By Pat Bradley
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-848567.mp3
Plattsburgh, NY – It's over.....hopefully. While people in the North Country are relieved that the Senate stalemate has been worked out, they are wary whether the tenuous politics that created the compromise will hold. In the meantime, as North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley reports, they want state leaders to do their jobs.
Now that there's an agreement over who's in charge in Albany, the general assessment is that state Senators need to get back to work. Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gary Douglas says the focus needs to be placed on New York's fiscal crisis.
Town of Chester Supervisor and Chair of the Warren County Board of Supervisors Fred Monroe is pleased that the stalemate has been broken. Monroe says legislation critical to local governments has been languishing because state government has been unable to act.
After the Senators broke their deadlock, an evening session was held where 160 bills were passed, many awaited by upstate and Adirondack officials. Republican state Senator Betty Little says as a rank-and-file legislator she has been very frustrated.
Bills approved during the evening session include authorizations to counties for mortgage recording taxes and real estate transfer taxes, and school district transportation contracts.