Consider wind issues when you vote Nov. 3

For the past 10-plus years, our county and school taxes have gone up year after year. For the past three to four years, there has been an increasing threat of industrial-type wind complexes moving into the town of Lyme and many other towns in Jefferson County.

All over this country, these so-called wind farms are built on farmland, which in many cases receives farm subsidies paid by the taxpayer. Then taxpayer money is used to subsidize wind turbines built on their land. As their land value goes up, the property values around these wind-overlay zones go down. There are many cases where people could not sell their property, and some have had to abandon their homes due to turbine noise and additional health factors. When local groups sue the towns for allowing this to happen, the taxpayer pays for their lawyer and the town's lawyer. The people in this state most know industrial wind farms are a lose-lose situation for the taxpaying public.

It is obvious that many towns in Jefferson County are lining up for wind turbine complexes around the eastern shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency ( JCIDA) is also encouraging these foreign wind companies to move faster and cut off the debate on the concerns for health and property value impacts that these turbines and power lines have on the local population. It is also obvious to me that little care for these concerns exists among many in our town, county and state political leadership.

We should all be asking for a minimum 30 percent reduction in our county and school taxes under the threat of wind turbines coming here. This is in line with other towns here in New York and towns in other parts of the country.

In a recent wind turbine impact study (September 2009) of Dodge and Fon DuLac counties, Wisconsin, property values went down 30 percent to 70 percent. Think about this when you go to the polls Nov. 3 to select people who represent you or some wind company from Spain where wind has proven an economic disaster for that country.

Diane Rutigliano

Three Mile Bay