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TOWN?OF?RIPLEY Big spenders overlook cap

Has the state tax cap been a success? Not if you are a resident in the town of Ripley.

Last month officials approved a 3.9 percent tax increase to serve the 2,400 residents. Unfortunately, the rising burden on taxpayers is tied to rising expenditures in the general fund and in the Highway Department that is partially tied to rising employee salaries and benefits.

With the town located on the state border, you can be certain that developers who are looking to invest in the Lake Erie region will probably stick with the entity where taxes and fees are lower. That, without question, is Pennsylvania.

Elected officials in Ripley can blame Albany all they want for the competitive disadvantage with our neighboring state. But they knowingly approved exceeding a tax cap in a region where population is declining, business is not booming and very little is being accomplished economically.

Those representatives are more to blame than New York state for the lack of investment in their community. When these officials and residents begin to understand that if government is thriving when no one else in their municipality is, then maybe it is time to change the culture of this region.

A 3.9 percent tax hike? That’s unacceptable in New York state today due to the tax cap law.

Ripley must not be an exception.

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