No New License Plates?
On Sunday, November 15, Governor David A. Paterson announced his intention to eliminate the State's new license plate requirement if, prior to the release of his 2010-11 Executive Budget, the Legislature works with him to identify real, responsible, recurring alternative savings measures that will replace the revenue that would be lost and won't increase the deficit. The new license plate requirement, which is scheduled to go into effect on April 1 and is projected to produce $129 million in revenue in each of the next two fiscal years (2010-11 and 2011-12), was part of the enacted 2009-2010 budget, which was passed by both houses of the Legislature. The State has a current-year 2009-10 deficit of $3.2 billion and a 2010-11 deficit of $6.8 billion. "We need to act in a fiscally responsible way," Governor Paterson said. "When elected officials call for the elimination of revenue in a budget that is already $6.8 billion in the red without offering alternatives, it is simply not responsible."
Bomb Threat at Saratoga Bridges
At approximately 1:30 pm on Monday, November 9, a staff member at Saratoga ARC's Alpha building received an anonymous phone call from a blocked number stating that he/she was going to bomb Saratoga ARC. 911 was contacted, and officials began evacuation of the building. The state police arrived with a bomb-sniffing dog. They evacuated all the buildings on site. The officer and the dog checked all three buildings and found nothing at the Alpha building or the Wilton building. The State police recommended that ARC review their security plan and protocol. The issue has been turned over to an investigator within the State police.
Plane Crash Kills Two
Authorities confirmed two deaths Tuesday morning, November 17, resulting from a plane crash that occurred over the weekend. The Piper Cherokee 140 plane left Saratoga County Airport on Sunday night and crashed shortly after in the Adirondack Mountains, killing pilot Daniel R. Willis, 48 and passenger Ronald E. Rouselle.
New DWI Legislation
Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy, III announced Thursday, November 19, the passage of two bills, which call for sweeping reform in DWI laws in New York State. The first, commonly referred to as "Leandra's Law," will make it a felony for anyone to drive drunk and have a child less than 16 in the vehicle at the time, and the second, the "Ignition Interlock bill," will require the installation of an ignition interlock device for anyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor DWI. Murphy said. The laws apply to crimes convicted after the date of signage.
Murphy said the Ignition Interlock Bill will require anyone convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI in New York State to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicle, or any vehicle they drive, as part of the sentence. According to Murphy, this is the strongest DWI law in the country. Statistics indicate that the number of DWIs in New York will reach 30,000 for 2009. According to Murphy, application of ignition interlocks in New Mexico resulted in an immediate 60 percent drop in repeat offenses.
Saratoga Springs City Council Budget Revisions
At a special budget workshop on Thursday, November 19 some potential changes to the 2010 budget were detailed by Commissioner of Finance Kenneth Ivins as a result of his discussions with all City departments. There will be another workshop and public comment opportunity on Monday, November 23 at 6 p.m., after which the Council may put an actual budget to a vote.
This amended budget is balanced at just under $35 million for 2010, about a half-million dollars less than first forecast. The major factors that were cited were a lower than anticipated health insurance increase, yet this was mitigated somewhat by a lower expectation (by $500,000) of expected mortgage tax revenue.
Some of the major highlights of this amended budget include:
- A lowering of the property tax increase from 7.81 to 6.99
PERCENT
- Amended revenue increase and expense decrease assumptions from many departments
- The Director of Public Works, Bill McTygue has annouced his resignation and his position will not be funded in 2010.
- One of the seven unfunded firefighter postions was restored.
This was the first opportunity for many on the council to see the overall amended budget, so comments were limited. Commisioner of Public Works Anthony Scirocco did note that in this revision his department (losing its Director as well as a net loss of one full and one part-time position) had "done more than it's share."
Commissioner of Accounts John P. Franck did comment extensively on the use of paid parking revenues as a budget-balancing instrument. He cited the uncertainty of the amount that the city could receive in this new venture, and called paid parking a potential "nightmare" regarding losses of sales tax revenues from shoppers who would go to places other than downtown Saratoga Springs.
Mayor Scott Johnson acknowledged having similar concerns about paid parking as a budget-gap closer, and noted the opposition of the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Association. The downtown merchants "must be given an incentive to balance" the potential impact on their businesses.
Commissioner-elect for Public Safety Richard Wirth has the interesting circumstance of not voting on the 2010 budget, but he was consulted after his election and will administer it for his department. He noted that the budget situation "did not happen overnight... whatever budget is given to me by the current Council, my focus will be to assure that the City will continue to have
an appropriate level of essential
services."
