Star-Gazette from Elmira, New York • 11

NATIONREGION Star-Gazette, Sunday, October 12, 1997 11 A IRS 'flack' feels the heat after hearings NYC lifts longtime ban on garbage disposals Department of Environmental Protection head Joel Miele said projections were that only 32,000 new sinks per year about 1 percent of the city's total would be grinding away perishable garbage. In the past two decades, disposals were allowed only in areas where storm and sewage drains were separate about 30 percent of the city, including most of Staten Island and small sections of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Because much of the city has an antiquated sewage system, installing a garbage disposal will be expensive. The units, installed, can cost from $300 to $700. 1 1 ivul 1 A -V 'f "If A i inV.Krff -Mrti' -t mti, The Associated Press NEW YORK The familiar whine and grind of garbage disposals may soon be heard in New York City kitchens: The ban on the noisy devices was lifted Saturday.

Disposals had been illegal in 70 percent of the city, including all of Manhattan, since the 1970s. City officials voted over the summer to lift the ban and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed the new bill several weeks ago, effective Saturday. But New Yorkers aren't exactly lining up to have the noisy machines installed. City pg1. 6 i Internal Revenue Service spokesman Frank Keith, at a Seriate Finance Committee IRS hearing in September, has had a tough few weeks in the Washington hot seat.

the law. We take that seriously." Keith has dealt with these frustrations personally, and he cringes when he recalls the worst moment of his career. While working in the Providence field office, Keith had to tell a terminally ill woman and her children they couldn't have their $1,200 tax refund. The woman, who was leaving an abusive marriage, was unable to pay her taxes. The IRS granted her a pardon, but tax law states no refunds are given to people who'owe past taxes.

The woman cried on Keith's desk. "Try as I could," he said, throwing up his hands, "I simply couldn't figure out a way to get this poor woman her money back. I looked at every aspect of the law." Though Keith no longer works directly with the public, his job remains tough phone calls 24 hours a day, grueling media appearance schedules with Commissioner Michael Dolan. Keith happily accepts each task. "A call to me means I can make sure the story is more accurate," he said of the midnight rings.

"I just try to whisper if it's too late." Because Keith doesn't feel qualified as a tax consultant, he occasionally fudges his employment source. "I decided a long time ago that when I'm at a cocktail party and someone asks me what I do, I say right out I work for the IRS," Keith said. And other times? "Sometimes I say I work for the Treasury Department," he said, trying to conceal the smirk inching across his face. "Once you say you work at the IRS, everyone thinks you're their personal tax adviser. You'll spend the next four hours flying over the Rockies giving tax advice." axon- HOYTS ARNOT MALL HOR8EHEADS 730-3533 10 Sunday 1:30, 4:00,7:10 Mon.

to Thurs. 7:10, 9:30 Wed. Mat. 2:15 THE PEACEMAKER (R) Friday 6:45, Saturday 2:00, 6:45, 9:10 Sunday 2:00, 6:45 Mon. to Thurs.

6:45, Wed. Mat. 2:00 THE AUSTIN DISASTER of 1011 Friday Saturday 1 Sunday 1 :00 Adults $5.00 1 2 under $3.50 Matinees: All Seats $3.50 Gannett News Service "Over the last few years there's been a blurring of that distinction," Keith said. "People are confused and have expressed it as dissatisfaction with the IRS." Keith is the first to admit the agency has areas that need improvement, a fact that the Senate hearings drove home. However he stressed taxpayers must understand that Internal Revenue Service employees don't write the law.

"People think we have a lot more discretion than we have," he said. "We've taken an oath to administer NOW SHOWING 12:00 2:15 4:30 7:10 9:30 MS ffiEUtTEO when his IRS career began as a spokesman in Providence, R.I. Besides acknowledging technology, which gave birth to 24-hour news stations such as CNN and MSNBC, he cited niche publications as the main difference. "Tax information has gone mainstream," Keith said, pushing up his glasses and running his fingers through his thick brown hair in one quick motion. "There's just so much more demand for news-you-can-use tax information.

