A lesson we all must learn :)

[WNYresident]

Dear Mr. Bob Meegan,

NO no

Dear Mr. Politician when reguard your pay raise,

NO no

Dear school board person when wanting your raise

NO no

Dear Mr Patronage Job Person

Your FIRED, don't bother calling the person who gave you the favor for a job enless you would like them fired too.

Dear Mr Politician who has been in politics all thier lives,

Please go to another country your services are no longer required in WNY If you were doing a good job all along we wouldn't be the highest tax state in the USA now would we?

Dear Mr Politician who is over paid,

This will be what your services are worth (A number that the residents thinks is fair for thier services) to the people that pay the bills, take it or leave it.


Lets start studying this now. These might be hard lessons to swallow but WNY needs to get back on track.

[KMT]

It's frustrating as hell isn't it? I think the very fact that THIS board survives with so may wonderful, eloquent viewpoints is testimony to our commitment and our love of THIS PLACE!

I've read the comments from the " out-of-towner" and I've been moved to panic a bit. Of course there are better places to see a higher paycheck, pension and quality of life for our children.

I do not waver, in my love of the region of which I was born, nor do I waver in my dedication and love for those who have chosen to stay and greet the "beast."

In the way our grandparents and great-grandparents loved this region~~ so do we. Their toil and love will not go unappreciated, nor unrecognized.

We need to find the inspiration; God's gift to us all, and the courage to act upon it.

Only then will we feel worthy of our lives.

[KMT]

Well whatever- not worthy of our 'lves exactly' but~ ****~ you know what I mean. It is so much easier to envision a life elsewhere. We all have friends and family members who are " raking it in" outside of WNY. We also know however, how unhappy and homesick they are and how they wish there was a reason to come back.

LET"S GIVE'M A REASON and **** the Powers- that - be!!!

ORGANIZATION NOW !!!!!!!!!

[Unregistered]

That one thread started called "right to the point" is correct; we do not owe the area of WNY anything. We do not owe them the right to have them take our money and hand it to patronage positions and every other cause NYS/WNY cares to fund. It’s not our duty to work our butts off to give them so many $100,000 a year jobs throughout the school system and NYS and also then support what ever dead weight they feel they should. We didn't cause the mess or the high cost of everything in NY State.

They did. I know i wouldn't be stupid enough to sign a lot of the contracts they have in my name, the tax payer.

I'm looking at this situation as this is my area (WNY) just as much as it's their area. They have abused their positions and voted themselves too many perks and raises over the years.

I was born here just like a lot of the politicians were. I don’t consider coming up with programs which require me to pay for other peoples healthcare or what ever something I should pay for. There’s a limit to how charitable one should be and everyone should contribute to the community but not to just to cover the cost of a bloated goverment. You can only go so far with what the taxpayer can support and not get stress out about it.

So we all either run away from the mess and start over in better cities in the USA or we stay and remove them. Now I don’t really feel like moving and I bet there are a lot of people that would like their kids to move back home.

I already have businesses in WNY and the effort to restart them in a new state would take time. Right now the best way to pump up my companies along with a load of other businesses in WNY is to lower our operation cost. OUR local governments add a lot of overhead to businesses and people in general. Time to make cuts. Now they state the control board will be in place until 2037. 30 or so years are just too long to see results or will we see results sooner? IF we are looking at a 30-year fix time, we all should start booking group travel packages to other cities. That is a lifetime. The less people there are here to pay for everything the faster it will come to an end.

This is not going to be fun. A lot of the people in control have actually convinced themselves that they are good at what they do. We are talking some serious egos now. The unions have stroked themselves for so long they think they are entitled to what ever they want without regard where the cash comes from. It’s completely obvious, just look around WNY.

Don't go borrowing money in my name, that me, the tax payer has to pay back to get your raise or whatever today. WHen the money is not there you just don't get it.

We see the results of years of their mis-management and contract negotiation skills. Look at Cheektowaga, Amherst, Lancaster area etc and all you see is slowly creeping up taxes as the politician/unions slowly take more and more. The developers just overwelming our schools and infrastructure by building where ever and when ever they want. It’s started in Buffalo and they will follow the same example.

