Outside Erie

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today outlined a plan that would encourage municipalities in New York State to consolidate.
According to a news release:

Simply put, our system of local government is broken. It has been outpaced by globalization, regionalization, and an ever changing marketplace. The density of local government in New York is astounding. There […]

We spend a lot of time in this space talking about downtown development, tourism, transportation, and economic development.
But we haven’t really spent any time talking about public libraries.
Most of us take libraries for granted. They’ve always been a part of our lives — and they’re typically supported rather silently through local taxes.
Michelle Sanson, a Cleveland […]

The House of Representatives today approved the revised Wall Street bailout package.
U.S. Rep. Phil English, who voted no on the first package last week, again cast a “no” vote today.
Here’s his statement on his vote:
“The challenges facing our financial markets are real and Congress should have engaged in a deliberative process to craft a measured […]

Here is U.S. Rep. Phil English’s statement on today’s bailout bill vote:

“From the outset, it has been my strong belief that any rescue proposal necessarily include real consequences for bad actors, strong taxpayer protections and accountability and transparency of any tax dollars used. I believe that the bill considered today failed to meet these […]

Congressional candidate Kathy Dahlkemper has released a statement about the news today that Congress has rejected the bailout bill.
Her opponent, U.S. Rep. Phil English, voted no on the bill. We’ll post his statement if and when it’s available.
In the meantime, here’s what Dahlkemper had to say:
“Over the past few weeks, we have seen the biggest […]

Before Congress votes on the $700-billion bailout bill, some groups like the Sunlight Foundation are urging members to hold off on the vote for at least 72 hours so that they can properly read and digest its contents.
Such a move will also give the public a chance to see what the bill looks like before […]

Former New York Times writer David Cay Johnston — one of the country’s top journalists when it comes to covering U.S. taxation — today issued an impassioned plea to his fellow journalists to not blindly cover the government’s proposed bailout of Wall Street.
Johnston argues the plan shouldn’t get a rubber stamp from the press, which […]

This week’s top comment comes from Christopher Borgia, who offered a detailed tax-sharing plan for municipalities in Erie County.
Because of its length, I’m including only the first portion of Borgia’s comment.
You can find the whole comment here.
Erie County Government should adopt Regional Tax-Base Sharing in order to:
• Allow for better land use planning and development
• […]

Three Erie business and tourism groups — VisitErie, the Manufacturer & Business Association and the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership — have released a joint statement calling on Erie City Council to reject the proposed amusement tax increase.
It’s rare to see these three groups join forces on any issue. So perhaps City Council will […]

It’s encouraging to see Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio exploring the idea of a four-day workweek for county employees.
I’m not completely sold on the idea yet.
But it’s a refreshing development to see an Erie elected official thinking creatively.
I’d love to hear this community’s thoughts on this approach. Have you seen this happen in […]