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Local magistrate urges Madison County to redirect diversion fees to villages and towns
Summary
Peter M. Finocaro, a Canastota lawyer and magistrate, urged supervisors to change the local allocation of traffic diversion revenues so villages and towns receive two-thirds rather than one-third, citing examples from Sullivan and Lennox showing small town shares.
Peter M. Finocaro, a long-time Canastota lawyer and magistrate, told the Madison County Board of Supervisors that the county’s traffic-diversion program should change how revenues are allocated, arguing that villages and towns are underfunded by the current split.
Finocaro said the original local law distributed diversion monies as one-third to the DA, one-third to county administration and one-third to villages and towns. He said an ethical ruling prevented direct payment to the DA and, as a result, the county retained the funding that had been intended for the DA. He asked the board to reverse course so that villages and towns receive two-thirds and the county retains one-third.
Finocaro offered local examples to illustrate the disparity: he said Sullivan recorded 46 diversion cases that produced about $10,000 to the county and $3,000 to the town, while Lennox had nine diversion cases yielding roughly $2,500 to the county and $800 to the town. He warned that if villages lose this revenue stream, they could eliminate village courts, shifting costs to the county.
No board action or formal directive followed Finocaro’s remarks during the meeting.
