Updates

 Diane Zeh

I have endured reading the comments and degredation of beloved Christmas Carols from "Turbine-Free" without comment for weeks. However, after reading this week's (January 8, 2008) comment regarding the Town (and County) tax bill, I've had enough!

Look at your bill! "% Change from prior year levy". It states Town Tax "-30.9%". Notice the minus sign. That is almost a 31 per cent decrease in the amount to be raised through taxes. (The County tax portion did go up, but not too significantly.)

The 2007 Total Tax Levy was 597,344. The 2008 Total Tax Levy is 412,755. Where is there a 13 percent increase?

Although my Total Assesed Value went up slightly due to the "reval", by Town and County Taxes are much lower, (less than half) of what I paid in 2007.

The only reason taxes may have gone up is due to a change in assessed value. Stop twisting the facts. You certainly must have been under assessed for years and now are finally paying your fair share.

 Bill

Dear Diane,

Thank you for your comments. I'm very sorry to hear you've had a hard time enduring our lightheartedly updated Cohocton Carols and think you've had enough. Unfortunately, the worst is probably yet to come: silence from windmill critics, followed by 20+ years of relentless aggravation and annoyance from our previously scenic and quiet hills, now thoroughly polluted with unnecessary industrial wind turbines. You didn't listen when you could. Now you'll be getting your reports from every hilltop.

You speculate that we're paying more taxes now (our January tax bill is UP 13%, even counting the UPC "discount") because we were underassessed for years. Since overall taxes have gone down, not up, using your logic that must mean that there are others who paying much, much less now because they were overassessed before. Before Cohocton citizens decide who is "twisting the facts" and where the corruption really lies, however, it would be very helpful for us to see a list of whose taxes went up and whose went down and compare it with a list of leaseholders and politically important people in Town. Sadly, it may be years before you and others recognize what a divisive scam and ungodly influence this UPC boondoggle has been and is.

Sincerely yours,
Dr. Bill