Mike LaFlair – 2nd Ward Councilor

As schools draw up their proposed 2013-14 budgets, how can the you figure out which districts are providing the most bang for the taxpayers’ bucks?   Experts say go straight to the basics: grades, graduation rates and stewardship of the taxpayers’ money. Don’t just look at one year, but at district spending policies over several years.

• Look at the affordability of houses in the district.
• How much are the property taxes?
• What percentage of students graduate from high school?
• How well do students perform on state tests?
• Does the district regularly maintain its buildings? Or does it put off maintenance allowing problems to grow until a massive renovation is needed?
• Are buses replaced on a regular schedule?
• Does the district have an agreement to buy its energy in bulk?
• Does it join with other districts for purchasing?
• Does the district share services with BOCES or with other districts as a way to cut costs?
• Does it offer long-distance learning for some specialized courses?

More information is available at  https://reportcards.nysed.gov/

More great recognition for our fantastic Police Department.  Congratulations to Chief Winn, Captain Rotunno and the dedicated men and women that make up our force.

     The Town of Camillus Police Department was recognized as the Third Place winner in the twenty – six to thirty – five officer categories during the New York State Law Enforcement Challenge, sponsored by the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. 

      On Thursday April 18, Captain Steve Rotunno, Officer Joseph Clabaugh, and Officer Scott Conway represented the Camillus Police Department at the 2013 Empire State Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Conference, held in Rochester, New York.

     The Camillus Police Department has been a recipient of a Law Enforcement Challenge Award several times since 2005; recognizing the Camillus Police for their comprehensive application that reflects a highly effective traffic safety program that incorporates policy, enforcement, public information, education, recognition, training, and evaluation.  In addition to winning at the state level, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) will be forwarding the application to the International Association of Chiefs of Police for entry into the National Law Enforcement Challenge.  

          Please feel free to contact Captain Steve Rotunno at (315) 487-0102 for additional questions.

Here is the Agenda for Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.  Please note item #2 under New Business is in the Starlight Estates Development of the 2nd Ward:

PUBLIC HEARING (S)

1. Continuation of public hearing to consider changing the zoning classification from R-3 to PUD for the property located at 3915 Milton Ave. TM#037.-01-01.1 related to the Affordable Senior Housing Application.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Set the date, time and place as May 14, 2013 at 7:00 PM at the Camillus Municipal Building to hold a public hearing to consider  amending Chapter 34-Fences, §34.7-Exceptions, the purpose of which is to allow a 5 foot stockade fence on the north side of front yard at 306 Merriwether Drive, TM# 053.-04-07.0.  (Per Councilor, Jim Salanger)
2. Set the date, time and place as May 14, 2013 at 7:00 PM at the Camillus Municipal Building  to hold a public hearing to consider amending Chapter 34-Fences, §34.7-Exceptions, the purpose of which is to allow a 6 foot fence at 150 Viewpoint Lane, TM# 006.1-04-01.0.  (Per Councilor, Mike LaFlair)

Below is the Agenda for Monday’s meeting.  Please note items # 1 under New and Old Business are both within the 2nd Ward:

New Business

1. Costco/Township 5/Bennett & Hinsdale Rd TM # 017.-05-65.1(etc)

      Site Plan       

2. Sunoco/3612 W. Genesee St  TM # 047.-04-01.8

     Amended Site Plan

3. Valvoline/4105 W. Genesee St  TM # 056.-02-04.0

     Amended Site Plan

Old Business

1. Tim Donut U.S. Limited, Inc./ TDK Engineering  TM # 017.-04-48.2

     Home Depot Plaza (Site Plan)

2. Affordable Senior Housing TM # 037.-01-02.1 (etc)

      South Side of Milton Ave West (Site Plan)

From State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli:

DiNapoli: Budget Passed On Time But New York’s Fiscal Challenges Remain

The enacted state budget was completed on time, sending a positive signal to bond markets and taxpayers, according to a preliminary report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“The Governor and the Legislature deserve credit for once again adopting budget bills ahead of the April 1st deadline,” DiNapoli said. “Nevertheless, New York continues to struggle to meet serious fiscal challenges. The recently passed state budget restrains spending growth, but it also contains temporary resources and revenue assumptions that may fall short. Instead of reining in the state’s reliance on backdoor borrowing, it expanded the use of public authority debt.”

The enacted budget relies on more than $4 billion in temporary and non-recurring resources, excluding $5.1 billion in extraordinary federal assistance for Superstorm Sandy expenses. At least $467 million in new temporary resources to be used in 2013-14 – including a $250 million transfer from the State Insurance Fund (SIF) – are included in the budget. In total, the enacted budget authorizes the transfer of at least $1.75 billion from assessment reserves held by the SIF to the General Fund through SFY 2016-17.

The enacted budget reflects the difficult decisions needed in response to a painfully slow recovery from a deep recession and multiple extreme weather events. The budget continues efforts to prioritize the recovery and rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy, to minimize long-term negative consequences and improve the State’s ability to respond to such events in the future.

DiNapoli’s report noted that while timeliness has improved, transparency was compromised in this year’s budget process. Major new provisions, some with multi-year cost implications, were not openly discussed before enactment, including $385 million in new public authority debt for state and local facilities, and $750 million in public authority debt related to unspecified transportation needs.

