Sunday Freeman, The (Newspaper) - December 21, 1975, Kingston, New York OK Whopping Million Budget See Editorial Page 6 By Jon Powers KINGSTON A million budget for a 32 per cent increase in the property tax adopted by a vote of the Ulster Couny Legislature Saturday afternoon Although the county lawmakers made last minute cuts Saturday totaling some million several proposals for even larger reductions were either defeated or never brought up for a vote The major reduction approved Saturday involved from the Department of Social Services Medical assistance appropriations were reduced from million to million and Aid to Dependent Children ADC appropriations were trimmed from million to million Because the reduction in welfare appropriations will reduce the amount of state and federal aid the county will receive the cuts represent a savings to the taxpayers of only At the start of the meeting Legislature Chairman Peter J Savago announced that the Finance Committee had decided to transfer another from the 1975 surplus to the 1976 general fund in order to help reduce the tax levy According to the Finance Committee the county will finish this year with a million surplus million of that has been applied to the 1976 general fund leaving the county with a surplus to start the year of less than million Although the legislature was able to reduce the overall tax levy increase from 40 to 32 per cent because of the welfare cuts and transfer of surplus funds other major reductions failed to achieve majority support Saturday The most significant of those reduction proposals came in the form of a joint resolution proposed by District 7 Democrats George Barthel Louis Resnick and Eugene Houck They proposed that million be transferred from surplus to general fund be cut from the contingency account from the highway and machinery equipment fund and that 118 first-year county employes be fired at a savings of million Their proposal was defeated tne proposed layoff of county workers drawing the most criticism Other proposed reductions that weren't adopted Saturday A salary freeze for employes earning more than a year A job freeze for 1976 Additional reductions in the highway department budget million reductions in welfare tions A 10 per cent salary cut for all legislators Both parties caucused for more than an hour Saturday to discuss those proposals when the meeting was reconvened the only proposals that were brought up for a vote were George amendment to cut million in welfare appropriations it passed and Barthel's proposal which was defeated The budget vote was almost an to those The nine legislators who voted against adoption were George Barthel James J Carroll John Dwyer Gerald P Gorman Eugene Houck Eugene Perry Louis Resnick Charles Scala Jr 1 and Brian White KINGSTON One of the saddest and most frustrating episodes in Ulster County's 1976 budget crisis was the ure to gain state approval for a one per cent increase in the local sales tax Now Assemblyman Maurice Hinchey says the county didn't even need state permission to begin with Kingston is the only locality in the county where the sales tax is at the seven per cent said Hinchey Saturday elsewhere in Ulster County it is five per cent Hinchey says the county legislature could have acted on its own to raise the sales tax another one per cent out- side the city That's true says lature Chairman Peter J Savago but it doesn't quite tell the whole story He said the city would have had to be given months prior notice which wasn't possible and that it would have been dis- criminatory to ask people who spend their money outside the city to assume an additional burden because most of the county's welfare payments are sent to recipients who live in Kingston And said Savago under a complicated state formula one-half per cent of the city's current sales tax would have been pre- by the county which would then place an even greater burden on the city budget Savago says the only equitable recourse was to gain state approval for a blanket one per cent sales tax hike and he again blamed Hinchey for failing to carry his county's peal to Albany Hinchey however said Saturday that the sales tax increase wasn't absolutely necessary that increased efficiency on the part of county Re- publicans could have pre- vented this latest crisis Cut But Are KINGSTON The first tremors of what could be another welfare revolt next year rippled through the chambers of the Ulster County Legislature Saturday afternoon In a mood as cold as the weather outside the legislature sent Christmas greetings to county property owners Saturday in the form of last minute and unexpected cuts in welfare tions for 1976 But there is some concern that that Christmas goose may turn out to be a Christmas turkey A budget amendment proposed by legislator George Sisti Dist 8 resulted in cuts of in the two largest and most expensive welfare medical assistance and aid to dependent children I realize that these are mandated said Sisti but it's about time that this legislature goes on record as opposed to such mandates We have to deliver a message to state and federal governments that we're not going to pay anymore Earlier this year Bernhardt S Kramer Ulster County s Commissioner of Social Services was forced to ask the legislature for emergency welfare appropriations to extend