Concerned Citizens . . . For Utica!

Concerned Citizens for Honest and Open Government (CCHOG), by now well-known for shedding light on the goings-on in New Hartford, has started to shine light on City of Utica issues.

There have been several posts regarding the draft Utica Master Plan: 1/6 Hidden Agendas?  1/18 Neighborhoods & Parks,  2/17 Infrastructure and Waterfront Development. Also posts on the Housing Visions proposal: 1/17 Housing Projects in Utica, 1/11 Housing Visions 500K-600K Per 2-Family Unit.

Today begins perhaps CCHOG's biggest Utica endeavor yet:  Analyses of the 2010 City of Utica Assessment Database. Residential assessments are made available for download today in an Excel Spreadsheet format. (If you do not have Excel, a free program that opens Excel spreadsheets is available from OpenOffice.org.) Commercial and Government properties will be presented soon.

Some people will find this data extremely interesting.

Thank you, Concerned Citizens for making this information available!

Big Government In a Small City . . .

Per the OD: Proposal regarding secondhand dealers irks Utica businesses

A proposal to license businesses that buy and sell second-hand merchandise was met with criticism Thursday by those who would be affected. 

 . . .  There also is a $750 annual fee involved. 

By requiring business owners to keep records of buyers and to hold inventory for roughly two weeks before selling it, and by regulating the hours of business, Hauck said the proposal was an attempt to cut off one of the ways stolen goods are sold.

“This is not trying to cut business,” he said. “This is not trying to hurt anybody.”

While the intent may not be to hurt anybody and to prevent the trafficking of stolen goods, the fact is that these "big government" style requirements will hurt many small business people.  Many small entrepreneurs cannot afford the $750 annual fee and do not have the means of dealing with extra paperwork.

Utica is the place in the region that is best suited to the small entrepreneur.  Placing additional burdens on them either puts them out of business . . . or pushes them over the city line into New Hartford or Whitestown.

Big Government in a small city simply does not work.  

A Bad Habit . . .

Bad habits are hard to break.  Ask any smoker trying to quit.  Governments have bad habits, too . . . Like the addiction to suburban development at the expense of cities, exemplified in today's OD story Increased Access to New Hartford Business Park.

How strange is it that our state transportation leaders are considering more access off a state highway in New Hartford, and LESS access in the City of Utica.  If this cannot be seen as a prime cause of urban sprawl, then our leaders are not looking.

"Parochial" Planning in New Hartford?

The Observer Dispatch gets it wrong again with its editorial Our view: New Hartford should rescind planning law - AT ISSUE: Pick board members based on what they know, not where they live

The editors at the OD have proclaimed the Town of New Hartford's 1996 law which requires the Town’s Planning Board to include a member from the villages of New Hartford and New York Mills as being "simply bad policy" because:

* Planning board members should be appointed based on what they know, not where they live in the town. . . . 

* Parochial appointments to municipal boards make no sense. . . . 

While having knowledgeable members could be a plus, planning board work is not "rocket science" and does not demand any particular expertise.  What it demands are dedicated members who are willing to put in the time to educate themselves about the issues . . . and people who are not afraid to think for themselves.

In a Town as diverse as New Hartford, guaranteed membership from the Villages makes PERFECT sense.  "Here's why:"

* Village residents reside in densely populated areas with an older public infrastructure when compared with the rest of the Town.  The needs of Village residents are, thus, distinctly different from the unincorporated areas of the Town.

* Village residents subsidize most of the Town's operations because Village residents get their services directly through their villages, yet have to pay the Town to provide the same services for other Town residents.  For example, Village residents pay the Village to plow their own streets, but have to pay the Town to plow the Town's roads.

The Planning Board determines which projects get built in the Town, impacting the demand for Town services. As the demand for duplicative Town services increases, Village residents' subsidy of Town services increases. Village residents should have a voice in determining those projects they subsidize. In addition, projects in outlying areas of the Town are often sprawl, drawing people and economic activity out of the Villages. Fewer people in the Villages causes higher taxes in the Villages because their infrastructure is already built and does not shrink with decreasing population.

The Parochialism complained of . . . is really on the part of the OD editors . . . They invariably take the viewpoint that favors further development in the Town.

Until the OD editors understand that the denser-populated areas (Utica and the Villages)  have been subsidizing development in unincorporated Town areas for the last 50 years, they will continue to back bad public policy decisions -- such as the proposal to remove the village resident requirement.

-o0o-

Speaking about New Hartford, New Hartford Online has an update on the New Hartford Business Park. Guess what? More taxpayer subsidies!

