Catholic Charities receives approximately $1 million under contracts with the county to provide congregate and home-delivered meals and transportation services, as well as other programs.
I didn't know a government could be in a contract with a religious organization.
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The county pays $1.1 million more toward these programs than is required under federal and state matching requirements; such programs are considered non-mandated but essential.
Why are we paying 1.1M more than we should? It isn't even a state mandate.
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
The catholic church has a vote in the UN that the US is part of.....they may not be able to give money directly to a person but they can feed money to systems that please.....
...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
On the other hand we lost one of the greatest representatives of our district, Carolina, she would have been automatically lost if we go by your theory entirely Michael.
I suppose you and Brad are right, ultimately. Rarely can you apply an idea like I threw out there without some flexibility. I guess it's back to sorting wheat...but I'll still look to throw an incumbent out any reasonable chance that presents itself. Fair enough?
Hidden within the paragraphs of the Feb. 24 article, “Officials see up to $16M shortage,” there was a surprisingly honest statement from the Schenectady County Legislature on how they are confronting a multimillion-dollar revenue shortage. Allow me to summarize their position on this matter in the form of a “Dear Taxpayer” letter composed from the legislators’ quoted statements in the article: Overall, we will have less money. When you lose a million here and there, you have to look at the budget earlier. It’s premature to say what the results will be, but certainly we may have to start thinking about things to sacrifice. It’s going to take a lot to get there. Mountains will have to be moved. We can bring the problem to the people and let them understand the tough decisions we may face. We tried to minimize the pain, but if you keep taxes low, you create a seesaw level and perhaps have higher taxes in future years. Taxes should have been raised. It’s a serious issue, and we are defi - nitely worried. We do not want to jeopardize the county’s long-term financial picture. [We] were overly optimistic. [We] felt with all these new places opening, it would boost sales tax revenue. I am not looking forward to this. Signed: Schenectady County Officials. Pain? Sacrifices? Worry? Imagine if you, as an investor in some public company, received this letter from that corporation’s board of directors. Or, to be more analogous to the Schenectady scenario, suppose each board member shared with you his or her dismal outlook independently, and then left you to form your own impression of the corporation — something like this letter. Would you continue to invest? Would you continue to trust those decisions-makers? Perhaps the county Legislature is making an even bigger statement, that it’s tired and that room should be made for fresh ideas. JONATHAN MARKOWICZ Glenville
SCHENECTADY COUNTY Officials expect $343K in drug savings County seeking to cut into shortfall BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Schenectady County continues to whittle away at a projected $12 million to $16 million revenue shortfall going into 2009, county officials said Friday. Small steps are being taken while officials wait to see the fi nal state budget, which will provide a clearer picture of the scope of the situation. In the latest effort, Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, chairwoman of the county Legislature, announced the county expects to save $343,444 this year in prescription drug costs through its pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts. “In our ongoing effort to save taxpayer dollars, we are taking decisive action to reduce the cost of the health-care benefits we provide our employees,” Savage said. She said the $343,444 represents an 8.5 percent reduction in county costs to purchase prescription drugs on the American market for its employees. Express Scripts negotiates on behalf of the county for discounts from drug manufacturers. New York authorities sued Express Scripts in 2004 for fraud, alleging the company pocketed as much as $100 million in drug rebates that should have gone to the state. County Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee, said this is the fi rst time since 2004 the county has negotiated rebates and cost reductions with Express Scripts. “Prior to 2004, Schenectady County did not receive rebates on its drug buys and it did not negotiate with a pharmacy benefit manager on the price it would pay for drugs,” Fields said. “This is a new way of doing business — a better way of doing business.” Fields said the county will end up paying less for employee prescription drugs in 2008 than it did in 2004. “By moving away from the old way of doing business and seeking