Sunday, February 24, 2013

Journal:St. Lawrence County adjusting five-year tax plan

Property vs. Sales
We are Still Going to Pay!
The Sales Tax vs. Property Tax Battle continues!  Either way we will still get the bill.  If the sales taxes stays even then the property tax will go up.  It has been out of control spending and it is time to cut back government, services, and those areas no one wants to talk about. Remember if we mention "Safety or Kids" it is off limits. 

Journal Taxes

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Republican blogmaster is absolutely right. This Democrat legislature dosnt know how to balance a budget and never will. With all the layoffs and positions not filled I think the proof is in he pudding.. We have more County employees now then we did in 2004. They do away with positions and create more... On the state level however we can throw the Republicans under the bus.. Ritchie and Griffo have been nothing but negative for two years helping us.. Its been all about the Staten Island bunch.
It would do us well if Ritchie did some of the things she promised like
A. Help do away with commissions and authorities instead of voting for them
B. Get our Star Rebate back like she promised i stead of passing it after a state budget is passed and theirs no possible way to pay for it.
C. She preaches jobs jobs jobs but has done nothing the help create any in her district..
Its pretty obvious that the democrats will be going after that position next election full scale and will undoubtly win it back...

Anonymous said...

It is an out an out demonstration of MANAGERIAL and LEADERSHIP weakness on the part of the legislature and County administration .

Any sales tax will be paid primarily and overwhelmingly by SLC residents NOT visitors . What in blazes will visitors be attracted to??? Prisons , perv resorts , a very margi nal shopping mall ? What will be the HUGE draw that will swell the coffers ?? This county government LACKS the intestinal fortitude to say NO , ENOUGH , our population is declining , aging and on fixed incomes . There is little to NO growth now and the projected increase in SALES tax chargee WILL NOT stimulate growth . It is a REGRESSIVE tax that only serves to HURT taxpayers , while FATTENING the bloated government that WILL NOT make the necessary cuts to operations and eliminate redundancies and inefficiencies because the LE GISLSTORS are BE HOLDEN to special interests NOT the general public .

Our property taxes will NOT be effectively lowered and we will all suffer this outrage of a one percent increase in our personal budgets WITHOUT ANY accrued benefit

SHAMEFUL lack of will on the part of our so called representatives ! SAY NO to the increse and do what is right for we the people. CUT THE BUDGET to match the EXISTING revenue stream . Thats what we have to do

February 24, 2013 at 10:15 AM

Anonymous said...

The roads still need to be plowed and paved. The bridges still need to be fixed. Welfare still will exist. You can't cut everything. Taxes have to be raised to pay for thiings. Sales tax allows for a wider group of payers. I know that property owners aren't the only users of roads and bridges, and definitely not welfare.

Anonymous said...

Nobody likes to pay taxes,but why do the landowners have to support the welfare people. Have those people help in supporting the system raise the sale's tax.

Anonymous said...

Listen Carefully ONLY slc residents will be paying this sales tax , there will be darn few OUTSIDERS who will come HERE ro spend $$$$$ once THIS tax is institued. SLC will have ZERO competitve shopping ADVANTAGE once this happens . SO homeowner will get SCREWED TWICE. On this deal

Anonymous said...

11:23 is wrong. Sounds like the same guy every post. 1 penny on the dollar will not scare people away. If a penny meant so much, why don't they flock here as we are the lowest taxed county around?

Anonymous said...

So 1:11 IF as YOU say they ARE NOT flocking here NOW answer this question ,

WHO then will be paying the MAJORITY of this proposed increase Uh yeah its SLC residents not visitors according to your previous staement

Thanks for MAKING my point !!

SLC taxpayers will get hit twice and BTW figure what your NEXT vehicle purchase will do to your. Budget when that measly one percent gets applied to a 20 to 30 thousand dollar vehicle .
ANY competitive advantage SLC dealers had will evaporate , they will be negatively affected .

Anonymous said...

The reason nobody comes to St. Lawrence County is there is no reason to come to St. Lawrence County. The fishing, the river, the culture- you can get all of these things elsewhere in the country (or Canada) without having to deal with the jerks. There is nothing that makes this area particularly attractive or marketable. Might as well circle the wagons and try to preserve what we already have.

Anonymous said...

8:42 and 9:14, you are the most negative person I have ever heard.You give negative opinions on all posts. Why not just leave if you are that unhappy.

Anonymous said...

The point is SLC taxpayers. NOT VISITORS. Get HIT TWICE and will pay the overwhelming majority of the proposed sales tax increase . That is fact !

Anonymous said...

If you want lower taxes and no increase in the sale's tax, reform the welfare system. We don't need the the state or federal goverment to reform the system in this county.

Anonymous said...

Sales tax is a fair tax. it helps spread the cost of running government among everyon instead of just the property owner. The complaining gentleman can solve his own problem by either moving to a lower sales tax county9oh wait, there aren't any) or just not buying anything that is taxed. For him, the problem would be solved. For the rest of us, an increase in the sales tax is a fair way. I know that property owners are not the only ones who need a sheriff, or road and bridge work, or a county clerk, or welfare and probation, or any of the other assorted departments.

Anonymous said...

1:25 I agree with you it is the only fair way.But it is medicad and welfare that take the bulk of the county budget. That needs to be reformed. There are ways to to do that at the county level, without interferance from the state and federal goverments.

Anonymous said...

Sales tax is a REGRESSIVE. Form of taxation and disproportionately hurts the lower economic strata . CUT costs to march revenue m compare quality and efficiecy standards across the state with operational performance in cSLC. manage to that martix .

