Senior Van Tops Budget Discussion

Budget cuts, general fund and sales tax addressed

Margo Frink

(Oneida – Nov. 18, 2009) A public hearing last night on the city’s 2010 proposed budget had some residents voicing their concerns about budget cuts. The second senior van was largely discussed.

Marsha Signore, who is employed with Madison-Cortland ARC said the senior van is not a big deal to a lot of people but to the consumers who use it, it means so much to them. The second senior van that transported seniors and developmentally challenged residents to and from work or shopping was cut from the city’s 2009 budget. The city currently has one van that only transports senior citizens.

Signore said there are consumers who used the van to get back and forth to work; some lived in Oneida but worked in Canastota. She said taxi service is $10 one way to Canastota.

“Many of them are making minimum wage,” Signore said. “It’s expensive to our challenged and disabled who want to work.”

She said the Madison Transit System doesn’t go everywhere.

“People who want to work can’t get to work,” she said.

Mayor Peter Hedglon said seniors can call for the service and be transported in the city for just $1 one-way. He said it costs $2 for a one-way trip to the county office buildings in Wampsville. According to recreation Director Brandon Lovett, one unit of service is far greater than what the city is paid for the service. Hedglon said there are 207 users and that the van costs the city $51,000 a year.

“It costs the city more than $5 per person for a one-way trip,” Hedglon said. “Are you aware of any other community who has this service.”

City resident Gary Panzer said he would be willing to see a small increase in taxes if the city reinstated this “quality of life” service.

“It’s just a small amount of money to help people in need,” Panzer said.

On another issue, president of the Sherrill-Kenwood Library, Kathy Dorman asked the Council to consider reinstating its contribution to the library, which was removed from the 2009 budget. Dorman said the small library, which is doing more with less has seen its circulation increase. She said library staff has written grants and held fund-raisers in an effort to generate income. She said the city’s decision to remove funding was a “slap in the face” to the residents who live in Kenwood and pay city taxes.

Hedglon said the city could develop a special district for the Sherrill-Kenwood Library.

Other discussions

Oneida resident Charles McMahon had concerns over state aid and sales tax revenues. He said the city is looking at a $2.5 million shortfall. His two concerns were if the city would receive $1.5 million in state aid and the $809,000 projected sales tax revenues by the end of 2009.

Oneida resident Don Skinner said the mayor’s prologue to the budget hit the nail on the head.

“I told you people that down the road you’d be looking at a bad situation,” Skinner said. “I tried to enlighten you people last year. You didn’t listen. You better start listening.”

Skinner asked how much debt the city is currently in. Comptroller Joan Cukierski said $3.8 million. Skinner said the city is looking at running up another $1.5 million in debt with interest charges of $200,000 annually.

“A lot of our tax dollars are going out the window,” Skinner said. “Don’t spend until you know where the money’s coming from.”

Oneida resident Joe Magliocca said everyone agrees with the financial situations the city faces but with every service we enjoy there is a cost associated with it. He said his taxes, figured monthly are less than his cell phone bill for the bevy of services he has access to.

Magliocca told the Council that the city can’t keep putting off capital projects year after year and continue to directly subsidize the budget by taken money out of the general fund year after year.

“We are losing our nest egg,” Magliocca said. “We have to stop these practices.”

Hedglon said the city has options; one is looking at tax rates for same services provided to taxpayers living within the city and those living outside the district.

He also said that if the Oneida Indian Nation paid its share of sales tax, as authorized by federal law, it would mean about $250,000 in revenue for the city. And that over the years, each of the city’s departments have seen cuts.

City Supervisor Scott Henderson, who arrived late from a county meeting said the board of supervisors discussed sales tax revenues and if the Oneida Indian Nation collected sales tax from non-Indian customers it would generate about $5 million in revenue.

Henderson said the board would “make a lot of noise” in the governor’s office to get these taxes collected. Henderson said if these enterprises obeyed the law and remitted sales tax “we wouldn’t have to continue to subsidize and we could afford all those services you talked about.”

Margo Frink is managing editor with M3P Media LLC. She can be reached at 315-363-4254 or Margo@m3pmedia.com.

One Comment on "Senior Van Tops Budget Discussion"

Charles Page on Thu, 19th Nov 2009 10:04 am

It has been suggested that even the one van service be discontinued.
I can’t imagine that the common council would go for that. Senior citizens depend on it, e.g. people in the Towers and others.
Most do not have anyone else to take them for groceries and Dr. appointments. Taxi costs are way past affordable for them. I am now 89 and will soon have to give up driving, and I will be in the same boat……

Senior Van Tops Budget Discussion

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