Auburn IDA denies developer subsidy

Help a fella pay his country club dues?

In a rare occurrence in the Finger Lakes, an  Industrial Development Authority has declined to dish out taxpayer cash to a tin cup rattling developer.

On Tuesday, the Auburn Industrial Development Authority voted unanimously to deny a payment in lieu of taxes request by Calamar Construction, a Wheatfield-based company planning a $9.3 million independent senior housing complex.

"I don't believe in PILOTs for residential at all," AIDA board member and City Councilor Matthew Smith said. "There aren't going to be jobs, and it's a severe cause of market distortion."

Smith said if the project was needed and profitable it would be built without public assistance.

We've more than once seen this type of well-funded developer, who typically comes from a government regulatory background, bully local officials into  submission, so Auburn's decision is a breath of non-subsidized fresh air.  Next step:  get rid of all the IDAs and give their budgets back to the taxpayers.  

More here and here.

Voters could eliminate property taxes today..

...in North Dakota.  Finger Lakes citizens who believe "you don't own your home, you rent it from the teachers' union" will want to take note.

In an election here on Tuesday, residents of North Dakota will consider a measure that reaches far beyond any of that — one that abolishes the property tax entirely.

“I would like to be able to know that my home, no matter what happens to my income or my life, is not going to be taken away from me because I can’t pay a tax,” said Susan Beehler, one in a group of North Dakotans who have pressed for an amendment to the state’s Constitution to end the property tax. They argue that the tax is unpredictable, inconsistent, counter to the concept of property ownership and needless in a state that, thanks in part to wildly successful oil drilling, finds itself in the rare circumstance of carrying budget reserves.

“When,” Ms. Beehler asked, “did we come to believe that government should get rich and we should get poor?”

Who could be opposed to such an expansion of liberty and freedom?  Why, the usual beneficiaries of the status quo:

AARP of North Dakota
AFSCME Council 59
AGC of North Dakota
American Council of Engineering Companies North Dakota (ACEC/ND)
Badlands Board of REALTORS
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Bismarck Mandan Development Association
Bismarck-Mandan Board of REALTORS
Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce
Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association
Burke Divide Electric Cooperative
Burleigh County Township Association
Capital Electric Cooperative Inc.
Cass County Electric Cooperative
Cavalier Electric Cooperative
Central Power Electric Cooperative
Credit Union Association of the Dakotas
Dakota Valley Electric Cooperativ
Dickinson Area Builders Association
Fargo Citywide PTA
Fargo Moorhead Area Association of REALTORS
FMWF Chamber of Commerce
Forx Builders Association
Fraternal Order of Police
Grand Forks Area Association of REALTORS
Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce
Grand Forks County Employees Association
Great River Energy
Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation
Home Builders Association of Fargo/Moorhead
Independent Community Banks of North Dakota
Jamestown Board of REALTORS
Jamestown Chamber of Commerce
KEM Electric Cooperative
Lignite Energy Council
McKenzie Electric Cooperative
Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc.
Minot Association of Builders
Minot Board of REALTORS
Minot Chamber of Commerce
Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative, Inc
MPCG PTA
ND Assoc. of Oil & Gas Producing Counties
ND Water Resource Districts
ND Water User Association
NoDak Electic Cooperative
North Central Electric Cooperative
North Dakota AFL-CIO
North Dakota Association of Builders
North Dakota Association of Career & Technical Education
North Dakota Association of Counties
North Dakota Association of REALTORS
North Dakota Bankers Association
North Dakota Beer Distributors Association
North Dakota Beer Distributors Association
North Dakota Chamber of Commerce
North Dakota Corn Growers
North Dakota Education Association
North Dakota Emergency Medical Services Association
North Dakota Farmers Union
North Dakota Grain Growers
North Dakota Grocers Association
North Dakota League of Cities
North Dakota Long Term Care Association
North Dakota Motor Carriers Association
North Dakota Petroleum Council
North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association
North Dakota PTA
North Dakota Public Employees Association
North Dakota Recreation & Park Association
North Dakota Retailers
North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperatives
North Dakota Rural Telephone Cooperatives
North Dakota Rural Water Systems Associations
North Dakota School Boards Association
North Dakota Senior Service Providers
North Dakota Soybean Association
North Dakota Stockmen’s Association
North Dakota Township Officers
North Dakota Utility Shareholders
Northern Plains Electric Cooperative
Professional Firefighters of North Dakota
Roughrider Electric Cooperative
Slope Electric Cooperative
Tobacco Free North Dakota
Valley City Chamber of Commerce
Verendrye Electric Cooperative
Wahpeton Breckenridge Area Board of Realtors
Wahpeton Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce
Ward County Farmers Union
Williston Area Builders Association
Williston Board of Realtors
Williston Chamber of Commerce, frozen tundra division.

 The "we got ours" club, frozen tundra division.

Update:  North Dakotans have voted to keep their chains.

Auburn prepares for zombies

While record high gasoline prices and ever increasing taxes force Auburn residents to cut back, their government rolls out the mother of all SUVs.

Small arms fire, anti-tank mines or alien invasion — the latest addition to the Auburn Police Department's fleet can handle them all.

APD Emergency Response Team Commander Michael Roden admitted that the Casspir armored vehicle, loaned to the city by the U.S. Department of Defense last October, probably won't face any of those conditions in Auburn, but it's still a useful tool.

 Photo:  Taisha Laird  

County government helps developers scam taxpayers, again

Once again, a Finger Lakes county industrial development agency has subsidized a wealthy developer, leaving taxpayers on the hook.

Citing delinquent payments, the Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency decided last week to terminate its payment in lieu of taxes agreement with Ontario Realty, Inc., owner and operator of the Sterling Renaissance Festival.

County director of Planning and Economic Development Stephen Lynch said Monday that the company did not make scheduled payments totaling $27,000 to the county and town of Sterling in February 2011 and 2012 and the Hannibal Central School District in September 2011.

Here's an idea:  let's terminate all the industrial development agencies and give the money back to the taxpayers.

Trumansburg school cleans house

Trumansburg Central School

After abusing district taxpayers by overtaxing their homes and businesses, two high level administrators in the Finger Lakes' Trumansburg Central School are heading for the exits amid rumors of possible criminal charges.

Trumansburg Central School District will lose two administrators -- one to retirement and one to termination.

Superintendent Paula Hurley will retire on Jan. 2 due to family needs. Former business manager Laura Bellis has been terminated. She has been on paid leave since September 2010, after a comptroller's audit was critical of how reserve funds were managed.

Hurley's husband Bill has already retired from his superintendent's gig at the nearby Newfield school district.  

What is this mismanagement costing struggling district taxpayers?  Paula Hurley's current salary, according to the New York State Teachers Retirement System, is $142,627.00.  

Median family income in the school district is $50,313.  As a percentage of home value, Tompkins County, NY, property taxes rank #32 out of the 3,141 counties in the US.  Time for consolidation?

Minoa gets out of ambulance business

The Syracuse area's Village of Minoa has turned over operation of it's municiapl ambulance service to another operator.  Facing a $300,000 operating deficit, trustees faced reality and made what was surely a tough decision.  The operation will now be run by nonprofit WAVES, a nearby service provider.

The change will mean an estimated eight village ambulance employees will be removed from the Village's payroll.  Most of those staff are expected to be hired by WAVES.

Using government to provide any service that could be handled otherwise always results in higher costs and lower efficiency.  Forced to pay taxes that are among the highest in the country, Finger Lakes residents must demand more of these changes from their elected officials, or replace them with representatives who understand the urgency of the problem.

Previous discussions of financial difficulties facing Central New York's municipal emergency services here and here.

Solargate crooks lawyer up

"Crazy Joe"and Larry Gallo, gangsters,  refusing to testify in 1959

In a long gangland tradition, two senior managers at bankrupt, taxpayer subsidized solar panel peddler Solyndra, CEO Brian Harrison and CFO W.G "Bill" Stover, are planning to invoke the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution and refuse to testify before congressional investigators.

