Monroe County Budget Passed
What a surprise:
 County Executive Maggie Brooks’ 2008 budget was enacted Tuesday without any material changes by the legislature.
The $1.01 billion budget is $11 million less than this year’s. Property taxes will decrease by 11 cents to $8.99 per $1,000 of assessed valuation on average, but rate changes in towns are dependent on equalization rates and will likely be different. New charges not included in the property tax calculation are also imposed in the budget.
Debate on the budget among county lawmakers lasted about two hours, but in the end, no changes were made.
The budget has divided the County Legislature along party lines. Republicans have praised the spending plan as a solution to the county’s budget crisis while Democrats have spoken out against it.
Bottom line, your taxes are going up. Call them fees, chargebacks, whatever, Brooks/Minarik is using word games to hide the tax increase. Consider this a call to all RTers to report your year-over-year increase to your tax bill to us. Because maybe they can fool some people with their fancy city lawyer ways, but your pocketbook will not be fooled.
And who the heck is this guy, quoted in the D&C article?
Taxpayer John Rynne of Greece spoke in favor of the budget and the revenue sharing plan and called school district budgets “bloated.”
Just a concerned citizen? A little more than that, I’d say. A simple search found him to be hanging out with GOP Assemblymen , speaking out against lead paint legislation, and a leader in the National Federation of Independent Business (a “major Republican Party benefactor“).  Oh, and he and his company are strong contributors to local GOP politicians and committees. (The REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE is all over the map, but check out the other ones– 99% GOP with a Bob Duffy contribution here and there.)
Point being, he’s not really just a “taxpayer”, is he? And yet the article makes him come across like some dude that just wandered down from Greece to see what was up.
Related posts:
No “dude” in support of the GOP from Greece is innocent. Now that DiDiDiRaddo lost his seat, get used to “anonymous” Greece taxpayers coming in to the rescue of “Broomarik” (a play on words, like Branjolina) and company. They took a hit on the West Side, losing Chili’s Supervisor and scattered hits throughout the towns. Expect them to have slugs like this one standing in to do his duty to guard his party more often now.
Just wait until the President is a Democrat! They’ll be lining up like pigs to the troth!
I rest my case. in the “hanging out with assemblymen” link above:
John Rynne of Greece, who owns an appraisal company, said the exodus of young people from the state and rising taxes are not good for business.
“Now we have to contend with Thruway tolls,” said Rynne, owner of Rynne Murphy and Associates.
He advocated for benefits for public employees more comparable with benefits for private-sector employees.
Patrick McCaffrey, owner of Liberty Home Inspections of Greece, said he will have to pass the increase on to his customers.
Greece, Greece, Greece - this is where dual office holders at the local and county levels comes in handy. Can you spell COMIDA?
Jeesh, the last home inspector they had ended up in jail with the Assessor, didn’t he?
You mean, Minarik’s pimpin’ another right-wing hooker?
Sorry for coursening our society.
[...] controversial $1 Billion dollar budget was passed on party lines- Surprise, surprise. A community solution was proposed to restore funding to Suburban schools. [...]
the d and c not just deciding what’s news but deciding who ’s news.
you probably won’t hear of too many rt posters being quoted in the papers as “ordinary citizens”.
[...] Wait, I think I remember someone saying that very thing at the time the budget was passed. Now, who was it? Bottom line, your taxes are going up. Call them fees, chargebacks, whatever, Brooks/Minarik is [...]