Burin announces restructuring of City Hall operations, new deputy
02/28/2008

City Manager John Burin announced a series of organizational changes that will continue to improve and streamline City Hall operations, including naming a new deputy city manager who is a member of a new generation of city government leaders.

The changes come as long-time Director of Community Development, Cheryl Box, prepares to retire, the outsourcing of tax collection through a recent shared service with Chemung County has streamlined the Chamberlain’s office, and expanding citywide economic development responsibilities has increased the workload for the City Manager, Burin said Thursday.

“I’m realigning our personnel to not only provide adequate service delivery, but also to look to the future and place many of our young professionals in decision-making positions,” he said.

Burin will re-establish the position of Deputy City Manager for Operations, and appoint Kimberlee Balok Middaugh to the role. Middaugh previously served as the City’s personnel director…

Monroe County To Appeal Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

In a case with national implications, Monroe County officials said yesterday morning that they will appeal a state appellate court ruling in Rochester earlier this month that said New York must recognize same-sex marriages legally consecrated elsewhere.

The ruling is considered the first of its kind in the country.

The ruling comes from a recent case against Monroe Community College employee who sought medical benefits for her same-sex partner. The couple had a civil-union ceremony in Vermont and later married in Ontario, Canada, where same-sex marriages are legally recognized.

The couple demanded the foreign marriage be recognized in New York and that
they receive medical benefits from the college. But the county contends that state law mandates that marriage is an institution that exists strictly between a man and a woman, and foreign marriages are recognized so long as they are not contrary to state law.

“This…

DiNapoli: Things could get worse

The potential state deficit may be worse that the $4.3 billion currently being projected by the Spitzer administration, the state’s chief fiscal officer said yesterday (1/15/08).

”$4.3 billion is a conservative estimate,’’ Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in an interview on AM-1300 in Albany today. “The roller coaster of Wall Street is moving in the wrong direction.’’

GOv. Eliot Spitzer is due to present his budget plan for the fiscal year that starts April 1 to the Legislature a week from Today. His Budget Division placed the gap at $4.3 billion last fall, as tax revenues began to slip as Wall Street cooled. About 20 percent of state tax revenues are tied to the financial-services industry, by far the most volatile part of the state’s financial picture.

DiNapoli wouldn’t provide his own estimate, but said the state’s fiscal position could deteriorate.

Spitzer has pledged not to raise state taxes, but…

Tina Griego, journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News wrote a column titled, “Mexican Visitor’s Lament” — 10/25/07.

She interviewed Mexican journalist Evangelina Hernandez while visiting Denver in mid last year.. Hernandez said, “They (illegal aliens) pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes…What Happens to your country’s economy if 20 million people go away?”

That’s a good question - it deserves an answer. Over 80 percent of Americans demand secured borders and illegal migration stopped. But what would happen if all 20 million or more illegals vacated America? The answers may surprise you!

In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested.. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.

In Colorado, 500,000 illegal migrants, plus their 300,000 kids and grand-kids…

Elmira College Parking Headaches

As construction begins on a new 150 room dorm, some students and neighbors fear their parking headaches will only get worse.

Doesn’t EC want to get more land from the city for parking?   Anything they can do to apply pressure on the parking situation has got to work in their favor, no?

More than likely than not, included in tonight’s meeting on the Elmira City budget is the salary for new but yet to be announced City Attorney, John J.Ryan, Jr.

John J.Ryan, a good friend of City Manager John Burin, was Elmira’s City Attorney during at least some of the ill advised Iraci/Hughes era that landed Elmira in its current financial mess. Some of the legal problems Elmira is now paying for were John Ryan decisions on labor as well as costly handshake deals that were never put to paper.

Appointed to be City Attorney on Friday, January 4, former Elmira School District Attorney Ryan had just resigned without fanfare from his position with the school system on Wednesday, Jan 2 following a very stormy relationship which has created a number of problems for the local school district.

The school district is currently being sued over property that they just took title to…

CSEA members ratify contract

CSEA members overwhelmingly ratified a new contract for more than 70,000 state executive branch employees, the union announced yesterday. The vote was 29,755 to 1,839. The contract has to be approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The agreement includes salary increases of 3 percent retroactive to April 2001 (when the previous contract ended,) 3 percent in April 2008, 3 percent in April 2009 and 4 percent in April 2010. Other parts of the contract include increases in longevity payments, improvement in downstate and mid-Hudson salary adjustments to reflect the higher cost of living there, and some increases in health insurance co-payments, balanced by a number of benefit enhancements.

The agreement is fair to employees and good for the people of New York, CSEA President Danny Donohue said in a statement. “The strength of the ratification demonstrates that our rank and file fully support the agreement,”…

Truckers say they’ll bypass Thruway if tolls are raised

A majority of truck drivers say they’ll use secondary roads if a proposal from the Thruway Authority to raise tolls goes through.

Works for me, in fact, if they raise tolls, I too will use only small back roads.  I have been thinking for a while now, it is time to slow down and watch the scenery, and that really isn’t possible on a highway.  Bring back the roadside diner!

High Speed Internet in Downtown Elmira

The mayor is hoping the city gets a part of a 5 million plan to bring high speed internet to rural areas in New York.

There are, what? 932 towns and 62 cities in NY state, and lets say they are all vying for their slice of the $5,000,000.00 that Eliot is going to dole out to us.  That would come to a tiny little $5,030.18 per town/city.  Which is probably going to be a lower number than what it is going to cost us to write the grant application.  I am all for anything that increases penetration of broadband into our region (How about a teensy bit of competition to TW?)  But this is really nothing but a photo op by Eliot, handing out money is much better way to be written about than the criminal probes.  So…

I wanted to see the feasibility of bringing wireless to downtown Elmira, it would reasonably be able to be done with about a million dollars, outright. 5 Million means that Spitzer has a friend who does internet feasibility studies, and needed some cash. 5 million dollars would not do a thing.

Call me naive, but I am only starting to see that a politician funding a ‘Study” is just a way for them to hand out money to either political cronies, or friends. We, as NY State Tax payers might as well hold a BBQ and use rolls of $20.00 bills for all the good this will do.

State looks to expand high-speed Internet access

ALBANY– Gov. Eliot Spitzer unveiled a $5 million plan Thursday to improve the speed and availability of high-speed Internet to underserved areas of the state.