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Canton town board in favor of federal COVID relief for municipalities

Posted 8/8/20

BY ADAM ATKINSON North Country This Week CANTON -- The Canton town board has passed a resolution requesting that the federal government provide direct COVID-19 related federal aid to all …

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Canton town board in favor of federal COVID relief for municipalities

Posted

BY ADAM ATKINSON

North Country This Week

CANTON -- The Canton town board has passed a resolution requesting that the federal government provide direct COVID-19 related federal aid to all municipalities.

The measure states that under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act $150 billion was to be allocated to state, municipal and tribal governments with populations over 500,000. The board said that less than one half of 1 percent of the municipalities in the U.S. exceed that population benchmark, and of New York's 933 towns, 931 are not eligible for the direct funding from the CARES Act, including the town of Canton.

The resolution said that the state is about $2 billion shy in its sales tax revenue collection. Some of that revenue is normally doled out to municipalities. Other sources of traditional municipal revenue, including mortgage recording taxes, what some might call hidden taxes like permit fees, and the incoming cash from justice court fines have all been lower since the pandemic shutdown as well.

"The depletion of different revenue sources for local governments, combined with lack of funding, will result in reducing essential services or shifting the cost onto real property taxpayers, many of whom are experiencing their own financial stress," the resolution said.

The town board calls on the region's federal representatives United States Congressional Representative Elise Stefanik, Senator Charles Schumer, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, "to support federal funding related to the coronavirus pandemic that is directly delivered to all municipalities, regardless of population size."

The board held a virtual Zoom meeting on July 31 to pass the resolution.

Town Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley said that a representative from Sen. Schumer's office called her office on Monday, Aug. 3 to discuss the CARES Act funding.

Ashley said Joe Nehme from Schumer's office said that direct distribution of the funding to municipalities is "top priority in negotiations."

Ashley said that the finances of all local governments may be negatively impacted due to COVID-19 because of the unknowns of state funding and sales tax revenues. 

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