Maybe Schenectady County needs to crack down on illegal aliens, especially ones that are on Medicaid / Public Assistance, especially since this is such a large part of the budget.
This and other ambitious capital plans, like the construction of a new nursing home, should be abandoned unless most of the money for them comes from outside the county.
New nursing home or not----the folks without family/resources to take care of themselves that would usually go to a county nursing home will be staying home with county oversite....off site nursing/feeding/cleaning etc......why do we think there is all this 'senior housing' going up.....they are just privately funded built 'homes' where the elderly can live and the county can oversee their care.....
a nursing home looks expesive at one shot of building/budgeting, but the cost will not be any cheaper with off-site nursing and 24/7care for those without involved family or resources......not to mention the reliability of someone actually showing up to care for them....it's the insurance companies/medicare/medicaid that restrict where the $$ gets spent....and without tight beaurocratic oversite/regulation for the homecare--the $$ is less when it is off site and that is what the taxpayers demand......so in the end there must be more chiefs hired to make sure all that paper work is filled out.......
most of our workers are from welfare to work programs and immigrants......some good--some bad.....there is no such thing as personality testing, just background checks........and we all know "innocent until proven guilty"--ha.....
Workers for this field are far and few inbetween......anyone want to change careers???
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Agency heads told to slash budgets Legislators want 10% spending cut BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
The Schenectady County Legislature wants its front-line managers to report back by Friday on how to cut their departments by 10 percent as a way to close a $5.6 million revenue gap in the tentative $283.4 million budget for 2008. The answers could result in a “major restructuring of county services,” said Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee. Legislators will get their first crack at the tentative budget tonight and have scheduled five additional meetings over the next two weeks. They are trying to reduce or eliminate a proposed 9.7 percent increase in the property tax levy. Tonight’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the 6th floor of the County Office Building. Additional meetings are scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m.; Oct. 11 at 6 p.m.; Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.; Oct. 13 at 8 a.m.; and Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. County Manager Kathleen Rooney presented a tentative budget Monday night. Legislators have until Nov. 1 to adopt a spending plan. The $283.4 million budget reflects a growth of less than 1 percent, or $2.2 million, but raises the tax levy by $5.6 million to $63.6 million, an increase of 9.7 percent. The tax levy increase reflects the $2.2 million growth in the budget coupled with a $3.4 million drop in revenues. The budget recommends a tax rate of $6.55 per $1,000 assessed value. Under the proposed rate, the owner of a home in Schenectady assessed at $80,000 would pay $524 in county taxes next year. The county sets tax rates in December, following the release of equalization rates and the filing of assessment rolls. Fields said tonight’s meeting will focus on budgets dealing with the county manager’s office and the commissioner of finance’s office. He said future meetings will deal with recommendations proposed by front-line managers. “We are definitely looking to streamline and realign county government,” Fields said. “Where there are changes to be made, we will make changes.” TOP TARGETS The Democratic-controlled Legislature is focusing specifically on its extensive list of contracts with third-party agencies, such as the Cornell Cooperative Extension and Catholic Charities, as a way to save money. Fields said the county also is reviewing its various contracts for support services, totaling millions of dollars. “We are asking our commission- ers how they can live with personnel and nonpersonnel changes and to come up with ways to live without contracts,” Fields said. He said the county also will examine ways to trim costs in mandated programs, which comprise 77 percent of the budget. Although mandated, some of these programs receive state or federal funds. He said the county may trim costs to match reimbursements. “You have to reorganize social services,” Fields said. He added the county is already undertaking an audit of social services with regard to prescription drug costs. Last year, another audit in the department saved the county $600,000, he said. Meanwhile, other legislators have offered up their own costcutting proposals. Legislator Joseph Suhrada, RRotterdam, said the county could consolidate branches of the library system and eliminate several positions in the county manager’s office, in the Legislature, in the county clerk’s office and in the county attorney’s office, which he termed patronage-related. “We have to run the county like a business, and right now our customers are turning up their noses at us,” Suhrada said. His other proposals: re-examine the county’s $2 million contribution toward expansion of the main library and look to a capital campaign to cover the cost; contract the sheriff department’s road patrol services to state police; rescind the county’s $450,000 grant to Proctors; put in place a five-year pay freeze. Legislator Anthony Jasenski, DRotterdam, recommended the county cut nonpersonnel services such as office equipment, repairs, supplies, postage and seminars, and that it eliminate perks such as personal use of vehicles and cellphones. Legislator Vincent DiCerbo, D-Schenectady, said the county should work with the unions to give them responsibility for managing health care. The agreement would mirror the one adopted by the United Auto Workers and General Motors, he said. He said the agreement would probably require state action and would not take effect until 2009 or later.
said the county should work with the unions to give them responsibility for managing health care. The agreement would mirror the one adopted by the United Auto Workers and General Motors, he said. He said the agreement would probably require state action and would not take effect until 2009 or later.
