Seneca County, Airbnb, strike tax collection deal

Fingerlakes1.com:

An agreement between Seneca County and Airbnb is expected to grow the tax base and allow the Airbnb to contribute “its fair share” of taxes.

That’s the word that came down from officials from both organizations on Wednesday, as the deal, which will go into effect on May 1st — becomes reality.

Seneca Airbnb hosts cater to a range of travelers, from visitors to the Wesleyan Chapel – the location of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 – to families looking for a comfortable place to vacation in the Finger Lakes.

Seneca County joins a number of counties, including Schuyler County, in contracting with Airbnb for room tax collection assistance. Schuyler County's deal with Airbnb came after a challenge to its room tax was rejected by the New York State Court of Appeals.

Schuyler County Municipalities Fight Wal-Mart’s Tax Reduction Claim

A preliminary conference has been scheduled for June 23 in the case of Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust (“Wal-Mart”) against the Town of Dix Board of Assessment Review and other affected Schuyler County municipalities.

In the meantime, attorneys for the affected municipalities, Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman and Town of Dix Attorney Robert Halpin have served a demand to audit Wal-Mart’s books and records to substantiate the retail giant’s statement of income and expenses.

In July 2016, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, filed suit alleging that their store in the Village of Watkins Glen was over-assessed. The current assessment values the property at $11,700,000.00 (Eleven Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars). Wal-Mart has claimed their property is only worth $7,500,000.00 (Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars). In 2012, Wal-Mart agreed that their property was valued at $11,400,000.00 (Eleven Million, Four Hundred Thousand, Dollars)

Because any such assessment reduction would adversely affect all real property tax jurisdictions in the county deriving taxes from the Wal-Mart property, the affected municipalities—the Town of Dix, the Village of Watkins Glen, the Watkins Glen School District and Schuyler County--joined forces to fight Wal-Mart’s claims.

According to Getman, the June 23 preliminary conference will likely result in the court fixing a date for trial, as well as directing the parties to obtain appraisals and sales reports, and to exchange and file appraisal reports and sales reports.

In anticipation of that trial, the defendants have already served a demand upon Wal-Mart to make their relevant books and records available for audit. That audit should be completed in approximately 120 days, Getman noted.

Nationally, some reports have previously criticized Wal-Mart for what has been called a “systemic” attempt by the company to lower its taxes while benefitting from billions of dollars in public subsidies to build its stores and site infrastructure. In 2007, the Huffington Post called the company “America’s tax deadbeat” for such attempts. That article cited efforts by the company in other parts of upstate New York, including Geneva and Wilton, to lower its taxes.

Schuyler County 2017 Life Planning Seminar

Schuyler County officials are sponsoring the 2017 Life Planning Seminar.

The seminar addresses advance care decisions for your quality of life. Topics include:

• Power of Attorney,
• Last Will & Testament,
• Health Care Proxy,
• Living Will,
• Elder Abuse and Scams,
• Nursing Home Medicaid Rules and Asset Protection

The event will be held May 18, 2017 from 5:30- 9:00 pm at the Silver Spoon Café, Schuyler County Human Services Complex and is being conducted by the County Office for the Aging.

Seating is limited. Reservations are required. To make reservations, call the Office for the Aging at 607-535-7108 prior to Tuesday, May 16, 2017.

Seneca County Town of Ovid Launches Planning Survey

Steering Committee Launches Survey on May 1

Following a series of meetings with focus groups, the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee is now preparing to ask the Ovid community for its input. A survey is in its final stages of development, and will be distributed the first week of May.

In accordance with the committee’s plans for a “reasonable” length, the survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. One copy will be mailed to each of the households in the Town of Ovid. A postage-paid envelope will be included in the mailing. If additional copies are needed, they will be made available at locations throughout the Town, soon to be announced. An online version will also be made available at this website.

Questions on the survey will cover a range of topics and,...will focus on the most frequently discussed issues.

The committee has established a deadline of May 22 for the return of surveys. They hope the finite time period generates a stronger response rate.

The consulting team will compile the results of the survey and present the information to the committee in a subsequent meeting, to be scheduled later in June.

High Conflict Divorce: the Impact on Children

Are you in the process of a Divorce or Custody proceeding? Do you know how it affects your children?

