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Every year, a report looking at the economic impact of Ft Drum locally is released. This year's report was released this morning. It shows that the local base had an economic impact of around $1.6 billion. That money was leveraged in support of the nearly 20,000 soldiers and 26,000 family members who call the area home. Drum is the area's largest employer with a total combined military and civilian payroll of $1.2 billion. The report also calculated the economic impact of retirees, school aid, and construction contracts. The entire report cane be found online at : http://www.drum.army.mil/SiteCollectionDocuments/FY11EIB.pdf

11:15 AM

The Watertown City Council and the public will both get their first look as to the state of the city's finances this evening. The proposed city budget for the next fiscal year is scheduled to be released during tonight's council meeting. Attention will be on how much taxes will be this year and if there will be any fee increases in any city services. The council meeting is scheduled for 7 pm and the budget presentation is scheduled for later in the evening. Once released, it will be up to the council to make any changes before passing the spending plan before a deadline of early June.

10:01 AM

The budget presentation tonight will be the last major action of Mary Corriveau as City Manager. Corriveau will be retiring this week after nearly 30 years as an employee of the city of Watertown. Twenty of those years has been in the City Manager's office. For the past nine years she has been City Manager. Corriveau's last day on the job will be tomorrow. The City Council earlier this year voted 3-2 to not renew her contract this spring.

10:01 AM

Classes are scheduled for today in the General Brown Central School District and those who ride the bus to school will still be able to do so. This after a fire at the district's bus garage Friday night. Two buses were destroyed and many others were damaged after the fire struck just before 9 pm Friday night. The fire is believed to have started as a result of an electrical short in one of the buses. The district has leased out a fleet of buses that will be used to pick up students for the immediate future. No injuries were reported in the blaze.

10:00 AM

One person was hospitalized following an ATV crash that occurred in Lewis County over the weekend. Sheriff's Deputies say 39 year old Phillip Sell of Lackawanna, NY was riding on a field off of the Carpenter Rd. in the Town of Turin when he hit a rough patch. Sell tried to steady the vehicle with his right foot, and was then pulled under the vehicle, which flipped over. Sell was airlifted to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse for treatment of a broken right lower leg.

9:59 AM

A Ft Drum soldier is facing charges after police accuse him of huffing chemicals before being involved in a two vehicle accident Friday afternoon on Arsenal St. in Watertown. Twenty three year old Jay Leaver allegedly inhaled two cans of key board cleaner and then got behind the wheel of a vehicle that later crashed into a second vehicle just before 5 pm Friday. No injuries were reported. Leaver is charged with second degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, failure to keep right, and driving across a center mall.

9:58 AM

New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have both committed to support the Buffett Rule bill today. The rule would set a minimum tax rate of 30% for individuals who earn more than one-million-dollars a year. Schumer says the middle class can no longer bear the burden of reducing the nation's deficit alone, and shared sacrifice is needed. Gillibrand says there needs to be more tax fairness, and the plan is a quick way to pay down the nation's debt.

9:58 AM

The state has brought in close to two-million-dollars through the sale of vehicles as part of the effort to reduce the state fleet. Governor Andrew Cuomo says over 400 vehicles were sold at auction on eBay, bringing in more than one-point-six-million-dollars. That's an average of 36-hundred-dollars per auctioned vehicle. In addition, the state raised 150-thousand-dollars through the sale of a surplus mobile command unit to Broome County.

9:57 AM

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