusion of a pre-trail hearing on the admissibility of statements made by Cardenas.
-
Board resets salaries
Albion Town Clerk Sarah Basinait and Highway Superintendent Jed Standish, whose salaries were chopped in the 2012 town budget, will not see a pay decrease after all.
-
Senate passes Abbagail's Law
Legislation passed in the New York State Senate could have far-reaching effects for those caught under the influence while acting as a supervising driver.
-
YMCA growth is community plus
Efforts to expand both regionally and in programming is apparently paying big dividends as YMCA membership is up some 35 percent over the past year and a half.
-
Library story hour
Children’s Services Librarian Sue McAllister is reading a story to children from the Head Start program at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. This is a monthly story hour program the library does for Head Start.
-
Albion tries to figure out Albany's intent
The imposition of a property tax cap is forcing the Albion Central School District to make budget changes, but Superintendent Michael Bonnewell says the issue is due more to an unknown procedure than the levy requirements.
Albion has held tax rates level or lower in recent years. The district is still working to determine where the levy will land, but they expect to slide well below the state-set ceiling for property tax levy increases.
The challenge Albion faces, Bonnewell said, is correctly deciphering the state’s intentions and avoiding penalties if they guess wrong. -
Wine About Winter ramping up
Downtown Medina Businesses will once again be opening their doors and popping corks to celebrate Wine About Winter, which returns for a third year from 2 to 7 p.m. Feb. 4.
More than 30 businesses will participate in the Medina Business Association event, which gives patrons a wine glass and a map of local businesses hosting wine tastings and special offers. -
Strickland Auxiliary donated to vets
Recently Patricia Nolan, president; Corinne Pahura, first vice president and chairman of veterans and family support committee; and Joyce O’Connor, treasurer of Strickland Ladies Auxiliary, Post No. 4635 Veterans of Foreign Wars, delivered a check for $500 to Paul Fulcomer, executive director of Orleans County Joint Council.
-
Dinner, dancing and fundraising
The Lyndonville Music Boosters are hosting a night of dinner and dancing Saturday as part of the final push to raise funds for a music trip to Orlando.
- More Local News Headlines
-