Nip it in the BUD now.

Anyone else have this same point of view?

J

[Unregistered]

"Now they state the control board will be in place until 2037. 30 or so years are just too long to see results or will we see results sooner?"

I think the control board will be acting very soon - within 3 months of creation. I think that the 30 year term was designed to send a very clear message to the unions that "waiting out" the control board's legislated lifetime is not an option for them. Kind of like Saddam hiding in whatever rat hole he's in now and hoping that the Americans will tire of looking for him and leave.

"The developers just overwelming our schools and infrastructure by building where ever and when ever they want. "
I'm really not comfortable restricting development for the sake of existing propery owners. Why should our young people be restricted from the same real estate choices that you once had? Any free-market restriction should be looked at as perpetuating the problem in WNY. I don't think I need to lecture you on that, Mr. Entrepenuer

[TDoran]

Originally posted by WNYresident


Dear Mr Politician who has been in politics all thier lives,

Please go to another country your services are no longer required in WNY If you were doing a good job all along we wouldn't be the highest tax state in the USA now would we?



[/B]

I think it would be a great thing to send Masiello, Pitts, Lenihan, Martino, Meegan, other union hacks, patronage twits to towns like Youngstown Ohio or Gary, Indiana or Newark, NJ......the people in leadership here could attain the final nail in the coffin a bit faster in those places. Here in Buffalo, the jugular was severed and our politicians and patronage hacks walk around with small band-aids and bactine.....here comes the control board tourniquet.

I think if they were really going to save the city, they would have created a federal control board with the likes of Rubin and Reich on it.

[Unregistered]

Originally posted by Unregistered
"The developers just overwelming our schools and infrastructure by building where ever and when ever they want. "
I'm really not comfortable restricting development for the sake of existing propery owners. Why should our young people be restricted from the same real estate choices that you once had? Any free-market restriction should be looked at as perpetuating the problem in WNY. I don't think I need to lecture you on that, Mr. Entrepenuer

Your missing the point. This over development if affecting the lively hood of the tax payer. When we all move away those children will have lots of real estate to choose from.

WHy should some person in lancaster on a fix retirement check have thier school taxes go up so that mr home builder can make his 500 homes? Why should a person in cheektowaga on a fixed imcome have to have thier taxes go up seeing they need more police force to monitor the crime that all the new businesses cause or traffic?

[Unregistered]

I think what you are saying is that more homes = higher taxes. you forget that there are taxpayers living in those new homes, and homes in lancaster are valued higher than average for WNY. more residents don't nessessarily mean higher taxes, just that your town govt is sqandering your new-found property tax revenue.
What you are saying is less residents mean less taxes. what about your neighbor who owns 100 acres and wants to sell his property to a developer? are you going to take from him by saying "no"?
Other communities have solved this problem in a fair way: make the builder build all the infrastructure of the development (sewer, streets, etc..) AND charge a fee (~ $1500) for the permit for each home. This will cover initial costs (traffic lights, etc) and it will be passed on to the home purchaser. You then get the benefiit of no up-front cost to you "mr. existing taxpayer" and you also get the benefit of somwhat wealty taxpayers in your community for years to come. And you don't have to steal your neighbors property rights to do it. Sounds fair to me. Or, you can move out west into the desert by yourself and pay nothing in proerty tax at all, because you'll have no neighbors

[Unregistered]

Well currently that is how it is. More homes are not keeping taxes in check

The more homes the higher the taxes are along with all the new business development. IT's logical that the more homes you would have more taxes would colllect but apartently that's not happening here! Now is it?

You have the taxes being collected but they are spent foolishly. What other excuse can it be? Inside of the funds going to what they should you have so many hands in the jar there's nothing left to cover the cost of those people.

JUst look at cheektowaga and all the new strip malls and box stores... Taxes going up and you have terrible traffic.

Just look at amherst... We've heard of all the growth there, you think by now thier taxes would start to go down. But well they are not.

Look at lancaster! Nicer homes and buildings popping up everywhere but the tax always increase.

You would think the more homes the more revenue but it's not the case..

