News roundup: $4 million GCC project passed

at least a school budget we can vote on...the county spends money on this college that we cant even vote on...2 million dollars is alot for us to spend on a sports field..looks like its time to vote some of this free wheeling tax spenders out...

This most likely won't cost the County a dime. The college has access to a fund of more than 4.6 million dollars from coming in under budget on a past construction project. The County has to make a pro forma request for the funds. This is not a case of "free wheeling tax spenders". This is a case of keeping up with the wear and tear on a facility that serves the county in many ways.

Far from being "free wheeling", the County Legislature turned down two other projects the college requested. Supporting a project that looks likely to make Genesee Community College more attractive to prospective students without cost to the county hardly qualifies as "free wheeling".

Aside from all that, the idea that government services are free and shouldn't be paid for with tax levies is incomprehensible to me. The incessant refrain of "cut taxes" without a plan to replace those monies seems more a knee-jerk reflex than a thought out philosophy. Many of GCC's students come from other counties and states and even from abroad to attend our fair college because of its reputation and record of success. They actually bring income to landlords and businesses in the area, and expose students from all over the world to the Genesee County community. Common maintenance doesn't seem unreasonable in light of the benefits GCC provides all of us.

I agree with Russ, the facility is an open to the public area and therefore needs to be maintained as such.

GCC is a great school that is very active in the community and thus putting out a pro forma request for the funds is not unreasonable.

So putting in a lighted ball field with astro turf and new lockers is common maintenance.And you say this wont cost us hardly a dime..last i knew i still pay state tax..Learning is one thing..putting money into a college sports program is a waste..my plan to cut taxes is to quit spending money on things that aren't needed..like lighted astroturf ballfields..Sorry if free wheeling spenders, bothers you..because it bothers me that you think tax payers need to provide all these services that most of us will never use...
and to call my view of spending tax payer money on a ball field when tax payers are struggling to make ends meet is knee-jerk ,i guess i missed the point of what county governments roll is..to help build college ball parks for students to come from all over the world to use..

If you had actually read what Russ just wrote you wouldn't have an issue, the college has a 4.6 million dollar maintenance fund, the legislature put out a request to spend the college's money, money thats already there, no need to raise new revenue's.

New lockers are certainly common maintenance. Re-turfing may save money in the long run. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Astroturf doesn't need much water, reseeding or fertilizer.

Mark, how spartan would you like life to be before you'd be willing to pay any taxes at all? For my edification, what services or expenditures do you feel are the government's responsibility to its citizens? And what services should schools provide? Adequate instruction in language and grammar would seem to be something we both could agree on, but beyond that, what do you think would be sufficient to calm your ire over taxes?

What would calm my ire over taxes...we pay to much ..there is to much waste..i can see paying for education k-12..but beyond that, its up to those that wish to attend..government has no role in building ball parks..for some reason some people believe that government is here to act like our parents and pay for every thing..how do other states keep there property taxes low...having Gcc here has not caused this areas population to grow..no new tax base created..might provide some public sector jobs,but thats about it..so calm my ire..reverse the trend of spending,and work on ways of doing with less..and since GCC has 4.5 million in reserve why not pay the county back some of the tax payer money that has been spent on GCC over the years..Remind me of how much the head of the college makes..

Your first suggestion is no support of colleges or college students. As little incentive as this would be for our more ambitious, blue-collar students to strive to achieve while in high school with an eye to their future, restricting access to advanced education to the privileged few or those willing to risk ever more staggering student loans probably would free up some money.

Now, other than further damaging America's competitiveness in a global economy, what other services and programs are to be abandoned in the name of cutting taxes?

Look i understand the need to pay taxes,but you can not tell me that we are not over taxed..that there are not bloated public payrolls..does pork barrel spending sound familiar to you...In the private sector to be competitive, A company must cut and trim cost when needed..in the name of cutting taxes lets look there first...So you think we should raise taxes and pay for what ever the local, state, and federal government say we need to spent money on.When you add it all up almost half, if not more of what we earn is going to one tax or another...We are at the point that something has got to give..not all government services are needed..for example why does the government have to subsidize the bus system in Batavia..they run around empty most the time..why can't the riders who ride on it pay for what it cost to run it..i have to pay to run my car..no government help there..why dont they pay for half the cost of the gasoline i have to put in it to drive to work to pay for the taxes that you think we need to spend on all these programs.

Mark, I have to call you on your intellectual dishonesty. Nothing in what I say can be construed as advocating or supporting unrestrained taxation or irresponsible governmental spending. Its wrong of you to put words into my mouth. I surely wouldn't take that liberty.

My time in the Navy vividly demonstrated to me that there is enormous waste and abuse in government. But simply slashing taxes has been a disaster at the Federal level and more than likely would be so here. Government has a responsibility to its citizens but, more importantly, citizens have a responsibility to policing their governments. Here we are, you and I, barking back and forth at each other. Unless you and I attend a meeting, investigate services and costs, campaign for our preferred candidates, we're just....well, you know the vulgar term I won't write. Its an unfortunate reality that governments are in the business of losing money. With that in mind, its incumbent on citizens to do more than just howl at the moon.

The bus service in Batavia largely serves people who otherwise would be stranded. I can't imagine that abandoning the less fortunate is the case your making. In my experience, there's far more fraud and abuse of the system at the top most levels than among the working class. People just trying to get by don't have the experience or connections to manipulate the system as do the privileged and advantaged. If we're going to demand that people stand on their own two feet, let's stop greasing the skids for people who already gorge at the trough. I'm not asking for unlimited largesse for the greedy and irresponsible, whatever economic status they hold. I'm asking that we stop the reflexive reaction to the problems we face and inform ourselves and take action. It would seem to go without question that if you have evidence of waste in local government, our elected officials would take it seriously. Direct, aggressive actions are what we need. The rest is a waste of essence.

First off thank you for your service to this country..thats the one place in government where i think they need to spend more on pay for our servicemen..they get the short end of the stick..i have campaigned for candidates, i have attended
meetings ,and investigated what things cost.You want to call me out on intellectual dishonesty do what you want,but you did come across as someone who thinks taxes are the answer to everything..making it sound like not supporting some college sports field was wrong ..and what other kind of program did i think we could do with out..Read what you wrote..im not here to argue ..just to state my view..i only threw the bus system in there as a example of wasteful spending..we have a private taxi system.let them take a cab..the cab company's trying to make a living..so chill out
and realize that if we dont open our mouths the government will take all of our paychecks..

You say there is all this waste and you might be right. Where is it? You give very vague and general statements that are not backed up by even one example. Mark gave you one, the bus service. And don’t be silly comparing the Navy with Batavia; too easy. Just give good examples of waste here in Batavia. To show you what I mean, consider the Ice Rink. The tax payer is being made to pay for something that most people here never use. Most users are from out of town and we were not allowed to even vote against it. There is a solid example of waste. The baseball stadium is another. We still owe over one million dollars for it. It can not pay for itself and needs tax money to keep going. Again, this deal was so bad we were not allowed to vote on it. There are two examples. Now, Mr. Stesing, give Mark at least two of your own, local, examples.

John, copy and paste where I said I saw waste in local government. And I didn't compare the Navy to Batavia. That wasn't a comparison, it was a frame of reference, silly.