FULTON – A dispute has surfaced in the City of Fulton regarding years of unbilled trash collection services for the condominium complex at 129 Cayuga Street, raising questions about municipal oversight, ethics, and the handling of city services.
Former 6th Ward Common Councilor Ryan Taylor says his investigation began in mid-September 2024 after noticing the condominiums were not placing trash out for collection, unlike other properties in his ward. “I drove my ward several times a week, particularly Thursday evening and Friday morning prior to work—trash collection is Friday in the 6th Ward. 129 Cayuga Street had never put out trash for collection on either side of the building,” Taylor said.
Taylor filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request on January 31, 2025, seeking six years of billing records for the condos. In response, he received only two billing statements covering November 2024 through February 2025. He claims this indicates that residents were not being charged for trash collection for an extended period despite benefiting from city sanitation services.
According to Taylor, residents at 129 Cayuga Street had reportedly been using a city-leased dumpster at Canal Commons instead of individual trash collection. “The lack of billing was not only a financial oversight but an ethical concern,” Taylor wrote in his formal letter to city officials. “Chapter 50 of the City Code of Ethics prohibits any public official from receiving direct or indirect benefits from municipal services. The unpaid fees represent tens of thousands of dollars that could have supported essential city labor.”
Taylor’s statement also noted that the condominium association’s president, Marissa Hanlon, currently serves as the Chair of the City’s Zoning Board of Appeals. He argued that as an official overseeing zoning matters, she should have recognized and addressed the discrepancy.
In response, James Hanlon, a condo resident and current candidate for County Legislator, rejected the allegations outright, calling them “politically motivated.”
“When the 129 Cayuga Street Condominiums were developed in 2007, the project sponsor worked with the City of Fulton to arrange trash collection through a shared downtown dumpster used by local businesses,” Hanlon said in a statement. “For approximately 15 years, not one of the 16 condo owners were ever billed for trash services. This was consistent across every ownership transfer and billing cycle during that time.”
Hanlon noted that the original agreement with the city—whether verbal or written—has not been located, likely due to administrative turnover and lost documentation. “Once the city began billing us earlier this year, condo residents, including myself, promptly began paying for services. This issue never involved any personal wrongdoing by me, my wife, or any condo owner,” he added.
City officials have since clarified how the situation came to light. C.J. Smith, a city administrator, said the issue arose during an investigation into overflowing trash and recycling around the downtown dumpster.
“In early spring 2024, we sent out a questionnaire to all downtown properties,” Smith said. “Through those responses, we determined that the Cayuga Street Condos were utilizing the dumpster but not paying for garbage collection services. It was then relayed that years ago, there may have been some type of verbal agreement exempting them from direct billing.”
However, no written documentation of such an agreement could be found. Smith cited the city’s charter, which requires that all residential premises be billed for sanitation services regardless of whether collection occurs at the curb. “At that point, I directed our Utility Billing Supervisor to start charging the condos for garbage service,” Smith said. “They have been utilizing the dumpster, charged for the service, and paying since June 2024.”
While both city and condo representatives agree that billing has resumed, the question of whether the city should seek retroactive payment for previous years remains unresolved.
As the city continues to navigate fiscal challenges, Taylor insists that accountability is essential. “Recovering this unpaid money could allow Fulton to hire additional temporary or part-time workers to keep our parks and streets clean,” he said.
The City of Fulton has not yet issued an official statement regarding whether an ethics review or financial audit will follow.
Oswego County Today obtained records showing a condo owner was charged for garbage removal from 12/18/2012 to 6/13/2013; after that, the SERVICE/GARBAGE item no longer appeared on bills. An agreement may have existed between Doug Caster and the City of Fulton, but documentation is missing. Attached PDF Document
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