Collins supervisor: Little left for town to consolidate
COLLINS — Gov. Andrew Cuomo had many points in his State of the State address in January. One that will affect local governments is the emphasis of consolidation and the benefits the state will offer.
Consolidation efforts in the town of Collins have been utilized for many years prior to this push.
“We get a per capita check from the state every year. … It’s commonly known as state aid. What the governor is proposing is in order for us to be eligible to get that check every year that we have to be part of these countywide consolidation plans,” Collins Town Supervisor David Tessmer said. “If the county doesn’t comply, then we don’t get the checks.”
Collins is limited to how much more the town could do before it runs out of possible consolidation projects. However, the state looks back on efforts already made.
“Here’s my idea: if we have to keep doing this, then I am going to wait,” Tessmer added. “I am going to save some of this stuff because they only go back three years. So we’ve already gone back as far as we could go back to meet the requirement. We have to save a certain percentage to save the tax levy.”
Tessmer added that this doesn’t mean that the town will refuse consolidation with another town or the village of Gowanda if it could be done. The idea is to save eligibility for the upcoming years.
But for the taxpayers, Tessmer believes there is little that the town could do to lower the overall bill right now as far as consolidation that the town is postponing.
“We are so lean and mean here right now, I don’t even know where else we could consolidate,” the supervisor added. “There is no slop in this budget. There is no waste here. We don’t have a bunch of six figure salaries.”
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