County Board Moves Toward Lifting Tax Cap Action Possible At Sept. 2 Meeting By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Facing a fiscal crunch, the county Board of Representatives today took the first step toward freeing itself from the state’s 2 percent property-tax cap in preparing its 2021 budget. At its August meeting, county board Chairman David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield, “put the law on the table,” and freshman representative Clark Oliver, D-Oneonta, seconded it. As County Attorney…
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STATE HOLDS ON TO MONEY Reps Updated: All Financial News Bad By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – As at every meeting since the coronavirus threat arrived, all the financial news was bad when the county Board of Representatives met this morning. As state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli emphasized when he spoke to the county board last month, the state has yet to decide what funds will be sent out from Albany this year. Reporting on a presentation by…
RUFFLES REPORTS: May Sales-Tax Check Here: 26% Lower Than Last Year By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – The May sales-tax check arrived at 197 Main St. today, and County Treasurer Allen Ruffles reports it is 26.9 percent lower than last year’s May check. That is a reduction of slightly less than $600,000, he said, but higher than the 25 percent NYSAC estimated. The sales-tax allocations are issued every other month, and Otsego County’s largest ones will be…
OTSEGO COUNTY BOARD, 5-6-20 2nd May Meeting Planned To Decide Extent Of Layoffs NYSAC Expected We’ll Lose Equivalent Of Twice Tax Levy By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Today started with bad news for Otsego County’s 14 representatives and ended with worse. When the county board’s May meeting convened at 10 a.m. via Zoom, the county reps thought they were struggling with an $11 million deficit from coronavirus-related cuts. When it end, that had doubled to $22…
20% State Aid Cut Possible, Ruffles Tells Towns, Villages At Weekly Telephone Briefing By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – The county, town and village governments are facing a possible 20 percent reduction in state aid/reimbursements from Albany unless the federal government steps in to help, County Treasurer Allen Ruffles, county Coronavirus Task Force chairman, said today. Ruffles included that news in a transcript he prepares each Monday to brief local officials on impacts of the continuing coronavirus…
LOCAL FALLOUT FROM EMERGENCY Jobless Claims Soaring; Sales-Tax Dip Expected By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – In an average week, Alan Sessions, CDO Workforce disability resource coordinator, might field 25 calls about unemployment insurance. “In the last week, we’ve received 25 calls a day,” he said. “Sometimes the wait to talk with someone is an hour.” The majority of the calls, he said, are waitstaff, kitchen help and retail workers suddenly jobless as Governor Cuomo ordered stores and…
DiNAPOLI: ADD $4B TO NY DEFICIT State Could Raid Counties’ Coffers To Fill Budget Gap Medicaid Shortfall Alone May Cost Otsego $1M, Ruffles Fears By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – As the State of New York begins to assess the impact of Governor Cuomo’s emergency declaration, issued Thursday, the chairman of Otsego County’s Emergency Task Force is fearful of the impact on the county budget. An initial assessment by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, posted in letter form…
HERE’S LIST OF ‘ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES’ HERE’S ‘STATE ON PAUSE’ PRESS RELEASE CUOMO ORDERS ‘NON-ESSENTIAL’ BUSINESS SHUT Cutoff Set For 8 p.m. Sunday; Soldiers, Police May Enforce It By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – The County of Otsego is seeking, first, to understand today’s “New York State on PAUSE” executive order directing a wide range of businesses to close by 8 p.m. Sunday and, second, to helpfully collaborate where it can. That was the message that county board…
CORONAVIRUS EDITION Local Governments Send 50% Of Staff Home By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Following Governor Cuomo’s directive, Otsego County’s government and Oneonta’s City Hall took steps Tuesday, March 17, to send half of their workforce home. Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch said, because of the size of the village’s workforce, only “One or two” employees will be sent home. “We’re required to do this,” said county board Chairman David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield. “We’re not…
TASK FORCE SETS PRIORITIES Ruffles To Lead County Response To Corona Threat COOPERSTOWN – County Treasurer Allen Ruffles has been appointed to chair the task force that county board Chairman Dave Bliss convened this morning to implement the response to the coronavirus threat. The task force identified the following components that need to be addressed: Employee safety in the field – meeting state mandates and best practices. Limiting exposure at work Potential changes to work schedules and related labor issues…