Brian Harrison, MBA,  also refuses to testify

Of course these gonifs have retained counsel, and like most smart mobsters, their attorneys are well connected. 

The law firms representing the executives are Orrick, Harrington and Sutcliffe, and Keker and Van Nest. Both are major contributors to Democrats and both have handsomely helped President Barack Obama’s political efforts, according to information retrieved from Center for Responsive Politics databanks.

Finger Lakes taxpayers were taken for half a billion bucks by these Obama henchmen.  It would not be crazy to suspect some of that missing cash will find its way, though those politically active law firms, into Obama's reelection war chest.  The so-called "green energy" movement is nothing more than the latest evolution of organized crime. 

Andy, they lawyered up!

Capbusters!

Should two percent appear too high, be thankful we don't hit the sky....

With apologies to George Harrison, Finger Lakes politicians appear to be in a frantic race to see who will be the first to bust New York governor Andy Cuomo's phony "tax cap."  

Next in line: the trendy Town of Ithaca, a Cornell University bedroom suburb ruled by lockstep leftists.

The town of Ithaca is joining other municipalities in considering an override to the state's new two percent property tax cap as it looks to formulate a 2012 budget.

The Town Board set a public hearing for next month on a local law to override the tax levy limit.

Supervisor Herb Engman believes it is essential the Town overrides the cap to keep key services intact and to take advantage of opportunities they have with bond interest rates historically low.

We predict the shattered "tax cap" will be quickly become a distant memory, not even mentioned by the sacrificial Republican unlucky enough to run against Cuomo in New York's next gubernatorial election.

Janis Kelly: "politically correct corruption"

Kelly

From the deep within Groves of Academe, the only Republican candidate for Mayor of Ithaca, NY, fires a fastball.

We must stop using public money for favored private groups. At the first Common Council meeting I attended, the council (including both J.R. Clairborne and Svante Myrick) used $50,000 in "low-income housing" funds to guarantee a loan for the State Theatre. This is wrong. A private car rental company (whose executive director, Jennifer Dotson, is on Common Council) has been redefined as "public transportation" and given reserved parking spaces all over the city, apparently at no cost. This is low-grade, politically correct corruption, and it is wrong.

Corruption, indeed.

Its about time someone exposed this scam .  Overtaxed Finger Lakes families are being forced to subsidize short-term rental cars for Ivy League swells.  Were we Ithacans (not likely! - ed), we'd support Kelly against her numerous lefty opponents.

Tax assessment pits county vs. county

Oswego

Among New Yorkers protesting their tax assessments we now find Cayuga County's government.  Cauyga County, it turns out, bought a piece of land in Oswego County, and is now suing to get its tax asessment reduced.  

Yes, taxpayers in Cayuga County will be forced to pay taxes on land they "own" in Oswego County.  Justin Murphy explains the convoluted confiscation in the Auburn Citizen.

The building at 11 River Glen Plaza, a former grocery store which the county bought May 16, is assessed at $2 million. By 2011 tax levels, that means about $102,000 in property taxes.

In a tax certiorari petition filed July 27, the county and JHMPAC, the entity from which the county bought the building for $950,000, asked an Oswego County judge to lower the assessment to $700,000, which would yield $35,850 in 2011 taxes.

“It’s part of a process you go through with any purchase,” Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Peter Tortorici said. “The assessment came in, I think, a little high, and we’re just going through the process to see if we can get it reduced.”

Government entities generally don’t pay property taxes, but Cayuga County does have to pay in this case because the property in question is outside county borders, according to an advisory opinion issued by the state Office of Real Property Services.

So highly paid experts toiling in our county governments can't agree on what a property is worth. What confidence can we then have in our own assessments?  For instance, this million dollar lakefront mansion in Seneca County was just reassessed at $194,000.  Sound a  little low to you?

CNY school administrators drawing scrutiny

VanMinos

The FBI is carrying out a criminal investigation of the Jordan-Elbridge school district:

The school board also fired its interim superintendent and director of operations after a May 15 Post-Standard article revealed the district had awarded Director of Operations Paula VanMinos a contract that guaranteed her tenure or three years’ salary — $308,000.