creative solutions, we are saving taxpayers nearly $2 million each year,” he said. proximately $2.7 million in federal revenues for the Glendale Home, the county-owned nursing home, and for the county’s program for children with special needs, Fields said. The county expects to spend more than $7 million in 2009 to subsidize the Glendale Home. In addition, the county would lose revenue and have to pay more for state-mandated programs should Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s executive budget take effect as proposed, Fields said. The governor’s budget would cost counties approximately $84 million in 2008 and 2009, cutting reimbursements to county-run nursing homes, Consolidated Highway Improvement Project aid and aid to community colleges, according to an analysis by the New York State Association of Counties. While revenues remain questionable, county costs are expected to increase, Fields said. He said employee health insurance and wages will increase by $3 million; the county’s debt will increase by $1 million due to interest in bonds as part of the GE sales tax repayment settlement; and the county will see a $1 million increase in The county spends approximately $5 million annually on prescription drug costs for employees. It spends approximately $1.3 million per year through the CanaRx program, mostly for name-brand drugs purchased in Canada, Australia and Britain, and spends the rest on generic drugs purchased in the United States, either through local pharmacists or through mail order via Express Scripts. Fields called the latest savings “huge for us” in efforts to produce a balanced budget for 2009. “All these things help. Some things we can do internally. In some things, we have no choice,” he said. Fields said the county will see approximately $7 million less than expected in sales tax revenues and $1.5 million less in mortgage receipts due to a worsening economy going into 2009. Sales and mortgage taxes are primary revenue sources for the county, along with property taxes. The county will also lose aplocal Medicaid program costs, despite a state government cap. The county also remains under state mandates to increase the number of correctional officers at the jail and to correct deficiencies in the county courthouse, costs that will add hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to the county budget, Fields said. “We are hoping the state will reverse some mandates in their budget process,” Fields said. He expects to conduct a special budget meeting in April, after the state adopts a budget, to explore county options. The county Legislature, Fields said, does not want to increase revenues by raising property taxes. Fields likened county government to the operation of a large ship. “We are trying to turn a small rudder on a giant ship. When you steer the ship, the wheel is whirling and whirling and the ship is barely turning. It takes a while to see changes,” he said. “Eventually the ship aligns itself. That alignment is under way.”
In the latest effort, Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, chairwoman of the county Legislature, announced the county expects to save $343,444 this year in prescription drug costs through its pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts. Express Scripts negotiates on behalf of the county for discounts from drug manufacturers. New York authorities sued Express Scripts in 2004 for fraud, alleging the company pocketed as much as $100 million in drug rebates that should have gone to the state. County Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee, said this is the fi rst time since 2004 the county has negotiated rebates and cost reductions with Express Scripts.
On Feb 12, Judy Dagostino said:
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The Canadian drug program will save county taxpayers $1.8 million in 2008 — a 3 percent reduction in their county real property tax rate, and it will save county employees and retirees several hundred thousand dollars on their copays.
If this company was crooked enough to be sued by the NY Attorney General in 2004, How come the democratic leadership is doing business with them? Doesn't the county Sounds to me like someone's in bed with someone here.
Which is it - are we going to save $1.8 Million - or $343,444 ?
Something REALLY fishy is going on in the County Office Building - and it stinks to no end.
The builders of the Titanic said it was unsinkable, Schenectady County Council says things are getting better in Schenectady all we have to do is raise the taxes and fees, either way you look at it Schenectady will end up just like the Titanic only we're sinking into a sea of debt.
If this company was crooked enough to be sued by the NY Attorney General in 2004, How come the democratic leadership is doing business with them? Doesn't the county Sounds to me like someone's in bed with someone here.
Which is it - are we going to save $1.8 Million - or $343,444 ?
Something REALLY fishy is going on in the County Office Building - and it stinks to no end.
