Tag: Allegany County NY

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Alfred State: We’re Here To Help With New FAFSA Forms

December 12, 2023
By Alfred State Spokesperson Paul Welker

ALFRED, NY – The redesigned FAFSA is launching later this month and the financial aid experts at Alfred State College (ASC) are offering increased support for families who have questions on the updated form.

An incredible 77 percent of newly enrolled Alfred State students are eligible for all SUNY tuition costs to be paid by federal or state funds through the Federal Pell, NYS TAP Grant, and the NYS Excelsior Scholarship. ASC counselors work as advocates for families to help find the most funds including up to $20,000 over four years in merit-based awards from the college.

“We seek every dollar to apply to our already very affordable cost of attendance,” said Senior Director of Student Records and Financial Services Julie Rose. “As soon as a student is accepted and we receive their FAFSA, our team goes to work to create a personalized financial aid plan to include federal, state, and local resources. With the new FAFSA Application Process rolling out now, we’re here to answer any questions from parents, guardians, or students who may find the new changes confusing.”

For new students, the first step is to apply for enrollment at Alfred State. Rose says that all accepted and currently enrolled students will have access to ASC’s increased financial aid resources.

Previously, FAFSA application season opened Oct. 1 but an overhaul of the system has caused a delay. It is now scheduled to open by Dec. 31. A student’s FAFSA information is then relayed to colleges approximately 30 days later. The delays are worrisome to families eager to secure financial help for the 2024-2025 academic year.
“This new FAFSA is intended to be simplified and we’re excited to see it streamlined,” said Vice President of Enrollment Management Kishan Zuber. “We know that there will be many questions due to changes in the form and a different timeline. Through it all, we intend to stay in constant contact to assist our students and families to answer questions and provide advice.”
One piece of advice from Alfred State is for parents to initiate the FAFSA form instead of the students. Parents can enter all their information as well as the student’s information. The student can then enter the form just to make any necessary corrections, provide consent, and sign it.

Primary FAFSA Application Changes:
1. Parents, stepparents, and spouses may be recognized as contributors. Contributor is a new term for 2024-2025.
2. Simplification includes direct data sharing with the IRS and consent is required from each contributor.
3. Each contributor must have a StudentAid.gov account.
4. Applicants may send FAFSA information to as many as 20 schools.

Primary Changes in the Calculation of Aid:
1. A new Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
2. The minimum SAI is -$1,500, unlike the EFC which previously was a $0 minimum.
3. The new calculation promises to provide Pell Grant funds to more students.
4. Single-parent households are predicted to see more aid with the new formulas.

Impacts from the new FAFSA will vary per family. For example, the new FAFSA will use the information for the parents who contributes the most financial support, not the one that a student spends the most time with as in the older FAFSA formula. The new SAI formula no longer considers the number of family members in college and child support received will be considered an asset. Small business owners with less than 100 employees that were previously exempt from including their business net worth as a reportable asset no longer have that exemption and the value of a family farm will now be considered.

For first-time FAFSA filers, parents may begin by creating a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID). Students and their contributor(s) must each have their own account. Verification of an ID may take one to three days, and it must be completed before applying for federal student aid.

Alfred State financial aid counselors offer more information and advice regarding the new FAFSA at
tinyurl.com/ASCnewFAFSA. Each academic year a new FAFSA must be submitted. Some financial aid is offered on a first-come, first-served basis so filing as early as possible can be advantageous

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Allegany County Dems Send Letter To The Editor

October 27, 2023

To the Editor: I am writing to encourage our local citizenry to vote this Nov. 7th. I realize these off-year elections do NOT generate the excitement of Presidential elections, or even that of midterms. Voter turnout tends to drop dramatically, as only local and county contests appear on the ballot. State-level contests are only special elections during the off-years.

Generally in off-year elections, like now in 2023, voters decide ballot propositions on a state-wide, county or town basis.
In this election, two state propositions appear on the back of ballots:
1. REMOVAL OF SMALL CITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM SPECIAL CONSTITUTIONAL DEBT LIMITATION
2. EXTENDING SEWAGE PROJECT DEBT EXCLUSION FROM DEBT LIMIT
More information can be found at: https://www.elections.ny.gov/

The true power of participating in off-year elections is in deciding local elections and propositions.

Many voters feel as though their votes do NOT count. The one place their vote has a strong impact is in deciding local elections. Many such elections are decided by simply a handful of votes. So one’s vote is not diluted as it may be in presidential elections.

And local elections can control the direction of local decisions. The local legislative bodies often control those issues most concerning to voters, like the quality of roads.

Sincerely,
Ly Kesse, Representative
Alfred, NY District 1
Allegany County Democratic Committee

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State Audit Finds Fault With Canaseraga Village Hall

August 11, 2023

From State Comptroller Tom Dinapoli:
Village of Canaseraga – Claims Audit (Allegany County)

Although the 300 claims auditors reviewed were for appropriate village purposes, certain claims were not adequately supported or properly audited and approved before payment. Of the 300 claims reviewed totaling approximately $758,000, 205 (68%) claims totaling approximately $656,000 had one or more exceptions and should not have been approved for payment. Auditors found that: claims totaling approximately $588,000 were paid without evidence of being audited or reviewed by the board, claims totaling approximately $114,000 were paid prior to scheduled monthly board meetings and were not audited prior to payment, claims totaling approximately $24,000 did not have departmental approval, and 20 claims totaling approximately $4,400 were not mathematically accurate when paid. In addition, board members did not know what their claims audit responsibilities were, nor did they take training to learn what their claims audit responsibilities were.

Canaseraga Village Mayor Satterfield’s Response:
In response to the Report of Examination for the Village of Canaseraga Audit, the Board of Trustees reviewed each part of the report and we acknowledge and understand it is our duty to correct each item to the best of our ability.

In the report, it was noted that a majority of claims were incorrect due to missing signatures or initials on them. We, as a board, were notified of this issue during the audit and quickly moved towards correcting it. Board Members review each packet and sign/initial in the appropriate
spots. Also, we noted that there were a decent amount of claims that were not audited prior to payment and that is due to a misunderstanding we had as members. Many of us did not know this was inappropriate due to our short time in office.

The report showed claims lacking department head approval along with claims lacking certain documentation for purchase. We attribute that to the lax nature of our Volunteer Department heads. This was something that many of us were unaware of being an issue. However, the clerk and the new mayor have been trying to encourage proper documentation when purchases are being presented to the clerk for payment by this department.
We were happy to see that everything could be verified that was looked at during the audit.

Board members had a positive outlook on the report and appreciated the shared information for training online for the responsibilities they hold in their positions. We also found that many of the items that were talked about in the report had started to be addressed already. Overall, the board agrees that the audit was handled well and resulted in positive results for the future of our finances and understanding of the responsibilities we each have as elected officials.

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