Most of this Tuesday's work session will feature discussions regarding the upcoming capital budget. Department heads will be invited to discuss their proposed capital budget requests with the Town Board. The meeting is streamed live on the internet.
The issue: should we reduce capital expenditures to reduce the impact on tax hikes...
OR
should we address infrastructure needs now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
69 comments:
I don't give a dam what you do just lower the taxes.
I dont think any department heads understand we need to cut expenditures. And all the Town Council cares about it is the A budget. Time for the TOVers to form villages. We have no representation.
There are three departments where cuts should be made :
Department of public works
The park and recreation
The police department.
If cuts are not made there is no way that there will be a reduction in taxes.
It depends on what the specific capital requests are. Yes, infrastructure needs to be addressed, but so do taxes. A balance is possible. Steer clear of funky gadgets and such, and stay focused on the primary responsibilities of a municipality - sanitation, roadway maintenance, police officers on patrol.
In todays' Journal news you blame the Bernstein law suit for the reason of another tax hike. Instead you should blame yourselves for not doing your homework regarding---The library,cutting manpower and your habit of spending money for outside consultants.
You also stopped development which is needed to assist with the taxes.
The town has been mismanaged for some time.
Giving away Westhelp was the last straw and you all have the gaul to blame one individual for your failing grades.
Well you can see that this town takes the easy way out as to blame one person for the downfall of Greenburgh.
Shame shame on our so called elected officials.
You seem to be running a kindergarten class with the way you are conducting the every day business to run a town.
Do you think that the people are going to fall for your stupid reason blaming oneperson for your many mistakes .
YOUR FRIEND WANTED YOU TO PERSUE
THE PURCHASE OF TAXTER RIDGE TO GIVE HIM MORE PRIVACY and you did so at the taxpayers expense.
Now you want the taxpayers to accept that it should be used by all with only one area of Greenburgh paying for this .
You have purchased another parcel of land Harts park for one reason no more development to please another faction in Greenburgh.
Blame yourselves for all these problems.
Ask Danny Gold to give back the finder's fee he's rumored to have gotten from the Trust for Public Land as a commission on the Town/State/Federal purchase of Toxic Ridge
An investigation into this $100,000payoff to Gold is certainly warranted. Feiner says that his Government is open and honest. Why doesn't he go on record about the payoff?
dear voters:
remember one name - diana juettner. she voted to appeal the taxter case. this was a vote to untax herself as a village resident. oh, and juettner is the liasion from the town board to the library.
No jokes. It is time to adopt a crisis mentality.
This year's capital budget is easy.
Zilch, nada, nothing, zero, $0.
We'll just have to tighten our belts, make do without spending for this year.
If we have to spend some bucks on repairs instead, so be it.
The 2010, repeat, 2010 Town budget is going to be a nasty piece of work.
Immediately cancel the $300,000 for ambulances that was approved last week.
Notice to the Credit Union that the Town needs the space for offices for the Courts and $500,000is saved purchasing trailers.
Cancel the Comprehensive Plan forthwith, at least for now. By the time the Town has any money to spend on its recommendations, the Plan will be out of date. There is no free breakfast. And there is no offsetting money from the Tennis bubble.
Stop spending money on studying the Tappan Zee Bridge -- that will happen or it won't.
No more money for the Assessor's office. This is a sink hole without bottom.
No replacement for the Energy Coordinator. We need to save tax dollars, not theoretical energy.
No appointments for the Library Board. Whatever pressure can be done to speed their interest in becoming an independent library district should be applied. Since 2004, they have been "interested" yet taking no steps to accomplish this "goal". Of course, they want to have their budget remain hidden so they will not seek independence. But what is the Town Board going to do when they submit their budget for 2009 -- for a larger library?
Settle Fortress Bible and Dromore Road, yesterday.
In truth, the excesses of Town spending will pale in comparison to what is happening in the newspapers. Given that (factors beyond our control) this economic motor does not need our fuel to further complicate the results.
Take a break, stop spending and wait out the crisis.
And next year, don't renew the contract for the Arts Council and the Hartsdale Sculpture Curator.
Every little bitterness hurts.
one might add - no westhelp money to anyone unless it serves a compelling town-wide interest.
fairview fails the test.
Once again, I applaud Mr. Samis for his constructive input and having the courage to stand behind his convictions and ascribe his name to his posts.
If the Anonymous posters would have the decency to do the same, perhaps their input would be considered more seriously.
6:07 pm: why, specifically, do we TOVers have "no representation"? Certainly, at the very least, you are demeaning Mr. Morgan and Ms. Brown, who have not even been in office for 90 days.
8:19 pm: why, specifically, should cuts be made in those 3 departments? Why not other departments?
9:34 am: Messrs. Gold and Feiner are innocent until proven guilty. If an investigation determines that they have engaged in wrongdoing, so be it. In the interim, either back off your libellous comments and/or have the decency to shed the "anonymous" shield.
10:05 am: At least Ms. Juettner has a name; what's yours, Mr./Mrs. Potshot?
Other "Anonymous" members: please educate adn identify yourselves before you "blogurgitate" your opinions at will.
