Delinquent property taxpayers soon will be able to make partial payments to Otsego County after the Board of Representatives agreed Wednesday to buy software to keep track of past-due accounts.
A $50,000 package will allow the county to print tax bills, monitor the collection of taxes and manage delinquent tax accounts.
The system and its implementation will be paid for with a grant from the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services, and the board unanimously agreed to have the Allen Tunnell Corp. of Binghamton install it.
When the resolution came to a vote, Rep. Betty Anne Schwerd, R-Burlington, long an advocate of installment payments, said she was glad it was coming to pass.
The system will not let people make partial payments of current taxes, as these are collected by municipalities and school districts, and bills are turned over to the county only when someone is in arrears.
The county's tax collectors will be invited, but not forced, to use the system and its county-wide database, according to Laura Child, clerk of the Board of Representatives.
In other business at Wednesday's board meeting, representatives:
ä Agreed to enter into a partnership with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to create a fishing access site on the Susquehanna River in Milford. The site is being created on a parcel purchased by the county through the state Emergency Management Buyout Program of flood-prone properties.
The resolution, which was opposed by Reps. Donald Lindberg, R-Worcester; Keith McCarty, R-Springfield; Schwerd; Marti Stayton, D-Oneonta; Cathy Rothenberger, D-Oneonta; and Scott Harrington, R-Oneonta, will allow the DEC to develop the site, with the county retaining ownership.
Opponents said they didn't want the county to assume liability, lest something happen at the site.
Board Chairman James Powers, R-Butternuts, said he felt the risk of problems from anglers was minimal and the measure passed by a weighted vote of 3,832-to-2,335.
ä Agreed to transfer title of a flood-prone property to the village of Unadilla, which will make it into a park, according to Rep. Greg Relic, R-Unadilla. This measure was opposed by McCarty.
ä Decided to proceed with an integrated housing study for the county. This project will be carried out by River Street Planning and Development of Troy for a fee of $45,000, of which the county will provide $20,000.
The balance of the money will come from an Office of Small Cities Technical Assistance Grant.
This resolution was opposed by Reps. Kathy Clark, R-Otego; Harrington; Stephen Fournier, R-Milford; and James Johnson, R-Otsego, who questioned the need for it.
Relic and county Planning Director Terry Bliss were among those who spoke for the proposal, saying that it may allow the county to receive housing grants and may also be used by private developers.
The study was approved by a weighted vote of 4,262 to 1,905.
ä Appointed Lyle Jones Jr. to a two-year term as emergency services coordinator at an annual salary not to exceed $48,000.
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