Taxpayers deserve property tax decease

Well, finally we see how our Oneida County Executive and other elected officials of Oneida County are benefiting from $45 million in new revenues over the past three and half years from the Oneida Enterprises. As a former Oneida County Legislator I can appreciate the raise for the county legislators who gave up health benefits, reduced the number of legislators and not seen raises in decades. But not a 60 percent raise!

Yet, to give County Executive Anthony Picente and others further raises is shameful on the part of the legislative group supporting these raises. The taxpayers should be advised during past pay reviews the county executive position has received salary upgrades and has been receiving an annual 3 percent cost of living raise.

Remember a year ago the County Executive pleaded with the board not to cut property taxes? He told board members the budget was tight and we couldn’t afford a tax cut! The board drastically cut their tax proposal down to a fractional percent reduction in property taxes! Today, the County Executive warns us that there shouldn’t be tax cuts going further as the county faces future fiscal challenges! Yet, just in 2016 he received about 20 percent more in revenues from the OIN Agreement! This is a government that has a spending problem not a lack of revenues from its taxpaying base!

Yes, we the Oneida County taxpayers received pennies on the dollar while elected officials are rubbing their hands waiting for their 18 percent pay raises. It would be one thing if these officials were successful in bringing jobs to the area, cutting excessive government spending, and giving away sales tax and property tax revenues to the Oneida Enterprises.

Here in Sherrill, we have received close to $500,000 from the OIN agreement, while so far there has been no increase in elected official’s salaries, a proposed meaningful property tax cut was rejected for the 2016 budget. The county has received an increase of 20 percent from the agreement in 2016, due to the controversy over income coming to Oneida County from the new slots in Madison County. This increase is now being shared with local municipalities. This increase makes it imperative to provide property tax relief in Oneida County and the City of Sherrill!

In Sherrill, one year ago, the city commission voted down a tax cut proposal of 3 percent because they wanted to see how the payments continued from the agreement. Well in 2016 the payments increased to the city by 20 percent. It’s time for a meaningful cut in property taxes or as the old saying goes, “Do it to us once, shame on them, let them do it again, shame on us!” Michael Hennessy, Sherrill