File photo by Tom Rivers – In this photo from February, State Sen. George Maziarz answers a question in a quiz about New York State history and facts with Holley third-graders. Maziarz directed $67,800 in funding to Holley to purchase 30 SMART Boards. A state-wide proposition on Tuesday seeks to expand technology in school districts throughout the state.

Voters Tuesday will decide the fate of a $2 billion proposal to expand technology in school districts throughout the state.

Proposal Number 3, The Smart Schools Bond Act of 2014, will be on the back of ballots. The referendum, if approved, would give students and teachers greater access to laptops, tablets, interactive whiteboards and iPads and also boost high-speed broadband connectivity.

In Orleans County, the five school districts would receive about $7 million combined in technology aid. The state breaks that down to $2,238,441 for Albion; $1,311,463 for Holley; $967,959 for Kendall; $733,151 for Lyndonville; and $2,000,222 for Medina.

Robert D’Angelo, superintendent at Holley Central School, said he supports the bond act. The technology would help Holley students better “compete in our fast-paced global economy,” he said.

Holley has worked to implement new SMART Boards in the classroom as well as other technology improvements.

“I personally support the Bond Act as it incorporates what current research and best practices define as instrumental on how to invest the funds: to enhance teaching and learning through the use of technology,” D’Angelo said.

The district would use a long-range planning process to determine how to best use the funds.

“It has the potential to reinvent teaching and learning for the demands of the present and near future,” he said about the technology.

The funding will also help create pre-kindergarten classrooms and help districts upgrade security and surveillance systems.

Julie Christensen, superintendent at Kendall Central School, said Kendall struggles with inadequate broadband access for the Internet. However, she would prefer to see the state reinstate $5.5 million lost to the district through the Gap Elimination Adjustment over the last four years.

She testified about Kendall’s high-speed Internet woes during a Congressional hearing last spring.

“Kendall Schools can purchase more technology for our students to prepare them for 21st Century learning, but if our bandwidth is inadequate, which it is, and then all these systems will not run efficiently,” she said.

She worries the technology funds from the state could come with additional strings and mandates that could prove costly to the local district.

“Certainly, the additional funds would provide resources for our students and community, but I would prefer these funds in state aid, or better yet full restoration of Gap Elimination Adjustment,” she said.

Christensen would also like to see districts have flexibility “to support our instructional programs for our students based on our needs.”

If bond act passes, Medina would get $2 million. The district would use the money to upgrade infrastructure, said Jeff Evoy, district superintendent.

Possible projects include:

District-wide network and fiber optic wiring
Network upgrades – 10 gigabit and beyond
Security cameras and systems
Voice Over IP (VoIP) phone system upgrades
Additional wireless (one access point per room)
Additional storage

Lyndonville welcomes more technology in the school district, said Superintendent Jason Smith. Many of the district’s computers and SMART Boards in the classroom are eight to 10 years old and should be replaced, he said.

“Should the voters pass the Bond Act, the District intends to work closely with our Technology Committee to increase access to devices for our students and improve the network infrastructure,” Smith said. “Our Technology Committee would come up with a plan to update and expand our existing use of technology in classrooms.”

Photos by Tom Rivers – Zach Moore, a member of the Kids Only Work Zone or KOWZ, finds an attachment for the team’s Lego robot during a practice on Saturday. Zach, 13, of Albion has been with the program each of its three years. Jayden Neal works on the computer.

ALBION – It started two years ago with a team of about a dozen kids, ages 8 to 14. The First Lego League expanded to three teams last year and now there are four teams with about 40 kids altogether in the program through 4-H in Orleans County.

The teams have been meeting three times a week since mid September. They have a regional competition on Nov. 15 in Churchville, vying against teams that are typically affiliated with schools with paid staff.

In Orleans County, the FLL program is under the 4-H umbrella with Erik and Marlene Seielstad as the volunteer mentors with help from their son Morgan and some other adults.

Anna Reese, 10, of Medina uses a laptop to research Alzheimer’s. Her team is studying ways to help people with Alzheimer’s preserve their memory skills. In addition to working with a Lego robot, the teams need to research a topic and present that information before judges.

The mentors provide some supervision and advice, but the kids are driving the action. They meet at an onion packing house, the former Remley Printing Company in Albion. Signs taped to the wall say, “Kids do the work.” (Panek Farms donates use of the space for the teams.)

The teams have their own workspaces. They use WiFi on their laptops to research topics. This year’s theme is “FLL World Class: Learning Unleashed.”

Teams have discretion in researching their topics. One is studying how to better communicate, advocating for interpersonal skills over email. Another team is developing a new method for teaching typing skills and another team is researching how to preserve memory skills for Alzheimer’s patients.

Most of the focus is on the robot, which needs to be designed and programmed to conquer challenges, including retrieving rings on a course, throwing a ball through a hoop, opening doors and clicking on a switch.

“The kids get the opportunity to work together and accomplish things,” said Mr. Seielstad, who works as a systems engineer in Rochester.

Erik Seielstad has volunteered as mentor in the Lego program since it started in 2012. He is pictured with Dan Squire, 13, of Medina.

Seielstad and his wife also are mentors for the robotics team, which includes high school kids. That program starts in January.

The Seielstads and their son Morgan, now a senior at Albion, have been champions of the robotics and Lego program in the county. It now draws participants from throughout the county, as well as from Elba and Brockport, which are outside Orleans.

“I find it overwhelming that this has occurred,” said Mrs. Seielstad, a member of the Albion Board of Education. “Our uniqueness is we have people from all over our county, as well as kids from other counties.”

Jason Foote, an engineer, provides some supervision for one of the Lego teams, which includes his son Jacob. Jody Neal and Mike Beach are also active adult volunteers with the program.

Provided photo – An anti-gambling commercial was filmed Tuesday in Albion in front of Fischer’s News Stand. The group includes, from left: Paul Figlow, film director from Figlow Productions; Carol Pritchard, Albion High School senior; Alise Pangrazio, GCC student; Phil Ricci, Batavia resident; and Paul Suleski, GCASA intern.

ALBION – The Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse filmed a commercial in Albion on Tuesday that is intended to get families talking about gambling. (The video is expected to be released through YouTube next month.)

GCASA received funding from the New York Council on Problem Gambling for 2014 to increase the number of parents who are committed to talking to their children about the dangers associated with underage gambling, said Pat Crowley, project director for Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition.

“This year the focus of the project is getting parents to talk to their children about problem gambling,” she said.

She said fewer than half of parents discuss gambling issues with their children, and research shows that only 13 percent believe their children gamble for money.

“As with many challenging issues for youth, it is important for parents to talk about gambling,” Crowley said. “It is important for parents to examine their own attitudes and habits around gambling and make sure you are modeling healthy behaviors.”

Gambling has become more accepted than ever before as a pastime, not only for adults but also for youth. Crowley wants parents to about gambling to prevent serious addiction problems.

For more information regarding problem gambling contact GCASA at 585-589-0055 in Albion or 585-343-1124 in Batavia or you can reach the NYS HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY.

Press Release, Sheriff Scott Hess

ALBION – As Halloween 2014 approaches, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office would like parents and children to follow these important safety tips:

Attend organized Halloween events or programs in your community.

If children go door-to-door “Trick or Treating,” they should stay within your neighborhood and only go homes of people known to you. Do not go to houses that are un-lighted and never enter a stranger’s home.

Children “Trick or Treating” should travel in groups or be accompanied a parent, relative, or trusted friend. Younger children should always be accompanied by an adult.

Children should only accept treats that are wrapped or packaged. Parents should examine all treats before allowing their child to consume them.

Children should wear flame-retardant costumes. Costumes should be light in color or at least have reflective tape on them. Children should also carry a flashlight. Make sure that your child’s Halloween mask does not obstruct his or her vision.

Sex Offenders are not required to stay at home on Halloween night unless it is a condition of their Parole or Probation. Registered Sex Offenders residing in Orleans County are listed on the Sheriff’s Office website.

If you suspect that any of your child’s treats have been tampered with, call 9-1-1 and report it. Save the un-eaten portion of the treat along with whatever object(s) you find so it can be examined by the responding officer. Tampering with any consumer product is a violation of both federal and state laws.

Also – Please instruct your children that damaging another person’s property or causing them injury, however slight, is a CRIME – not a prank!

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office extends our very best wishes to everyone for a Safe and Happy Halloween!

Editorial

Photo by Tom Rivers – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand addresses the media on Monday during a stop at the Iroquois Job Corps Center in Medina.