Netbooks in School . . .

Just a couple comments on MLK school in Utica distributing netbooks to all students

First, they can be a distraction from the essential learning that must take place in the elementary years. One school district in the Syracuse area already tried something similar with laptops, and abandoned the project.

Second, they are conditioning students to become dependent on electronic media for their knowledge rather than print media. Electronic media can be easily changed as anyone familiar with "find and replace" commands in writing software can attest. Are we setting up our children for government manipulation?

Like a Print by Currier and Ives . . .

Millers Mills had their annual ice harvest today. If it weren't for all the modern video recording and photo equipment people were packing, you would think it was 1895! After watching all the work to cut and haul the ice blocks from Unadilla Lake, you won't take modern refrigeration for granted any more.



[Click on the photos to view other sizes or to download]

Where Did the Trillion$$$$ Go?

Alan Grayson may have redeemed himself with this episode where he questions the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve . . .
Clip courtesy of the "Daily Bail"

Griffiss: Oneida County's Big Mistake

Tonight's OD: Officials debate how to maximize Griffiss International Airport

The decision to move the county airport from the Whitestown airfield was, quite simply, wrong.  It made absolutely no sense to think that a region of declining population could support a significantly larger facility . . . But the lure of available Federal grants to spend proved irresistible . . . which lead to a disastrous decision.

Now we are stuck subsidizing a facility that too big for our needs . . . the cost of which contributes to our high rate of taxation . . . which taxation deters businesses from setting up shop here without all kinds of government "incentives" . . . with the cost of the incentives further contributing to our high rate of taxation . . . As the 19th highest taxed county in the Nation based on the percent of home value paid in taxes, this will not end well for us.


The significant investments already made in the airport seem to become justification for exacting even more money from the taxpayers . . . to hopefully buy that one thing that will make everything work out alright.

Oneida County seems to be in a death spiral that it cannot get out of. Hopefully our officials will figure out a way to make the most out of their Big Mistake. . . before we crash.

NaNO?

From the Sentinel: ‘No-no Nano’ except in Albany? Locals touting Marcy sure hope not

Ken Adams, the new governor’s pick to oversee economic development, said recently the state needs to re-evaluate its strategy to avoid the "political fantasy" that every region can attract any employer or industry it may desire. He specifically cited nanotechnology . . .

"We need to be viewed in an entirely different light, if we want to attract investments from other states and other countries," said Adams. "And that means being very clear that the Capital Region, for example, is the official home for nanoscale science. Period. If someone comes along and says ‘ want to do nanoscale science in Syracuse,’ they should be taken out to the wood shed. You can’t do it."

Let's stop the POLITICIANS' fantasy that ANY region -- including the Capital District -- can have "economic development" subsidized on the taxpayer's dime!

It simply is not fair that the taxpayers in Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica should be forced to prop-up a computer chip plant and the nanotechnology industry in Albany.

The government has no business picking winners and losers . . . Whether it is one city or region over another . . . or one company over another . . . or one industry sector over another.

Give us taxpayers ALL a break by ending the special "economic development" programs, ending the tax incentives, ending the infrastructure subsidies, and firing all the so-called "economic development" officials that we have. The programs, incentives, subsidies and officials are all GOVERNMENT, and it is too much GOVERNMENT that is driving people and businesses away.

Less is More.

No Golf Today . . .

But still plenty to do in Utica.

Reminding We . . .

Utica's new congressman took the opportunity a week ago to mark his first month in office with an editorial in the Observer Dispatch - Guest view: Our nation is ‘at the tipping point’.

Predictably, he is being hit in the "comments" section of the article on-line for his vote to repeal Obamacare because, for some, the idea of another federal entitlement is just fine. However, the whole point of last November's election result was the fact that the majority of voters do not approve of more government involvement in their lives and the out-of-control spending that Obamacare would bring. Voting for Republicans was the only way for many voters to voice their displeasure with their government's direction . . . not that the voters actually supported the things that many Republicans were proposing to do.

What we cannot do is tax, borrow, and spend our way into prosperity. Government spending is a drain on real consumption and investment. Your money is best left in your hands; the government is not entitled to your money simply because the government makes poor decisions and its costs go up.

The congressman's view that money is best left in private hands -- that more money going to the government winds up being lost in poor decisions -- is right on the mark.

He is correct when he says . . .

" . . . I also believe we are at a tipping point in this country . . ."

However, he also says . . .

"We are deluding ourselves if we believe that we are somehow entitled to a higher standard of living than the rest of the world. We must make better choices and aggressively prepare our children to compete in the new global economy. We can do that through putting an increased emphasis on education."

