County Legislature to Vote on FAIR Plan Settlement

By Rachel Ward

Rochester, NY – The Monroe County legislature will vote on Tuesday whether or not to accept a settlement with school districts in the county. The suit stems from the county's decision last fall to opt into the state Medicaid intercept as part of the county executive's "FAIR Plan." That plan diverted $29 million in sales taxes that had been going to the schools, to the county budget.

The settlement comes after an appeals process ruled in favor of the schools. It will see the county paying out last year's taxes to schools over five years, with interest, if it passes. The county will also pick up legal fees that resulted from the schools' lawsuit. And the settlement will prevent future sales tax revenues from being diverted from the schools.

The item was been added to the legislature's agenda as a "matter of urgency." A spokesperson for the county says the details of the settlement were worked out as quickly as possible, but not in time to be added to the legislature's regular agenda.

The county legislature's minority party, the Democrats, announced in a release today that they are pleased that the schools were able to work out a settlement, but concerned that "the county still lacks a long-term solution" for the county's fiscal woes.