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| Can the County Cut the Budget or Will They Raise Taxes? |
St. Hilarie wants to implement cuts to various departments and raise property tax by 15% to offset part of the deficit. As County Administrator, I have to question her lack of ability to foresee such a deficit and/or her negligence to inform the legislature. It may be time to re-evaluate her ability. Maybe the legislature should cut their pay...we did elect them to represent us and they are failing.
Faced with such a deficit it is easy to come back to the property owners to foot the bill again, while those receiving services are paying little or nothing. Times are tight and the County needs to hold a tight line to balance the budget.
With a democratic controlled legislature we will most likely increase our property tax instead of cutting services. The time is right to take a hard look at the Sheriff Road Patrol, is it necessary with the presents of State and Federal law enforcement?
I guess if I had to choose between a property or sales tax, I would chose the sales tax! The legislature tried to end run Senator Ritchie with a last minute sales tax hike as the Senate Legislative session was ending. The big problem would have been the veto by our beloved Governor Cuomo.
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30 comments:
The REAL problem is clearly the complete lack of ability to foresee the ramifications of financial planning and forcasting multiple yr impacts and addressing them in such a way to smooth out the ride .
Historical trendline data and also national benchmarks exist for comparison .
Start today --the painful yet PROFESSIONAL job of rightsizing county govt , controlling expenditures and eliminating roller coaster tax increases .
The job is not for amateurs .
The legislators while seemingly well intended have neither the skill , attitude nor fortitude to CUT the payroll permanently ( the largest single cost in the budget and where the REAL $$$ is ) in order to balance the budget.
15 % tax increase in THIS economy is totally unrealistic and shows just how woeful the leadership of the county is by MISSING the mark that badly . People with means will LEAVE this county and head for more tax friendly environments exacerbating the problems for SLC
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ACT decisively NOW, CUT the payroll and Fire some of the county leaders. It is painfully obvious they have LOST control and have no concept of reality on main street
Your in the right thought mode. County government as City Government has gotten too big. Your lack of attack of the loyal workers is right on. Its not the workers but the amount of workers that is wrong.
Politics now is evil. Posturing and avoiding issues by doubletlak is out and anyone who dosnt address these issues should be out.
Mr Forsythes attack on the county workers was wrong but his approach showed up in his run at the Assembly. Ms StHillaire should be outside looking in soon as shes not up to the job.
Perhaps Mr Regans approach to the problem isnt as bad as it seemed. Let the driftwood go. Get rid of the fluff. He did it and its working well.
Demand no less than the same from the rest..
If our taxes go up we can trace that to the NYS senate and Ms.Ritchies approach to the State Budget as well as our own legislators on the County level
To the legislators .. Do the right thing cut out the bullsh-- and cut this boondaggle we have for Government. CUT all non mandated jobs.. Cut out several administrative jobs// Dont settle for less than honesty from all department heads including the elected ones...
Dear River City Blogger,
I would respectfully point out the that it was the last legislature that approved the negotiated and mutually agreed upon contract with CSEA in a special board meeting. The new legislature took over in January and is trying to deal with this 15 million dollar shortfall mess as best as possible. Many programs are mandated, especially the unpopular ones.
The state passed more costs on to counties as well with that great budget they passed. A shell game.
Cutting all non-mandated services would be wrong because the highway depart isn't mandated.... so that means roads that fall apart - great idea!
It appears you are hungry for cuts and you knocked Karen St.Hilaire. Karen St.Hilaire's budget had over 40 last year mostly through attrition.... there are going to be people losing their jobs this year. keep in mind that losing your job is probably one of the most difficult things a person can experience and if they have a family multiply that.
budget has been good for the last 10 years prior to the economic bust. These are the times when everyone has to step up to the plate. anon 8:01 must be a one of the new legislators, your plate is full and good luck, taxing is not the answer, we are the highest taxed states.
