Preliminary 2019 town budget includes 2-cent tax rate increase
By Jason Emerson
The town of Manlius is preparing to join its neighbors Fayetteville and DeWitt by proposing to institute a deer culling program throughout the town.
The town board discussed its proposed Deer Management Plan during its Oct. 24 meeting and scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for November.
The town plan would adopt the village of Fayetteville deer management plan for 2019 — which includes the town and village signing an intermunicipal agreement — although the town would have its own permit application.
“This is an ongoing safety issue and if we can help keep residents safe in this way it’s a start,” said Councilor Karen Green, who has been the board’s point person on the issue. “Fayetteville has a very successful program, and this is a great opportunity to work with other municipalities on the issue.”
Fayetteville began its deer culling program in 2016 through an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The village has used a bait-and-shoot method carried out by USDA sharpshooters who hunt from elevated stands and from parked vehicles at designated locations throughout the village. All meat from killed deer through the program is taken to the Food Bank of Central New York.
The Fayetteville Village Board approved its fourth year of deer culling under USDA management during its Oct. 22 meeting.
Manlius Town Attorney Tim Frateschi said the town’s proposed deer management plan would “piggyback” on the Fayetteville plan, follow the village’s lead and allow USDA sharpshooters to use town sites for hunting in addition to village sites. He said the sites would be the same culling areas as used by the village, just expanding a little into the town.
Green said the town plan would have to be updated every year, and culling sites could be revised annually, if necessary, based on statistics of local deer-vehicle accidents, tick drags (collecting ticks to check their population) and deer nuisance complaints from residents.
“This is a great place to start; the DEC [Department of Environmental Conservation] is very much on board with this,” Green said. “Deer affect our entire town.”
The board scheduled a public hearing on the proposed town deer management plan for 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, in the town hall, during the board’s next regular meeting.
Also at the Oct. 24 meeting, the board held a public hearing for its 2019 preliminary town budget. The $15.2 million budget includes $11.8 million to be raised by taxes and a tax rate of $4.92 per every $1,000 of assessed value. The tax rate is two cents higher than the 2018 tax rate. The preliminary budget, which is likely to undergo some changes in the next two weeks, will be voted on for adoption at the board’s Nov. 14 meeting.
The board also unanimously approved the installation of two new stop signs at the intersection of Bentbrook Drive and Drinkwater Lane to make it a four-way stop. The intersection is the only one on Bentbrook Drive that is not a four-way stop, and neighborhood residents requested the change out of concerns for the safety of their children. During a public hearing on the proposal, neighbors said rush-hour drivers use Bentbrook Drive to detour around the traffic on Enders Road and, because of the lack of a four-way stop at the intersection, drive too fast.
