Thanks tons to Tom Baldino, City of Beacon Conservation Advisory Council Chair, and Vassar College Sustainability Committee's Nadine Souto-- for collaborating with yours truly to put together a great PowerPoint of our Green Ribbon Solid Waste Management Task Force report-- to be presented tomorrow by Tom et. al. at 4 pm in our county's Legislative Chambers on the sixth floor of our County Office Building at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepsie!...(don't miss this great PowerPoint if you can)...
Kudos also to these folks who attended many mtg.'s I chaired this spring and summer of this task force:
-- Ryan Courtien, Dover Town Supervisor
-- Shabazz Jackson, Greenway Environmental Services
-- Jack Hess, Hess Hauling
-- Michael Long, City of Poughkeepsie City Administrator
-- Stephen Lynch, R.S. Lynch & Company
-- Jonathan Smith, "Progressive Perspective" columnist for The Hudson Valley News
-- Rita Trocino, Recycle Depot
[...and of course much thanx to to Co. Leg. Assistant to the Chair Fred Knapp for tons of his time and info on this-- and Co. Leg. Chair Roger Higgins for idea (building on my similar idea in '08), appointments)]
[see Green Ribbon report here: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/assets/pdf/BK142669916.PDF ]
Also-- four more initiatives from yours truly will be on the agenda for our County Legislature's Committee Day tomorrow (Thursday)-- for all top elected county officials to pay for at least 15% (if not all) of their health insurance (I've been pushing for this for a year now), for installment option for towns to implement as they choose (not a mandate) re: county and town property taxes, for our County Executive to delay no longer in appointing a County Historian in this quadricentennial year of Hudson's sailing up our river (there's still $15,000 left in the county budget this year for this), and for holding Covanta's feet to the fire re: taking over county incinerator and applicable environmental/labor laws...
[215 signed on in recent weeks to my http://www.petitiononline.com/hirehist -- join us to make it 300!...
thx tons on this to Ginny Buechele, Steve Mann, Valerie LaRobardier, and many more across Dutchess]
Strange but true-- those wacky G.O.P. have proposed their own copycat legislation re: electeds paying 15%-- but with a catch-- they want to force Diane Jablonski to pay for 15% of her health insurance-- while letting top G.O.P. elected officials like Steinhaus, Kendall, Anderson, Grady off the hook(!)...see:
http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/ResolutionsPDF/209310.pdf ...
As always-- your letters count, folks-- to countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us-- pass it on, people!....
[full agenda here: http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/CLagenda.htm ; click on green resolution numbers to download actual texts of resolutions]
Incredibly, my Republican/Conservative opponent Pat Dealy literally lied three times about our Green Ribbon report during his Sept. 23rd Clinton Town Hall debate with me-- sadly, Dealy actually stated three times 9/23 that our Green Ribbon report calls for summarily shutting down our county's Resource Recovery Agency (it doesn't), and Dealy also falsely said it calls for creating two new landfills.
Fact: This, specifically, is what the Green Ribbon Solid Waste Management Task Force report says:
"Based upon the points cited above, and in light of the extraordinarily high costs, inefficiency and mismanagement recently document at the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency, we recommend that the new PLAN (Dutchess County Local Solid Waste Management Plan) give careful and thorough consideration to the phasing out of the waste to energy facility over a 2-4 year time horizon and the phasing out or complete transformation for the Resource Recovery Agency over the same period of time."
[pass it on!]
Joel
242-3571/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
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Schedule for Co. Leg. committee meetings considering initiatives from yours truly tomorrow:
3:00 PM Budget, Finance and Personnel Committee
209309 A LOCAL LAW REQUIRING ELECTED OFFICIALS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COST OF THE COUNTY HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFIT
[co-sponsored with Co. Leg. Roger Higgins, Sandy Goldberg, Margaret Fettes, Barbara Jeter-Jackson, Rick Keller-Coffey, Dan Kuffner, Alison MacAvery, Tom Mansfield, Bill McCabe, and Diane Nash]
A local law requiring, as of January 1, 2010, all County elected officials to contribute 15% of the cost of premiums for health insurance benefits provided to them as a result of their County employment. I've been pushing for this since '08; see 17 signed on to http://www.petitiononline.com/cutlgpay .