The New York State Courts Access to Justice Program and the Gender Fairness Committee of the Supreme Court, New York County, Civil Branch are co-sponsoring “High Conflict Divorce: Part 2 of the Series The Impact on Children - Case by Case Analysis.”

The event will be held Wednesday, May 10, 2017 from 12:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Supreme Court, 60 Centre Street, Room 300, New York City.

The event is open to the public and includes the film “SPLIT,” a movie “about divorce for (and by) kids of divorce and (their parents).”

For more information, click here.

New Assistant County Attorney Named in Schuyler County

Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman has announced his appointment of Olesya Vernyi-Kellogg as an Assistant County Attorney, effective Monday (April 24).

As an Assistant County Attorney, Vernyi-Kellogg will join Getman in representing Schuyler County in civil litigation, family court prosecutions and social services law.

Prior to joining the County Attorney’s office, Vernyi-Kellogg was a staff attorney with the Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Before that, Vernyi-Kellogg worked at the Maryland Attorney General's Office. In 2012, she worked with Baltimore City's Legislative Reference Department and Board of Ethics in reforming the city's financial disclosure process.

Vernyi-Kellogg is a 2014 graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, and is admitted to practice in the State of New York. Her law school experiences include a litigation externship with the Onondaga County Attorney's Office and extensive work for the law school's technology transfer clinic, for which she earned a Certificate in Technology Commercialization Law Studies. She graduated magna cum laude from Le Moyne College in 2010.

As County Attorney, Getman serves as the legal advisor to the Schuyler County Legislature and all officers of county government. The County Attorney’s office prosecutes and defends civil actions and proceedings brought by or against the county and serves as “public prosecutor” in Family Court cases involving child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency and proceedings brought by the county against persons accused of failing to pay child support.

In addition to Getman and Vernyi-Kellogg, the County Attorney’s staff currently consists of attorney Kristin Hazlitt and secretaries Donna Hyer and Vickie Perrazini.

Seneca County gets grant to help exploited youth

Finger Lakes Times:

The Board of Supervisors' Human Services Committee has voted to accept a $23,000 grant from the state for its Department of Human Services Workforce Development-Youth Bureau to support Youth Bureau efforts to raise awareness of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children....

The money supports enhanced runaway homeless youth services, outreach efforts and provide money for support services to identified human trafficked or sexually exploited youth.

Schuyler County recognizes and commemorates May 1, 2017, as Law Day

RECOGNIZING AND COMMEMORATING MAY 1, 2017 AS “LAW DAY” IN SCHUYLER COUNTY

WHEREAS Law Day is an occasion of public acknowledgement of our Nation’s heritage of justice, liberty, and equality under the law, and

WHEREAS the United States Congress has statutorily designated May 1 as the annual day for commemoration of Law Day, and

WHEREAS the American Bar Association has designated the 2017 Law Day theme to be “The Fourteenth Amendment: Transforming American Democracy” in recognition of the numerous contributions to American law and society of one of the most often cited constitutional enactments, and

WHEREAS the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law", and

WHEREAS promoting public understanding of the roots of our freedom is an important component in the civic education of the citizens of the United States, the State of New York and the County of Schuyler.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Schuyler County Legislature recognizes and commemorates May 1, 2017, as Law Day in Schuyler County, New York.

New York courts announce plan to enhance language access

New York State Court officials have announced a strategic plan to enhance access to justice for litigants and other parties with limited English proficiency or who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The plan comprises nearly seventy actions to be taken by the court system in eliminating barriers to justice for such court users, including:

• enhancing court interpreter recruitment, training and assessment; optimizing the use of interpreting resources;
• ensuring language access in other parts of the courthouse in addition to the courtroom;
• more effectively responding to the diverse needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community;
• raising public awareness about the services provided by the courts’ Office of Language Access; and
• ensuring language access in New York’s Town and Village Courts.

The full strategic plan is available here.

New York State to "Raise the age" of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18

New York State lawmakers have agreed to raise the age at which those suspected of crimes can be charged as adults, potentially shunting thousands of juvenile offenders out of criminal court and into the state’s Family Court system.

The complete text of the legislation can be found here.

New York State's Raise the Age Legislation by Steven Getman on Scribd