2:52 pray tell who will be voting for the budget this time arroung. Will it not be the four council members together with the supervisor.
I am not aware of any finder's fee. I am sure that no one on the Town Board would have supported such a fee.
Dear Frank Lee said,
Or, is it frankly said?
In any case, thank you for your comments.
ms juettner has a name. thats about it. her record is quite undistinguished; certainly nothing supporting her being in office from 1991 to date.
amen dump juettner.
The capital budget is only a part of the spending problem this town has been and will experience for many many years.
It has been a financial analysts nightmare how Greenburgh's approach to fiscal management approaches virtual illiteracy, to be kind.
On the one hand, capital projects are deferred indefinitely in order to "save" the money. Yet, when the need arises due to absolute unequivocal need, the "cost of poker" has doubled or more. The end game is the dollar saved becomes two dollars wasted.Exhibit #1, the current library destruction "reject." Had there been a plan, between the library board, the town board and fiscal managers, we could have had twice the library for half the cost. And since the boat has sailed,proper oversight of this very expensive project could have, at the very minimum resulted in delivering a dollar's worth for a dollar spent. But, alas that boat has also sailed. At best we can end up with $.52 for $1 spent...but tempes fugit.
But no one likes a Monday morning quarterback, even if he called the plays correctly on the Friday before the game.
So lets look at the upcoming capital projects not as Betas or on-the-job-training. We have in my opinion a $10,000,000 example of how NOT to conceive, fund, implement and over see a capital project. 'Nuf said about the "maybe."
Now for the definitive, the operating budget. Like Topsy, the operating budget grows geometrically. And, faster than the rate of inflation. So, a 3% inflation rate leads to a 20% tax increase. How insane is that? Voodoo math at its worst. Nevertheless that's what Greenburgh residents are stuck with...mostly unincorporated town residents. And if my newly repaired crystal ball is accurate, this year is not an aberration. It is the "point man" leading us into deeper and deeper tax troubles. Double digit increases for at least three years.
So how do we attempt to reverse this trend?
First let me say the obvious. Despite, the hairpulling, whaling and sobing by elected officials, the easiest way to pay for a deficit is to increase taxes. Why? I really don't understand. There are more taxpayers than special interest members, and it's the taxpayers who are the ones who elect the elected officials. So why do they raise our taxes. Back to my crystal ball.
Could it be because despite the tax increases, we STILL RE-ELECT THEM.
Dumb, wouldn't you say? Me too. And I'm just as guilty as all of you are. So how do we reverse this self-destructive trend?
Draw a line in the sand!!!
Demand that they look at every aspect of cost of operations versus productivity. Not only look at each department but each member of each department. What he/she does? How productive they are? are they really necessary? What will, could happen if they were no longer
there.
I know its a difficult job, but when your tax dollars offer you an alternative of you having to take a second job to feed the kitty, or someone on the town payroll losing their job, vote your conscience.
I know governmen is not a business enterprise yet it's not a charity either. Sometimws in business, a bad year may result in no bonuses, Or, no raises. Or, worse yet, no job.
It is also the board's responsibility to investigate rather than the department heads who are governed by, among other things: loyalty, vested interest, cronyism, empire building or just, "I've done it this way for "X" number of years, so why make my job more difficult?"
THis is no longer acceptable. This process, or something simlar has to start now- not tomorrow, next week or next month.
If not, picture yourself with 20+% tax increases for two, three or four more years.
Greenburgh offers a nice quality of life but is the QOL worth driving you out of town.
Please understand, I am not a fearmonger, I'm a pragmatist.
Oh yes, I haven't even talked about unfunded long term debt obligations, the market going into the crapper which will undoubtedly increase the state pension fund requirements from municipalities, minute increases in pay are tied to increases in benefits, and much much more.
I don't know how many people read this blog, nor if you agree or disagree with me, but we need more than a dialogue, The bell has rung. The starter has started the snowball down Mt. Everest.
I hope the "snowball" dosen't hit our court."
Waterwheel apartments MUST be open to volunteers and employees Town Wide -- NOT JUST ARDSLEY
The word is that Gold received a finders fee of 100,000.00 .
Have this investigated asap.
Why would anyone make up such a rumor ?
More than one party from the villages has stated so.
This does not make it true but when the public insists you should do the right thing and dig deeper.
hey ed
where was edgemont when the library fiasco became apparent?
probably giving out silver box awards to the same five people.
My understanding is that Edgemont voted against the library.
The rumor about Danny Gold did not start in the Villages. It was a product of and, it remains very much alive in, Edgemont.
However, it continues to flourish as a rumor because it is unprovable as true. But this is par for the course in an anonymous world.
However the downside of the Taxter purchase continues to plague Greenburgh. Imagine the conceit, (no, witness)of a Town Board voting to spend over $3 million (A, B or AB funds) on a massive, passive park intended for no one to use. Just meant to help one vocal school district while, in doing so, taking a property off the town's tax rolls and thereby preventing development which would bring even higher tax revenues.
