Many Monroe County homeowners ought to get a check from the state this fall to help cover any increases in their local property taxes. If that sounds confusing, that’s because it is. Last year, the State Legislature passed a two-year Property Tax Freeze Credit. The state, however, has an income tax and not a property tax, […]
taxes
Posted inNews & Opinion
No surprises out of Cuomo’s State of the State
The big questions heading into Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State Address weren’t about what he was going to propose; he’d laid out most of his plans over the past week and a half. Rather, legislators questioned how Cuomo would pay for it all, and media types speculated on the speech’s tone. Much of […]
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Legislature passes 2015 county budget
The 2015 Monroe County budget is a done deal. Last night, the County Legislature passed County Executive Maggie Brooks’ $1.2 billion plan as-is, without so much as a technical amendment. The Republican majority defeated the few amendments proposed by Democrats, which included efforts to restore child day care funds and to halt plans for outsourcing […]
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Brooks budget reduces funding for day care subsidies
Monroe County Maggie Brooks says she expects to take heat for decreasing county funding for day care subsidies in her 2015 budget proposal. Brooks presented the proposal tonight. As part of Brooks’s $1 billion-plus plan, the county would spend approximately $42 million on child care programs. But most of the money would come from state […]
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Astorino talks tax plan in Rochester stop
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has thrown her support behind Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino’s tax plan. Her backing should come as no surprise, since she was an early Astorino supporter. She introduced Astorino at an appearance at a East Rochester gun shop in March, when he was touring Upstate to announce his candidacy. During […]
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Legislature Democrats target tax exemption
Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature say that they want a review of a state-authorized property tax exemption that benefits various businesses. The exemption doesn’t have a simple name, but is authorized through section 485-b of the state’s property tax laws. Any commercial, industrial, or retail business that invests a minimum of $10,000 into a […]
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[UPDATED] Medical pot, schools project, judges, and sparklers mark end of Legislature session
Soon, it could be legal to sell and use sparklers in New York, but not to light up medical marijuana. As the State Assembly and Senate wound down its session last night (and this morning), they acted on a slew of bills dealing with big statewide issues and matters that were specific to single communities. […]
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[UPDATED] More trouble for Medley Centre owner
State officials are preparing to strip Medley Centre of its
Empire Zone status and the tax credits that go with the designation.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Tech firm coming to former Rochester Savings Bank
A data backup and recovery firm founded by a Rochester Institute of Technology alum will be the first business to come to Rochester under the state’s START-UP NY program. Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement at a press conference held at RIT this morning. The company is Datto, a Connecticut-based firm founded by RIT grad […]
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Group says casinos aren’t the cash machines they’re made out to be
Former Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson says property taxes in Niagara Falls and Salamanca have gone up, despite the fact that there are casinos owned and operated by the Seneca Nation of Indians in both communities. Johnson analyzed property tax and crime data from the two communities before and after construction of their casinos. He presented […]
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Developers make their case on brownfields program
When Governor Andrew Cuomo presented his 2014-15 budget earlier this year, he said he wanted the Legislature to renew and reform the state’s brownfield tax credit program. The program, which provides tax credits to developers who clean up and reuse contaminated properties, is set to expire in 2015. Neither environmental groups nor developers want to […]
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Cuomo lays out his 2014 agenda
During his State of the State address this afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo spelled out his 2014 initiatives. But few, if any, of the big ticket items came as a surprise. He announced a plan to allow 20 hospitals to prescribe marijuana as treatment for some serious ailments, but that had already been leaked to the […]
