Mayor Baratta travels to New York Conference of Mayors

Village of Owego Mayor Mike Baratta recently traveled to Albany to attend the Winter New York Conference of Mayors.

While there, he was able to learn about the proposed state budget and how it affects Owego. He also learned about the proposed cut of AIM funding from New York State and how it will affect Owego’s Budget.

In an email on Thursday, Mayor Baratta stated that the village gets about $37,000 in revenue from the AIM funding. 

The mayor stated, in the email, “Next year, unless it changes it’s set at zero. So that is an impact, not a huge impact but still not good when the village struggles to scratch out enough money and stay under the two percent tax cap.”  

He also noted that the proposed state budget would legalize marijuana and give none of the taxes collected to the local municipalities who have to deal with enforcement. It would also institute sales tax on Internet sales, Baratta added. 

The workshop also included tips for grant writing.