May declared 'Mayday for Mandate Relief'
At the recent county board meeting, we passed a resolution declaring the month of May to be "Mayday for Mandate Relief." This resolution urges the Mandate Relief Council to take swift action in submitting a package of Mandate Relief proposals to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature to be voted on this session.
The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) has identified nine state mandates that consume 90 percent of all county property taxes.
When the state enacted a property tax cap in 2011, a Mandate Relief Council was established to review specific mandates and advance legislative proposals to reduce the financial burden to local municipalities.
In order to pay for state programs, counties across the state are reducing or eliminating longterm care services for seniors (including nursing homes), community health care centers, Meals on Wheels, local law enforcement activities, veterans services programs and many other community-based services and programs.
Your state legislators can enact mandate relief to help stabilize property tax dollars and keep more of your hard-earned money in your community for local purposes.
But they need to hear from you.
To find out more about New York state mandates, visit www.mandaterelief.com.
You can follow the prompts to contact your state legislator to request mandate relief.
Beth Rosenthal
Cherry Valley
Rosenthal is Otsego County Representative, District 7.
Abortion clinics can help change views
Horrors! Two past abortion-clinic directors were guests on "Life Today" on the week of May 1.
These once pro-choice advocates admitted taking part in the most gruesome of procedures at the ninth month of pregnancy.
They, as Planned Parenthood clinic directors, told how they put personal profits ahead of the women's best interest, including doing abortions on women who were not pregnant.
These shows can be seen on computer by googling "Life Today videos." Guests so far have been Abby Johnson and Carol Everett.
Pro-life supporters, pro-choice defenders, undecided, elected officials, pastors and priests will be quite amazed at what else goes on inside abortion clinics.
After watching, then ask yourself if Planned Parenthood needs to be defunded.
Happy Mother's Day.
Jean Jones
Afton
Tea Party shows failure
Thanks to the Tea Party, the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing And Protection Act passed a recent vote in the House.
The bill is rife with intrusions into individual privacy and online liberty. Those members of the House who yammer on about limited government _ the Tea Party _ were responsible for its passage.
"The complete roll call shows 206 Republicans voting for the bill, 28 against. Democrats voted 42 in favor of CISPA and 140 against."
Of these Republicans, 47 of the 66 members of the House Tea Party supported the bill.
The Tea Party have once again demonstrated their failure to stand up in defense of the Bill of Rights.
Walter F. Wouk
Summit