Are "we" delusional? Do "we" believe we are entitled to a higher standard of living than the rest of the world? Have "we" made poor choices? Do "we" need to be more aggressive? Do "we" need the federal government to educate us?

Just whom is this "we"?

While there will always be those in our society, rich and poor alike, who have a sense of "entitlement," that is not the traditional American view. This country was founded by "rugged individualists." Our society expected "self-reliance," not government reliance . . . and certainly not government being used to further private interests. We expected our government to protect us, but to otherwise leave us alone. Our society's value of the individual was crystalized in our Constitution's acknowledgement that we have individual freedoms which come from God, that we are the source of the government's power, and that the power we gave to government was limited to certain enumerated things that individuals cannot do for themselves, but which are necessary to protect our individual freedoms -- such as provide for the national defense and regulate commerce.

If we developed a higher standard of living than most of the rest of the world, it is because we, as individuals, had the ability to earn it. How? We had the freedom to do it! Our freedoms allowed and encouraged us to work harder, be more productive, and be more innovative. Our government did not mollycoddle us with a lot of entitlements which reduce productivity in other countries (e.g, the short work weeks, early retirements, and month long vacation shut-downs common in Europe).  Our government did its part, however, by protecting our freedoms from those who would destroy them, whether they be foreign or domestic, and whether by force or by economic means.

If our national standard of living seems threatened, perhaps it is because the national government has failed to do the limited job we gave it to do. Perhaps it has failed to properly regulate interstate commerce by allowing some companies to become "to big to fail" . . . or to become so large that their economic power rivals that of government with the capability of crushing individual efforts. Perhaps it has failed to properly regulate foreign commerce, placing economic theory and a "global" perspective above preserving an environment where individual citizens can find productive activities to engage themselves in. Perhaps it has spent too much and become too indebted to foreign interests which do not share our value of individual freedoms, thereby placing our freedoms at risk through economic means. Perhaps the federal government has become too involved in things it was never intended to be involved in . . . such as education, using federal tax money to turn our schools into social service centers, create student "rights" that undermine parental rights, control large blocks of voters with grant-funded jobs, and promote a national "agenda" above the individual.

The "we" that brought our nation to its "tipping point" are those who have been designated as our policy makers, whether they are in the legislative, executive or judicial branches of government.  . . . "We the People" just need to remind them of that.

US Sides with Russia Against Britain?

I just don't know what to make of this . . .

WikiLeaks cables: US agrees to tell Russia Britain's nuclear secrets

Throw our friends under the bus to make peace with our enemies?

Getting Federal Government Under Control . . .

A couple of stories in the OD tonight with local impact give some hope that the Federal Government cannot do just anything it wants.

Ruling could block future NYRIs

A lawsuit filed in 2007 by the local organization Communities Against Regional Interconnects (CARI), along with other groups from across the nation, has now taken down the federal law that once gave NYRI a fighting chance.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Tuesday the U.S. Department of Energy had wrongly created “corridors” in which the federal government could trump state law on power-line siting. There were several such corridors designated across the nation.

The court said the Department of Energy did not properly consult the states where the corridors would be located and failed to do environmental reviews of the corridors.

It's one thing to regulate interstate commerce. It's quite another to force it to take place in one's backyard. . . . But isn't the 9th Circuit the one that is most often reversed?

Changes to Map of Oneida Nation reservation reversed

Changes to the U.S. Census maps that increased the Oneida Indian Nation’s reservation from 32 acres to more than 300,000 acres have been reversed, the U.S. Census Bureau confirmed Thursday. . . . 

It turned out that in a routine Census map updating process in 2010, the Nation had requested that the boundaries of its reservation be redrawn to show the full extent of its original reservation, which was established in 1794.

While the Oneidas may be outraged that the map change has been reversed, most of the public was outraged when the change was surreptitiously made . . . and now we find out at the Nation's mere request.  These things impact people.  If changes should be made, the process for making them should be transparent.

Korean Garlic?

Back in October I posted a couple articles dealing with "free trade": Chinese Garlic and Chinese Garlic 2. Today we have a variation on a theme, only centering on Korea.  The reason is the announcement yesterday that Hyosung USA is closing its Utica plant and taking 85 jobs with it.

When Hyosung bought the company in 2006, there were about 175 local employees.

“Unfortunately, we have to be reactionary in this process,” said Randall Soggs, Utica economic development commissioner. “That’s the least desirable position we can be in.” . . .