I think we should try to save the road patrol if possible. Governor Cuomo has held the state employees at bay and has held the legislators feet to the fire. We need this same approach on the county level.
Poly.. As usuall your Republican colors show.. A Republican Sheriff so save the road patrol???? Why..This Sheriff as all of the previous one tells the legislators what he wants them to worrry about and not the facts.. These facts
A. The road patrol is non mandated. The sheriff is mandated to transport prisoners to and from courts, hospitals etc etc. The jail staff is not only trained by NYS standards but quite capible of handlig all transports.. The Sherif is responsilbe to carry out orders of many courts and usually do so with their civil division. But the Civil division as we know it is not mandated as all Sheriffs would like you to believe. In the Civil you have a number of employees performing work that could have been done by uniformed officers for years. They get paid top dollar but only function as process servers who in public life make much less... Why???????
Certainly a restructuring of this function is in order....
We have a investigating staff which could and should be restructured. The input of the drug task force should be measured by how many arrests and seizures are made. There is a potential there to fund their own salaries if they work....
If towns want police protection they should be helping the taxpayers by hiring their own police officers like Norwood. Why should people like us in Canton pay for are own force then help pay for theSheirfs to protect those in Cranberry Lake or Waddington etc.... Yah Poly your Republicn blood is cold for the taxpayers....
I,lll bet you vote for Rupp even though Regan is doing an excellent job and having consideration for the taxpayers by cutting the fat from hisbudget.....
No we dont need a Sheriffs road patrol.. Many counties in the state dont have one and have never had one... Its fluff.... The jail is mandated.. Prisoners transports are mandated but the jail can do them... The civil work is mandated but not in the manner it being done in this county...
State police presence along with state park police, border patrol,immigration are enough in this area... The towns and villages that want their own force should talk to their own taxpayers.
There is lots of jobs in the County workforce that can be eliminated but it takes guts to do it... Time will tell that story...
Lets forget an inept legislature and inempt County Manager for one minute and think about State politics then the Federals
Our Senator Ritchie is refusing to help us obtain home rule for a sales tax increase. This would allow some of that shortage in our budget to be absorbed... Whos behind her.. The Republicans for sure and Matt Doheny.. Doheny helped her during her capaign with a massave contribution.. In return Ritchie supported the Republicans and did away with the millionaires tax... Coincidence NO..
Now Doheny wants to cut medicare payments up the medicare age substantially, and cut their nursing home costs by about 10 to 12 percent.. He is backing the union busting methods used in Michigan and will certainly act according to the speakers will if elected... The real proble;m is he hasnt balls enough to publicly state his opinions... Why??? Becau he is very much like Ms Ritchie.. The only thing he wants from this district and the taxpayers istheir vote.. His opinions arnt his... He has none.. Of Course Poly supports him
It is not the fault of the sheriffs road patrol,or any other county employee that this county is in such finacial dispair. It is the entitlements,and the people that misuse them. The county would see a great saving if it was if the county and the state would take a good look at these programs and the people that get them. Let's make it a little more difficult getting the free ride and let the county emploee do ther jobs.
No 11:20 there is a need to DO Both !!
Eliminate the shennanigans of playing the system while simultaneously permanently cutting the county payroll( the largest single component of the budget).
The county and govt at all levels is in need of systemic reform and rightsizing
The legislature just had a chance to get out of the garbage business and save a sustantial amount of money. A few employees storm the meeting and the group backs down. Go figure. Just imagine if the Sheriff deputies stormed the meeting and made the same pitch. Or better yet made the behind the scenes threats to look out or else. Do not think it does not happen.
Someone please check to see how many people in the last 2 years moved into this county and are receiving some assistance. This number will shock you all. All the head of social service does is cry, how many more people are getting assistance. Ask how many moved here to get it.
Just raise property tax 20 % and all the troubles will go. Then these 20 year retirements can not skip a beat.
