Candidates running on the \u201cTaxpayers First\u201d ballot line recently outlined their three-point Financial Accountability and Accuracy to bring better fiscal controls and stability to Village of Owego Government.<\/p>\n
The Taxpayers First candidates are Steve May for Mayor (currently a Trustee); Earl Hartman for Trustee (running for re-election); Mike Phelps for Trustee (running for re-election); and Ed Morton for Trustee (first-time candidate).<\/p>\n
\u201cVillage residents deserve better controls, tighter oversight and compliance with reporting deadlines,\u201d said Steve May. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford more of the same status quo in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Taxpayers First Team developed their Financial Accountability and Accuracy Plan in response to fiscal issues that have plagued the Village in recent years, including scathing reports from the State Comptroller and unfiled Audit Reports. The three-point plan includes:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 File Mandatory Audit Report On-Time. No excuses, no exceptions.<\/p>\n
Did you know that the Village received a report from the State Comptroller showing that the current Mayor and Clerk\/Treasurer failed to submit mandatory audits for several years? The Village could have faced stiff penalties if corrective action didn\u2019t occur. See for yourself on the Comptroller\u2019s website at www.osc.state.ny.us\/localgov\/audits\/villages\/2015\/owego.htm.<\/i><\/p>\n
The Taxpayers First Team, led by Steve May, took the lead and crafted the language and documentation that satisfied the Comptroller\u2019s Office. Owego\u2019s taxpayers can\u2019t afford to let this kind of careless mistakes happen again.<\/i><\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 Stay On Budget with Capital Projects.<\/p>\n
Did you know that the bids for Owego\u2019s Sewer Plant Upgrade came in at twice the projected cost? Owego\u2019s Taxpayers couldn\u2019t have afforded the price tag at that level.<\/i><\/p>\n
The Taxpayers First Team worked with the engineers to get the budget back on track, and get the project moving.<\/i><\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 Provide Taxpayers with More Information.<\/p>\n
Do you know how much the Village of Owego\u2019s total budget is? Do you know how the State-mandated Tax Cap affects how the Mayor and Trustees can alter the budget and your property taxes?<\/i><\/p>\n
For too long, residents of the Village have been kept in the dark about Village business. It\u2019s 2016 and you can find information on just about any topic online. But you can\u2019t find the Village of Owego\u2019s budget because it\u2019s not publicly available on the Village website.<\/i><\/p>\n
The Taxpayers First Team will share more information with residents by posting the Village Budget online and regularly sharing more financial information with the public, including simplified summaries of how the Village Budget works, what various departmental expenses are, and how your tax dollars are being spent.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWe developed this plan to get the Village\u2019s finances back on the right track, so we\u2019re not getting scolded by the State for non-compliance and other errors,\u201d said Earl Hartman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will create sustainable solutions to assure that residents receive essential services, like Fire, Emergency Services and Police protection, at the same or better levels that we\u2019ve been receiving at the same or lower costs to taxpayers,\u201d said Mike Phelps.<\/p>\n
\u201cVillage residents deserve transparency from their elected representatives. It\u2019s just common sense to provide them with the information they need to make educated decisions,\u201d said Ed Morton.<\/p>\n
May, Phelps, Hartman and Morton encourage Village residents to contact them with any questions or comments about their Financial Plan or any other issue leading up to the March 15 election. All Village residents are eligible to vote if they are registered with the Tioga County Board of Elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Candidates running on the \u201cTaxpayers First\u201d ballot line recently outlined their three-point Financial Accountability and Accuracy to bring better fiscal controls and stability to Village…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n