“I was told that this has to do with excess capacity within their system,” Soggs said. “This decision was made in Korea, and it’s reflective of the company wanting to reduce their manufacturing footprint in the U.S.”

Of course.  The goods produced by this company are bought directly or indirectly everyday by American consumers or companies ... but if they can be "more efficiently" produced overseas, why produce them in America . . . especially when America lets them be sold here?

Is it only coincidence that this announcement comes on the eve of Congressional Republicans and the President pushing another Free Trade Deal . . . now with Korea?

Why are we SO CONCERNED about opening up foreign markets to our goods, when our markets are saturated by foreign products.

It's interesting that the Utica Master Plan parrots the consensus that manufacturing is dead and that our future is in "service" or "knowledge" industries.  Poppycock! Its this plain acceptance of this notion that has gotten us in trouble.

We depend on manufactured items every day.  The need for manufacturing never will go away.  The question is do we do it here to meet our own needs?  Or do we depend upon other countries to do it for us . . . making us dependent upon them much like a colony depends on the motherland.

I'm not going to go into the economic theory today.  We've seen the results of it.  Free trade does not work when there are cultural differences.  And I don't think many are ready to give up their American culture . . . at least not yet.

$144,000 Garbage Collectors . . .

From World Net Daily: Life's tough for $144,000 garbage collectors. New York benefits emblematic of national government crisis.

Taxpayers in the Big Apple are forced to pay $144,000 a year for salary, health and pension benefits for garbage workers, who are unskilled but unionized laborers.

Research by the Manhattan Institute, a think tank in New York, shows that when Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office after 9/11 the city increased spending on garbage workers' salaries by three and a half times the rate of inflation every year, growing the sanitation department budget from $1.3 billion a year to $2.2 billion.

Don't tell me that there isn't a problem with government sector spending.

$100,000 Stimulus . . . for Someone's New Cafe?

From Gotham City News: Cafe Named in GroWest Lawsuit Receives $100,000 in Stimulus Money

"The Bagg’s Square Cafe was opened last week to great fanfare.  The cafe is situated on the first floor of the Cobblestone Building at 421 Broad St. . . . . The building was purchased by Michael Pezzolanella in 2009 for $315,572. At the grand opening, Mayor Roefaro told the Observer Dispatch, “In a bad economy, we’re doing pretty good here in Utica”."

GCN alleges:

"Pezzolanella received $100,000 in federal stimulus money to help with the project."

WHY would ANYONE get to receive taxpayer money for a personal business?

Doling out government money to a private business without taxpayers getting a good or service of equal market value in return makes the government a partner in competing with  the recipient's competition.  If the allegation above is accurate, the Baggs Sq. Cafe would have received $100,000 to compete with the Utica Coffee Roasting Co.  a short distance away on Baggs. Sq. West. . . . That would not have been the intent . . . but it would be the result.

I don't know the rules on use of Federal Stimulus . . . and I do not have to know them to know that government grants to private businesses is bad policy. The power of government should not be used to give one business person an advantage over another. Doing so discourages others from even venturing into business out of fear that their government will enter the competition against them.

Instead of giving taxpayer money away to individuals or corporations  . . . pave Erie Street!  It can use it.

Cuomo Impressing . . .

From YNN: Thousands of state workers could face layoffs.

Sources close to Governor Cuomo say at least 10,000 state worker jobs will soon be on the chopping block.

"We've been spending too much money for years. But it has to stop now and there is going to be no doubt a period of short-term pain as we make these adjustments. I believe it's for a period of long term gain," said Cuomo.

Gov. Cuomo seems to be rising to the occasion of taking on the state's fiscal woes. The taxpayers will expect bipartisan support...
and he may already be receiving it!

Columbia Square, Blight, and Lipstick on a Pig . . .

There was a nice article in the OD tonight about Shaheen Shoes, still thriving on Columbia Square in West Utica.  Uticans are fortunate that old-time businesses such as Shaheen's and Welch's Bicycle Shop near by still are doing what they've been doing for a long time in that part of town.  But it surely cannot be easy.  Angelica Morrison notes:

Having lived in West Utica for almost four years, it seems that Columbia Square has the potential to be something other than blighted buildings and vacant houses.

Yes, blight, and vacant houses trouble that once-vibrant part of town. . . . and worse.

Last week we read about another bright spot with a positive story existing a few blocks away in that same part of town. Sculpture Space, a Greater Utica cultural treasure, had just purchased and renovated a nearby home to create a convenient living place for visiting artists.  Unfortunately, the harsh reality of life in West Utica intruded into that generally positive story as well.