Kirsten Gillibrand was in Orleans County on Monday morning, visiting the Iroquois Job Corps Center, a program that she said teaches at-risk youth valuable skills and prepares them for the workforce.

Gillibrand is one of 100 U.S. senators. She is a powerful government official. Often when the Congressman comes to town, or even the local assemblyman or state senator for an event, you’ll see other local officials – a mayor, town supervisor or county legislator.

These events give the local officials a chance to speak, even if only for a minute, about a pressing local issue. When Gillibrand came to the Job Corps, there wasn’t a local elected official there to greet her or to press a cause except for Skip Draper, the Shelby town supervisor. He happens to work at the Job Corps.

Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, is on the Job Corps advisory board. She heard about Gillibrand’s visit and stopped by. She spoke with a Gillibrand aide about some local development projects in the county.

I wondered where the local officials were. I don’t recall seeing any when Gillibrand came to town last Nov. 25 to visit the community kitchen at the Eastern Orleans Community Center in Holley.

I asked County Legislature Chairman David Callard about the lack of local presence at the Gillibrand visits. He said he didn’t know about it until after the fact.

“There was no notice,” he said. “Much of what they do is last minute.”

Callard said most of seven legislators have other jobs and commitments that make it difficult to juggle their schedule at the last second.

He has attended many of Sen. Charles Schumer’s events. Schumer tries to visit each of the 62 counties in the state at least once a year since he took office in January 1999. In one visit to Albion, he met with county officials in the Legislature Chambers. Callard said that may have been unprecedented. It was definitely appreciated.

“In my book he’s extraordinary,” Callard said about Schumer.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Sen. Charles Schumer speaks in front of the former Diaz Chemical on Aug. 14. He is joined by from left: Holley Mayor John Kenney, Village Trustee Kevin Lynch, Village Trustee Skip Carpenter, and county legislators John DeFillipps and Ken DeRoller.

Schumer’s office tries to give the local communities a few days advance notice of when he will be in town. He was at Holley on Aug. 14 and village officials and two legislators were there when he visited to talk about Diaz Chemical and the need for more federal funding to finish cleanup of the site.

But even that lineup of local officials seemed kind of light. I’d like to see more local officials, including the state assemblyman and state senator, when the U.S. senator comes to town. I don’t recall seeing State Assemblyman Steve Hawley or State Sen. George Maziarz at a Schumer appearance. I often see them with Congressman Chris Collins when he stops by.

Gillibrand’s office sent out an advisory on Friday to media members that she would be in town on Monday. I don’t want to fault her for not getting the word out, if that’s the case.

The local officials should talk with her staff and the county leaders should have a “response team” of county, town and village leaders that can spring into action on short notice. It would be good to have the local state legislators appear at the some of these events with the U.S. senators.

We shouldn’t take for granted that the U.S. senators will be frequent visitors around here. Callard noted that Schumer’s predecessor, Al D’Amato, rarely stopped by and even he didn’t give local officials much notice.

I wondered what Callard would have told Gillibrand if he was given a few minutes to press some issues. He said he would have noted the Oak Orchard Harbor was recently dredged by the Army Corps of Engineers for the first time in a decade. The harbor is critical to the county’s recreational and fishing industries, and Orleans officials anxiously waited for it to be dredged. Schumer used money for the Sandy cleanup to get the harbor dredged. Callard said the federal government needs to follow a systematic schedule for harbor maintenance.

He worries about a new plan for regulating Lake Ontario water levels. An international board is proposing the biggest change to the lake level regulations in a half century. Callard fears the southshore counties will see more erosion, lost backyards and property damage. He would have asked Gillibrand to fight for a plan that protects the southshore.

He would have pressed for Broadband Internet coverage in rural counties, such as Orleans. The county has many gaps and that puts residents and businesses at a disadvantage.

Callard also would have asked Gillibrand to press Congress about so-called “zombie houses,” homes that have been foreclosed on but sit in limbo with no clear owner. The properties often sit vacant for years, falling into disrepair and dragging down a neighborhood.

Callard would like to see legislation requiring banks to have banks at least assign a contact person to the vacant houses so they can’t just languish. In some cases, communities aren’t sure which bank owns a site because the mortgages often change hands.

If the sites could be resold and improved it would help villages, in particular, by boosting their assessments and population bases, Callard said.

