On Wednesday afternoon at Emerson Park, with proper fanfare, State Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, was able to tout the creation of a steward for Owasco Lake.
On the heels of local governments finally coming to agreement, he could turn over $60,000 to pay for one year of a new watershed inspector. While that is news on its own, there is a bigger question for local taxpayers. Is this the start of a new era in intergovernmental cooperation or the right thing being done because of worries over political embarrassment?
For more than a year, Nozzolio had been talking about the need to improve the quality of Owasco Lake, especially in light of a report from the Finger Lakes Institute that ranked Owasco Lake as the worst of the Finger Lakes when it came to negatives, such as turbidity. Hammering home this issue were the numbers being reported out on phosphorus levels in the lake.
For longer than that, Nozzolio has harped on the need to have local governments take the lead on this #- often without action. Enter a large carrot: $60,000 for one year's cost of a position. By default Nozzolio put localities on notice that the state was willing to partner, but only if there was a local, long term, commitment #- something that localities such as Auburn and the town of Owasco should have been addressing over the last decade as the lake's deterioration became all the more evident.
Nozzolio, who had been burned with getting one-shot state assistance in the past, was smart enough to significantly change the terms of the debate. Few may recall, let alone know of, the hiring of Jon Christopher, the county's economic development person who, once state funding ran out, lost his job. Neither the city nor the county could agree to a funding stream to maintain the position.
This time around, to get the cash, localities had to agree to long-term financing. Evidently still no easy task, since the funding was offered last fall. Yet, because they knew they needed to do something, both Auburn and Owasco, the Auburn City Council unanimously doing so on the eve of the senator's presentation.
Some will tout this as a new era in intergovernmental cooperation #- especially because for decades the city and the town have been nipping at each other over sewer issues. Some may see this as no more than the right thing done for the right reasons. Others may see it as being done because some local officials didn't want to be embarrassed, as they headed into this fall's local elections for not taking care of a basic responsibility that could be funded initially by Albany.
Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com
For more than a year, Nozzolio had been talking about the need to improve the quality of Owasco Lake, especially in light of a report from the Finger Lakes Institute that ranked Owasco Lake as the worst of the Finger Lakes when it came to negatives, such as turbidity. Hammering home this issue were the numbers being reported out on phosphorus levels in the lake.
For longer than that, Nozzolio has harped on the need to have local governments take the lead on this #- often without action. Enter a large carrot: $60,000 for one year's cost of a position. By default Nozzolio put localities on notice that the state was willing to partner, but only if there was a local, long term, commitment #- something that localities such as Auburn and the town of Owasco should have been addressing over the last decade as the lake's deterioration became all the more evident.
Nozzolio, who had been burned with getting one-shot state assistance in the past, was smart enough to significantly change the terms of the debate. Few may recall, let alone know of, the hiring of Jon Christopher, the county's economic development person who, once state funding ran out, lost his job. Neither the city nor the county could agree to a funding stream to maintain the position.
This time around, to get the cash, localities had to agree to long-term financing. Evidently still no easy task, since the funding was offered last fall. Yet, because they knew they needed to do something, both Auburn and Owasco, the Auburn City Council unanimously doing so on the eve of the senator's presentation.
Some will tout this as a new era in intergovernmental cooperation #- especially because for decades the city and the town have been nipping at each other over sewer issues. Some may see this as no more than the right thing done for the right reasons. Others may see it as being done because some local officials didn't want to be embarrassed, as they headed into this fall's local elections for not taking care of a basic responsibility that could be funded initially by Albany.
Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com
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