“As a county legislator, I have and will continue to do all I can to keep First Arena open and save the City of Elmira from financial collapse. My district doesn’t include any part of the City, but Elmira is my home too!” – Chemung County Legislator Rodney J. Strange
Op-Ed published in the Star-Gazette March 2, 2017 written by County Treasurer Joe Sartori.
Mr. James Hare’s Feb. 26 op-ed “County has funds to save First Arena” (See article below this) is as interesting in the points he makes as it is in the points he leaves out.
He states that the county has taken increased amounts of sales tax from the city. The point he failed to make was that, by law, the city is entitled to a 50/50 split, with the county, of sales tax collected within the city. This was the way sales tax was distributed until the early ’90s. At that time, it was recognized that the amount of sales tax collected within the city was declining as retailers moved to Big Flats and Horseheads. County officials agreed to change the sales tax formula, distributing countywide sales tax based on population. The city, having the largest population, received the largest share of sales tax. With this agreement, the city was collecting significantly more sales tax than it did under the original agreement. Since the inception of this agreement, the city has received tens of millions of dollars in additional sales tax revenue.
Another of Mr. Hare’s interesting points is that “the county has made a political decision not to raise property taxes for years.” Mr. Hare appears to think holding the line on property tax increases is a bad thing. I am sure many of the taxpayers of the city, myself included, wished the city would adopt that same “political decision.” If you consider that city taxpayers pay the value of their properties in taxes in less than 18 years, it is easy to understand why the city is losing population, Mr. Hare included.
The county and city are in a number of shared service agreements. The county provides purchasing, civil service, workers compensation and information technology services to the city at no charge. The county has also taken all public works and building and grounds employees off the city’s books. The city reimburses the county for these costs, but the reimbursement is frozen at the actual expense at the time of the transfer. In other words, the county absorbs the cost of all contractual pay increases. Further, the county has agreed to reduce the city’s reimbursement for these costs by $400,000 per year until the city is no longer reimbursing the county for these employees. I fail to see how the county saves money under these shared service agreements, as Mr. Hare has indicated.
Mr. Hare says he was in favor of the arena from the beginning while the county executive was opposed. Given the current situation and that the arena has not been able to support itself without taxpayer assistance from its inception, it seems the county executive was right and Mr. Hare was wrong.
Finally, I would like to point out the most alarming omission from Mr. Hare’s editorial. Recently, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $20 million competitive grant to cities and counties in support of shared service initiatives. County administration submitted an application for this grant. However, for some inexplicable reason, the city decided it was not in its best interest to participate. It is unconscionable, given the city’s dire financial condition, that it would choose to turn down the opportunity to receive this grant.
Mr. Hare is correct about one thing: Now is the time for leadership. The people of the city have to decide if they want the kind of leadership that thinks holding the line on property taxes is wrong, the kind of leadership that thinks the opportunity to receive $20 million of state funding to address a near-bankrupt city isn’t worth the effort. They have to decide if that is the kind of leadership that will make Elmira great again.
Joseph E. Sartori is the Chemung County treasurer
Op-Ed by James Hare “County has funds to save First Arena”:
The Star-Gazette editorial board has opined that Elmira should come up with approximately $750,000 to facilitate the change of ownership at First Arena “Elmira can’t let First Arena shut its doors,” Feb. 19 (See Editorial below). In the process, it did the apples-and-oranges comparison of Corning and Elmira.
Elmira has three fundamental sources of income: property tax, state aid and sales tax. Property tax growth is stagnant, state aid has been capped for a number of years, and the county has taken increasing amounts of sales tax from the city.
The county has made a political decision not to raise property taxes for years. Medicaid has been capped for some time, it has taken more and more sales tax from the towns and city and it has accepted money from Cassella. It has made money on gas wells, increased the tax on property transactions, made money from the license bureau and now looks to benefit from the casino. It has a fund balance of over $20 million. Preaching shared services makes sense, but folks should be aware that the county saves money on shared services.
City taxpayers pay approximately 17 percent of the county budget. When the Kahler Road Bridge was fixed, city taxpayers paid 17 percent of the cost. When a city bridge is fixed, city taxpayers pay 100 percent of the cost. We pay 17 percent of the cost of Harris Hill Park, Park Station and the sheriff’s department — but no help on Dunn Field, Eldridge Park or the Mark Twain Golf Course (we actually pay taxes on that).
The county executive and I saw First Arena differently. I was for it; he was against it from the start. Opposition at that time dissuaded the original developer from continuing and resulted in an unsatisfactory relationship with another developer. The county executive did step forward and moved to get it out of the hands of that owner, which was an act of leadership.
We need leadership once again. The county has the wherewithal to make the Arena a focal point of the redevelopment Elmira so badly needs. A lot of effort has positioned the city for long-needed investment. The county executive has played an important role in that. Now he needs courage to step up with needed dollars and not just rhetoric. Extortion doesn’t work.
The city has used its economic development tools over the years to assist the county. We have used Empire Zone benefits to assist with Vulcraft and CVS in the Town of Chemung, among other projects in the county. CVS contributes approximately $1.2 million per year in revenue to the Town of Chemung, Chemung County and the Waverly Central School District. The City of Elmira, which voted unanimously to use the benefits to help with that development, receives no revenue. We helped with Sikorsky Hawk Works. That project was linked with the Wings of Eagles in an IDA meeting on Jan. 19, 2007.
The city is a part of the county. Corning has a Corning Chamber of Commerce; we have a county chamber. Corning is a company town with a museum that draws a crowd. Corning has a concentrated shopping district; ours is spread out. The politics of Chemung County differ from that of Steuben County.
We have Republicans all over the place in Elmira and Chemung County right now. It is not partisan politics at issue; it is a rural/urban divide and driven by ego. Unfortunately, it is a power game. It is time to rise to the occasion. Success makes everyone a winner. Let’s make Elmira great again.
Hare is a former Elmira mayor and councilman.
Editorial by Star-Gazette Editorial Board:
Come on. Show some leadership and fix the arena.
Just imagine a permanently dark First Arena in downtown Elmira.
Few things would shout “This downtown is dead!” more than an arena with a “Closed” sign in the window.
This comes as downtown boosters have won a $10 million grant from the state to make improvements and — everybody hopes — set Elmira’s center city on a path to revitalization.
Chemung County last week asked the City of Elmira to share some of the financial burden of renovations at the civic center and ice rink.
“We don’t have the money,” Michael Collins, Elmira city manager, said. He added that the city doesn’t want the arena to close, but doesn’t have the dough.
When the arena was first proposed in the late 1990s, supporters said it would lead the way to a healthier downtown Elmira. Today, it could be one of the things foiling plans to bring downtown back.
Those of you who run or care for Elmira should read reporter Amanda Renko’s front-page story today on the success of the downtown in Corning.
These nearby neighbors are incredible contrasts.
For decades, community leaders in Corning have worked together to keep their downtown vibrant and a place people would want to visit. This downtown isn’t a place to just run errands. It’s also a destination for a tourist — a nice lunch and some roaming around.
Elmira can’t say the same. Far from it. But that’s the reality of the times. What has been heartening is the seeming cooperation of leaders in Elmira to go after the state revitalization grant, to win it and now to come up with a plan for the future of downtown Elmira.
The city should not turn its back on the arena. Local elected officials should sit down and agree a healthy arena should be part of a plan to save downtown. Is the business community adequately involved and part of the discussion?
Yes, ready cash to temporarily bail out the arena is one thing that’s missing. But it also seems that the big missing ingredient is leadership.