The town of Geddes will hold a referendum vote from noon to 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Geddes Town Hall to decide whether to abolish the town receiver of taxes and assessment office – a move that would save taxpayers about $100,000 annually. According to Town Supervisor Manny Falcone, the time is right to hand the duties of the tax receiver over to the town clerk, a position currently held by Joe Ranieri. The clerk’s office is also equipped with a full-time deputy clerk, Linda Casertano. The town board held the first of three informational meetings on the subject Jan. 25 at Robinson Memorial Church in Geddes. “Where we are right now is we’re in tax season, and tax season runs until mid April,” Falcone said prior to the meeting. “The current receiver of taxes, Carole Mecca, has already made it known to us that she’s going to retire as of April 31, and at that point, if the referendum passes, it will automatically, as of May 1, move to the town clerk’s responsibility.” The board voted unanimously in December to consolidate the two offices as a result of increasingly tight budget restrictions. The county’s 2010 decision to eliminate sales tax revenue shared with towns over the next three year’s caused inspired the town board to look at all departments and consolidate wherever possible. The town of Geddes used to receive $2.9 million in sales tax revenue from the county. “Everybody understands full well how much Geddes has lost by the way the county has reconfigured how they share the sales tax- there is no sharing, they took it all away, and now we’re in a humongous budgetary shortfall,” said Deputy Supervisor Chris Ryan, adding that consolidating the two offices would not require any town employee to lose their job. Falcone said the town board wanted to keep the tax receiver’s office local; letting the county take on the duties would inconvenience residents not used to driving to downtown Syracuse to pay their tax bill, he said. Elizabeth Bartlett, who has resides in Geddes since 1965, could attest to this.
“I like the idea of walking in there and seeing a smiling face,” Bartlett said.
The town board has made multiple efforts to downsize local government since the county’s reconfiguration of sales tax distribution. The board voted in early January not to re-appoint two members of the planning board, a decision met with resistance from the planning board. The vote brought the size of the board from seven members down to five and saved the town $3,600 – Geddes planning board members are paid $1,800 per year. The board will hold two more informational meetings, one at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at Town Hall, 100 Woods Road, and the other at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 at the John Carno Recreation Center, 823 State Fair Blvd. Absentee ballots for the Feb. 22 referendum vote can be obtained through the town clerk’s office.