September 8, 2010

Jazz meets Indian Classical; county budget bleak

Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column discusses a free concert coming up September 16th at Dryden High School that will mix contemporary jazz with Indian classical music.

She also notes the Dryden Historical Society's September 15th event on the Dryden Mutual Insurance Company's 150th anniversary and the book of Verne Morton photographs they've commissioned in celebration. The Ellis Hollow Community Fair will be this Saturday from noon to 5:00pm, and the Finger Lakes Land Trust will celebrate its acquisition of 39 acres from 5:00pm to 7:00pm on September 16th at the Ellis Hollow Community Center.

TC3 will be holding a celebration of the life of former professor Ted Szymanski on September 17th at noon. I posted about a remembrance of Szymanski at the Varna Volunteer Fire Company earlier.

The county administrator released a draft budget, which lives up to the dark billing last week's budget presentation suggested. Total spending is flat, though the local share of spending climbs 0.6%. Sales taxes have been stable, but property taxes will climb 5%:

A 2011 proposal presented Tuesday to the Tompkins County Legislature included elimination of some child welfare and youth programs, reduction of the county's alternative-to-incarceration day reporting program and the elimination of a whole road crew from the Highway Department.

Programs slated to be eliminated from the county's budget include the Certified Home Health Agency in the health department, the Municipal Youth Development program, which distributes funds to municipalities to support afterschool youth programs, and the Learning Web Community and Career Apprenticeship program, which offers academic help and job training to youth.

An article on the impact of the jail on the Sheriff's race notes the possibility of a joint Tompkins-Cortland jail. I don't think getting there would be easy, but it's something to contemplate.

Posted by simon at September 8, 2010 8:08 AM in , , , ,
Note on photos