BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

CANTON – St. Lawrence County legislators voted down a bill that would have extended the current sales tax distribution formula with the towns, villages and city for another two years.

The board’s Finance Committee, which includes all 15 legislators, voted 8-7 against the extension, and saw a couple of Republicans jumping party lines.

The eight votes that denied the motion came from Democrats Margaret Haggard, Suzanne Fiacco, Tony Arquiett, Nicole Terminelli and Dan Fay. Also voting no were Republicans Joe Lightfoot, Kevin Acres and John Burke.

Legislator Jim Reagen, R-Ogdensburg, asked his colleagues to support the extension and do what they can to settle an issue he says is causing division among the lawmakers.

“I think this issue has divided this board long enough. I think we’ve spent way too much time on an issue that has only divided community against community, legislator against legislator. It’s time for us to end this divisive issue and focus on real priorities facing this county,” he said. “As many people have pointed out many times, there is no one, except for people in this room, who are advocating we take money from the City of Ogdensburg. Most people across the county ... feel we should be working together and not creating divisive issues that all they do is tear us apart.”

Legislator Margaret Haggard, D-Potsdam, said “voting for this (two-year extension) is voting against the interest of the people I represent.”

She then offered an amendment that would extend the formula for one year, rather than two. That was also denied in a split vote. Legislators supporting the amendment were Haggard, Fiacco, Burke, Arquiett, Terminelli, Lightfoot and Acres.

Prior to the amendment vote, Lightfoot said he thinks they need to stop offering extensions because in two years, it could be an entirely different board working on the deal. They’re all up for election next year.

“This board is remiss in its duties by kicking this into the hands of another board. It’s our problem. We should be taking care of it,” he said. “This is ridiculous what we have allowed the city to drive us into and put a wedge between half of this board and the other half.”

Ogdensburg has an option to pre-empt, meaning they can take themselves out of the county formula and collect their own sales tax within the city limits.

County Attorney Steve Button said although an option, it isn’t that simple.

“They will have to go to their state legislators as we have frequently, and secure enabling legislation... it’s a very difficult task,” he said. “Any agreement we reach with the City of Ogdensburg will be subject to the comptroller’s review and approval as well.”

If the city pre-empts, the county Board of Legislators recently took action to ensure the towns and villages will still receive their current shares, which is calculated based 50% on population and 50% on assessed value.

“That would actually increase the pot that all the towns and villages would receive,” Button said. “It’s theoretically possible that towns and a larger population, with larger assessed values would see their share increase because the pot would become larger.”

Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Acres, R-Madrid, said he thinks they should be waiting to make decisions based on 2020 Census results.

“What I don’t understand ... is the unwillingness to wait for the census,” he said. “I believe with the 2020 census due in March ... will show a further decline in the population of Ogdensburg.”

Here’s how the current sales tax distribution formula works.

Sales tax in St. Lawrence County is 8% of the cost of purchases. The state takes half of that and the county collects the other 4% which it then divides between itself and the municipalities in a specific, and perhaps convoluted formula.

Half of the first 3 percent of the 4 percent total received back from the state goes to the county. The other half of the first 3 percent is divided, with 6.4 percent of that going to the City of Ogdensburg and the remaining 43.6 percent divided between the towns and villages.

The remaining 1 percent of the 4 percent total received from the state is divided, with 83.6 percent kept by the county, Ogdensburg getting 6.4 percent and the remaining 10 percent doled out in shares to the towns and villages.