County government expands, holds down its tax rate at expense of town and village governments

Editor:

Orleans County legislators have been deceiving taxpayers for many years by using ever increasing sales tax revenue to offset the true cost of the growing county government.

Legislators make themselves look good by holding down the tax rate, however they are sucking the life blood out of the communities that they take their revenue from in the process. Being a legislator is no easy task, however county government needs to be responsible to the residents of Orleans County and not simply function as the long arm of our corrupt state government by pushing unfunded mandates on us.

Our towns and villages are starving on the crumbs given back to us by county government. Just look at the decay in the Village of Albion! This is the result of county government operating with impunity!

Sales tax revenue should be divided equally between county and the towns and villages within the county. This will make the county tax rate higher, however it will also make town and village tax rates lower. Thus, showing the true cost of our ever growing county government.

A fair way to distribute sales tax revenue among the towns and villages in the county would be to make an assessment of county-owned buildings and property that are off the tax rolls in each community. Each town and village would be compensated, using sales tax revenue based on the value of real property owned by the county, to make up for the loss of taxable property in each town or village.

With this, Albion, being the county seat, will finally receive due compensation for all the county property that is off the tax rolls, helping to make up for the high cost of hosting the ever growing county government.

Legislators have had opportunities to lower the tax rate, however the county chose to grow government by spending over $1.8 million dollars purchasing the former Bank of America building in the village of Albion, together with the former GCC building and 20 plus acres of raw land in the town of Albion. So now the County has shrunk the tax base in Albion even more!

County legislators are treating town and village residents unfairly with these new acquisitions. Albion residents need to be fairly compensated for these new purchases to lessen the additional tax burden borne by residents to make up for the loss of taxable property in their community.

Legislators have had opportunities to increase future revenue, however they have continue to grant “corporate welfare” in the form of PILOT, sliding property tax payments and sales tax exemptions for equipment and construction materials to businesses.

We need these tax revenues much more than the companies that receive them! Recently, the county  awarded Ontario Fruit $600,000 in corporate welfare to put an addition on their building and hire 10 workers. That’s $60,000 for each minimum wage job! Should county residents be footing the bill for this? If the company expects to process over 220,000 more bushels of apples, shouldn’t they plan for their own expansion? That’s what good businessmen do rather than groveling to the county for welfare! Come on guys, have you no shame?

In years past, we have had county legislators who approved the construction of the county jail (the monstrosity) next to the Courthouse, which shows the ineptness of former county officials. You can see from this example that legislators don’t always make the best decisions on behalf of county residents. (In my opinion, the county should tear down that jail and send felons over to the Albion Correctional Facility. There’s plenty of room over there with most of the criminals on the street now!)

Maybe the county needs to start sharing services with the state! Also, did the county really need to spend $319,000 on an armored “swat” vehicle? Albion already has one! Save us all some money by sharing it with them for whatever reason you need it!

We currently have some legislators who have taxpayer interest in mind, however we have some that do not. Many legislators are re-elected with no one challenging their position. This sends the message to them that either they are doing a good job, or that no one cares what they do. I think they believe both.

One serious drawback to the rising cost of  county government is that it strains the limited resources that families have causing them to do without. Those who can’t pay their bills wind up needing county resources to get by. Of course this is what keeps governments growing. Without dependency, government has less purpose.

Maybe we need a few more creative people to work on the taxpayers’ behalf. I urge you to keep up with what county government is doing and contribute in whatever way you can to slow the decreasing quality of life caused by our government, with its voracious appetite for your dollars. President Reagan said that “big government IS the problem.” This could not be more true here in Orleans County!

Respectfully submitted,

Gary Deiboldt

Albion (resident for 33 years)