GCEDC board set to consider Pathway to Prosperity support

as a genesee county property owner, thus Taxpayer, I really don't care if darien lake ever installs another ride. I do care about darien lake paying their OWN taxes. high taxes and excessive taxes are what doing business and living in new york is all about. if darien lake doesn't like it they can load up the carnival and haul ass to some other state. get off my back corporate freeloaders I can hardly work.

Pathway to Prosperity ....... that term sounds so nice, kind of like the patriot-act or the safe-act. when these terms are dissected they are not what the political hacks sell them as.
Pathway to Prosperity really means to shift the tax burden from the corporation/employer to the worker (taxpayer) who in turn will patronize the corporation/employer. don't be fooled by these political gimmicks.

Any suggestions?.....nah just more darts.

tim, I must assume you are directing that question to me. suggestions? yes I have a suggestion. let the corporations and businesses pay their own taxes just like I have to.
hey how's the new airport looking? another waste of tax dollars... you're welcome

So when we stop offering tax breaks to follow your plan and the corporations leave the area for incentives and lower taxes being offered by other areas (like they did from 1960-2000), who will employ everyone and who will pay the tax bills then?

I get your frustration--I truly do; but your plan only works if everyone in the US, heck the whole world for that matter, stops offering incentives to corporations. If we are the only ones to stand on principles then we get left in the dust. We can't let that happen--so love it or hate it, we play the game.

The airport is doing very well by the way. Thanks for asking. Record fuel sales and another surplus of over $125,000 based on operations. I'd say that's pretty good use of your tax money. Not too many areas of local government that generate more than they take in.

OMG Tim.....don't tell David facts, they will overwhelm his sense of injustice. I agree that there needs to be some oversight on these tax breaks as there have been some questionable ones. But I have paid attention to some things like the increase in traffic at the airport (thus sales and such also increasing). To be honest the $189,000 incentive that is requested vs the 2.8 million they are planning to lay out seems sensible. Especially with the returns financially from the finished product as well as employment, and tourism increases.

I guess David will never be happy until his taxes are lowered to 0. Meanwhile everyone and everything around him turns into a ghost town, I guess his goal is to turn Genesee County into what Love Canal looks like today, using finances instead of chemicals.

Tim, I'm not a politician I can only speak and understand in layman terms. You say a surplus of $125,000 . Are you saying the taxpayers who invested in your new terminal received tax payments in that amount from increased fuel sales? From increase in aircraft traffic ? please be upfront with me and don't twist your words to fit your argument.

I try not to be one either. Here are the facts:

- Airport operating budget is a General Fund Account A5610
- Adopted budget for 2015 was adopted as balanced at $771,866 in expenses and $771,866 in revenues, or zero county taxpayer support
- County produces revenue by selling fuel and leasing real estate, hangars and tie-downs to pilots and aviation related businesses
- As of December 1, 2015, the revenues to date were $877,366 and expenses were $775,505 with one month left in the budget year. We are still closing out 2015 books with accounts receivable. Actual surplus as of December 1st is the difference between revenue and expense or $101,861. The estimate of a $125, 000 surplus is this $101,861 in addition to the remaining known revenues versus expenses. Actual final surplus numbers won't be known for a few more weeks.
- County had record fuel sales of 128,366 gallons in 2015. 72,346 gallons of that was Jet Fuel. The first time the County has sold over 70,000 gallons of Jet Fuel and the total of 128,366 gallons was the highest amount sold by almost 10,000 gallons.
- Genesee County Airport has recorded a budget surplus every single year since 2002, with the exception of 2008 when we lost approximately $15,000 during the recession.
- The new Terminal is funded by a local bond (county taxpayers) and a 25% matching grant from federal aviation and state aviation trust funds. The accumulated annual surpluses generated by operations at the airport are now being used to offset a portion of the annual debt service attributed to the bonds for the Terminal. The surplus does not cover the full debt service amount--only about 35-40% of the annual cost. The remaining balance is covered by a contribution from the county's additional 1% sales tax which is restricted for capital improvements.
- There is no impact to the County Property Tax as a result of either the annual operating cost or the capital improvement costs of the airport.

No sugar coating, no twisting.

tim, thank you for taking the time to write that informed post.

lmao at the sheep who don't like me to question what is going on in our county..

You really aren't questioning anything David. Almost everything you posted are statements, basically complaining about almost everything. Only question you asked was what facts Tim based his comments on which he very quickly put your assumptions to bed as ill informed,

Even us sheep can recognize another sheep in wolf's clothing.

"County had record fuel sales of 128,366 gallons in 2015. 72,346 gallons of that was Jet Fuel."

That's a lot of fuel... Maybe the folks with planes should consider hybrids.

:-P

This was a very interesting discussion. Thanks, Tim, for supplying the gory details.