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Thread: Showdown looms over city budget

  1. #1
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Showdown looms over city budget

    Showdown looms over city budget

    The Lackawanna City Council has rejected many of Mayor Geoffrey M. Szymanski’s budget initiatives, including expansion of the city’s payroll, setting up a potential showdown over the 2012-13 budget.


    The Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a budget of $23.6 million — or $816,965 less than the $24.4 million Szymanski proposed spending.
    Read the full story in the Buffalo News

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    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    “The majority of this difference can be found in the reduction of additional personnel proposed in departments that we believe are not necessary and the city cannot afford,” Council members said in a letter to Szymanski.

    The Council eliminated the proposed hires of four public works employees and a police officer, while also dramatically trimming the salaries of two part-time department heads.
    What services did the personnel perform that council members believe are not necessary? What would the public works employees do?

    What were the twp part-timers being paid seeing it was dramatically reduced?

    Perhaps our town board in cheektowaga can learn from this.

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    The two part timers should have been gone when they retired. PERIOD. There's a lot more where that came from. Your tax dollars at work! For instance if you retire from a real job in the private sector say Ford do they hire you back at 30k a year with bennies etc.?
    Last edited by bluethunder; June 12th, 2012 at 11:31 PM.

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    good point

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    Member andreahaxton's Avatar
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    Post Stay Tuned!

    Stay tuned...........

    Something going on with the actual amount we will be paying on our up-coming tax bills for City AND the LA school district............

    There is a possibility of a BIG TAX SHIFT underway in Lackawanna....... taking about $2.00/1000 of assessed value off of what the businesses pay ( non-homestead ) in Lackawanna and adding it onto the citizen homeowners ( homestead ) tax bills.
    We have to watch the LA school tax bills......so,
    Stay Tuned!

    I hope I am wrong................

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    Number one : Do you see any businesses really left? LA has the highest business rate in the county.

    Number two: Now that the homeowners have to pay their fair share maybe they will actually care about where the money is being spent.

    Number three: When you lower the business rate over a period of time more will locate here thereby eventually decreasing the tax rate overall.


    Nothing shady here just common sense. If Radich never did this to begin with we probably would have been better off business wise to begin with. But unfortunately some office holders took advantage of this and were looking for votes come election time.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bluethunder View Post
    Number one : Do you see any businesses really left? LA has the highest business rate in the county.

    Number two: Now that the homeowners have to pay their fair share maybe they will actually care about where the money is being spent.

    Number three: When you lower the business rate over a period of time more will locate here thereby eventually decreasing the tax rate overall.


    Nothing shady here just common sense. If Radich never did this to begin with we probably would have been better off business wise to begin with. But unfortunately some office holders took advantage of this and were looking for votes come election time.

    I agree that the rate for the business community is outrageous. But there is more to the problem than just rate. The Global Concept School has taken 558 students from the Lackawanna School District. We should have expected a reduction in the number of teachers employed just because of the loss of students. The failure to reduce the staff sufficiently to account for the loss of students results in teachers that are not being utilized properly and causes the cost per student to be near the top in Western New York. If the Board had just kept the cost in line with the average cost per student of the other districts the rates would have gone DOWN for everybody and we would not have to play more games.

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    Quote Originally Posted by getalife123 View Post
    I agree that the rate for the business community is outrageous. But there is more to the problem than just rate. The Global Concept School has taken 558 students from the Lackawanna School District. We should have expected a reduction in the number of teachers employed just because of the loss of students. The failure to reduce the staff sufficiently to account for the loss of students results in teachers that are not being utilized properly and causes the cost per student to be near the top in Western New York. If the Board had just kept the cost in line with the average cost per student of the other districts the rates would have gone DOWN for everybody and we would not have to play more games.
    I have always thought that the tax rate for business was unfair. As far as Lackawanna School board reducing the size of their staff this will never happen. The motto for the Lackawanna School Board is more more and more.
    Russia didn't make me vote for Trump, Hillary did.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Lackawanna View Post
    I have always thought that the tax rate for business was unfair. As far as Lackawanna School board reducing the size of their staff this will never happen. The motto for the Lackawanna School Board is more more and more.
    Your right Mr. Lackawanna, its just to bad government employees don't live in the real world.

