fees

It's called a "sweep." Imagine if all the money for the state's various special funds were on a big table, and Gov. David Paterson reached out his arm and dragged it across the top of those stack of bills and pushed the greenbacks into a giant gunny sack labeled, "General Fund."

New York has been doing it for years -- taking money earmarked for dozens of special programs, collected from dedicated fees, and using the funds to make up budget imbalances.

"Much of it is money that would be expended but the time has not come up yet for it to be spent," said County Clerk Don Read. "In (sweeping), they tend to make liars out of us who have to collect that money and tell people (what it’s used for)."

Two examples out of the County Clerk's Office: document fees and snowmobile license fees. The state has taken more than $500,000 from that fund over the past three years, Read said.

The first fee is used to fund grants for cities, schools, libraries and other smaller agencies to store, maintain and retain important records, and to modernize old systems.The snowmobile fee -- $90 for a non-snowmobile club member, $45 for members -- is used to maintain trails and facilities for snowmobilers.

Paterson's office is planning a $1 million sweep from the snowmobile fund this year.

"By sweeping out that money, there’s less to distribute to the grants, so a number of grants just don’t get funded," Read said. "Yet, we still have to tell the people that’s what we collect the money for."

The New York Post recently ran a story about Albany sweeping $8.5 million from a fund dedicated to building a veteran's retirement home.

Photo: Don Read from a previous story about license plates.

Did anyone see on the news that there is going to be new fee’s when you go to register your car…you will be forced to get a new license plate? And the cost for a driver’s license is also going up…to help with the state budget.

Does anyone know why if you live in Wyoming County you have to pay an extra $10 for your vehicle registration then if you live in Genesee County?   And if the DMV makes a mistake and charges you that $10 fee because your mail is delivered by a Wyoming County Post Office, but you really do live in Genesee County, they won't give you the money back. Those that live in Pavilion, but have mail delivered by the Wyoming Post Office...you should check your registration bills..

Since the state charges different registration fees for different vehicles, are they going to charge different fees for plates as well?

This is a fee that all owners of vehicles are being forced to pay for no reason. The plates on my cars are fine…don’t need replacing, but yet when the time comes, I need to get new ones…

Joanne Beck wants to license cats.  I sympathize with her concern for the animals and the overburdened shelters that often take in far more unwanted kitties than they can handle.

The extra revenue, if directed toward shelters, could be put to good use, and the program might, overtime help in keeping better track of cat ownership.

We license dogs, so why not cats?

Well, let's look at the differences between dogs and cats.

Dogs, unlike cats, if improperly raised and handled can pose a significant public safety threat, especially when it comes to larger breeds.  It's important to be able to know who owns a particular dog.  Dogs who get rabies can also be a significantly greater public health threat than a cat with rabies.

Dogs, being pack animals, however, are far more likely to stick close to home, especially with good owners who exert alpha-like control over the animals.

Cats on the other hand are more independent.  They are not likely to wander far from a good home, but if allowed outside, they can take off for days at a time and possibly find a new place to live. Ownership, then, becomes much harder to track. 

A good dog owner can be expected to control a canine, but cats are beyond the same level of control.

So I question whether licensing is practical.

Then there is the lifestyle question: Cats are often more affordable pets than dogs. They are animals that people on more limited incomes can afford.  I would be concerned that any licensing scheme would hit the working poor harder than those who can afford to shrug off another $10 or $15 fee.

Sorry, Joanne, I'm just not buying into the licensing idea, no matter how well intentioned.L