I hope the next time Gillibrand or Schumer stops by, Callard makes his case to them personally.

Orleans County’s unemployment dropped from 7.5 percent in September 2013 to 6.0 percent last month, according to the State Labor Department.

The 6.0 percent was down from 6.9 percent in August. The county’s rate is still slightly higher than the state average of 5.6 percent. (The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in September, the lowest level since October 2008, according to the Department of Labor.)

In Orleans County, there were 1,100 unemployed people looking for work in September, compared to 17,000 in the workforce. A year earlier, there were 400 more people working in Orleans County – 17,400. There were also 1,400 unemployed looking for jobs, according to the DOL.

Fifteen of the 62 counties in the state have unemployment rates at 6.0 or higher. Bronx has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 8.5 percent.

Orleans, even with its improvement from a year ago, still has the highest rate in Western New York. Genesee County, at 4.8 percent, has the lowest rate in WNY. Hamilton County, at 3.8 percent, has the lowest rate in the state.

Building Trades: Brett Jepson (Medina), Alex Gomez (Medina), Nick Burke(Lockport), Sean Ogden (Lockport), Josh Taylor (Newfane), Josh Bedford (Roy Hart), Jon Eggert (Roy Hart), Brandon Fuller (Lockport), Jason Criswell (Lockport), Collin Wissinger (Roy Hart). Mr. Matt Anastasi, teacher. Electricity: Anthony Annalora (Lockport), Matt Chutko (Roy Hart), Jordan Deuel (Roy Hart), Josh Ellsworth (Lockport), Daniel Gardner (Barker), Andy Gelyon (Newfane), Kyle Graham (Albion), Mike Hinkley (Medina), Jacob Nizialek (Newfane), Zach Pisarski (Barker), Charles Ricci (Medina), Josh Scroger (Medina) and Aaron Wysochanski (Lockport). Mr. Bill Leggett, teacher.

Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES

Students in Matt Anastasi’s Building Trades program and Bill Leggett’s Electricity and Electronics recently spent a day at the Western New York Construction Days. The event is hosted by the Buffalo Building and Construction Trades Council and its union affiliates.

“It is a great experience for our students,” says Mr. Anastasi. “It is a perfect opportunity for them to talk to union representatives in the various trades and get a look at the apprenticeship programs they offer.”

Although many of the students get hands-on experience in class, there is a wide variety of booths set up by the unions that allow the students to do everything from drive a small Bobcat bulldozer, try their hand at welding or repel down scaffold.

“There is a greater need than ever for workers in these fields,” says Mr. Leggett. “There are a lot of baby boomers retiring and the unions are looking for qualified workers to take their place. It gives our students a chance to make connections for possible careers when they graduate. They all received hard hats and safety glasses for attending which was great.”

Each of the teachers said their students had a great time and helped to reinforce to many that they have chosen the best career path for themselves.

ALBION – The four public libraries in Orleans County will ask the County Legislature to up the county contribution to libraries in 2015.

The four libraries currently share $10,000. They would like to see the county give $1 per resident or $42,883. That money would be shared by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina, Hoag Library in Albion, Community Free Library in Holley and Yates Community Library in Lyndonville.

Representatives from the libraries as well as the Nioga Library System will address county legislators on Wednesday.

“We’d love to see it increased,” said Catherine Cooper, Lee-Whedon director.

Two of the libraries – Lee-Whedon and Yates Community – both completed recent remodeling projects to make the sites more appealing for the public. Hoag is in a new building that opened in July 2012 while the Holley library expanded next door in the Public Square.

The libraries all run community events, from children’s programming to initiatives for adults. Lee-Whedon runs a winter concert series that brings people out into the community.

The libraries have shelves of new books, while offering e-readers and other gadgets.

“We all do our darnedest to keep up with new technology and to make it accessible to the public,” Cooper said.

Matthew Ballard, co-director of the Cobblestone Museum, also is scheduled to address the Legislature on Wednesday afternoon. The museum doesn’t receive any regular county support, although legislators gave the museum $1,000 in county aid last December when the county tapped its contingency account to assist five organizations.

Cuomo announces $10 million in 9-1-1 grants statewide

Orleans County will receive a $134,050 state grant, part of $10 million the state is giving to support emergency response operations at counties state-wide and New York City.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the grants for 57 counties as well as NYC, which all operate 9-1-1 response and emergency service dispatch operations.

