Supervisor's Report August 2007

TOWN OF VARICK
SUPERVISOR JOAN TEICHNER’S REPORT
August 7, 2007

TAXES! The frustration over the high rate of taxes that we have to endure in New York State has made us angry. Just knowing that New York State is number one in the Country with the most taxes collected from its residents makes for a sad state of affairs. This has caused the State to lose jobs because industry and people have left this beautiful State. Of course this has been happening over the course of several years. Hopefully change can happen and we can become known once again as the Empire State.

Let us look on the positive side and be thankful for what we have. This is a great County and for which there is much to be grateful: its lakes, parks, wineries, and farms. The tourists that come here create jobs for people who live here, by staying in our hotels and bed and breakfast establishments, eating in our restaurants, and purchasing merchandise and goods. This also brings money into our County with the taxes collected. Did you know the bed tax in 2006 collected by the County amounted to $145,163.00? Tourism is a given and we need to see that the County continues to support it. We need to move forward and make the best decisions for the generations to follow by protecting what we have here.

Those residing and owning property in the Town of Varick need to know the Town’s tax rate for 2007 is $3.18 per thousand making us having the second to the lowest tax rate in the County. Those within the Town of Seneca Falls pay only $.57 per thousand because they are able to collect taxes from industry that is within their Town boundaries.

Over the past few years Varick has focused on keeping our rate low and will continue to do so in the future. I am beginning to prepare the Town’s Budget for 2008. To the Town Board, I am recommending we give our highway department a 3% increase in salary since they were not given any for 2007. The salaries of everyone else will remain the same unless I hear a strong objection from the Varick Town Board.

Peter Brown, the Seneca County Resource Management Specialist was notified on Monday, June 25 with a phone call from our local representative from the New York State Archives that the Town of Varick Grant for vault rebuilding and indexing will be funded. On July 3, 2007, a letter from the State Education Department awarded Varick a grant in the amount of $8,527.00. It will be nice to clean up our records and discard some of the boxes the Town no longer is required to keep. It might be called “Town Cleaning”.

I will be a attending a one-day workshop on Co-funding for Water & Sewer Infrastructure Projects with a individual project consultation in Rochester, Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The morning session, a general assembly will concentrate on sources of State & Federal Funding for Water & Wastewater projects and Asset Management. The Afternoon Sessions are “Managing/Financing Your Infrastructure” and the last session being on “Project Development Guidance”. There is much to learn and know for our future projects.

Registration is required for the workshops. I would be happy to have any Town Board member or Town resident who is interested in attending this conference to go with me to hear what we can do to get water on Route 89. At the Individual Consultation, which I have scheduled for 3:45 P.M. - 4:30 P.M., I want to know where the Varick/Fayette Water project water stands and what “hoops” we need to go thru to get water for Route 89 residents. I will need to take with me maps, the plans and survey information that we have done thus far for the Route 89.

I am presently working on a Town Newsletter that will be in the mail before the end of August. I am so glad that I am retired from one job so I can concentrate my time being your Town Supervisor.