It's the beginning....and who better to facilitate the National health care system when in effect than the unions.....because when the unions are broken where are all those union officials to work???? After all National health care will be one giant union.....the workers being the doctors, nurses, techs etc......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Okay BK, where'd ya get that Hillary avitar. It makes me want to peeuuuukkk!
Now on to this increase. First a 9.7% tax increase is 9.7% too much. In other words...NO TAX INCREASE! Don't be fooled here folks. It is all smoke and mirrors. We know damn well that they will make rediculous cuts and the % will be lowered. NOT GOOD ENOUGH! It will still be an increase. Do not settle for even a .1% increase. Again...NO TAX INCREASE! There are emails to the county legislatures listed on this site on another thread. EMAIL THEM! EVERYDAY!
And what about dis-banning the Metroplex? Haven't we paid enough for private businesses? Some that have gone belly up. And I have not heard even one of our elected officials or ones seeking election or re-election say that the Metroplex needs to GO! Or has a plan or date when the Metroplex will no longer exist. Or that Proctors will go to the highest bidder and into the private sector, where it belongs.
THAT is the leader/s we need representing us. Clearly not the ones presently serving or even the ones seeking election. Cause I haven't heard one word about dis-banning the metroplex or unloading Proctors. Until I hear those words, none are worthy to represent me or to change the status quo!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Sounds good to me. Ready to march on County Hall, Bumble?
No! I am waiting for a political party or a political candidate to address the metroplex and proctors. I would like to hear when we can expect the end to both supporting metroplex and proctors.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I'm there! I will be attending tomorrow night's production by the County Legislature. Starts at 7 pm on the 6th floor of the County building. Be there before the cheap seats fill up.
Joe Suhrada, a Republican/Conservative legislator, says the County Legislature can reduce its proposed nearly 10 percent 2008 budget boost by eliminating patronage jobs.
Not a bad idea, but unrealistic. Before cutting political plums, the power brokers would connive a way to empty the County Jail and balance the budget by laying off correction officers.
County budget hearing slated for Wednesday Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com
SCHENECTADY — The public will have a chance to comment on Schenectady County’s tentative $283.4 million budget for next year at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Legislature is tentatively scheduled to vote on the spending plan Thursday. The budget reflects a growth of less than 1 percent, or $2.2 million, but raises the tax levy by $5.6 million to $63.6 million, an increase of 9.7 percent. The tax levy increase reflects the $2.2 million growth in the budget coupled with a $3.4 million drop in revenues. Legislators from both political parties have said the 9.7 percent increase is unacceptable and vowed to reduce it. So far, however, they have revealed little on how to accomplish the cuts. Their usual process is to go over the budget line-by-line at work sessions that often last an hour or more. They ask questions and make suggestions, but take no action. The real work comes after majority Democrats and minority Republicans submit their budget amendments. In the past, Republicans have insisted their proposals be accepted all together or not at all. Democrats usually reject the Republicans’ proposals and adopt their own. Democrats control the Legislature 11-4.
I would suggest attendence at this meeting tomorrow night. If time is an issue, as it is for most of us, than I would suggest we email the county with our displeasure of this tax increase. Just copy the entire list below and paste it in the TO: space in your email. And we need tell them that we are expecting enough cuts that there will be no increase at all.
And remember people, especially if you're going to come and spek tonight that thisis more than a 9.7% increase. Remember that some people's property values have now gone up 50%. So, that would be 9.7% on the original amount your house was worth last year, and then another 4.85% for the additional taxes on the new 50%, which equals a change in your actual tax bill of somewhere arond 14.55% if my figuring is right. Because remember, it's only Rotterdam that had its values go up.
Logged