The article also revealed that VanMinos had been staying overnight at the apartment of the man who signed the contract, then-interim Superintendent Lawrence Zacher. The district terminated its contract with Zacher. In addition to the FBI probe, the state Comptroller’s Office is in the midst of a nearly yearlong probe of the school district’s finances.

Meanwhile, former Trumansburg school superintendent Cosimo Tangorra, who may have been involved in overtaxing T-burg residents during his stint at the Finger Lakes district, is now being looked at by the State Comptroller's office for the same problem at his new gig over in Ilion, NY.

According to the report, filed on the comptroller’s website on June 13, it stated, “The Board did not adequately monitor its fund balance. Consequently, the District has accumulated approximately $1.95 million in excess funds that should be used to benefit taxpayers by reducing the tax levy, funding necessary reserves, reducing debt, and/or paying one-time expenditures, in accordance with statutory requirements.”

These overpaid bureaucrats are driving our property taxes higher every year, even as our economy has collapsed. It's well past time for taxpayers to get involved.  These scammers work for you.  It may sound as unpleasant as root canal, but you need to attend meetings and ask questions.

Tax cap = unlimited tax increase

Moving south?

Its graduation season in the Finger Lakes.   Many of our kids leave the area as soon as the ink dries on their diplomas.  In today's New York Post, Fred Siegel has the numbers.

...a recent Marist poll suggests that the rate is likely to increase: 36 percent of New Yorkers under 30 plan to leave over the next five years. Why are all these people fleeing?...

Indeed, the poll also found that 62 percent of New Yorkers planning to leave cited economic factors -- including cost of living (30 percent), taxes (19 percent) and the job environment (10 percent) -- as the main reason.

Upstate, a big part of the problem is extraordinarily high property taxes. New York has the country's 15 highest-taxed counties...

Rather than a tax cut, Andy Cuomo promised us a "2% tax cap".  That's actually a continuation of the pain, as a 2% increase isn't pocket change, and it would compound annually.  And now, Lonely Conservative explains that we're going to get the Sheldon Silver version of the "cap," which is actually a green light for unlimited tax increases.

The Republicans are going along with this cockamamie scheme. They say property and school taxes probably won’t increase by more than 3%. But with pension costs jumping  by as much as 42% how on earth will that happen? Good grief, these people are insane.

The Finger Lakes' Fortunate Few

Working longer hours?  No pay raise?  Pay cut?  Laid off?  Forced retirement?  Property taxes going up every year?

Perhaps you should have applied for this recent CNY  job opening.  The Auburn Citizen provides details on one hell of a compensation package:

Jordan-Elbridge’s new superintendent, James Froio, will make $140,000 annually, but that salary is frozen for the first two years of his three-year contract...

Should there be no position for Froio in a merged district, he is entitled under the contract to one year’s salary and benefits...

Other than his salary and the merger clause, Froio’s other benefits consist of: a $250 per month transportation expense allowance; 20 days vacation per school year; 12 sick leave days each school year; up to five days per school year from his personal illness leave, which is for illness in his immediate family; up to five days leave with pay for bereavement for each death in the immediate family; up to four days per school year for business leave; and 20 holidays.

The district will contribute annually up to $1,500 for Froio to purchase life insurance, disability insurance or to place in a tax-sheltered annuity. The district will also pay 95 percent of individual coverage health insurance premium and 85 percent of the dependent health insurance premium for him and his dependents.

If Froio has a minimum of 10 years service with the district, the district will pay 90 percent of the individual coverage health insurance premium and 80 percent of the dependent health insurance premium for the remainder of Froio’s life.

Froio, if he decides at some point to move to Jordan-Elbridge, will receive $5,000 for moving expenses.

Bold added.  

How can one small CNY school district afford to pay for this gold plated windfall?  They collect the money at the point of a gun, of course.

Big turnout for Seneca tax protest

Standing room only!

Reacting to staggering increases in their real estate assessments, an estimated 150 unhappy South Seneca taxpayers jammed the Ovid fire hall last night.  Organized on the fly by a couple of local residents, a grass roots movement appears to have been launched in only a few weeks.

