In January, the village leaders of Onondaga County began to sweat the impending revision of the sales tax sharing agreement. By March, the focus shifted and it appeared school districts would face complete cuts to their sales tax revenue.
But when the County Legislature voted last Tuesday, funding to villages and schools remained somewhat intact, if seriously slashed, while the 19 towns were put on a three-year reduction plan and will ultimately end up with zero sales tax revenue from the county.
Here’s how several local officials reacted to the legislature’s unanimous vote in favor of the revision:
“They were patting themselves on the back that they had finally done something major that both sides agreed on. Towns across the county were hurt — and every resident.”
– Village of Elbridge Mayor Hank Doerr
“It is absolutely beyond my comprehension that our county legislator could vote for this. [The city] is double-dipping — they’re getting it above the bar, they’re getting it below the bar, and we’re getting screwed.”
– Elbridge Town Supervisor Ken Bush, Jr.
“Every form of government is starting to look out for themselves. It’s very easy to blame the county, but the reality is Medicaid is a huge, huge expense. And on that end you’ve got to kind of be sympathetic… otherwise what’s the alternative?”
– Village of Camillus Mayor Michael Montero
“We were really sold out. … It was a slap in the face for those of us living out in this area, or anywhere outside of the city.”
– Elbridge Town Councilman George Betts
“I think the villages and schools got a poor deal… the only advantage is that they know what they’re going to get so they can plan for it. From the towns’ standpoint, we got a rotten deal. This doesn’t make for good working relationship [with the legislature]. We need to figure out who we can trust and who we can’t.”
– Marcellus Town Supervisor Dan Ross
