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County and state updates shared with Clifton board: reactor info, audit clean bill, small Workers' Comp rise
Summary
A guest summarized recent county developments: an Assemblymember-organized briefing on modular reactor siting in northern New York, a five-year streak of clean audits for 2024, a modest Workers' Compensation increase for Clifton, and county moves on a 10% tax exemption for volunteer emergency responders.
At the Aug. 13 Town of Clifton meeting a guest briefed the board on several county- and state-level items. The speaker said Assemblyman Gray organized an informational meeting in Alexandria Bay concerning the governor’s interest in siting a modular nuclear reactor in northern New York, with Fort Drum cited as a likely location. The minutes record that this technology differs from Nine Mile in Oswego but do not record board comment or a formal position.
The same update noted a third-party auditor presented the town’s 2024 audit with no findings for the fifth consecutive year. The minutes record Workers’ Compensation apportionment estimates for the Town of Clifton rising from $34,079 (2025) to $34,522 (2026), a $443 increase. The speaker also said the county passed a resolution to exempt up to 10% of assessed property value for real property owned by enrolled volunteer fire company or ambulance service members.
Other items recorded: a short-term lease for Sheriff’s Office space in the Town of Fine to temporarily increase police presence locally; an extension of the St. Lawrence County burn ban through Aug. 17; county Correctional Facility occupancy at 186 people, including 18 'state ready' inmates with outboarding arrangements and per-diem payments noted.
Why it matters: the county exemption and local Workers’ Compensation costs affect municipal budgets and taxpayer obligations; information about potential reactor siting is a regional planning matter and may prompt future local comment or intergovernmental coordination.
What’s next: the minutes note these as reports—no town action or resolution on these items was recorded in the Aug. 13 minutes.
