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I live in Aurelius, within the former land claim area, thus I am always interested in how our government officials deal with this whole land claim thing.
I would be amused if it weren't so frightening to watch some of our county legislators scrambling to do exactly what the Cayuga Nation wants them to do.
The same was true years ago when some of the county legislators wanted to roll over and give up then.
But finally, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the land claim was too late and dismissed it.
It appears that even the Supreme Court can't graft backbones into some of our government officials.
They still want to roll over and play dead when faced by some of the leaders of the Cayuga Nation. I'm glad they weren't in charge during times of national crisis.
Questions? What is being considered for approval?
There is no copy of the proposed agreement available for anyone to examine.
And I think the devil is in the details. Which part of the Cayuga Nation will the agreement be with?
Does all of their government agree with this proposal?
Where will the casinos be located? (At least one Class II and one Class III are being anticipated.)
Who will be paid above market price for their land?
What of the proposed payment to the county which is both fixed and variable?
Of the fixed $2 million, how much will the payment be worth in real dollars in 20 years?
Of the variable portion, who gets to audit the operations of the casino?
If social welfare costs increase due to the casino operations, as they have in Connecticut and other places, who will pay for those costs?
If any other business or residences are built on the 10,000 tax-free acres of tribal land, how will they be taxed?
How will any taxes on sales such as gasoline or cigarettes be collected?
There are all kinds of questions which need to be carefully considered.
The whole thing smacks of unreasonable haste, urged by the hucksters who are promoting this deal.
I wish this circus would leave town.
Sharon A. Hayden
Cayuga
I live in Aurelius, within the former land claim area, thus I am always interested in how our government officials deal with this whole land claim thing.
I would be amused if it weren't so frightening to watch some of our county legislators scrambling to do exactly what the Cayuga Nation wants them to do.
The same was true years ago when some of the county legislators wanted to roll over and give up then.
But finally, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the land claim was too late and dismissed it.
It appears that even the Supreme Court can't graft backbones into some of our government officials.
They still want to roll over and play dead when faced by some of the leaders of the Cayuga Nation. I'm glad they weren't in charge during times of national crisis.
Questions? What is being considered for approval?
There is no copy of the proposed agreement available for anyone to examine.
And I think the devil is in the details. Which part of the Cayuga Nation will the agreement be with?
Does all of their government agree with this proposal?
Where will the casinos be located? (At least one Class II and one Class III are being anticipated.)
Who will be paid above market price for their land?
What of the proposed payment to the county which is both fixed and variable?
Of the fixed $2 million, how much will the payment be worth in real dollars in 20 years?
Of the variable portion, who gets to audit the operations of the casino?
If social welfare costs increase due to the casino operations, as they have in Connecticut and other places, who will pay for those costs?
If any other business or residences are built on the 10,000 tax-free acres of tribal land, how will they be taxed?
How will any taxes on sales such as gasoline or cigarettes be collected?
There are all kinds of questions which need to be carefully considered.
The whole thing smacks of unreasonable haste, urged by the hucksters who are promoting this deal.
I wish this circus would leave town.
Sharon A. Hayden
Cayuga
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