209326 AUTHORIZING [NOT MANDATING] INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS FOR LOCAL TAXES
[drafted by yours truly, co-sponsored by Co. Leg.'s Sandy Goldberg and Pete Wassell]
Authorizes (but not mandating), pursuant to Section 928-a of the Real Property Tax Law, tax collectors in all towns in Dutchess County to accept from any taxpayer partial tax payments in up to three monthly payments, one payment in each month from February through April, with a minimum of 50% of the tax paid in February, a minimum of 25% in March and the remainder in April, with the March and April payments to be charged the statutory interest rate.
[The Sullivan County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution identical to this in August 2008.]
3:45 PM Government Services and Administration Committee
209311 REQUESTING THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE APPOINT A NEW COUNTY HISTORIAN
[drafted by yours truly and co-sponsored by Co. Leg.'s Alison MacAvery and Rick Keller-Coffey]
4:00 PM Environment Committee
Presentation: Green Ribbon Solid Waste Management Task Force Report
[Beacon CAC Chair and Task Force member Tom Baldino will be presenting PowerPoint]
209313 REQUESTING STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES ENFORCE ENVIRONMENTAL AND LABOR LAWS AGAINST COVANTA
[drafted by yours truly, co-sponsored by Co. Leg.'s Sandy Goldberg, Alison MacAvery, Diane Nash]
Urges the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Protection Agency, and New York State Department of Labor to make sure that Covanta's operation of the Dutchess County incinerator respects all environmental and labor laws.
[see: http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2009/09/union_county_incinerator_pays.html ;
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090816/news01/908160345&template=printart ]
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[new info here below from yours truly-- not all of this below is in Green Ribbon report-- but all true, folks!]
The current costs for our Resource Recovery Agency are out of control-- over six million dollars to be paid this year on top of $11 million to be paid by system users. This adds up to a total cost of $125/ton-- much higher than any other publicly owned incinerator of the same size in the state (usually about $85/ton)-- and unlike all other publicly owned facilities, these costs do not pay off all of our county incinerator's debt; this debt goes on well after the incinerator's service agreements.
Four Key DCRRA Errors That Have Led to the Current Situation:
1. The DCRRA bout seven years ago replaced Westinghouse with Montenay without a competitive procurement or negotiation-- this resulted in a Montenay operating contract with payment terms much worse for the County than typical operating contracts in the industry.
2. The DCRRA used an expensive financial derivative contract to force the early refinancing of the facility's debt in a period of high interest rates. If the DCRRA had simply refinanced when provided for in the bond indenture (a year later), it would have refinanced at lower rates and avoided the million-dollar cost of the derivative and other excessive transaction costs.
3. Just over the last few years the DCRRA sunk millions of dollars more into this aging facility; the
extraordinary costs we see today were a completely predictable result of this ill-advised investment at the time the DCRRA requested the Legislature to make these new debt commitments.
4. The DCRRA continues gross mismanagement-- these four ways-- (1) over $500,000 of expenses accidentally overpaid, (2) no one knows how our payments for recycled metal work or why we are paying a certain firm to take the metal when others are being paid for it, (3) over ten different funds and accounts holding Agency funds can't be explained, (4) no one knows if these funds are invested within State Law and indenture guidelines.
The DCRRA needs to be replaced by a now governance structure that is transparent and accountable. Future waste management and planning needs to be managed by the County Legislature because this body is not irretrievably committed to burning our waste and can objectively look at all options (reduction, recycling, waste export) and pick burning only if it is the best option going forward. The Legislature is accountable to the taxpayer for the cost of our future solid waste management system; sadly, the DCRRA's approach seems to be burn, baby, burn-- no matter what the cost.
While a flow control law in Dutchess County could remove the $6 million of burn plant subsidy from the General Fund, it does not actually lower system costs-- and simply shifts the financial burden of above market costs from the County budget to municipal budgets (Poughkeepsie etc.) and to private haulers who will pass along these added costs to homeowners through higher waste collection fees. This is simply a new tax and will assure that there is no county cost scrutiny or competition from the private sector for the next 20 years.
No one is suggested that we should build new l;andfills in the County-- but defenders of the status quo are using the following misrepresentation to try to win the flow control debate-- “If the County does not pass flow control, or keep and expand County owned trash plants, then the only solution is to build new landfills in the County.” This is not true-- the truth is there are plenty of out-of-county landfills with 50+ years of space that would love to have our trash at half the cost of the burn plant.
