STATE MANDATES WILL BE SHOWN ON TAX BILLS
The Board agreed by unanimous vote (13-0; Reps. Barbara Blanchard and
Peter Penniman were absent) to add to 2003 County property tax bills a
listing of state-mandated costs. The move is part of a statewide trend
to identify for the taxpayers the amount of local taxes that go to pay
for state-required programs and services. County lawmakers are frustrated
by the escalating costs of state mandates that force them to reduce funding
for local programs while raising property taxes. The cost in 2003 for state
mandates is estimated at slightly over $20 million, an increase of approximately
25 percent over the current year. The total property tax levy for 2003
is $22.5 million. The information will be included in the bills that taxpayers
will receive on January 2, 2003.
In a related matter, the Board postponed until its next meeting a vote
on the transfer of $417,700 from its set-aside contingency fund to pay
for unexpected increases in the cost of mandates in the Department of Social
Services. Contact: Richard Booth, Vice Chair, Budget & Capital Committee,
272-6573, 255-4025.
VOTE POSTPONED ON PESTICIDE NOTIFICATION LAW
A vote on the proposed pesticide neighbor notification law has been
postponed until the December 17 Board meeting. The law, passed by New York
State in 2000, requires commercial applicators to give 48-hour notice of
use of pesticide sprays to neighbors within 150 feet. If homeowners apply
pesticides to areas larger than 100 square feet, they must post signs in
the sprayed area. The County Health Department would be the enforcing agency.
Contact: Dooley Kiefer, Chair, Planning Committee, 257-7453.
FEDERAL SCREENERS OCCUPY AIRPORT SPACE
The Board unanimously approved the leasing of 1,000 square feet of
unoccupied space at the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport to the federal
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as part of the airport’s cooperation
in meeting federal security requirements. Passenger and baggage screening
by TSA staff has already begun. Contact: Michael Lane, Vice Chair, Public
Works Committee, 844-8440.
BOARD SETS SOLID WASTE ANNUAL FEES
The 2003 Solid Waste Annual Fee for single-family residences, mobile
homes, and churches was set at $51. Other types of property are charged
according to numbers of living units, seasonal usage, or by square foot.
The colleges and BOCES pay flat fees, as follows: Tompkins Cortland Community
College, $5,316,87; Cornell University, $154,429.50; Ithaca College, $28,740.70;
BOCES, $22,700.28. The annual fee helps pay for maintenance of closed landfills,
curbside recycling collection, Household Hazardous Waste disposal, and
capital costs of the Recycling and Solid Waste Center. The amount of the
fee has not changed since 1998. Voting against the $51 fee – for varying
reasons – were Reps. Dooley Kiefer, Frank Proto, Martha Robertson, Nancy
Schuler, and Daniel Winch. Contact: Michael Lane, Vice-Chair, Public Works
Committee, 844-8440.
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