Press-Republican

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
July 2, 2008

Sayward says property-tax cap isn't dead

<a href="mailto:lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com">By LOHR McKINSTRY</a>

ELIZABETHTOWN — Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward said she’s working hard on setting up a safety net for people who can’t pay heating bills this winter.

Sayward (R-Willsboro) told the Essex County Board of Supervisors she expects the legislature to be called back into session sometime in July.

That’s when issues like home-heating-oil subsidies and property-tax reform could be addressed, she said.

She said a lot was left undone at the last legislative session in Albany.

“We have a lot of work left to do. It was a very eventful session. It started off with a bang and ended that way, too.”



PROPERTY-TAX CAP

Sayward said she believes the property-tax cap issue is not dead after all. It has been opposed by major labor unions, which at one time declared it “dead.”

“About 73 percent of the people in the state of New York want a property-tax cap. I hope when we return in July people will have crowded our representatives and we can get that done.”

A Siena College poll came up with the 73-percent figure.

A Circuit Breaker bill would cap homeowners’ property taxes at a percentage of their income, roughly 6 to 8 percent.

Sayward said the idea for the property-tax Circuit Breaker bill came from Essex County officials.

“That was the very beginning of the concept of Circuit Breaker. Time will play that out. The people need it (property-tax reform), and they need it now.”

Sen. Betty Little (R-Queensbury) is the Senate sponsor of the bill, which has yet to be voted on in either house.



IDA REFORM

The legislature is also working on rewriting the law governing the state’s industrial development agencies, which can offer incentives to businesses.

“We didn’t do anything with the IDAs,” Sayward said. “Hopefully, we can work on that before we go back in July.”

Sayward said there may be problems with that bill because its restrictions include not building on properties without municipal sewer and water or on which a zoning variance is needed.

That would severely limit an IDA’s role in rural areas like northern New York, she said.



HEATING PAYMENTS

Sayward said she was invited to a meeting last week with Gov. David Paterson and other legislators.

“The governor asked for suggestions. My suggestion was there’s an awful lot of capital project money left; send it to the counties as a safety net (fund) for home-heating fuel.”

Agencies in Clinton County have considered housing people who can’t afford to heat their homes this winter, she said.

“We have people calling who say they’re going to close their house down and move in with someone else this winter. This is serious.”

Supervisor Ronald Jackson (R-Essex) said it would help if the income ceiling for Home Energy Assistance Program aid were raised.

“I see the safety net (plan) as something that’s different than HEAP, with different qualifications,” Sayward said.

The federal HEAP program distributed $3 billion in heating aid last winter. Some indicators are that heating fuel may be $5 to $6 a gallon this winter.

“There are so many people who are going to be so desperate,” Supervisor Joyce Morency (R-St. Armand) said.

Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava (R-Moriah) said there has to be some way to help people who can’t afford to pay for deliveries of heating oil.

“It’s impacting everyone — senior citizens, working people,” Scozzafava said.

“Hopefully, our (heating oil) distributors will work with us here in the county while we establish some safety nets. There’s not any local distributor out there that wants to cut people off.”



E-mail Lohr McKinstry at:

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com

Text Only | Photo Reprints
New Today
  • Attempted-murder trial set

    The case against Robert J. McCann, who is charged with trying to kill his former girlfriend at a secluded Westville site, begins Tuesday in Franklin County Court.

    Posted: 3 hours
Local News

Recent Article Comments
Albany Round-up

Photo of the Day
Strange News
Videos: Editor Picks
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion' 5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La. Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal $25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart