By Jose Hernandez
OSWEGO – Mayor Corradino, a lifelong resident of Oswego, NY, has deep roots in the community. His parents, who ran a small grocery store on W Utica St, were known for their compassion, often assisting residents who were struggling to afford food. His mother’s dedication to Oswego Hospital, where she has volunteered for over 34 years, is a testament to their commitment to the community. When he was approached to run for mayor, he saw it as an opportunity to continue his family’s legacy of service and support.
Corradino worked on the City Council for eight years, 6 of which he was Council President. He worked closely with the Barlow administration and hopes to continue the great work they did during Mayor Billy Barlow’s two terms.
When asked about the reassessment that has upset many residents, Corradino expressed shock similar to that of residents at the sharp increases. “If the council knew that the current situation would be the outcome in voting for reassessment, the vote might have been different,” said Corradino. Residents brought the fact of inequity among property values to the council, and the current mayor hoped to solve these problems with a reassessment. It has been 27 years since the last assessment. While speaking with GAR Associates, the firm that handled the reassessment, they said that when a city hasn’t done an assessment in a while, a third of property values will go up, a third will stay the same, and a third will go down. As Corradno acknowledged, this was not the case.
“That ratio was not exactly correct,” said Corradino. “We found out that 25% are going down, 25% are staying the same, and 50% will be going up. It wasn’t what we were told. We also weren’t told the magnitude of the increases. It came as a shock to everyone, including me. I didn’t realize that houses would double or triple. That’s what keeps me up at night. That the numbers are so drastic.” Corradino encourages everyone to speak to Kevin Hill, Oswego’s assessor, as well as take advantage of the formal review process; they have until the end of May. Kevin Hill has extended his hours to speak to Oswego residents.
Corradino says the process of reassessments was hindered by the lack of entry into people’s houses due to suspected scams. He also acknowledges that mistakes could have been made by GAR Associates. Corradino suggests that people should not get all their information from Facebook. He encourages people to get in contact with GAR associates to get a better understanding of the situation. Corradino has set up a system to have people text their questions using “Text My Gov” and a dedicated email account for answers. Many avenues are being explored, such as updating their Facebook page to have more interactivity with community members.
The mayor has worked to add new structures in Oswego, such as Lakeside Park, Wrights landing, and Cahill Pier. He has also worked to renovate existing parks. “Luckily, the raisings of Wrights Landing and Cahill Pier were from the funding we got from the 2017 and 2019 fundings, so they did not cost the Oswego taxpayers anything,” said Corradino, “But we invested in Breitbeck Park, with the overlooks and the new basketball court, over 2 million dollars in Breitbeck Park alone. The new playground was over half a million dollars. We’ve invested in equipment for all the parks in my eight years.”
“I’m not going to forget the quality-of-life issues, but we do have to pivot and take care of things that aren’t so sexy, like pipes in the ground,” said Corradino. The mayor is taking infrastructure issues very seriously, such as upgrading the waste and freshwater plants, the leaky water tank on Ellen St, and the extreme flooding of basements on Hillside Ave and Albany St during periods of heavy rain. The state of New York is requiring the city to report on the piping in basements. “We’re doing a lead survey to identify if the pipes are galvanized, steel, or copper. We sent out a flyer, and hopefully, people will help us identify the pipes,” said Corradino.
At the end of Corradino’s terms, he hopes the residence and city are in better shape than when he arrived. Corradino has a five-year plan as mayor, with infrastructure being the focal point.
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