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    Post I TOTALLY understand BOTH sides of the coin!

    Quote Originally Posted by bluethunder View Post
    Number one : Do you see any businesses really left? LA has the highest business rate in the county.

    Number two: Now that the homeowners have to pay their fair share maybe they will actually care about where the money is being spent.

    Number three: When you lower the business rate over a period of time more will locate here thereby eventually decreasing the tax rate overall.


    Nothing shady here just common sense. If Radich never did this to begin with we probably would have been better off business wise to begin with. But unfortunately some office holders took advantage of this and were looking for votes come election time.
    I owned a commercial building/business for over 10 years in Lackawanna and a home so I totally understand BOTH sides of the tax issues we are talking about.
    And I was hollering when nobody else was about it ..............hence the tar and feathering job they did on my reputation to try and make me go away!

    There is a much BIGGER situation that has been going on with who pays what tax in good ole' Lackawanna..........

    What you said makes sense bluethunder in theory.......but you forgot the MAJIC BEAN.......it is not so much the TAX RATE............the bottom line is the ASSESSMENT of each and every parcel........and the politicians are hoodwinking homeowners................... as a side note----who get what they pay for----a "blighted" City, NOT what they pay for in Hamburg and West Seneca (public pools, golf courses, gyms, streetscapes--businesses, etc.)........so let's keep that in perspective.

    Just a little food for thought...........are ALL parcels, homeowners + businesses at 100% of accessed MARKET value that DIRECTLY affects the tax shift/bills?........OR..............do some play footsie?

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    Just a point from last night's City Council meeting.......

    The 4th Ward Councilman stated that his home is the second highest assessed home in the City of Lackawanna.........when the new Budget is in place on August 1 for the years 2012/13', HIS City of Lackawanna taxes for HIS home are going up $275.00.....................




    Well at least he gets cheaper car insurance because they have a 14219 address......

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    Quote Originally Posted by andreahaxton View Post
    I owned a commercial building/business for over 10 years in Lackawanna and a home so I totally understand BOTH sides of the tax issues we are talking about.
    And I was hollering when nobody else was about it ..............hence the tar and feathering job they did on my reputation to try and make me go away!

    There is a much BIGGER situation that has been going on with who pays what tax in good ole' Lackawanna..........

    What you said makes sense bluethunder in theory.......but you forgot the MAJIC BEAN.......it is not so much the TAX RATE............the bottom line is the ASSESSMENT of each and every parcel........and the politicians are hoodwinking homeowners................... as a side note----who get what they pay for----a "blighted" City, NOT what they pay for in Hamburg and West Seneca (public pools, golf courses, gyms, streetscapes--businesses, etc.)........so let's keep that in perspective.

    Just a little food for thought...........are ALL parcels, homeowners + businesses at 100% of accessed MARKET value that DIRECTLY affects the tax shift/bills?........OR..............do some play footsie?
    Your right I forgot about that part. Maybe Szymanski can rectify this unlike the former mayor who didn't do a thing.

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    Quote Originally Posted by getalife123 View Post
    I agree that the rate for the business community is outrageous. But there is more to the problem than just rate. The Global Concept School has taken 558 students from the Lackawanna School District. We should have expected a reduction in the number of teachers employed just because of the loss of students. The failure to reduce the staff sufficiently to account for the loss of students results in teachers that are not being utilized properly and causes the cost per student to be near the top in Western New York. If the Board had just kept the cost in line with the average cost per student of the other districts the rates would have gone DOWN for everybody and we would not have to play more games.
    The charter school and the new high school will be taking even more away. Your right time for some cuts.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bluethunder View Post
    The charter school and the new high school will be taking even more away. Your right time for some cuts.
    The ONY WAY CUTS HAPPEN is when a buget is voted down and they have are forced with a freeze on hiring......otherwise, it will never happen in Lackawanna since teacher aides are all relatives of past and present boards.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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    Post Interesting...VERY Interesting!

    I just called the City Council Office......Council Secretary told me NO Mayor VETO on their Budget has come down yet.
    I believe he has until the end of the day today being 10 days after the Council voted approval of their 2012/13' City of Lackawanna NY Budget.

    Interesting stuff............

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