Your right hey cant miss a beat.. MOst County employees have a 25 year retirement .. The only twenty yar is the road patrol which should be done away with.. SocialService is being run by a person picked because he knew someone... No experience when he came and little or none now. The same type of thing happens everywhere... Gavin Regan appointed.. Mary Rupp appointed over aperson with over twenty years experience and head over heels more competant.. Regan could be running the County come January with his management skils ... St Hillaire is not up to the job and we all know it....Tom Nichols got quite a political plum with is first job.... Morrill didnt do bad either.. hy isnt the Sheriff contracts settled yet?????????? Something stinks there.....
I looked into one comment made earlier about the jail staff doing transports. I talked to a couple of retired Sheriff dept employees and was suprised to find out the jail personnel used to do all of the court and prison transports in the County. In the mid eightys the legislature was leaning towards doing away with the rod patrol.. Thevote was very close.. A deputy was shot in Onondagua County transporting a prisonr and died.. The then Sheriff Knowton used this event to convince legislature to lt him use road patrolpersonnel to do this function. This is a practice still used today. It costs us several thousands of dollrs each year in time that should be better spent if the jail did the transports. The laughable part of this entiething is all the jail staff are trained and certified each year at ourexpense to do exactly that...... WHY//////
The last comment is incorrect, I worked at the sheriffs office in the late 70's and early 80's. The road patrol has always done the tranports. Before you comment get your fact streight.
Also the jail personal no longer get trained in firearms. Another fact you didn't look into.
I stand by my statements as truth. Period.. The road patrol made some transports but the majority was done by trained personnel from the jail staff. Unless the lawhas changed Jail personnel are peace officers trained yearly on the range in firearms. If they arnt its only in the last year or two and they can be trained. Road Patrol functions are totally un-realistic up here with so many State Troopers, Park Police, Bordere Patrol, Imigration, FBE now Marshalls are frequently in the area. Our local police forces are paid by the taxpayers in each municipalities. If others want their own they should pay for their own. The people in the municipalities that have forces pay double for theirj own as they also foot the bill for the Sheriffs. A total restructuring of the Sheriffs dept is necessary.
Again, I stand by the facts I quoted before. Its a matter of record.
Frankly the ENTIRE county workforce is in need of systemic re-organization and streamlining . The budget must be cut and the payroll is the largest item and is the target for maximizing saving and reduction of overhead .
Too many legislators focus on maintaining the status quo . Get on with the job at hand -- cut the budget , reduce the staff and do not raise taxes. Retrench , Re-organize and balance the budget OR RETIRE/Resign if YOU haven't got the stomach to do so .
Your statement is wrong. the jail personal have not done transport in 30 years, They no longer are trained in firearms.The sheriff department and the state police as well as the park police enforce state law. The border patrol and the other federal agent don't not have peace officer status to do so.The state police force is getting smaller in the north country, the park police don't even no if they are going to be around much longer. What you are stating is not a matter of record and who ever you are getting your information from is giving you false information.
9:17 you are wrong all the way around. Truth be told the reason sheriff dep transport inmates is because of a Perb ruling which hand tied everyone and the deps get big overtime for doing so. So don't talk crap. 2nd the troopers ane 3 times the amount they were 20 years ago and the population is stagnant./ These are the facts. Road patrol would not be missed and tell perb to shove their decisions.
2:58 I can tell you are a smart one perb had nothing to do with. Deouty don't make big money. A trooper with five years on the job makes about 100k. That would pay two deputies for a year. I'm not knocking the trooper good for them. Another one with no facts.
Then go be a trooper. Perb made the decision that deputies do transporting just ask your legislator to look it up. This is all public info that does not seem to make headlines. The state can not afford 20 year retirements either that is on of the reasons we are in this mess. Keep writing crap with no facts to back it up.
This is the last comment i'm going to write, it is obvious that you are an idiot and have idea what you are talking about. I have fact I have been employed at the SHERIFf OFFICE for many years, and very proud of the job the people do there. it shows that you have been at the other end of the law and are just anti police period. Maybe you should go out and find a job and make something of yourself maybe try and get educated.
