Colleges should pay for services

July 21, 2008 07:27 am

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When there's a problem at hand, brainstorming can prove very successful. The more ideas that are thrown around, the more likely a solution is to be reached.

In thinking of ways to help the city of Oneonta and its emergency services, we can't fault Oneonta Fire Chief Robert Barnes for coming up with a few ideas. However, had we sat in on Barnes' brainstorming session, we'd have disagreed with one of his recent suggestions while fully supporting another.

Barnes recently proposed the idea of a surcharge for the sale of alcoholic beverages in Oneonta. He said a one- or two-cent tax on each alcoholic beverage sold in the city would help pay for emergency services for those involved in alcohol-related incidents.

He has also brought up the idea of collecting payments from Hartwick College and the State University College at Oneonta to offset the cost of providing the campuses with emergency services.

"A penny or two a drink isn't going to make an ounce of difference to those who are going to be drinking," Barnes said.

A penny or two might not make a noticeable difference, but the fact behind it is this alcohol surcharge would affect many residents in Oneonta.

Barnes' idea of the surcharge seems vague. It's no secret that college students are involved in a number of instances each year that require emergency care. But we believe this surcharge sounds like it would impact many more people than those actually causing the need for the extra services and the extra money.

However, Barnes makes a good point regarding collecting funds from the colleges. Because both colleges are exempt from property taxes, a payment in lieu of taxes seems reasonable.

"Everybody is concerned about revenue flow, and more than 50 percent of our protection obligation in the city is tax exempt," Barnes said.

Barnes estimated that in 2007, the city spent about $9,100 responding to the college campuses in ambulance calls alone. A considerable amount of money was surely spent on fire calls, calls made to off-campus student housing and calls made that involved students downtown.

It's clear that something needs to be done to compensate the city for the services provided to the colleges.

Mayor John Nader said the Common Council has no plans to adopt either suggestion but added that he'd look into a payment in lieu of taxes with the colleges. We think it's worth the effort.

It certainly can't hurt to pitch the idea to the colleges' new presidents. Perhaps one of them would have another suggestion.

And we believe more ideas can only bring the city closer to solving this problem and raising the money needed to continue providing the college students with excellent emergency care.