AUBURN - County legislators cast a nearly unanimous vote rejecting a settlement with the Cayuga Indian Nation Tuesday.

Following the lead of their Seneca County counterparts, Cayuga County lawmakers backed away from a settlement that would allow the tribe to make up to 10,000 acres of land it buys sovereign in exchange for revenue from a proposed Catskills casino. Beyond skepticism of appropriate reimbursement for land taken off the tax rolls, legislators feared the economic implications of a sales tax-free zone in the county's backyard.

“I'm not going to look a small business owner in the eye and say I was a part of a decision that drove your family out of business,” county Legislator David Pappert, R-Auburn said.

County Legislator Michael Lepak, D-Auburn, refused to comment on his vote against the resolution to reject the settlement, the only opposition in the 11-1 tally.

“One of the primary reasons I am voting no on this agreement is the fact that the state has not addressed the collection and remitting of sales tax by tribal enterprises,” Legislature Chairman George Fearon, R-Union Springs, said. “The reality is tribal enterprises are not limited to the sale of gasoline and tobacco.

“Our grandchildren could be living in a county with unbearable property taxes because of the loss of sales tax revenue,” he said.

In rejecting the settlement, the legislature also lent support to establishing a Class III gaming facility in the Catskills. The resolution suggests the state and federal governments approve a Las Vegas-style casino in Sullivan County on condition the nation forfeits its rights to take tribal lands in Seneca and Cayuga counties into federal trust.

“I think the important thing in this resolution is what we will support,” Pappert said. “If there's going to be sovereign land in the agreement, it's not going to get the votes to pass.”

The Cayuga Indian Nation is expected to move forward with applying to take as much of its 64,000-acre historic homeland into tax-exempt federal trust, tribe attorney Daniel French said before the meeting.

“It's the end of negotiations with the counties,” he said. “The nation's going to pursue trust applications either way.

“The (federal) Interior Department has always signaled they will allow the nation to take the land into trust,” French said.

He argued Cayuga County's support for a Las Vegas-style casino in Sullivan County is moot because legislators will not have a say in that decision. In addition, both counties will lose their right to veto Class II gaming facilities on tribal land.

“I think it's illustrative to the state of New York and the federal government that the counties cannot be trusted to negotiate,” French said.

In other news:

* The board lent unanimous support to a policy that will provide county employees leave time to receive colorectal cancer screening.

Colorectal cancer survivor and county Legislator Michele Sedor, D-Sennett, co-sponsored the resolution that will give employees and appointees up to four hours out of the work day to get an exam. The measure preempts an anticipated state mandate and could save several lives, Sedor said.

While colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., it's also highly curable when detected early.

* Legislators unanimously approved a contract with Cayuga Community College custodial workers retroactive to Aug. 31, 2004.

The agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 932-C includes annual raises and a larger share of health benefit costs for union members. The contract expires Aug. 31, 2011.

No further terms were immediately available.

* The Legislature also unanimously approved a five-year capital plan for CCC. The plan for 2008 through 2012 includes nearly $25 million in possible projects.

Though all the projects will not be pursued in the five-year span, they must be submitted in the master plan to be eligible for state aid, Fearon said.

Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net