By MATTHEW BULTMAN

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

COLTON - Either the town’s senior citizens are a very wealthy bunch or they are simply missing out on a series of tax credits.

The town has had just five senior citizens apply for the low income credit exemption as part of the state’s School Tax Relief program.

That is a “phenomenally” low number, according to Tina Miller, chair of the town’s assessors.

“I was shocked,” she told the town board during a meeting Wednesday night.

Ms. Miller said even officials in the St. Lawrence County tax office were taken aback by the lack of participants.

“Much, much, much smaller towns have many more people,” she said.

Senior citizen exemptions can affect the town and school taxes as well as STAR. To be eligible, the individuals have to be 65 or older and make a limited income.

While not all discounts are the same, generally for the low income STAR, senior citizens who make under $17,000 are eligible for a discount on their county tax bill and those who make under $13,700 could also see a discount in the town bill, Ms. Miller said.

But so far, only a handful of the town’s residents have applied for the discount.

It may be the town only has five people who qualify, but it is more likely that people just don’t know about the credits, Ms. Miller said.

And it’s not just the senior citizens who may be missing out on the tax breaks. There are a number of exemptions, including those for volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians, as well as for people with disabilities, that remain largely untapped in Colton, she said.

That includes the Basic STAR program. Basic STAR has no age limit and is available to home owners whose total income is less than $500,000. Those discounts are on a sliding scale according to income levels, she said. The more an individual makes the less of a discount they will see.

But in some cases, towns and school districts have granted up to a 50 percent tax exemption to people who qualify.

“No one’s taking advantage of it,” Ms. Miller said. “Unfortunately it’s because no one knows.”

In an effort to help educate the taxpayers, Ms. Miller will host a pair of meetings in the town hall, tentatively scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 22, and Feb. 25. Interested participants should bring a calculator and income documents.

“Hopefully we can get a few more people going and get a few more discounts,” she said.

Tax credit applications must be completed by March 1.

Students Enjoy Snowshoeing at Catamount Lodge

By MATTHEW BULTMAN
JOHNSON NEWSPAPERS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2012

South Colton could be a hotbed for winter commerce, but a lack of access into town is preventing snowmobilers from visiting local businesses, the winter riders say.

Leaders of various snowmobile clubs are seeking the town’s help in finding ways to connect downtown with the snowmobile trails that crisscross the region, a move that could attract thousands of potential riders.

“We’ve got this traffic coming in, but it’s always been a struggle to get to the businesses in South Colton,” Sno-Skippers Inc. President Danny G. Collins told the Colton Town Council Wednesday night.

Despite sitting in the heart of St. Lawrence County’s vast snowmobile trail system, the small hamlet is relatively cut off from the trails, unable to lure riders wanting to stop for gas, food or lodging.

And according to Mr. Collins, trackers have counted thousands of riders over the course of a month using trails coming into and out of South Colton.

That type of business could have a big impact, town officials said.

“I feel badly for restaurants and other businesses,” Colton Deputy Supervisor Grace J. Hawley said. “With that kind of traffic it could be a gold mine if it had a better way of getting to them.”

But local businesses aren’t the only ones pushing for a change. Riders, too ,would benefit from a place to rest and refuel their sleds and themselves, St. Lawrence County Snowmobile Association President Debbie A. Christy said.

But it’s not as easy as just connecting existing trails to the town, she said.

“We are looking for routes to get in and out without disturbing local people,” Ms. Christy said.

So Mr. Collins took the issue to the town board, looking for suggestions. But with little in the way of specific solutions to the problem, council members were left to wonder what help they actually could offer.

“We would be supportive if there was some way to do it, but I don’t know what the next option is,” Ms. Hawley said.

Already the town has been accommodating to the snowmobilers, officials said, allowing sleds on town streets. But, Mr. Collins pointed out, many times the roads are too bare for them to take their sleds across.

With snowmobile costs topping out at more than $10,000, many riders don’t want to risk damaging their machines by riding over the rough surface.

But the town can’t leave roads covered with snow in hopes of attracting more snowmobilers, officials said.

“Our main goal is to keep roads navigable for cars, not snowmobiles,” said Ms. Hawley, whose son Kevin is the town’s highway superintendent.

And so the search for a viable option continues. Members of the town’s Tourism and Beautification Committee have offered their support, saying they are willing to try to get the word out about sled use in Colton.

Co-chairwomen Ruth T. McWilliams and Laurie Thornton said as business owners, they too recognize the impact a viable trail into town would have.

“Both of our businesses depend on winter season,” Ms. McWilliams said. “A lot of people don’t realize how much we depend on it.”