a depleted budget through the end of the year Sisti and others acknowledged that Saturday's cut in welfare appropriations may mean only that Kramer will have to ask for more funds at an even earlier date next year But as Saturday's meeting progressed one legislator after another took a hard line attitude toward further welfare expenses The people have to get up in arms and tell their state and federal representatives that they've had said Thomas W Roach Jr You have to tell Albany and Washington to do something for us for a change because we've done all we can for ourselves Richard Nace in a sentiment echoed by several other legislators said that if the welfare budget runs out next year he won't vote for any additional appropriations Other lawmakers warned however that the county was simply postponing the inevitable that more money will have to be appropriated for welfare sometime in 1976 Whether those funds come from the surplus account or have to be raised by selling bonds it is the people in the end who will have to pay Whatever happens in 1976 one thing is for the people who set policy in Washington and Albany haven't heard the last of Ulster County and its taxpayers A TAXING TIME FOR GLUM SAVAGO DR GORMAN EYES A NO VOTE Freeman photos by Carey Hit unto THE Flurries Max City of Kingston The Newspaper for nnd Surrounding Area VOL 55 SUNDAY MORNING DECEMBER 21 1975 PRICE 15 CENTS DAILY 30 CENTS SUNDAY Muggings and Burglaries It's That Time Of the Year And More City Burglaries See Page 2 By Matt Spireng KINGSTON An increased number of muggings purse snatching incidents and residential burglaries in Kingston during the past several weeks has left some residents afraid to leave their homes at night But according to Kingston Police Chief Julius M Classman residents should be cautious rather than afraid Glassman noted that it is not unusual for such incidents to increase during the period and also cited the poor economic situation as a reason for the rise Two areas which have been particularly hard hit are the uptown residential section and areas off way Uptown incidents since late November have three purse and at least eight burglaries one of which resulted in injuries to a Josephine Avenue resident who walked into his home only to find a burglar there The thief punched the man and fled when the resident tried to grab him Most of the uptown incidents have occurred on Friday nights Two young men were arrested by Kingston police and were charged with robbery following a purse snatching incident uptown Friday Dec 12 Two youths were arrested a day earlier following a snatch robbery in the area of Foxhall Avenue and Prince Street More than a dozen burglaries occurred in areas off Broadway during the first weekend of December and on the following Monday A check of Freeman filed shows that such incidents were also higher than normal during the same period last year Fear among residents of the uptown area has apparently been heightened because that area was also hard hit by a series of burglaries this past summer But according to Glassman the latest series of incidents is apparently not related to those during the summer methods used by the criminals have been different and description of the suspects have been different from those during the summer I don't think the people should be afraid to leave homes and go out at night but I do think they should take the proper Glassman told the Freeman Noting that good locks and burglar alarms are certainly a deterrent to burglars Glassman also suggested that residents should leave lights on inside their homes when they go out at night I personally know people who don't lock their doors when they go Glassman said strongly advising against such a practice He also suggested that if possible residents should have their neighbors keep an eye on their homes while they are out If anyone sees anything at all suspicious they should call police A lot of people think they bother us when they call but that's what we're here Glassman said Glassman also cautioned against grappling with a burglar unless he attacks first Just get a look at him and let him the chief suggested To prevent the muggings and purse Glassman suggested that women should walk two or more together and park in lighted areas If they think someone is following them they should go to the nearest home or business Explaining that the present rise in such is definitely of a seasonal nature Glassman said We're not the only city getting hit this way It's happening all across the country This Is Really a Snow Job IT'S A LONELY TRACK IN SNOW Freeman photo by Carey KINGSTON Winter not officially due until today arrived a step ahead of time in Ulster County and the rest of upstate New York on Saturday in the form of the first major snowfall of the season The National Weather Service which early Saturday was predicting accumulations of inches changed its forecast late Saturday for eastern areas of the state to with the snowfall not expected to end until tonight So barring an unexpected heat wave a white Christmas is almost assured The snow began in Ulster County Saturday morning ing deeper and deeper on the ground and making conditions for travel for holiday shoppers and others less than ideal Treacherous road conditions in most areas forced drivers to reduce their