To the Editor,
Finally !
Two months of waiting and asking for a second time the answer finally comes.
At the June Common Council meeting I asked the Mayor of Fulton about the $1.25 million dollars that the City was about to receive and why and what she had planned to do with that money.
In an open forum the Mayor finally admitted that the City has been awarded $1.25 million dollars, and that there were designated areas that the monies could be spent.
At the June meeting I did say that I knew there were restrictions. At that meeting I requested that a committee be formed to seek both Grant money to supplement the awarded monies and see where best to spend the money.
At Tuesday’s meeting I requested that the money not be spent on Trees like Syracuse was doing and also not to waste any on more jackhammering of concrete down at the Nestle site.
I would suggest that the City look into more Grants for infrastructure couple them with some of the $1.25 million and do sidewalk and curb work throughout the entire city. There is going to be more money coming from the Federal Govt. and there are State grants also. Our city sidewalks and curbs are in deplorable shape. A project like that would last at least 10 to 15 years. Well worth the money.
The Mayor had suggested spending monies on electronic signage instead of asking the State to use theirs during the time we are doing road work. That type of equipment would last maybe 2 or 3 yrs. Everyone remembers the signage we use to have over at the War Memorial telling of different events. Well where is that now. It lasted maybe 3 yrs. Not a good spending of money. There maybe a grant out there to buy one of those but not with any of the $1.25 million.
The Mayor kept saying on Tuesday that she didn’t want to rush into spending the money. I never said we had to rush into anything I did say a committee had to be formed to choose what and when the money was to be spent on. Not a pet project but one that will benefit the whole city.
I also made mention again to the Mayor about getting out of the Sales Tax agreement with the County. It is time and I made a suggestion that we should be looking into getting all the sales tax money from sales in the 13069 zip code. I told her that the County is getting between 2 and 3 million sales tax dollars above the $6.1 Million we receive thru the sales tax agreement, that should be coming to the City.
We need the money.
We will see what happens now that the word is out.
Frank Castiglia Jr.
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Frank, Fulton made out well with the sales tax deal with the County. Fulton would be bankrupt without it.
Mike, Yes it was good then but not now, plus if it can include all of 13069 it would be great. Back then sales tax wasn’t including online sales and it does now. We would make out better now.
Seeing how I live in Granby I want MY sales tax dollars to help my Town, not your City. Playing your game we would lose our cut of the sales tax. Besides, it’s a moot point. The County and State would never go for it. If fact, the State would prefer that the City of Oswego be part of the County collection.
Mike, the cut of the sales tax that Granby gets would have no part of the City of Fulton getting the sales tax from 13069. it goes by population .They get theirs from the County. If the City wants out they can get out and the only way the State can do it is by going by the Zip code because of on line sales tax. The other solution is for the City to annex every thing within a 2 mile radius of the city line. I know you wouldn’t like that at all. That could happen also. We shall see. The State is looking for less Gov’t and the towns and Villages are going to be dissolved into the larger cities.
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Frank, I see you dont understand how sales tax is collected and distributed. You should contact the County Treasurer and have Kevin explain it to you. The people who collect the sales tax fill out a form to tell the State where the money was collected from. Do you think that the City of Oswego gets all the tax collected in the 13126 zip code? That’s not how it works
Mike, I have a call into the Comptrollers’ office and will get it from the horse’s mouth, not from Kevin. But my initial contact was in agreement as to getting the taxes from all 13069 with the fact that many sales are now coming from on-line shopping. I know you think the County and Kevin know all but the State has the final word. Things have changed sense Kevin even took office. Time will tell.