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APALACHIN • OWEGO • NICHOLS TIOGA CENTER • NEWARK VALLEY
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JANUARY 2013
Volume 28
2012 in Review the Town of Owego By Town of Owego Supervisor Donald Castellucci, Jr.
I hope this review finds you and your families well after a joyous Christmas and holiday season. As we look forward to a new year, I wanted to highlight some of the information and facts that have occurred during the 2012 year. I would be remiss if I first did not thank the Town employees for their continued dedication to the Town and its residents. They truly are an asset in maintaining the quality of life that we enjoy. I believe highlighting the upcoming 2013 budget first, would be beneficial. Following the budget information, an overview of the projects, lost revenue and expenses will assist putting the budget in perspective. If you live in the Village of Owego, the budget increased $25,820 which in turn resulted in a total town tax of $65.25 on a average assessed home of 63,100 dollars. In 2012 the total town tax was $61.15. Taxes increased $4.10 for 2013. If you live outside the Village, you pay the Town Wide and Town Outside tax. The Town Outside budget increased $118,368 and as stated above, the Town Wide budget increased $25, 820 for a total increase of $144,188. The total tax paid is $344.71 based on the average assessed home of 99,715 dollars. The Town Wide portion is $103.11 and the town Outside portion is $241.60. In 2012 the total Town tax was $325.33. Taxes increased $19.38 for 2013. Before a pencil was placed on paper, this budget was negatively impacted by 3 factors; the economy, an approximate 8.9 million dollar loss of assessment due to the flood, and loss of revenue at the
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park due to the flood. The 2012 amount of revenue lost was over $200,000 dollars. This followed a loss of revenue of approximately $100,000 in 2011. Two positive factors were the Town sales tax revenue came in higher than expected and we had a 0% increase in our health care costs for 2013. The total town budget increased from $7,132,958 to $7,277,146 for a total spending increase of $144,188. Where is the money being spent? At Hickories Park we have spent $713,447.57 with reimbursements totaling to date of $139,997.07 from FEMA and SEMO. The new entrance to the Park is estimated to cost over $600,000 and currently the electrical system is being upgraded at a cost of over $400,000. To date FEMA has obligated funds totaling $938,927 for these projects. The Town has contracted and completed the directional drilling of the water and sewer lines feeding the park under the entrance to prevent continued breaking of the lines during storm events. An engineering study is underway to assess the options of providing updated sewer and water projects to the campsites and throughout the park. You will see the construction of a new office and storage barn in the early spring. Existing buildings that are continually flooded will be demolished. At this time, it is anticipated the park will be closed after Labor Day to construct the new entrance. When everything is complete, residents can expect an upgraded facility that is able to handle storm events and recover more quickly than in the past. The Town has contracted and installed a town hall generator that will power the building in times of power outages. This will enhance our ability to respond to storms and emergencies. The total cost for this project was $122,028. This was not reimbursed by FEMA. The idea was presented after the 2006 flood but not completed. The Town is working on Ham Radio access to get information out as well. The Town Emergency Plan will be updated by the end of February to reflect the changes we have made and improve our response to emergency events. Continued on Page 10
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2 0 1 3 Thanks from the Apalachin Lions Club
A long standing tradition in Apalachin has been the Apalachin Lions Club Christmas Basket Program. This year, 59 families were provided with larger quality of food, gift certificates for food, and gift certificates for children 12 and under. On average, each family received a package worth approximately $150. Although this program is spearheaded by the Lions it is a total effort by many people and organization in Apalachin, the Campville east to the Broome County line, and Little Meadows, PA. All the food and toys come from community efforts and the Lions club furnishes approximately $4550 in gift certificates.
The Apalachin Lions wishes to thank the following for donations or assistance with this effort: Apalachin Pharmacy, Apalachin Elementary School, Apalachin Library, Boy Scout Troops 32 and 43, Frontier Telephone Co., OwegoApalachin Family Reading Partnership, St. Margaret Mary’s Church, Target, Tioga Hills Elementary School, Sweeney’s Market, Tioga County Marine Corps League, Stroemann’s Bakery and White Tails Bar and Grill in Little Meadows for food, toys and over $380 cash collected at benefits it sponsored. In addition to the named donors, many contributions of food gift cards or assistance were received from throughout the area.
Tioga Downs and its Employees Make Donation to United Way Tioga Downs is pleased to announce that it has recently made a $20,244 donation to the United Way to assist area organizations this holiday season. The amount includes donations from Tioga Downs employees that were matched dollar-for-dollar by the company and a personal $5,000 contribution from Chairman Jeffrey Gural.
“I’m so proud of the employees of this company for opening up their hearts and their wallets this holiday season to help such a worthy organization,” said Tioga Downs campaign spokesman Jason Hall. “Being a positive member of the community is a founding principle of this company and this donation is one way that we can give back.”
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