Dear Joe,

Now that Oneida County is in day 6 of the highest taxes in the state of New York, I thought it was time to share my idea for purchases made outside of the county. I would not suggest doing this for online purchases, since NY taxes actually require you to pay prevailing sales tax on items bought online that don't calculate tax.

However, I think it would be a great idea if you collect your out-of-county receipts, remove any financial data and send them to the county executive. I'm not much of a letter writer, but here's a template of the kind of letter to send.

Oneida County Executive
Oneida County Office Building
800 Park Avenue
Utica, New York 13501


To Oneida County Executive Joseph A. Griffo:

Please find enclosed my receipts totaling $xxx.xx from stores outside of the county. By shopping in another county, I have saved $x.xx in county sales tax. I will continue to shop away from Oneida County whenever possible until such time as my taxes are even with neighboring counties dealing with similar Medicaid costs.

You could also try keeping a running total and sending a new letter ever month or so. If you want to save postage, the fax number is (315) 798-2390 and Mr. Griffo can be reached by e-mail at ce@ocgov.net