If your talking SP overtime they could make one hundred thousand but lets be real.. The difference betwee a trooper and a Deputy is the trooper is trained and educated in his job by the best. Deputys only get a smidgen of the training and education. A trooper is much more para military as they should be.. Most deputies are good ole guys. This is where myprevious reasoning comes in.. Do away with detectives in Sheriffs dept and turn felonies ove to SPs.. Have road paatrol issue traffic summons and misdemeanor cases only.. Give them a quota and make them hold to it and they could almost pay their own way. Transporting should be done by jail...
The PERB ruling being talked about only pertained to ovetime.. Its something a recent sheriff started then encourged the union to file grievance then he conveniently lost the case. In other words by doing this he conveniently made his position stronger with the road... On true merit the County chose to ignore his actions thus a precedent was establised which Perb felt should be folowed....
THERE IS NOTHING IN THAT RULING ABOUT WHO DOES THE TRANSPORTING OR HAVING TO MAINTAIN A ROAD PATROL..
Common sense whould dicated that if cut road personnel would be absorbed into the jail (as they were in the past) and probably do the transportng.. The bigget savings for us would be the equipment over the years..... Of course its easier to say untruths and make half true statemets than to face the reality of the times.
YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE GOOD OLD BOYS HAVE BEEN TRUE YEARS AGO BUT NOT ANY MORE, MOST OF THE DEPUTIES HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE OR ATLEAST SOME COLLEGE. DEPUTIES ALSO GO TO A BASIC POLICE SCHOOL THAT COVERS THE SAME SUBJECTS THAT A TROOPER WOULD TAKE. ALSO A DEPUTY HAS TO HAVE ATLEAST 40 HOURS OF INSERVICE TRAINING A YEAR. AS FAR AS YOUR PARE MILITARY COMMENT. THERE ARE A FEW TROOPER OUT THERE THAT COULD PUSH THEMSELF AWAY FROM THE TABLE A LITTLE SOONER. ALSO FOR YOUR INFORMATION THE SHERIFF CAN'T WALK ON ANY CRIME SCENE IN HIS COUNTY AND TAKE OVER THE INVESTIGATION, THAT WOULD INCLUDE A INVESTIGATION BEING DONE BY THE STATE POLICE. IT IS THE JOB OF THE STATE POLICE TO ENFORCE THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAWS OF THIS STATE. THE SHERIFF DOES THE COMPLAINT WORK. IF YOU ARE AS SMART AS YOU LIKE TO THINK YOU ARE TAKE A LOOK AT THE COUNTY BUDGET, YOU WILL SEE HOW LITTLE THE ROAD PATROL REALLY COST THE TAX PAYER. IF YOU WOULD STOP AND TAKE A LOOK YOU WOULD SEE HOW WELL TEH S.P. AND THE SLCSO WORK TOGETHER. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO OR SAY IF THE STATE PASSES THE LEGISLATION THAT HAS BEEN EXPLORED FOR YEARS TO MAKE THE STATE POLICE A HIGHWAY PATROL ONLY, WITH A FEW SPECIAL UNITS FOR CERTAIN SITUATION. BELIEVE ME I WOULD NOT LIKE TO SEE IT HAPPEN AS I WOULDN'T WANT ANYBODY TO LOSE THERE JOB. I CAN ALSO TELL IF YOUR HOUSE GET BURGLIZED OR YOU NEED A POLICE OFFICER FOR SOMETHING YOU WILL BE THE ONE COMPLAINING THAT THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH POLICE OFFICER OUT THERE. I CAN ALSO TELL THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO BE A DEPUTY, BUT YOU COULDN'T MAKE THE GRADE.
They require an associates degree now to take the test. It could be in cosmotogigy but they need an associates.
Fact.. A deputy must complete only 17 weeks of schooling basicly coverning certain aspects of criminal work It must also be completed with another officer for another few weeks depending on where they landwith a seasoned law enforcement officer.
