| STATE HOLDS BACK TCAT FUNDS The New York State Department of Transportation has held back distribution of quarterly State Transit Operating Assistance (STOA) that is ordinarily paid to the County on behalf of Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT), County Finance Director David Squires reported. In July, the County forwarded an application to the state for $581,962 in STOA funds. Only Tioga Transit's share of the claim ($48,256) has been approved. The state is withholding the funds until TCAT's organizational structure is finalized, said Squires. The County routinely advances operating funds to TCAT, with the expectation of repayment from the state. As long as the state holds back the funds, the County must carry a balance due of $552,000, noted Squires. TCAT announced today that, in the wake of the State Legislature's failure to approve its bid to become a local public transit authority, it is pursuing not-for-profit corporation status as TCAT, Inc. Contact: David Squires, Finance Director, 274-5545. SALES TAX CONTINUES UPWARD TREND Finance Director David Squires reported that County sales tax income for July was 13 percent higher than July a year ago. The County is $1.5 million ahead of last year's sales tax revenues and an estimated $1.5 million ahead of what was budgeted for 2004. Contact: David Squires, Finance Director, 274-5545. COUNTY ADVISED TO PUT PENSION DEFERRAL SAVINGS IN RESERVE Under a plan designed by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and approved by the State Legislature and the Governor, local governments whose fiscal year corresponds with the calendar year will be allowed to skip their 2004 payments into the state retirement system. The 2004 retirement bill, ordinarily due on December 15, may instead be paid on February 1, 2005. The State Comptroller's office has advised that the funds not be reassigned for any purpose other than retirement costs and recommends local governments set up pension reserve accounts, reported County Finance Director David Squires. A related resolution to set the 2005 fringe benefit rate for the County workforce at 39 percent of total payroll, the same rate as in 2004, was approved by unanimous vote (11 - 0; four Legislators were absent). The fringe benefit rate is intended to cover the cost of state pension payments, employee health insurance, and other required employer payments. Contact: David Squires, Finance Director, 274-5545; County Administrator Stephen Whicher, 274-5551. LOANS AVAILABLE TO RURAL MICRO-ENTERPRISE BUSINESSES The Legislature voted 11 - 0 (four members were absent) to authorize a $100,000 program to provide low-interest loans to rural micro-enterprise businesses. Micro-enterprises are defined as single proprietorships or businesses having fewer than five employees. Funding for the program, to be administered by Alternatives Federal Credit Union, will come from the County's economic development revolving loan fund, which is seeded with repaid Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loans. The micro-enterprise funds, which will be used for training and technical assistance as well as outright loans, will be targeted at rural areas, where many entrepreneurial and small businesses are an important part of the local economy. The "micro loans" will be $15,000 or smaller. In a related matter, the Legislature approved by unanimous consent a $200,000 loan from the revolving fund to Ithaca Materials Research and Testing, Inc. for an expansion of the company's facility. The growth of the Lansing company is predicted to create about 16 jobs in the next three years, and up to 30 jobs in the next five years. Contacts: Kathy Luz Herrera, Chair, Planning, Development, and Environmental Quality Committee, 273-8169; Ed Marx, Planning Commissioner, 274-5560. BLOCK GRANTS TO ADDRESS HOUSING, PUBLIC FACILITIES, AND MICRO-ENTERPRISE The Legislature approved two public hearings for the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The first, set for September 7, will be used to discuss housing, public facilities, and micro-enterprise needs in the county. The second, set for October 19, will cover the submittal of a specific request for funds. Both hearings will start at 5:30 p.m. in the Legislature Chambers. Contacts: Kathy Luz Herrera, Chair, Planning, Development, and Environmental Quality Committee, 273-8169; Ed Marx, Planning Commissioner, 274-5560. BETTER HOUSING HONORED FOR ASSISTING TWO-HUNDREDTH HOME PURCHASE The Legislature unanimously approved a resolution honoring Better Housing of Tompkins County for helping 200 low- and moderate-income individuals and families purchase homes. The Tompkins County Homeownership program, funded with Small Cities Community Development Block Grants and administered by Better Housing, provides first-time homeowners with low-interest second mortgages. The program, in existence since 1993, has loaned $3.9 million in mortgage funds and leveraged $10.6 million from local mortgage funders. Homebuyers have included families, single people, people of color, and the disabled, and the homes purchased have been located all over the county, said Better Housing Director Stacey Crawford. To qualify for the program, households must earn less than 80 percent of the local median income. Maximum house price is $111,000. The foreclosure rate on homes purchased through the program is 1 percent, said Crawford, compared to 12 percent for homeownership programs nationwide. Contacts: Stacey Crawford, Better Housing of Tompkins County, 273-2187; Heather Filiberto, Tompkins County Planning Department, 274-5560. LEGISLATORS PROTEST ACCESS TO PERSONAL VOTER INFORMATION The Legislature approved by a vote of 8 to 3 (11 members present) a resolution urging the State to exempt date of birth, driver's license number, and the last four digits of a voter's social security number from a statewide voter database. In an era of identity theft, there is concern that this personal information can be misused. Voting in opposition were Legislators Thomas Todd, George Totman, and Daniel Winch. Contact: Dooley Kiefer, Chair, Consumer and Community Affairs Committee, 257-7453. TOURISM GRANTS AWARDED TO LIGHT IN WINTER, ARTS PARTNERSHIP, BEAUTIFICATION A $25,000 tourism grant, funded by the local motel and hotel room occupancy tax, was awarded by unanimous consent to Light in Winter for its January 2005 festival. Light in Winter held its first weekend event, a blending of music and art with science, in January 2004. The Legislature also approved two other tourism grants: $10,000 to the Community Arts Partnership's arts and culture stabilization program for the benefit of the Cayuga Nature Center; and $33,000 to the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce for signage, public art, and plantings. Contact: Kathy Luz Herrera, Chair, Planning, Development, and Environmental Quality Committee, 273-8169. |