Modern revolutionaries?

Attendees raised two basic concerns.  First, the disconnect between a collapsing real estate market and skyrocketing tax assessments.  Second, seemingly incomprehensible inequities between the assessments of  local properties. 

At this very local level, its apparent that residents know more about various South Seneca properties than the tax assessor does.  The 2011 tax assessment was made with few or no actual visits to individual parcels, which has resulted in outrage felt by some of the affected residents.  The local tax assessor was not in attendance, probably for good reason. 

South Seneca elected officials should prepare for these rebels to jam every town board meeting from now on, and no doubt field their own candidates in upcoming elections.  We'll keep you posted.

Second Seneca tax protest scheduled

For sale: $1.1 million, assessed: $163,690

Word of a second Seneca County tax protest has reached South of 5 and 20:

We are planning another meeting to discuss new information and the action to be taken in our argument regarding the new tax assessment.

Please bring all documents which support your claim.
Invited to this meeting: ALL 5 TOWN SUPERVISORS AND BOARD MEMBERS, and Said Ghaly- Attorney who argued the new assessment for Seneca Falls and won.
Learn what a SCAR is and hear a success story.

OVID FIREHOUSE 7:00PM on THURSDAY, APRIL 28TH

Tax protest in Seneca County

For sale in Seneca County: $125,000

We were not surprised to learn that Standard & Poor's estimates US home values fell over 3% last year, and no recovery is on the horizon.

Standard & Poor's said Monday there was little promise for an upturn in US home values after their national price index fell again in January.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index for 20 main US cities fell by 3.1 percent at an annualised rate, and was down 0.2 percent from December.

"The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery," said S&P's David Blitzer.

Apparently rural Seneca County, which recently mailed out new assessment notices, is bucking the national trend.  Struggling Seneca residents can't believe that while the rest of the nation's home values declined, their modest properties have experienced a significant increase.  We note that a protest gathering has already been scheduled, per this announcement in a local paper:

WE HAVE TO STOP THIS OVER TAXATION AND WE MUST START FROM THE GROUND UP. 

Did you get your new proposed tax assessment?  Public Meeting to express concerns and comments Tuesday, April 12, at 7:00 pm, at  the Town Hall in Ovid.

A tiny health care victory

Congress has passed, on and Obama is expected to sign, the first mini-step in the repeal of nationalized heath care.  The widely despised 1099 requirement will be removed:

Congress sent the White House its first rollback of last year's health care law Tuesday, a bipartisan repeal of a burdensome tax reporting requirement that's widely unpopular with businesses. Even President Barack Obama is eager to see it gone

The Senate voted 87 to 12 to repeal the filing requirement, which would have forced millions of businesses to file tax forms for every vendor selling them more than $600 in goods each year, starting in 2012. The filing requirement is unrelated to health care. However, it would have been used to pay for part of the new health law.

Why is the 1099 requirement so unpopular?

Businesses already must file Form 1099s with the IRS when they purchase more than $600 in services from a vendor in a year. The new provision would have extended the requirement to the purchase of goods, starting in 2012.

The requirement would hit about 38 million businesses, charities and tax-exempt organizations, many of them small businesses already swamped by government paperwork, according to a report by the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent watchdog within the IRS.

The 1099 requirement appeared bizarre from the start.  Your lawn service would need to keep purchase records for every gas fillup, every spark plug, every printer cartridge, and every box of envelopes they purchased, then send a 1099 form to each of those vendors,  and be able to produce those records for the IRS on demand.  

We're trusting souls here at South of 5 and 20, but a more cynical observer might think the 1099 rule was included in the 2000 page health care bill just so it could be removed later, allowing Obama to use that as proof of how reasonable he was, come 2012.

States that really have no sales tax on clothing

Lee Premium Outlets

With New York "eliminating" sales tax on "low priced clothing," Finger Lakes shoppers may be surprised when they are still charged 4% sales tax on those off-brand sneakers.  With public employee pension,  health care and union contract mandated salary increases still going through the roof, its not likely that counties will volunteer to drop their 4% take.  So let's remember Adam Smith, and follow the pointing finger on his invisible hand.

