Dryden residents have heard a lot lately about how our fiscally
responsible (and Republican) Town Board has kept taxes down while our
fiscally spendthrift (and Democratic) County Legislature has raised
them.

While the contrast may appeal to stereotypes, it simply isn't true.  In
the first recent budget Republicans controlled (2005), the 5-0
Republican Dryden Town Board increased the property tax levy 7.9%. Just
tonight, the town board voted in a 4.8% increase for 2006.  Sure, they
haven't increased the rate, but they don't have to increase the rate to
take advantage of a tax base whose assessed value has grown.

(It's also worth noting that tax levies had been declining in Dryden for
years under Democratic supervisors!)

Meanwhile, Tompkins County lowered its tax rate in both of those years,
producing 6.5% and 0% tax levy increases, despite challenges, like
rapidly growing state mandates and capital projects, that the town
didn't have to face.

Dryden residents need to look beyond the stereotypes, and recognize the
incredibly difficult work legislators Mike Lane and Martha Robertson
have put in, as well as the need to get some informed, budget-savvy
Democrats - like Mary Ann Sumner and Paul Lutwak - on to the Town Board
to keep a close eye on spending, revenues, and the reserves that no one
seems able to put a number on.

Simon St.Laurent
Town of Dryden