speeds Auto accidents in Ulster County on Saturday were frequent but none were reported to have resulted in serious injury Nearly every police agency reported a large number of mishaps of the fender-bender variety as vehicles slipped and slid on the pavement One Thruway trooper reported handling JO accidents during a single tour of duty during the day Saturday The Thruway was reported open along the entire length Saturday night but with snow and snow reported all along the Hudson Valley stretch and from Albany west And today? Locally snowmobiles snow blowers snow shovels and SNOW are expected to be the of the day An Area Petition On Blue Laws HIGHLAND A petition signed by 38 southern Ulster County dents businessmen and lic officials protesting the lack of local enforcement of the Blue Laws has been sent to Gov Hugh L Carey and District Attorney Francis J Vogt The petition specifically cites four stores which have allegedly violated the Blue Union in Highland and New Barker's in New and Great American in New The petition also charges that as a result of announcement last month that his office will no longer prosecute Blue Law lators there is an open in- in Ulster County to violate the Blue Laws and as a result the elected officials of Ulster County are ing which laws they wish to enforce The large businesses and operations are being from the enforcement of the existing laws at the expense of the small the petition con- cludes Those signing the petition include Lloyd Town Clerk Dominick M Palladino Lloyd Town Frank Canino David Murphy and Joseph Crimi New Town Joseph Foley and outgoing County Legislator Eugene Noe as well as numerous area businessmen Our local business people have been putting pressure on the town town board Palladino told the Freeman According to the town clerk a public meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m on Monday Dec 29 at the town hall concerning the Blue Law problem Stale Sen Richard E Schermerhorn Dist and S Betros Dist are scheduled to be at the meeting with the town board he said We want to bring this problem to the attention of our state said In announcing his office's policy of not prosecuting stores in violation of the Blue Laws Vogt explained that the new policy was the result of a decision in the State Court of Appeals which ruled in effect that if any stores in a county are to be prosecuted for violation of the Blue Laws then all stores in the county must be for such violations Asked about the petition Vogt said it was the only reaction he has officially re- concerning his stance 1 can't change law and I simply don't have the staff nor do the police have the personnel nor oo we have enough judges to en- force this Vogt said A Tax Victory for Carey ALBANY Legislative leaders laboring feverishly through the early morning houri finally lined up enough votes Saturday to push through drastic hikes in business and bank The passage of the nearly million two-year tax and revenue package was seen as u major victory for Gov Hugh L Carey Less than two weeks ago the Democratic governor asked the emergency session of the legislature to approve million in taxes to help close a hotly contested budget gap Argentina Agreement BUENOS AIRES Argentina An air force spokesman Saturday night said agreement hus reached on the crisis sparked bv a group of rebellious nir demanding the ouster of President nnd her government The spokesman said Buenos Aires metropolitan airport and the Moron air base on the outskirts of the capital would be returned to forces Fire Source Confirmed NEW YORK Fire Department officials confirmed Saturday night that electrical wiring in the ceiling above the stage of the Blue Angel cabaret wan the source of the blaze that killed seven persons earlier last week The New York News in a copyrighted story in its editions today said fire investigators have determined the suspect wiring ran from the bottom of a cinderblock dressing room constructed above the stage two years earlier The dressing room was used despite the club's failure to obtain a required certificate of from the Buildings Department State Victims Among 32 Home fires in communities from coast to coast killed more than SO persons many of them children with old gripping much of the nation during the night hours of the last weekend of autumn By early Saturday the total of deaths stood at 32 16 children and 16 adults In the worst of the blares a mother and six children died in Park 111 a Chicago suburb in a fire that might started in shorted tret and a lather and five children were killed in a fire in their home at Reading Center N Y Knight Tale to Unravel PHILADELPHIA The bizarre tale behind the knife slaying of young newspaper heir John S Knight 111 will begin to unravel this week Two suspects in the killing face preliminary hearings in Common Pleas Court Tuesday Their trials are expected to begin soon after although motions to move the trials out of the city because of excessive publicity are likely and could cause delays The murder of the millionaire has been splashed across the front pages of the three newspapers since the Dec 7 f Oi Freeman Consumer Panel Life Page 2t The Indian Massacre page 35 Santa Lucia Festival Tempo Pages Bridge Churches Crossword Dear Abby Columns Lite Life Lite Sports Stock Teen Theaters Life 47 i Life i Tempo
