The financial picture of St. Lawrence County became even more stark today with the news that revenue from sales tax is expected to be $2 million short of what had been budgeted. Republican County Treasurer, Kevin Felt (pictured below), says the pressure will be on the Democratic majority to cut spending rather than increase property taxes in an election year. Felt says of the legislature's five year plan, "The promise they made in their five-year plan was to stay within the tax cap, increase the sales tax and reduce the property tax."
(Kevin Felt - Source: County Treasurer Website)
At a meeting of the Heuvelton Village Board, County Legislator Joe Lightfoot "delivered what was effectively a stump speech for change to Heuvelton officials, reading from a “shopping list” of problems facing county government, and ticking off a myriad of issues he said were all fiscally related." Mr. Lightfoot is one six legislators running unopposed (three unopposed from both parties), but on the topic of reelection he says, “I would love to see six of the nine Democrats on the board gone.”
In his typical tongue-in-cheek form, Mr. Lightfoot points out how monies are currently handled, “There’s a money tree and the county treasurer reaches up and plucks what he needs. Then he puts it in the fund balance, and we write checks on it. And there’s also a little pixie dust mixed into it.” It appears after years of fantasy budgeting this fairytale might not have a happy ending for Democratic incumbents.
(Judge Richards swearing in Legislator Lightfoot - Source: SLC website)
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