To the editor:
The board is considering hiring a consulting firm to review franchise agreements for a cost of just under $15,000. That appears to be a good idea to have these types of contracts for taxes and fees reviewed periodically. Since the village attorney claims no experience in the field, outside review is necessary. The Time Warner deal is a successor in interest to the original cable company in North Syracuse. This needed to be re-negotiated before the agreement expired.
As to the Verizon portion, if I remember correctly, this was a continuation of the agreement with New York Telephone for a franchise to allow telephone service to the village way back. So why not call Verizon in NYC and find out how they are determining the current payment schedule? Maybe revision is needed.
Another issue: So again it is prudent for the village leaders to make an assessment of future needs for the local government. It is also prudent to hire an independent agent to review the possibilities. But I do not believe that formal commitments should be made at this time to build or remodel or place additions on any buildings owned by the village.
We now have a bigger issue at hand. We have a governor who has the authority to call a special session of the legislature and demand that the legislature create a change in the constitution and eliminate villages, cities and towns with in the state. Remember he has the absolute authority to control state and federal pass through funding to all local government.
I would not be making any great plans for capital expenditure with in the village until we see how consolidation will play out. Maybe the village cannot afford to make changes at this time. But it is important to know the projected costs and the needs for the next 10 to 20 years in case consolidation under Cuomo does not occur.
But I do not see annexation of adjoining properties, leaving the two-and-a-half-square-mile village held within its bounds and its taxing abilities, and even when you consider that half of the parcels with in the village pay no village tax, which means every taxable property will pay more tax.
Of course you as a group may figure a new plan to tax all properties or charge a fee by the village to nonprofits and government agencies. The churches, nonprofits and even the school district should be paying a token tax to the village in addition to the village sewer tax and the county sewer tax. They still receive fire and police services and the DPW plows their sidewalks and their streets if they are not on Route 11, South Bay Road or Taft Road…
So there is a mixed message here: Time to review but not time to commit to any expenditures or debt.
Rick Kaszubinski
North Syracuse