Who is in bed with this company you ask???? ask the unions of the public employees.....they are soooooooo honest....again, bad money following bad money......the government sues just to get into their pockets---no different than the local mob boss....who did the suing?---Andrew Cuomo or Spitzer???? hhhmmmm, very very interesting the web we weave.....that monkey is clever..... >
...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
SCHENECTADY COUNTY Budget squeeze to mean program cuts Lawmakers face $10M revenue gap BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Hard times flow downhill, to paraphrase an old plumbing maxim, and Schenectady County may have to cut programs it has traditionally helped now that a financial squeeze is on. The Schenectady County Legislature is looking to close a projected revenue gap of at least $10 million going into the 2009 budget year, a county legislator said Monday, so trimming programs and services is under study. gazette.com “I cannot emphasize how critical our finances are. There are pressures and the hemorrhaging has to stop. We will have to go through multi years of corrections,” said Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee. Under review for cuts are day care, highway lighting, aging and youth services and local government, Fields said. The county funds hazardous material coverage through a contract with the Schenectady Fire Department, pays for some police protection in the city and pays to help operate the horticulture center in Central Park. It also pays millions of dollars to operate the countywide public library system and Glendale Home, both non-mandated services. Such programs and services represent approximately 20 percent of the budget; the rest are mandated state and federal programs over which the county has little control. “There may be some changes in who gets money in the long run. Maybe it is about time certain municipalities, which are doing better fiscally, pick up costs we have been funding,” Fields said. Fields called some of the proposals controversial, adding he has yet to discuss them in detail with his Democratic caucus. “We will have to resolve them, whether they are controversial or not,” he said. “We will find solutions and we will come up with creative things.” In the long run, Fields said, the county will have to “cut millions, not hundreds of thousands of dollars” to bring in balanced budgets for next year and thereafter. The county’s budget cycle runs Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. It usually has a budget in place by late October or early November. Legislators have not yet decided on any options. Fields said the county may also sell more of its surplus land and ask the Metroplex Development Authority to pay infrastructure costs on economic development projects which the county now pays. The county this year is selling 24 acres at the Schenectady County Airport to Fortitech, a creator of nutrition supplements, for $1.2 million. Fortitech plans to build a $4 million research center and warehouse there. The county also accepted $150,000 from Metroplex to build a road to the proposed Fortitech project. The county will own the road. In addition, the county is considering slowing down the pace of several major capital projects, such as the proposed $7.7 million rehabilitation and expansion of the central branch of the public library and work at Schenectady County Community College, Fields said. The county is scheduled to provide $5.7 million toward the library project, and it is responsible for sharing with the state half the costs of construction projects at SCCC. It may divert these funds to other purposes, county officials said. The county’s difficult fiscal picture is necessitating these considerations, Fields said. Revenues are declining while costs are increasing. To begin with, the county is looking at a structural budget deficit of at least $8 million going into 2009. Officials used the fund balance to close the deficit in the current budget. They are reluctant to use the same amount for 2009, for fear of depleting the account. The fund balance currently stands at approximately $20 million, less than 10 percent of the county’s $283 million current budget. Fields said the county is seeing for the first quarter of this year a decline in mortgage tax receipts and a reduced rate of growth in sales tax; these are now seen growing 1.5 percent vs. the usual 3 percent annual expansion. The current economic slowdown has affected both key revenue streams. On top of this, the county is losing $1.3 million in state and federal aid this year and expects to lose an additional $1.6 million in 2009. The state and federal cuts hit after county legislators approved the budget last year, as the state and federal governments are on different budget cycles. Meanwhile, county costs for Medicaid, to pay its bond debt and for employee wages and benefits continue to climb by millions of dollars going into 2009, Fields said. And the county remains under state mandates to increase the number of corrections officers at the jail and to correct deficiencies in the county courthouse. Fields said the county is trying to narrow the deficit gap this year through constant monitoring of costs and by trying to find ways to increase revenues. The county, for example, continues to achieve significant savings through its prescription drug program for employees and other savings in health care costs, he said.
How can this be, Stratton just got done telling us how well we were doing and that we had a $10 million surplus and that our bond rating was just lowered. Could Stratton have told us a little white lie about the finances in the county? Figures don't lie but liars can sure figure.
... Fields said the county may also sell more of its surplus land and ask the Metroplex Development Authority to pay infrastructure costs on economic development projects which the county now pays....
Sounds like a more appropriate use of tax revenues than redistributing public revenues to private entities.
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