On Sunday, November 15, Governor David A. Paterson announced his intention to eliminate the State's new license plate requirement if, prior to the release of his 2010-11 Executive Budget, the Legislature works with him to identify real, responsible, recurring alternative savings measures that will replace the revenue that would be lost and won't increase the deficit. The new license plate requirement, which is scheduled to go into effect on April 1 and is projected to produce $129 million in revenue in each of the next two fiscal years (2010-11 and 2011-12), was part of the enacted 2009-2010 budget, which was passed by both houses of the Legislature. The State has a current-year 2009-10 deficit of $3.2 billion and a 2010-11 deficit of $6.8 billion. "We need to act in a fiscally responsible way," Governor Paterson said. "When elected officials call for the elimination of revenue in a budget that is already $6.8 billion in the red without offering alternatives, it is simply not responsible."
Bomb Threat at Saratoga Bridges
At approximately 1:30 pm on Monday, November 9, a staff member at Saratoga ARC's Alpha building received an anonymous phone call from a blocked number stating that he/she was going to bomb Saratoga ARC. 911 was contacted, and officials began evacuation of the building. The state police arrived with a bomb-sniffing dog. They evacuated all the buildings on site. The officer and the dog checked all three buildings and found nothing at the Alpha building or the Wilton building. The State police recommended that ARC review their security plan and protocol. The issue has been turned over to an investigator within the State police.
Plane Crash Kills Two
Authorities confirmed two deaths Tuesday morning, November 17, resulting from a plane crash that occurred over the weekend. The Piper Cherokee 140 plane left Saratoga County Airport on Sunday night and crashed shortly after in the Adirondack Mountains, killing pilot Daniel R. Willis, 48 and passenger Ronald E. Rouselle.
New DWI Legislation
Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy, III announced Thursday, November 19, the passage of two bills, which call for sweeping reform in DWI laws in New York State. The first, commonly referred to as "Leandra's Law," will make it a felony for anyone to drive drunk and have a child less than 16 in the vehicle at the time, and the second, the "Ignition Interlock bill," will require the installation of an ignition interlock device for anyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor DWI. Murphy said. The laws apply to crimes convicted after the date of signage.
Murphy said the Ignition Interlock Bill will require anyone convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI in New York State to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicle, or any vehicle they drive, as part of the sentence. According to Murphy, this is the strongest DWI law in the country. Statistics indicate that the number of DWIs in New York will reach 30,000 for 2009. According to Murphy, application of ignition interlocks in New Mexico resulted in an immediate 60 percent drop in repeat offenses.
Saratoga Springs City Council Budget Revisions
At a special budget workshop on Thursday, November 19 some potential changes to the 2010 budget were detailed by Commissioner of Finance Kenneth Ivins as a result of his discussions with all City departments. There will be another workshop and public comment opportunity on Monday, November 23 at 6 p.m., after which the Council may put an actual budget to a vote.
This amended budget is balanced at just under $35 million for 2010, about a half-million dollars less than first forecast. The major factors that were cited were a lower than anticipated health insurance increase, yet this was mitigated somewhat by a lower expectation (by $500,000) of expected mortgage tax revenue.
Some of the major highlights of this amended budget include:
- A lowering of the property tax increase from 7.81 to 6.99
PERCENT
- Amended revenue increase and expense decrease assumptions from many departments
- The Director of Public Works, Bill McTygue has annouced his resignation and his position will not be funded in 2010.
- One of the seven unfunded firefighter postions was restored.
This was the first opportunity for many on the council to see the overall amended budget, so comments were limited. Commisioner of Public Works Anthony Scirocco did note that in this revision his department (losing its Director as well as a net loss of one full and one part-time position) had "done more than it's share."
Commissioner of Accounts John P. Franck did comment extensively on the use of paid parking revenues as a budget-balancing instrument. He cited the uncertainty of the amount that the city could receive in this new venture, and called paid parking a potential "nightmare" regarding losses of sales tax revenues from shoppers who would go to places other than downtown Saratoga Springs.
Mayor Scott Johnson acknowledged having similar concerns about paid parking as a budget-gap closer, and noted the opposition of the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Association. The downtown merchants "must be given an incentive to balance" the potential impact on their businesses.
Commissioner-elect for Public Safety Richard Wirth has the interesting circumstance of not voting on the 2010 budget, but he was consulted after his election and will administer it for his department. He noted that the budget situation "did not happen overnight... whatever budget is given to me by the current Council, my focus will be to assure that the City will continue to have
an appropriate level of essential
services."
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