The meat of this issue is taxes. Our taxes are high enough without reasing them again without cutting the bucget..
And by the way the legislators that are doing this town hall meetings are totally for the Sheriffs dept.
There is no one in the world besidesa deputy sheirff that thinks a deputy sheriff is as proffessional,well trained or as good on their job as a state trooper.
One way to look at this is they both cost us money in taxes. We just pay twice having a deputy. In some cities and villages they pay three times because they have their own forces. Then along came the Park Police, Immigration, Reservation Police,Border Patrol..
Look CUT the damn budget , eliminate any redundant services , cut the payroll , quit bitching and get on with it .
Our legislators dont have the balls to cut anything. Why no contracts yet for jail personnel and road patrol??????? Something fishy there... Road has binding arbitration and that process dosnt take three years and the jail filed an unfair labor practice and that dosnt take three years.. Whats up guys??
I dont believe in cutting as extremely as some of the above. I would reorganie and restructure for instance the Sheriffs dept and public health
239.. Your comment about the Sheriff walking onto any crime scene in the County and taking it over is a statement that shows someones anting of power.. Your thinking is the Sheriff is the primary law enforcement officer in th County..
Just for your info.. The Sheriff acts only for the Courts. He carries out the wish of the Courts. In other words he serves the various judges in the County. His only real obligations are to do this and serve the lawyers of that court by serving their papers and collecting money or property defined by the Court.. His obligations are defind in County Law.... He must have a jail and maintain a jail...
Nothing else.. He is not obligated to havea road patrol. The troopers have sworn to uphold the laws of NY. The Sheriff upholds the laws of the various Courts of this State... All else is FLUFF....
Bottom line is this. We dont count oly every four years when they need our vote. Nothing will change, our taxes will go up. Republican or Democrat their the same..
One thing to look forward to is Jack McGrath is running for mayor of Ogdensburg giving us a refreshing chance for a new start in the Burg. I,ve heard rumor that St Hillaire is out in January and its a toss up between Wade Davis and GAvin Rggan for new manager.. If hats the case and Regan is chosen the Governor may get to make another appointment. Possibly Kathy STreeter gets her fair chance at the Job instead of political appointments to Regan and Rupp have held her back before... Anyway it should be interesting...
Wow 8:22. Mcgrath could not make a go of running a business in the BURG. Wade Davis is a joke at the bridge and port. Empty buildings and fueding over nonsense. Dan Duprey must be rolling in his grave. Regan is a joke. Never won an election for anything but family is big in the party. Kathy Streeter should jump into the race as an independent and plead her case to the voters. Good luck.
What business are you refering to?????????? He owns and runs Oscars the last I knew. Well spoken man with good intentions. I know a lot of small business owners that have had a problem running a business in Ogdensburg.. Carbinos had nothing but trouble re=opening.. Wimpys got nothing but left behind.. The pet store got relocated because of an arsonists ties to the City personnel. The operator of the restraunt at the community center got arrested and bullied by the City planners bs.. Others like Allison Chadwick got a free pass from the City and Nelson to run their business illeally fo years even after neighbors petitioned the city.. Steve Rose and the neighborhood near the housing project got the shaft from the city for years all because Mr. Rose told it the way it is.. This is our present form of Government n OBerg..
Wade hss done alot for tis area but yes things have gotten a little petty lately.
Regan is very competant ties or not. He is doing a much better job tan Rupp was and thats fact.. GOP trieng to run a reace for that job on emotions only...
Kathy would do a very good job as County Clerk.. Patty Ritchie screwed up by appointing Rupp over her to first deputy.. We must end this process in our County.. I cant imagine appointing a friend over a twnty year fiaithful enployee that has twice the knowledge and personality as your friend....PATTY you screwed up in this case....
Obviously the previous blogger is a straight party line voter.. I am a Republican who is realistic and will vote so...
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