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The OBSERVER’s View

DUNKIRK: Consoling assessor must get to work

Dunkirk Assessor Erica Munson was a calming voice in a chasm of anger regarding the 84% property tax hike recently approved in the city. She spoke during the Common Council meeting last week. “First and foremost to our residents: I see you, I hear you, I appreciate the calls, I appreciate the emails, social media. … Please reach out,” she said. “I can’t stress enough how much I don’t want our residents to have to live in fear. There’s a lot of misunderstanding and there’s a lot of misinformation. Our percentage is such a high number that it’s automatically torturing a ...

DUNKIRK: No forgiving irresponsibility

It was far from a sucker punch. But the city of Dunkirk’s approval of its budget — put forth by its mayor and council — still brings a lot of pain. An 84% property tax increase being levied on residents who have a median income of $49,000, a poverty rate of 25% and senior population greater than 18% is downright offensive. Listening to the excuses and the woe-is-me attitude of some council members last week is just as disrespectful. After doing nothing to reduce that huge tax burden, five-year Common Council member Nancy Nichols made this remark: “We didn’t put ourselves in ...

Murder: Nothing heroic about suspect

Altoona has been accorded deserved praise but also has been inflicted with an undeserved black eye over the Luigi Mangione case — Mangione being the suspect in the high-profile murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Dec. 4 outside a New York City hotel. The latter is totally without cause, saddening people here who still firmly believe that murder is not a good thing. But reject any thought that Mangione, from a prominent Baltimore real estate family, is destined to rot and die in prison, a forgotten man, if he is convicted of the heinous New York crime. Considering the ...

County: Limited choices on temporary housing

Rising costs for temporary housing have been a drag on Chautauqua County’s budget for the past few years. This year is no exception. County legislators are moving another $1.2 million from the county’s surplus to help pay for the nearly 200 people currently in temporary housing. That comes after moving another $1.5 from the county’s surplus in September on top of the $4.5 million originally budgeted this year. County officials are trying to be proactive, with plans to begin a new program called “Family Driven Case Management Services” to work with families to get them out ...

NEW YORK STATE: Inflation checks are tiny reprieve

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State plan to send a $500 check to New York families is an incredibly short-sighted plan to fight inflation and, frankly, boost her flagging approval ratings as Democrats come out of the woodwork looking to mount primary challenges against the governor. The governor made the inflation reduction checks the first centerpiece of her January State of the State speech, following former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lead of trying to generate excitement by releasing bits and pieces of their goal-setting speech a full month before the speech actually takes place in ...

DUNKIRK No holiday spirit in tax increase

City of Dunkirk taxpayers have a real lump of coal in their stockings this Christmas. Despite months of knowing about the fiscal crisis, elected officials did nothing to hold constituents harmless when it came to passing the buck. On Saturday, council approved an 84% property tax increase. That hurts, especially for 18% of the population that is classified as a senior citizen and on a fixed income. It is painful for the more than 25% who are living in poverty. Even if these residents do not own homes, rents will be going up to compensate for that massive increase. If there is a ...