Budget – Columbia County Current

The Columbia Paper ran an interesting article yesterday looking at the budget concerns of Chatham Village. In the article titled, How low can we go?, Parry Teasdale (writer, Columbia Paper), looks at the looming $70,000 deficit that the village is facing, what caused the current financial situation and how some villagers think they might deal with this deficit. One of the more interesting solutions posed was to ask the tax-exempt property holders of the village, which occupy roughly 38% of the land, to help out by contributing to the village.

Chatham isn’t alone in facing these financial issues and many of our towns and villages are in the same boat. Teasdale’s article is an interesting read and definitely worth reading in full. You can read the article now by visiting ColumbiaPaper.com or pick up a copy of the paper.

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Who among us hasn’t thought that they could do a better job managing NY’s money? While I’m sure this task is far more difficult than managing my household budget, I still wouldn’t mind taking a crack at the state’s fiscal focus.

It sounds as if Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith wants to give us arm-chair economists our chance. Smith is setting up a Web site, e-mail, phone and text options for New Yorkers to share our ideas on how the legislature and governor should spend $120 billion.

Here are those contact details. Plans are also in the works for a Twitter page. Stay tuned for that when it becomes available.

Web: http://www.nybudgetideas.org

e-mail: nybudgetideas@senate.state.ny.us

Text: Type NYSS to the number 41411 for budget updates sent to your phone

Toll-free number: 800-706-9995