Fifteen years ago most of my time was spent dealing with very technical tax-journal types." It's great that publications like "Parenting" and "Glamour" have tax columns because they increase people's knowledge of the system, he said. "You can't expect people to comply if they don't have the information upfront," Keith said. And people do faithfully file then-taxes a truth that shocks Keith, especially in the spring when he starts fiddling with his own return. It's a chore that takes away six or seven hours from his treasured hobbies of relaxing at the beach or antiques shopping. "It's an absolutely remarkable statement of the American tax system," he said.

Tagging along with the IRS' high compliance rate is a high rate of disapproval from the American public. Keith believes the negative image is driven by the confusion people have between the Internal Revenue Code, which is law made by Congress, and the Internal Revenue Service, which administers the code. fan -m-- i NOW SHOWING HOVTS ARNOT MALL 10 HORSEHEADS 739-3533 12:20 3:15 6:50 9:50 www.sony.com Spokesman defends -embattled agency, but sees problems, too By ERICA CURLESS Gannett News Service WASHINGTON Some days Frank Keith works for the Internal Revenue Service and other days he works for the U.S. Treasury Department. It just depends on who's asking.

"I didn't think I wanted to grow up and be a flack for the IRS," the national director of communications for the government's most scrutinized if not most reviled agency said recently. He was just a little irritated at being asked about his job. Then Keith smiled. He often smiles, even though he has held down one of Washington's public relations hot spots for 10 years. He doesn't have any of the tics you might expect of the IRS' chief spokesman, and he doesn't duck and weave when he talks although he does sort of rock from side to side.

His job has nothing to do with processing the $1.3 trillion the agency extracts from taxpayers each year, and he has no official contact with taxpayers. What he does is massage the Washington press corps, a demanding, often pushy bunch that burns up his telephone line every time they get a chance because the IRS makes good copy. That has especially been the case lately, with reports coming out about agents having collection quotas. As recently as Friday, President Clinton outlined ways for the IRS to be more user friendly, but that's not enough for some members of Congress who want to shut the place down. Keith said he has answered many tough questions from good reporters and he has handled a few odd ones.

He laughs about the day the IRS building was evacuated and a reporter demanded to know the exact temperature in the commissioner's office. "I don't know if he wanted me to go stand in the room and measure it or what?" he said. The 47-year-old married father of two grown kids puts a philosophical spin on his duties. "My job is to help people understand how the agency does its job and help reporters understand," he said. "I've always believed it's a job that is absolutely vital." But no publicity is sometimes the best publicity." Recently, a week after taxpayers and unidentified agents told the Senate Finance Committee about abuses at the IRS, Keith rejoiced over the first day the agency did not grace the front page of the major daily newspapers.

"Look at this," he said, pointing to a neat display of newspapers fanning out across a small round coffee table that probably has never supported a mug. He plopped down on a white sofa in his conservatively decorated office at IRS headquarters on Constitution Avenue, adjusted his tie, crossed his legs and began shaking his foot. Keith is more than a mouthpiece. Besides informing reporters this being Washington, "spinning reporters" is occasionally the more accurate word he oversees a staff of 40 and directs several intra-agency publications. He has witnessed drastic changes since 1979 Fre 2 Hr.

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You'll find your regional entertainment guide reorganized for easy reference and packed with more features than ever. It's worth every minute! I HOYTS I I HOYTS I ARNOT MALL 10 CRYSTAL CINEMA 8 HORSEHEADS PAINTED POST 739-3533 937-5006 1:30 4:10 7:05 9:20 12:45 3:45 7:15 9:50 www.mgm.eom NOW SHOWING 12:50 3:30 7:25 9:55 KISS THE GIRLS (R) Friday Saturday 3:30, 7:00, 9:20 Sunday 3:30, 7:00 Mon. to Thurs. 7:00, Wed. Mat.

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