“First responders provide a critical service to New Yorkers in every corner of this state, and this funding will help ensure they can respond quickly when an emergency strikes,” Cuomo said. “From extreme weather to roadway accidents and beyond, it is absolutely vital that our emergency personnel receive accurate and timely information when responding to any situation.”

The funding is being administered by the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services through the Public Safety Awareness Points Operations Grant. PSAPs are public facilities where incoming calls for help are received and the dispatching of emergency services is initiated.

Throughout New York State, counties provide the majority of 9-1-1 answering and dispatching operations, and coordinate the services among municipal, county and state responders.

Through the benefit of these sustaining resources, counties can also make greater investments in Next Generation 9-1-1 (or NG-911) technology, which will enable text messaging, data services and improved geo-location for emergency response.

Photos by Peggy Barringer
ALBION – Some of the trees by the Orleans County Courthouse have purple ribbons tied around them, symbolic of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The county also has the courthouse dome lighted up in purple at night to show its support for the cause. On Wednesday, many community members also wore purple to promote domestic violence awareness.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Thom Jennings started on Monday as the new director of the Orleans County YMCA. He is pictured in the refinished gymnasium with people playing basketball.

MEDINA – An organization that only a few years ago was on the verge of extinction is entering a new phase, one that Orleans County YMCA leaders believe will be the most dynamic and engaging since the Y opened more than three decades ago in Medina.

The Y is getting close to finishing a $500,000 capital improvement project that will make a historic building more handicapped accessible, energy efficient and much more appealing and accommodating to its members.

And, starting on Monday, the organization has a new executive director. Thom Jennings is now leading the group and its 50 employees. Jennings has recently worked as a history teacher and social worker.

“We were close to being out of business,” said Dean Bellack, the YMCA board president the past six years.

The Y had an $80,000 annual deficit, but now is the most profitable of the three branches in the GLOW Y, which includes sites in Batavia and Warsaw.

The merger with the GLOW YMCA has been a big boost to the Orleans County Y, Bellack said, bringing resources and expertise. The Orleans agency has maintained its independence, launching a $400,000 capital project 18 months ago.

The community stepped up, and surpassed the fund-raising goal by giving $500,000. That has allowed the Y to tackle several projects at the 90,000-square-foot site.

Dean Bellack, left, has led the YMCA board of directors the past six years. His term ends next month. He will be succeeded as board president by Don Colquhoun.

“We’re very excited about where we are and where we’re going,” Bellack said.

Members have a new side ramp and entrance to a historic building on Pearl Street. The gym floor has been resurfaced.

The racquetball courts were taken out, which freed up space for a new lobby area near the side entrance. A new exercise room also was created.

The Y has added heat and air-conditioning units. There is more work to do on the building project. The 86 windows in the building will all be scraped, primed and painted. A railing will be added to the new steps on the side of the building, which will become the main entrance.

In the spring there will be a unisex bathroom on the main floor. The Y is adding about $20,000 worth of signage throughout the building, as well as a historical timeline and display of the building, which was built for Company F, a local Army National Guard Unit.

Bellack’s term as president ends next month and he will be succeeded as leader of the board by Don Colquhoun, a retired executive director for The Arc of Orleans County. Colquhoun is a long-time member of the Y, and he said the transformation of the organization has been dramatic in the past few years.

“It’s a wonderful feeling,” he said about the vibrant Y. “This is a facility people can be proud of. It’s up to date with programs people can be proud of.”

The Y leaders said Jeff Winters was instrumental in the Y’s recent success. Winters, a Medina native, recently got married and lives in Albany. He took a job with the American Cancer Society.

In Winters’s four years as director, the Y became profitable and quadrupled its members to 2,200. Winters took the reins at the Y when he was 27 with a law degree.

Jennings impressed the Y board and a selection committee with his energy and ideas for more growth and connections in the community for the Y.

“I like people who can create things on their own and don’t just look at the manual,” Bellack said.

Jennings, 48, lives in Albion and sees opportunities to expand the Y in Albion and the Lyndonville communities, as well as in Medina. He wants to build stronger partnerships with GCASA, the United Way and other local agencies, with the goal of improving the community’s health and fitness.

