Ripley public hearings focus on budget, pot opt out law - Evening Observer
RIPLEY — The town of Ripley conducted four public hearings via Zoom during its recent meeting.
The subjects of the hearings were the preliminary budget for 2022; opting out of cannabis retail sales and on site consumption locations; the property tax exemption for senior citizens; and the veterans’ property tax exemption.
Town Supervisor Doug Bowen introduced each matter prior to accepting public comment. The preliminary budget for the town of Ripley for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1, 2022, has been completed and filed in the town clerk’s office, Bowen said.
The proposed salaries of the town officers were presented to the public for review, as follows: town supervisor, $12,000; councilpersons, four at $2,738 each; town clerk, $48,410; highway superintendent, $56,228; and two town justices earning $15,290 each. There were no comments on the budget.
Bowen began the second public hearing by explaining that the town needs to start the process of opting out or opting in of cannabis retail sales and on site consumption locations. He read the proposed opt out law which states that it is the intent of the town of Ripley to opt out of hosting retail cannabis dispensaries and/or on site cannabis consumption establishments within its boundaries.
In response to a question about revenue from the sale of cannabis products, Bowen said 40% goes to the state lottery fund for education, 40% to the Community Grants Reinvestments Fund, and 20% to the Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund.
“If your community would apply for some of these grants, revenue could come back to your community, indirectly,” he said.
At the conclusion of that hearing, a local resident said “I don’t think any of us are really against it but we’d want to know where it’s going to be located and all that.”
Bowen then introduced the third hearing that concerned the adoption of the amended town of Ripley Local Law 2012-2, to increase the income limit for property tax exemption from $18,000 to $26,000 for people over 65. In response to a question from a community member regarding how a person applies for the exemption, Bowen said “a senior citizen files with the assessor like with the STAR exemption.”
Other inquiries concerned how often a person must apply and whether the exemption is for an individual or a household. Bowen noted that the proposed amendment does not specify whether the exemption is for a single person or a family. Deputy Supervisor Mike Rowe said with most income based exemptions, it is necessary to apply annually.
The fourth public hearing dealt with the proposed amendment to the law for real property tax exemptions for veterans. The proposal will increase the exemption for war veterans to $9,000, for veterans who served in a combat zone, the exemption would be increased to $6,000, and for disabled veterans, the exemption would be increased to $30,000. Bowen explained that this exemption reduces the assessed value for property taxes for veterans.
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source: https://www.observertoday.com/news/local-region/2021/11/ripley-public-hearings-focus-on-budget-pot-opt-out-law/
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