Here are three of New York's adjoining states which have zero sales tax on any clothing, from t-shirts to ball gowns.  These states all feature convenient clothing malls just over the New York state line.  For instance, New York's state employees often make the scenic 40 minute drive from our state capital to shop tax-free at Lee Premium Outlets in Massachusetts, pictured above.  From eHow Money:

Necessities like clothing are exempt from the sales tax in Massachusetts.

New Jersey's sales tax exemptions include clothing, which gives the state a competitive advantage over neighboring states that do tax clothing. Shoppers often come from other states to shop for clothes in New Jersey.

As part of an initiative to minimize the tax burden on low-income individuals, Pennsylvania does not impose a tax on clothing.

And Professor Jacobson is spared sales tax on any clothing he purchases in Rhode Island.

While our state and local governments try to squeeze even more blood out of reeling Empire State taxpayers, they're actually creating jobs for our neighbors.

New York drops tax on low priced clothing

J.C. Penney, 1975

New York State will again eliminate its sales tax on clothing and shoes selling for under $55.  State Senator Mike Nozzolio has notified South of 5 and 20 that wearing clothes will no longer be considered a luxury in the Empire State:

In today's economy, many more families are struggling to buy basic clothing and shoes for their everyday needs.  

 

Beginning April 1^st, the State of New York will once again exempt clothing and shoes from New York State sales tax.  I fought hard to re-establish this exemption, and am very pleased it has been reinstated. This sales tax exemption will apply to items that cost under $ 55.00 and will remain in effect until April 1^st of 2012, when the exemption will be raised to $ 110.00.

Before you rush to the outlet mall, remember that  most counties will still hit you for 4%.

Penn Yan school district to raise taxes, lay off teachers, and pay big bucks to double dipping superintendent

Penn Yan Academy, 1959

Should a Finger Lakes business attempt to raise prices while at the same time reducing services, customers would quickly take their trade elsewhere.  However, the Penn Yan Central School proposes to do just that:

If the Penn Yan School Board approves the 2011-2012 budget presented to it on March 9, the number of school staff posts will be reduced by 22.5 full time positions, class sizes will increase,  fewer courses will be offered each year, some programs and courses will be eliminated and the total property tax levy will increase by 2.88 percent.

The quoted Chronicle-Express article lays out the facts as presented by the school district.  Let's take a minute to look behind the story.  Some statistics harvested from the districts's own website and Education.com, organized for the convenience of South of 5 and 20 readers:

3 school buildings

13 administrators, including superintendent, assistant superintendents, directors, principals, assistant principals

1,770 students

10 students per full time teacher equivalent

$17,683 dollars per student, proposed budget

The US Census Bureau reports the median household income in Yates County, home to the Penn Yan school district, is  $41,577 (2009).  Household income is defined as the sum of mom's salary, dad's salary, Junior's lawn mowing money, and any other income they can bring in.  That said, what are those households paying their employee, the school superintendent?  Once again, from the district website:

On December 8, 2010, the Board of Education of the Penn Yan Central School District approved the appointment of Thomas A. Cox as Interim Superintendent of Schools.   Mr. Cox retired in 2005 as the Superintendent of Schools at Gananda Central School District.  Since that time, he has served in several interim positions in the region.  

The District’s application for temporary employment of Mr. Cox under Section 211 of Retirement and Social Security Law and §80-5.5 of Commissioner’s Regulations has been approved.  In accordance with Retirement and Social Security Law, Mr. Cox is entitled to receive a pension while so employed.  He will be compensated at a per diem salary of $495 per day for the anticipated period of employment from February 5, 2011 through June 30, 2011. (bold added)

We'll leave it to intreped readers to track down the amount of Cox's taxpayer-provided pension, but we suspect it's somewhere north of $41,577 per year.  And that's guarenteed every year for the rest of his life.  As a retiree, perhaps Cox could pitch in by volunteering his services to the district, rather than accepting $495 per day.