NO MATTER what the cause it's the results we see. Why would anyone complain if the new builds offset some taxes.. because latly they don't. I dont want anymore building enless thier tax revenue goes to cover thier added cost.

THere did i word that better this time?

[Unregistered]

yes, you did. A dicey gambit for sure... Do you choke off new growth to prevent new expenditures? Are the 2 issues (growth, taxes) that directly related? Will stopping growth benefit the people in the long run? I honestly don't know. Seems like something that should be investigated even more than the magic bullet that killed JFK! One should seriously consider the ramifications of regulating the free market is all i'm saying.

[Unregistered]

I mean think about it. Just look at all the business growth in Cheektowaga on union road. There are a lot of empty buildings if you noticed with lease signs everywhere. Do those buildings pay full taxes?

Wouldn't the tax revenue from all that building offset some of the tax increases?

What does the mall pay in taxes? or all those box stores? or the benderson stripmalls? There's a lot of traffic funneled in front of residents homes while trying to bypass traffic on union. Those buildings weren't there 20 years ago. Perhaps the residents don't need thier home taxes raised in order to have all that building on union.

Same as amherst, lookie lookie at us grow! But the taxes go up and up.

I dont think we curb growth, i think we stop all incentives. If everyones taxes were lower instead of a select few, the local area would be better.

Look at how many lawyers in buffalo are using the incentives for low property tax and sale tax reduction. If i was a lawyer anywhere else in the community i would start a lawsuit now. Don't subsidize my competition.

We just have a few too many thieves in the system coupled with some rather unqualified planners. You can't have planning board in the local burbs that are appointed with the same people that are going to benifit from the growth. They plan things so they can maximize thier profits. Or they plan building where as to help thier buddies that own the property or building in general.

Here's something that just urks me. Spot zoning. It hasn't happened to me but if two houses down from my home someoene wanted to put up a mcdonalds, gas station or a deltasonic I would flip.

Look at the people in lancaster who do not want a giant walmart next to thier home. I can't blame them. Could you? They want something as simple as it will never be a 27/7 supercenter but the developer won't sign that. Just think what it would be like to have a constant light bulb and traffic 65 feet from your home. You were there first and picked that to be your home. Plus you know the developers in the area never clean up thier old buildings do they? Notice a lot of empty brown tops buildings around the area.

It's cute how the people that call them nimbys don't have the walmart next to thier homes. I'd like to see thier comments if the situation was reversed.

We need a law like minimum 500 feet before you can build a business structure or you need a majority vote from the homeowners in that area to have it built closer. You'lll never see a law like that seeing the developers would fight that tooth and nail. They also donate well to the townboards at election time to have items rubber stamped. Just go to the election boards and look who donates.


Why can't we just stop the incentive packages they have been giving out. That would earn us much needed funding. I read somewhere that the incentives waved like $213,000,000 in taxes collected. THats one hell of a chunk of money.

They are not hitting thier promises on job creation and growth so who cares. They didn't do what they were going to do so they get to pay taxes too.

[Unregistered]

KMT....you make a very broad assumption...that we all know how everyone who left is so homesick and wants to return....count me out ! I post here and elsewhere because it disgusts me how bad the area has become since the sixties that I remeber it being full of vitality. I think it could offer quite a bit, and I personally hope it does, however realistically, based on it's current state, steep pace of further decline and no worthwhile changes forseeable I doubt it will happen in my remaining useful lifetime.

KMT, not everyone moved to the southeast and does not deal with the culture difference or the heat and humidity and wants back, some ex WNY'ers have ventured accross the USA and to other countries and found in fact, there are even nicer places than WNY to live.

I was forced to live in Kansas City for 5 years due to a merger......city wise I would have preferred Buffalo save for the dumpy condition so much of the city itself is in. More to do in Buffalo, neat sense of history, teh lake, the boston foothills etc etc. KC was a hot muggy place with very little to do, no real sense of place or past, we hated it, BUT.....you could make a decent living there and had opportunities. Without a worthwhile paychek/career options, the rest is meaningless to most people, neat old architecture does not put food on the table or help insure a stable career option or retirement.

