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I am proud that my first act as a County Legislator was in opposition to an unnecessary tax increase on Irondequoit taxpayers. Last fall, the County Administration presented a budget that would have raised the property tax levy by $15.9 million. That is an increase of 5.7%.

The budget did not include any cost savings measures that could have saved the county tens of millions of dollars. For instance, a comprehensive and safe prescription drug plan for retired county employees and Medicaid recipients alone could have saved us millions of dollars. This plan wasn't even considered before the budget was to be voted on. Additionally, requests for a nonpartisan Comptroller to audit the finances of the county to identify wasteful spending, and other common sense approaches were simply left off the table.

I could not in good conscious vote for a budget that would have raise taxes, yet again, on Irondequoit homeowners. There are many seniors and young families living in our neighborhoods struggling to deal with overly burdensome property taxes. Property taxes are too high here, and looking to additional property tax increases is simply not acceptable. A vote in favor of this budget would have resulted in a 5.7% increase in taxes, bringing the tax burden to historically high levels.

Click here for my "Property Tax Report".

Good government means working across party lines, for the betterment of our community. Maintaining Irondequoit as a wonderful "family oriented" community is one of my top priorities, and our neighboring Seneca Park and Seneca Park Zoo can be important components of maintaining our quality of life here. I was pleased to support a proposal that would revitalize and expand the Seneca Park Zoo, while maintaining the famous design landscape of the lower park. The new plan calls for an expansion of the elephant exhibit, in anticipation of the birth of a new baby elephant, but does not interfere with the beauty of the lower park, as previous plans had done.

I am a Democrat, but some of my first words on the floor of the county legislature were to commend the Republican County Executive for reaching across party lines, and working together, to achieve a sensible plan for Seneca Park. I am proud that I was able to be involved in working to produce a good result for the zoo, for Irondequoit, and for Monroe County. It is my hope that this project is the first of many where I put politics aside and work with all local officials for the benefit of our community.

Good goverment also means acting with maturity and that's why, when the county administration wanted to push through a new garbage plan without citizen input, I voted to let citizens voices be heard. The process invoked here was only to avoid discussion, and, as legislators, I think we have a responsibility to hear all sides of an issue before acting. I will be a "watch dog" when the county tries to cut you out of the process.

And good government means living within our means. I am serious about keeping property taxes frozen...and when the county wanted to spend public money on hiring an attorney to revise the bylaws for two of four public authorities at $130,000 a year, I said "NO"!

County Legislator Ted O'Brien believes that the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency is smart to approve a package that includes reasonable tax concessions for the Syracuse developer who promises to revitalize the Irondequoit Mall. He also praised the Irondequoit Town Board and East Irondequoit School District for advancing the proposal. "We have worked across party lines to make mall revitalization a reality", said O'Brien, "This has been too important an issue for our town. Playing partisan politics could have potentially jeopardized the plan."

"This is a deal that can benefit everyone involved," said O'Brien, who represents the section of Irondequoit where the mall is located. "We have an opportunity to return a valuable property to the tax rolls." [more]

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