AUBURN - The Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority will have to show its dedication to getting out of the red to receive a loan from the county Legislature.
The authority had asked the Legislature at its last meeting for a $95,000 loan to make its $220,000 bond payment due at the beginning of April. Legislators refused to vote, saying they didn't have enough information to make such a hefty financial decision.
But at Tuesday's special meeting, the Legislature approved a resolution to make a loan not to exceed $68,595 contingent upon two conditions: The loan will have to be repaid with interest before the end of the year; and the authority will have 60 days to submit a plan of action to address its financial issues.
Legislator David Pappert, R-Auburn, was most concerned that the plan of action address some way to establish reserve funds so the Legislature does not have to float the authority a loan in the future. If there had been better long-term financial planning, he said, they would not be in this situation.
"This problem did not happen overnight," he said.
George Fearon, who sits on the authority's board of directors, said it may take better planning when setting prices to make up the authority's financial shortcomings. Rates for water coming from Auburn were raised, and that increase has not been fully factored into customers' rates.
"The bottom line is that you've got to make sure you're not losing money when you sell the product," said Fearon, R-Springport.
In other news:
• Bill Dorr, the county's land-claim attorney, told legislators about the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Sherrill v. Oneida case in the county's land claim.
"It's one of the few victories we've had in the land claim in 23 years," he said.
The court's decision said land purchased by the Oneida Nation in its historic territory in Sherrill is not automatically sovereign land and should be subject to local regulations.
This decision expands to several parcels of land in Cayuga County purchased by the Cayuga Nation. The county is now forced with deciding when and how to enforce those local regulations, like collecting property taxes and certifying gas station pumps.
Dorr expects the nation will apply to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to have that land declared sovereign.
It has been the bureau's past policy to declare land sovereign, but not without public comment..
"It's not over, but they will have to go through these hoops before the Bureau of Indian Affairs will act," he said.
• The Legislature unanimously appointed Francis Mitchell to serve the unexpired term of District 8 Legislator Richard Harrison, who resigned in March.
• The Legislature unanimously appointed Deb English to be the new administrator at the Cayuga County Nursing Home.
She is expected to start May 9, earning an annual salary of $65,000.
Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net
But at Tuesday's special meeting, the Legislature approved a resolution to make a loan not to exceed $68,595 contingent upon two conditions: The loan will have to be repaid with interest before the end of the year; and the authority will have 60 days to submit a plan of action to address its financial issues.
Legislator David Pappert, R-Auburn, was most concerned that the plan of action address some way to establish reserve funds so the Legislature does not have to float the authority a loan in the future. If there had been better long-term financial planning, he said, they would not be in this situation.
"This problem did not happen overnight," he said.
George Fearon, who sits on the authority's board of directors, said it may take better planning when setting prices to make up the authority's financial shortcomings. Rates for water coming from Auburn were raised, and that increase has not been fully factored into customers' rates.
"The bottom line is that you've got to make sure you're not losing money when you sell the product," said Fearon, R-Springport.
In other news:
• Bill Dorr, the county's land-claim attorney, told legislators about the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Sherrill v. Oneida case in the county's land claim.
"It's one of the few victories we've had in the land claim in 23 years," he said.
The court's decision said land purchased by the Oneida Nation in its historic territory in Sherrill is not automatically sovereign land and should be subject to local regulations.
This decision expands to several parcels of land in Cayuga County purchased by the Cayuga Nation. The county is now forced with deciding when and how to enforce those local regulations, like collecting property taxes and certifying gas station pumps.
Dorr expects the nation will apply to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to have that land declared sovereign.
It has been the bureau's past policy to declare land sovereign, but not without public comment..
"It's not over, but they will have to go through these hoops before the Bureau of Indian Affairs will act," he said.
• The Legislature unanimously appointed Francis Mitchell to serve the unexpired term of District 8 Legislator Richard Harrison, who resigned in March.
• The Legislature unanimously appointed Deb English to be the new administrator at the Cayuga County Nursing Home.
She is expected to start May 9, earning an annual salary of $65,000.
Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net
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