The creation of a new debt structure backed by state sales tax revenue allows new borrowing by public authorities without seeking voter approval. Additionally, a new debt structure for SUNY dormitories moves debt service spending off-budget, reducing transparency and allowing the state to circumvent statutory debt caps.

DiNapoli noted several cases where estimated revenues and savings may not materialize, leaving the state to contend with possible gaps, including:

• The consensus revenue forecast of the Executive and the Legislature estimated that tax receipts will be $200 million higher than the Executive Budget’s combined projections for the previous and current fiscal years. Given continuing uncertainty in the economy, tax receipts may fall short of those expectations, as has happened in each of the previous five years;
• The enacted budget makes no provisions to deal with the impact of federal budgetary sequestration. Federal Funds Information for States estimates sequestration could reduce aid for various programs by $290 million in the first six months of the state fiscal year; and
• The enacted budget assumes $600 million in newly available federal Medicaid funding and $500 million in state Medicaid actions to offset the loss of $1.1 billion in federal assistance for services for the developmentally disabled. Negotiations with the federal government regarding $250 million of the anticipated aid have not been resolved.

The enacted budget includes more than two dozen tax and other revenue-related provisions that are preliminarily projected to increase receipts by more than $5 billion cumulatively through SFY 2016-17, compared to previous law.

The Division of the Budget is required to issue an updated financial plan within 30 days of the budget’s enactment. DiNapoli’s office will release a comprehensive review of the enacted budget financial plan once it is made available.

For a copy of the report, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/reports/budget/2013/2013-14_enacted_budget_prelim_report.pdf

The Finance, Personnel and Public Safety Committees will meet beginning at 5:30 prior to the Board meeting on Tuesday, April 23, in the upstairs board room.

The rescheduled presentation information is below:

There will be a presentation on Monday, May 6 from 5:30 – 7:00 at the Honey Visitors Center at Onondaga Lake on the report for County Executive Joanie Mahoney and the Onondaga County Legislature entitled “Citizen Visions on Shaping the Future of Onondaga Lake”.  F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse reviewed 54 reports scanning 84 years, interviewed over 100 individuals, held 3 forums, and analyzed 1,100 surveys to prepare this comprehensive study.  All are welcome to attend and please share this with anyone you think may be interested.  Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like a copy of the report.

Spring Clean up – the Friends of Camillus Parks are holding a spring clean up of the Park on Sunday, April 21 from 9:00 – 2:00 at the park.  This effort will pave the way for the magnificent walking trail that will be constructed throughout the Camillus Park – in accordance to the Town’s Park and Recreation Master Plan.  Anyone interested in helping out for the day please contact Mary Luber at 672-9994.

The ZBA meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 16 has been cancelled as there are no new applicants.

The below Press release was issued by the NYS DEC on Monday in relation to the dredging project.

For Release: IMMEDIATE                                      Contact: Stephanie Harrington Monday, April 8, 2013                                         (315) 426-7403             DEC: ONONDAGA LAKE DREDGING TO RESUME WITH ADDITIONAL ODOR CONTROL MEASURES             Additional odor control measures will be in place when dredging and capping of contaminated sediments in Onondaga Lake resume for the season, likely on April 10, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today. The current plan is to start on Wednesday for 12 hours for dredging only, which will increase to normal operations 24 hours a day, six days a week starting Thursday, weather permitting. Capping activities are expected to start in the coming weeks.             DEC met with Town of Camillus officials to discuss the startup and additional odor control measures after DEC and Honeywell evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of such measures for implementation in 2013. These additional measures include installing: a 35-foot tall windscreen along the northern edge of the Sediment Consolidation Area (SCA) and the north side of the East Basin spanning approximately 1,900 linear feet to reduce wind speeds and enhance the effectiveness of the misting system. This measure will be in place before dredging commences; a vegetative barrier in areas north of the SCA to further reduce potential offsite migration of odors. Work is underway and plantings are anticipated to be completed by mid-April. The full benefit of this measure will not be realized until the trees branch out and fill in over the growing season; geotextile tube covers to reduce emissions related to dewatering.  Modified geotextile tubes are already on site and ready for use; improvement and expansion of the odor control misting system to intercept potential odors; containment during transportation and stockpiling of oversized material to reduce potential odors; and a floating cover over the entire East Basin. Honeywell implemented other odor reduction measures in 2012 (see October 2012 fact sheet www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/85898.html). Short and long-term air monitoring is being conducted in accordance with a Community Health and Safety Plan and data is continuously reviewed by DEC, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The data collected to date does not indicate a community health concern; all levels are lower than concentrations established for the protection of public health. Data from the onsite air monitoring stations is available at www.lakecleanup.com/health-and-safety/air-monitoring. By the end of 2013, dredging will be about halfway complete. Dredging is anticipated to be finished in 2015 and capping in 2016. Habitat restoration activities will be performed in all remediated areas and habitat reconstruction work is anticipated to be completed in 2016. The $451 million Superfund remediation project has undergone five years of design and engineering; about 400 million gallons of water were treated and 230,000 cubic yards of lake material were removed in 2012 before operations were inactivated for the winter. Honeywell International is conducting the project with oversight by DEC, DOH and EPA. More information about the Onondaga Lake dredging project is available on DEC’s website at www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/37558.html including Frequently Asked Questions, June 2012 (www.dec.ny.gov/docs/regions_pdf/faqol612.pdf).