Optimal cost needs to thbenchmark rather than continually incrementalising cost WITHOUT reqiuring permanant and SIGNIFICANT. Increses in efficency and cost reduction .

This county has a spending problem it has not yet begun to seriously COMPARE itself to nationally normed operational efficiency standards . The BEST practices at the least amount of cost is the way of todays sophisticated organization . Quality assurance at th least cost or LEAN operation is the preferred way to operate a modern organization .


Has the county investigated this at alll?? adding cost without commensurate efficiency is no longer viable. This county is NOT a growth oriented taxbase . The tax base is stagnant , afing and increasingly on fixed income s

Anonymous said...

Someone please answer this to clear up my uncertainy. Ive read that taxpayers will get hit twice and car dealers will oose an advantage.. Thats all BS as the county you live in is the tax you pay no matter where you buy your car.. Buy a car in Watertown and you pay SLC sales tax so your advantage is gone..
What services do the legislators cut without getting beheaded??
Be serious and tell what services they cut..?? The Sheriffs? To many of you cryasses listened to the bullshit the Sheriff spreads.. Public health??? They already gave up a lot.. Probation??? Be specific and give the whys as to why we should cut them>>> I am open for discussion....

Anonymous said...

first of all do comparative analysis with BEST practices in counties across the country and find out what national and state benchmarks are for EACH operational department in the county . IF a dept does not meet or exceed the National and stae bencmarks for efficency THEN CUT IT !

private enterprise has been doing thIs for years . Ever heard of Six Sigma at GE , ever heard of LEAN. Management techniques , ever heard of Matrix management ??

What the legislators fail to do is. To BREAK thru the status Quo and make the comparisons with counties across the country to find out HOW. St Lawrence can meet or EXCEED benchmarks for efficiency for EACH operating departmenT .

ALL department should be under examination by these standards and quit defending the undefensible . THERE IS ALWAYS room to improve , cut cost. And still provide services at optimal cost .

Legislators need to step up to the plate as policy makers and REQUIRE these kind of comparisons and set the expectations for meeting benchmarks ,

Been there said...

If it was a private company, loser departments could be cut. it is not, though. it is a government that has to supply certain services, by law, whether they are losers or not. Stop trying to make it sound so easy. Medicaid needs to be provided. Welfare needs to be provided. Sheriffs, probation, county clerk, all mandated. Road and bridge repair, got to do it. You have not thought it through, my friend.

Anonymous said...

Loser departments CAN most assuredly be cut , i worked in rhe public sector for over 3 decades and in the organizations i am familiar with , LOSER depts were retrenched and in SEVERAL cases totally eliminated .This was not a one time occurance either . Moreover several regional QUASI governmental agencies and orgs have DONE THE SAME .

STOP MAKING EXCUSES, get to it and do YOUR job if you are in fact a policy maker 11: 17

Anonymous said...

HERES A FACT CHECK IT OUT...
Sheriffs dept.. Sheriff, Undersheriff, Road Sgt.. Dectevie Sgt three of them.. Juvinele Sgt. Jail Warden, Two jail sgts ... All of this on one shift to supervise two road patrol men and five or six jail personnel. I also forgot Asst jail warden and head of civil dept...
This is what we dont need.. Too many chief and not enough Indians.. Sheriff dept needs cutting at the top.....
No mandate here... Road isnt mandated.. Civil is not mandated. However jail is mandated.. This needs looking at.

Anonymous said...

Finally someone who realizes that BLOAT still exists in the SLC budget , thank you for speaking. Up 9:28

Anonymous said...

Your best bet as citizens is to move south. Get out of the north country.

Anonymous said...

NO even thoughi have been critical of the manner in which the SLC legislature FAILS to meet its obligation to get this operation under control ,, and up to speed in terms of nationally normed departmental. Efficiency standards .

THERE is MUCH to say for the POSITIVE aspects of living in the North Country .

My points have always been to IMPROVE efficiency. And to deliver the BEST service for the LEAST amount of cost and to do so by COMPARING SLC costs per level of service unit to other counties .

Anonymous said...

Almost every comment on this blog could be followed up with a 'hurrhurrhurr, durrrrrrrrr'

Anonymous said...

You just did.. Good for you.. Wow your precious..

Anonymous said...

Looks like someone is OFF their meds again ! The fact remains that the county STILL has bloat in their budget and the legislators do not have the courage to. Undergo full product / service line analysis and require BEST practice audits. For every dept .

They instead take COP out of raising taxes

Anonymous said...

I want to bring up a minor point of view about our local news and E. Lyons...
She wrote a column today defending Mr Ma and the Chinese in Oswegatchi.. At the same time she insinuated our local chinese resturant served food less than satisfactory to our citizens.. I strongly disagree with her on this point. This little resturant serves oriental food fixed to perfection and enjoyed by many in Ogdensburg. The food is fixed properly, the place is clean, the staff is pleasant and polite and we all should join in supporting this place of business.. Mr. Mas objective here is not to let us enjoy anything but rather its to make money, at the expense of our already established business.
No one seems very interested in getting to the bottom of why this group of Chinese has been refused entry into areas within the US to open their business and carry their message but they have been met with open arms here... Sure hope its not going to cost some locals their businesses...

Anonymous said...

See where Ritchie has gotten Nichols of Oswegatchi to oppose the sales tax hike vocally for her giving her an excuse to delay it.. Good for our leaders for ignoring them.

Anonymous said...

GOOD !!!!!!! It should not be enacted , cut the budget !