The YMCA operates out of the former Medina Armory, which was built in 1901 on Pearl Street. The building is nearing completion on a $500,000 capitol project.

The Y will be responsive to member feedback and fitness trends, Jennings said.

“I want this to go in the direction that people are driving it,” he said on Monday, his first day on the job.

Jennings may be best known in the community for running for Orleans County Legislature. He tried three times as a Democrat, but didn’t win.

Jennings looks different from his candidate days.

About three years ago he got serious about exercise and healthy living after a bet with his two brothers in law over which of them could lose the most weight. Jennings has lost 100 pounds since then and run two marathons. He won the bet.

He is one of the leaders of the Albion Running Club which is planning three races next year and working on fitness programs in the community.

Jennings is grateful the Y is in such a strong position, and poised to do so much good for the community. He credited Winters, the past executive director, and a dedicated board of directors for building community support and developing programs that proved popular with members.

“The Y has done a great job,” he said. “I want to continue the culture here, which is very positive.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The top of the Orleans County Courthouse dome is shining purple this month for Domestic Violence Awareness Appreciation Month.

The County Legislature is urging the community to wear purple on Oct. 15 to show support for the issue.

The county’s domestic violence unit last year responded to 376 referrals, including a murder and attempted murder, county legislators said in issuing a proclamation declaring October to be “Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Orleans County.”

Agency wants to send gifts to soldiers for holidays

Provided photo – Jared Ostrander, 7, (left) and his brother Jorden, 10, help sort and pack holiday boxes to be sent to American troops overseas.

ALBION – Kristen Ostrander said she loves the Christmas holiday season, the family memories that are made and the celebrations.

Many local families will miss those close interactions this season because a member of their family is serving with the military overseas.

“We take that for granted,” Ostrander said about the family time over the holidays. “But many soldiers won’t be able to be home.”

Ostrander wants to send soldiers packages with various goodies as a reminder that their community cares about them. She is heading a “Treats for Troops” effort. Ostrander would like to fill at least 50 boxes that are about shoebox size and send them to troops.

The community is welcome to donate items – personal care products, packaged food, magazines, games and other activity items. Ostrander also is raising money to mail the boxes at $15 each.

Community Action led the effort for filling the boxes about a year ago. A donor paid the postage last year. That funding isn’t available this year.

Donations for the packages can be dropped off at Community Action on East State Street in Albion and at its center in Holley, at GCASA in Albion and also at the Kendall Elementary School.

Kendall fifth- and sixth-graders are collecting supplies for the packages and also writing letters to the soldiers.

The deadline for donating is Nov. 1. Ostrander said volunteers will then fill all the packages and have them mailed by Nov. 19 so they can be delivered in time for Christmas.

For more information, contact Andrea Skowneski, case manager at Community Action, at 585-589-5605 ext. 105 or by email at askowneski@caoginc.org.

ALBION – The County Legislature unanimously voted on Wednesday to expand the income threshold for senior citizens to qualify for a discount on their county taxes.

Residents 65 and older currently are eligible for a discount if they earn less than $19,200 a year. Beginning with the March 1, 2015 tax rolls, the threshold has been raised to $21,200.

Right now the county offers 50 percent off for seniors with household incomes up to $13,500. The sliding scale exemption drops to 20 percent off for seniors with annual incomes between $18,300 and $19,199. It’s 0 percent for seniors with incomes at $19,200 or above.

The new schedule gives senior citizens 50 percent off if they earn less than $15,500 and then the discount drops 5 percent in a sliding scale to 20 percent before being capped at $21,200.

There are 313 seniors who currently receive the exemption. The county hasn’t changed the income levels in seven years. Seniors have been getting small increases in Social Security, putting some on the verge of losing the county tax discount, said Dawn Allen, director of the county’s Real Property Tax Services Department.

“We’re trying to maintain the current seniors in the program,” Allen told legislators.

Most of the towns in the county have a similar tax discount program for seniors, capping it at incomes above $21,200, Allen said.

The new proposed schedule includes the following percentage exemptions:

50 percent off for incomes up to $15,500;
45 percent off for incomes between $15,500 and $16,499;
40 percent between $16,500 and $17,499;
35 percent between $17,500 and $18,499;
30 percent between $18,500 and $19,399;
25 percent between $19,400 and $20,299;
20 percent between $20,300 and $21,199;
0 percent after $21,200.