On the other hand, I and almost my entire family reside in the Denver area, and the region is even nicer to live in than WNY ever was, so no I am not secretly dying to move back. I would never leave here, unless the economy did a death spiral with little hope of correction like Buffalo has.

When I moved from HAmburg in 1993 my taxes were $3600 a year on a home I sold for $100,000, and my wife and I were regularly changing jobs to avoid being stuck in a company that was about to close. Here we have a $200,000 home that we pay $1100 in taxes, jobs that are far more stable with better skills and training and we make more than t and a half times what we made there......PLUS we keep more of it. In WNY we had so much with held that our Fed Refund helped offset the additional the State wanted us to fork over...not here.

I feel sorry for anyone in business back there, the leftist attitude despises business as greedy and that they should be punished with taxes and regulation, I know it is worse on them than the average taxpayer.

If the area turns around there will be many who return, many who are drawn to it for the opportunity it may offer but some of us have found better places, they do exist.....

[Unregistered]

Same story here... We moved to Arizona in 1996 and found unbelievable opportunity. Beautiful brand new home, new cars, first baby, low low taxes, booming economy, great jobs. if anything, we're getting worked to death. We got everything we were looking for and much more. The rest of the family has moved or is planning to move in the very near future. We rolled out here with not much at all: our cars, some crap, and a few hundred dollars. I woke up a few months ago and it occurred to me that we were actually very well off. Woudn't have happened if we stayed in Buffalo. How many of us young people have to leave before things change?

[Unregistered]

To hear some in the WNY area on some message boards, those of us who left are selfish and should be back there taking a hit on declining property values, crumbling neighborhoods and should be paying "our fair share" in taxes....spread teh misery around .

They talk like Buffalo is the only place with old architecture, or any sense of old neighborhoods.....sounds like talk long on nostolgia, and short on travel and real experience.

A control board is going to try to force Buffalo to stay solvent with things as they are currently. There is much talk of generous union contracts, pensions, layers of redundant government etc. Problem is, that was a big part of what made the problem worse through the sixties and eighties. There was enough private largess to fund that kind of folly. Now the public trough is huge and the private sector dollars is far too small to support it. I think bigger, wider spread and more severe finacial collapse looms for much of the region.

I don't know about you, but I had loads of friends tell me before we left that we'd be sorry, the region was about to turn around etc etc. Same old tale I heard spewed about for many years before as others I knew left.....oh and we'd be back. I think their big problem was we did not fit the mold of stay and gripe, it was going against the grain to actually change our lot in life. They don't care to talk to us much anymore, as almost without exception they are on and off unemployment, have big issues with the scholls, need to move out of deteriorating neighborhoods and are stuck etc. Some of these folks are in the early to mid forties and probably relaize they are stuck with limites skills, bleak job and career outlooks and are slaving away hoping they can get their kids into college and perhaps retire.

The few others who are not resentful of our taking responsibility for our lives stay in touch, but are in the Florida rut. We have lived in teh rockies of Colorado for years, yet no one ever pays us a visit despite our living in Americas playground. Yet they go to the same place in florida every year on the same week and do the same thing....amazing.

[Unregistered]

You know the people that left WNY did the best thing they could do for themselves.

Life is short...and there is very few items to waste your life on. Supporting all of WNY goverment employees, welfare and some of the union crap just has to stop. I dont think they even realize the over all harm they are doing to the region.

We are at the bubble stage and it's going to POP big time. We are going to have a whole bunch of lazy "me me me" stupid people with rising health care cost, rising assistance cost as gas/electric prices rise, and rising cost to what ever the NYS goverment seems to want to give away..

I think it's time to pull back a lot of the assistance we give to people and just left them move to some other state. I just don't want to support them. I'm tired.

I'm sorry for not being politicallly correct but,

IF you are crippled, retarted, extremely old and can't take care of yourself or a child under 18 i can see where the USA/community should help out. BUT thats it. I want my money to help my family not everyone elses. I dont particularly care what is going on in other countries so i don't think our money should any longer go there.

plus they say in NYS that it's like over $50,000 a year to hold one prisoner. HOW Much does Bread/water cost? Why give them training programs when they are in for 50 years?its' all BS.