FULTON – The Fulton Common Council met last night, Tuesday, November 16, when it discussed and voted on tax exemptions for seniors and persons with disabilities.
Starting out with public comment, Oswego County Legislator Frank Castiglia Jr. gave some updates regarding the recent legislative meeting and the approved resolutions that would impact Fulton the most: FP1, FP3, FP4, GC1, PS6, HS3, and EP1.
In regards to Finance and Personnel resolutions (FP), Castiglia suggested county constituents should attend a public hearing at the December 15 meeting (2 p.m.) in regards to raises for select county elected officials. He said he does not think legislators should be able to vote for a raise for themselves.
“If this [resolution] passes, and I’m pretty sure it will, it’ll be the seventh year in a row that they’ve given themselves a raise,” Castiglia said. “I would like to see someone raise their hand and say elected officials shouldn’t be able to vote themselves a raise.”
He said he voted against resolution FP4, but it was approved, pertaining to the management compensation plan, which was passed and gave a raise to county management positions. Castiglia said full time management will also receive a $1,500 stipend for working during the pandemic.
For GC1, another resolution Castiglia voted against, was in regards to awarding American Rescue Plan Act funds. PS6 approved a grant to be awarded to the Fulton Police and Fulton Fire Departments for mobile computing and an unmanned aircraft service respectively. HS3 was approved to accept a Rides to Recovery Award in the amount of $250,000 to help those struggling with substance abuse disorders to get to appointments. EP1 is a rural area program application. Castiglia said the county benefited from this when Mobility Management Services helped to get people to the Fall Festival in Fulton.
He later spoke as a Fulton citizen, addressing a piece by Spectrum News about the Micron announcement and how he found it to be misleading and only presented beautiful images of parts of Fulton rather than the whole thing.
Another resident, David Phares, addressed the council and said he believes the city should be working toward getting Fulton in better shape. For example, he said the parking lot where the Farmers Market is needs to be fixed, and the gazebo where Tunes In June is hosted needs to be addressed. He discussed the “broken windows theory” in that it would benefit the city to invest in a better image.
Next, resident Amelia Ray brought up the plans for Building 30 at the former Nestle site. During the September 20 council meeting, Ray said she had written a petition against turning this site into apartments. At last night’s meeting, she said that the petition has 650 signatures and expects to have over 1,000 by the end of the year.
“It’s not too late to listen to what your constituents want for Nestle Building 30. We can assure you, they don’t want just more apartments,” Ray said. “We certainly hope to be in some small way Fulton’s catalyst for change.”
The council then approved all items on the agenda:
- Public hearing relative to a proposed local law to override the tax levy established in the general municipal law.
- Mayor Deana Michaels said due to timing constraints, the public hearings have to be closed and voted on to meet the budget deadline.
- Public hearing relative to zone change request for 606 and 610 Phillips St. to go from a manufacturing zone to a commercial zone.
- Public hearing to amend Chapter 556 Taxation Article II Senior Citizen Exemption.
- City Assessor Mary Beth Johnson explained that this mirrors the exemption the county adopted and is for taxpayers who are 65 or older and meet income requirements.
- Castiglia and Councilor Larry Macner both expressed they believe the tax exemption should be for seniors 65 and older regardless of their current income. Macner said even if it was just 5%, that would help seniors in Fulton.
- Councilor Ethan Parkhurst said that might work with the county’s tax base, but not with Fulton’s smaller tax base. He and Council President Audrey Avery said there are other taxpayers to consider.
- The council voted with all but Councilor Macner voting in favor.
- Public hearing to amend Chapter 556 Taxation Article VII Persons with Disabilities and Limited Income Exemption.
- Johnson explained that this has the same sliding scale for income as the senior exemption and a person cannot qualify for both exemptions at the same time.
- All councilors voted in favor of this resolution.
- Resolution to approve the minutes for the November 1, 2022 council meeting.
- Resolution to approve the clerk’s report for October 2022 in the amount of $8,706.75.
- Resolution to accept federal funding from FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant in the amount of $48,571.42 to purchase 17 sets of full turnout gear.
Councilor Comments:
First Ward Councilor Dan Farfaglia thanked Castiglia for bringing the county legislature resolutions to their attention and was very happy with the turnout of the Veterans Day ceremony. He wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
Second Ward Councilor Doug Chapman thanked everyone for coming and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving.
Third Ward Councilor Don Patrick Jr. asked for people to be patient with yard waste pickup and to have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Fourth Ward Councilor Ethan Parkhurst said while he understands wanting a senior exemption regardless of income, there are other taxpayers, and he addressed Ray’s comments, saying they are not falling on deaf ears.
Fifth Ward Councilor/President Audrey Avery thanked everyone for coming and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving.
Sixth Ward Councilor Larry Macner discussed Veterans Day and the honor flight event he attended in Weedsport. He also recommended driving around the city to look at Christmas decorations.
Mayor Deana Michaels also addressed Veterans Day, saying the city is participating in Operation Green Light and police are wearing camouflage uniforms to show its support of veterans. She also said Volney Elementary honored veterans and Bill Cahill plans to work toward more ideas for veteran support. Michaels said she accompanied veterans and their families to New York City to visit the 9/11 museum.
Last night’s agenda can be viewed here.
The next scheduled council meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 6, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the Fulton Municipal Building.
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