A male artist was riding a bicycle from Sculpture Space to the artists’ apartment, which was off Whitesboro Street in West Utica, when men got out of a vehicle and attacked him, Waller said.

“The artist left. He had to leave his residency,” she said.

To be sure, the causes of West Utica's decline are multi-factorial . . . but several things stand out to people familiar with the area:

(1) The State's significant reduction in good-paying jobs at the Psychiatric Center's campus on Court Street cut the incomes of workers who lived in the surrounding neighborhood and reduced the number of customers for nearby businesses.
(2) The State's dumping of mental patients who were not entirely ready to be on their own into the surrounding neighborhood placed a social strain on the neighborhood.
(3) The blight of boarded up buildings/buildings with broken windows right on the State campus acts as a disincentive for people to maintain their own properties nearby.
(4) The State's demotion of Whitesboro Street from a main city thoroughfare to segments of "back water" has removed traffic, making Columbia Square and Whitesboro Street more susceptible to blight and more inviting to the criminal element.

While large scale projects such as the debated Housing Visions, which demolishes or rehabs dilapidated structures, can be helpful in reducing blight and slowing down the blight-begets-more-blight process, they do not address the causes of the problems in our troubled sections of town such as those listed above for West Utica. 

No one discusses the significant influence played by the State of New York in West Utica's decline.  Why is that? No one seems to be looking at how past decisions have shaped the decline in each of Utica's troubled neighborhoods.

Angelica is correct, Columbia Square has the potential to be more than it is today. However, until the causes of decline are confronted and directly addressed, proposals such as Housing Visions are merely putting lipstick on the pig -- making the situation easier to look at -- but not really fixing it.

Another Water Rate Increase . . .

And we hear the same old song from Mr. Becher:

He said if the plan in 2004 went through to expand the water system, without the state of New York blocking them, residents would have seen no rate increases over the past five years. And, no increase this year.

We have yet to see a financial analysis that supports Mr. Becher's conclusion.  But assuming that Mr. Becher is correct, Greater Utica residents will be paying more for a water expansion in other ways.

(1) They will be paying for the pipeline to Verona and Turning Stone because those entities will get to write off their costs for the pipeline against their water bills.
(2) They will be subsidizing water service extension into the "ex"- urbs ... beyond the suburbs and beyond the service area contemplated when MVWA was created, encouraging sprawl, encouraging more people and businesses to leave Utica and Rome, resulting in increased taxes in the places left behind and new taxes to support demands for services in newly-developed areas.
(3) They will be giving up their water supply to places that have alternative supplies available, limiting the potential of the entire Greater Utica area for future growth.

An interesting number that is not revealed by Mr. Becher is the cost of MVWA's litigation thus far that it is passing on to the rate payers.  What is the impact of the litigation on the water rate?

It's not surprising that no one voiced objection to MVWA's proposed increase.  MVWA has never demonstrated an interest in listening.

Who's Minding the Store?

Last week it was reported that Utica was preparing to pay attorney Hage an additional $80,000 on top of the $177,000+ paid to him the previous week.

The latest payment will cover a $36,000 courtesy credit Hage rescinded in response to questioning from Comptroller Michael Cerminaro, $12,000 in interest on the initial bill and $7,279 in fees for insurance experts.

It also includes $25,000 for work Hage did on a plan for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to explain how the city will spend federal funds during the next five years.

Wait! That last paragraph should raise an eyebrow. The public was told that Mr. Hage was being paid to investigate the dealings of and with Grow West, Inc., to protect Utica's interests. Planning on how Utica will spend federal funds for the next five years, however, is beyond the scope of investigating something that happened. The article also mentions that Hage's work included "restructuring the city’s economic development department."  That also is beyond the scope of investigating something that happened.

How did the scope of Mr. Hage's work become expanded?

An article posted tonight makes the picture more concerning:  Roefaro: I didn’t know Hage still was working for city.

While the public, rightly, will hold the mayor accountable for what happens on his watch, investigation of what happened must not stop there. The mayor claims to have been unaware of Mr. Hage's continued work, while, per the article, Mr. Hage "assumed the mayor knew of his work."

We all know what "assume" means!

Someone, obviously, had to give Mr. Hage his expanded assignment. Who? And by what legal authority did that person give Mr. Hage the assignment? Can any department head simply call up an attorney and retain their services without getting some formal approval?  $25,000 is a substantial sum. This situation is reminiscent of the New Hartford Town Police taking it upon themselves to enter into contracts to provide security for private businesses without getting the authorization of the Town Board. Did someone in Utica assume authority that is not there?

Answers to these questions may shed light on who really runs things at City Hall.