A flow control law is quite dangerous-- by forcing all waste to the burn plant regardless of the cost it removes the DCRRA from any cost discipline imposed by the competitive waste market. The DCRRA now advocates legislative flow control for all waste and recyclables in the County-- for an estimated cost $250-300/ton. This would be a new County law which makes it illegal for any resident, business or municipality to send their recyclables and waste to any facility other than the County's overpriced burn pant or two new plants which the County would have to develop finance and build in the county. No private sector waste or recycling facilities would be legal in Dutchess County. Current ones would have to close.
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From Sullivan County Treasurer Ira Cohen (Ira.Cohen@co.sullivan.ny.us)...
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:41:19 -0400
Subject: Installment payments of current taxes
Dear Legislator Tyner:
Per our recent phone conversation, this is to confirm that I am familiar with the installment program for the collection of current taxes levied on January 1st, instituted by the Sullivan County Legislature by Resolution pursuant to Section 928-a of the Real Property Tax Law, and effective with the taxes levied January 1st, 2009 (the 2009 county/town taxes, including, where applicable, re-levied 2008/2009 school taxes).
I heard from several towns both during and after the completion of the program (for the 2009 tax year), and they all reported favorably. The program had no negative fiscal impact on the towns. They all had software capable of performing the tasks necessitated by the program, and all of the towns’ warrants were made whole timely.
While only a small percentage of property owners actually made installment payments, those that did spoke positively about the program. Participants were not penalized with additional interest or other charges. In the future, I would expect increased participation, but not in such an amount that would create a cash flow problem for the towns or the county. I hope you find this information to be useful.
Ira J. Cohen
Sullivan County Treasurer
100 North Street
Monticello, NY 12701
845-807-0200
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From: "Martin, Annemarie"
To: "'joeltyner@earthlink.net'" <'joeltyner@earthlink.net'>
Subject: FW: Installment Resolution for Sullivan County
Attached please find a resolution that was adopted by the Sullivan County Legislature in August of 2008. Also your clerk just received this through the NYSAC Network last week (April 9th at 2:18 PM).
AnnMarie Martin
Sullivan County Legislature
Phone: 845-807-0435 New Number
Fax: 845-794-0650
RESOLUTION NO. 313-08 INTRODUCED BY THE PLANNING, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND REAL PROPERTY COMMITTEE TO AUTHORIZE COLLECTING OFFICERS IN ALL TOWNS IN THE COUNTY OF SULLIVAN TO ACCEPT PARTIAL PAYMENTS OF CURRENT TAXES
WHEREAS, Chapter 680 of the Laws of 1994 of the State of New York authorize the County Legislature of any County by resolution to authorize the collecting officers of all towns within the County to accept from any taxpayer partial payments for or on account of taxes, special ad valorem levies or special assessments, and
WHEREAS, the New York State Board of Real Property Services (ORPS) has opined that such a resolution obliges town collecting officers to accept partial payments, and
WHEREAS, the Sullivan County Treasurer and other County officials have conferred with town collectors and supervisors, who have been uniformly supportive of assisting and enabling their tax payers to pay current taxes in installments especially in light of the difficult economic strains that many property owners are facing, and
WHEREAS, the Sullivan County Legislature believes that it would be beneficial to tax payers in all towns to be able to have the option of making partial payments of current taxes, and
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Sullivan County Legislature hereby authorizes, pursuant to Section 928-a of the Real Property Tax Law, tax collectors in all towns in Sullivan County to accept from any taxpayer partial payments, as described herein below, for or on account of current taxes, special ad valorem levies or special assessments, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that installments may be made in three (3) monthly payments, one payment in each month from January through March, and that the minimum amount to be paid in January shall be one half (50%) of the amount of the tax as levied, interest free; in February shall be one quarter (25%) of the amount of the tax as levied, plus interest at the statutory rate, charged against the unpaid balance only; and in March shall be the remaining one quarter (25%) of the amount of the tax as levied plus interest at the statutory rate, charged against the unpaid balance only, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this partial payment program shall not lengthen or extend the towns' warrant, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this program shall be effective immediately and shall commence with the levy of the 2009 Town/County taxes on or about January 1, 2009, and shall terminate at the close of the towns' warrant on or about April 1, 2009, subject to further resolution of the Sullivan County Legislature.
Moved by Mrs. Binder, seconded by Mr. Armstrong, put to a vote, unanimously carried and declared duly adopted on motion August 21, 2008.
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