This is not something that the Town needs to spend over $400,000 on a Comprehensive Plan to understand; a plan which will not only become outdated but also useless to a Town without the funds to enact the Plan's recommendations.
Here's some early-on free advice without waiting for the Plan. Change the zoning on Central Avenue, Tarrytown Road and other commercial roads to allow 5 and 6 story buildings -- underground parking, ground level retail and upper floors being a mix of office and residential. Higher ratables, a captive market for the retail and the highest use for the property owner without the bad vibe of a wholly residential component.
And here's another freebie. Residents will choose sidewalks if they neither have to pay for their construction or be responsible for their maintenance. Need you really ask this and then tabulate the results.
And still another freebie. The days of saying an expense will add just $68 to the tax bill of the average $15,000 assessment is so very over.
But, hey, what's wrong with spending $400,000 of taxpayer dollars so that Mr. Sheehan will have a soapbox to put before the public? Oddly enough, it is just Mr. Sheehan's backers who favor proceeding with the Plan.
Doesn't anyone remember Feiner agreeing to sign the Plan contract on the condition that the opposition to the Tennis bubble revenue would disappear. Instead this revenue has disappeared...so ask why the Comprehensive Plan survives? $200,000 here and $200,000 there, does the Town have money to spare or are 20%+ tax increases not enough of a warning? DEMAND that the Plan be stopped. Why is today different than yesterday when today the Supervisor has the votes?
Should tax lots be reassessed so that the Town reverses the declining ratable trend. Duh, press control/alt/delete keys if this idea seems acceptable -- necessary yes, acceptable no. But isn't it a good use of taxpayer dollars to include this with the Comprehensive Plan.
If you want to stop taxes from going up, you can start by making the Departments operate more efficiently.
Hey, how about encouraging a civil service strike? Since no one wants to actually get tough with union leaders and lose their voting clout, how about precipitating a strike and save on salaries during the strike period.
Here's a novel, provoking issue, let's have employees contribute to their health care benefits -- I'll even accept pay into today and scaled down over retirement.
How about not giving Town Council members cash if they already have a health plan?
Hold it, stop the presses. How about requiring all Department heads and their seconds and thirds to actually live in Greenburgh. That way when they waste taxpayer money they will feel some of the pain when they pay their own taxes. Or maybe they'll have an incentive to think about some ways to save the Town money.
I'll even suggest that the Town offer incentives for suggestions by employess on how to save money.
Over the years, how many money saving ideas have originated from all the Town's staffers?
And, wouldn't it also be a good thing if the Police Department heads also lived locally and could get to and from work on their own dime? Like the rest of us.
Can anyone verify this scenario? The Town sends a crew and a truck with driver to pick up leaves piled in the street. The crew (perhaps as many as four) loads the truck; the truck drives off to the dumping ground; the crew takes a break until the truck returns.
The Chief of Police announces that after three years a police officer earns $84,000 (say $120,000 with benefits). Is Greenburgh a riskier assignment than parts of NYC? And, which officer do you think earns more?
Goodbye Navy goodbye. Now let's say goodbye to other frills starting with the SWAT team. Unless my view is spoiled by movies, seldom does the SWAT team arrive and start shooting. There always seems to be a period of negotiating -- a period sufficient for the County or the State to arrive in the nick of time.
There's so much more. And just think what having operating systems would do to report and analyze how each Department spends its money. How many employees are actually employed vs how many are indicated in their Department budget.
Let's stop flushing tax dollars down the toilet to anticipate what the DOT will present re the Tappan Zee crossing. There is time enough, if the need arises, to react with dollars after a decision is reached.
And Mr. Feiner, while I don't hold you more responsible than those that fill the Department head positions, surely you can recognize that the issue of the day is not that perennial chestnut, parking spaces on Central Avenue to take the Express bus, but more importantly the tax increase that you and your Town Boards are assaulting taxpayers with. There is no more slush in the fund; there are no more parlor tricks left to play with the numbers. The Town, going forward, is facing declines in ratables, mortgage tax, sales tax and in a year the hit from the NYS Retirement system shortfall. Whereas some of these revenue declines are not of your doing, how to compensate for them is what you and the Town Board are charged with doing. Finding a few parking spaces for an undetermined number of potential bus riders is not what will bring comfort to the greatest number or residents.
And while you're still on the Central Avenue "excess parking" page, perhaps if there really is excess, these properties should have not been required to provide so many spaces in the first place AND, more importantly, if you continue to funnel funds to the Assessor's Office, to outside Counsel and appraisals, and continue to suffer the almost CERTain losses from the Cert onslaught, why is the Town continuing to spend more and more at this window to raise less and less in taxes?
The new Assessor has been in office long enough to revisit the Midway Shoppping Center and revisit and revisit. When is she going to announce some positive results? And, where is she all day?
Finally, it is an insult to taxpayers to propose spending $500,000 on "temporary" trailers to provide office space for the Courts. Especially when getting rid of the Credit Union (which is allowed under the lease) can free up space (bringing in $150,000 total over five years if their lease is renewed in two years) when at Town Hall, the Library will be moving out in the fall, freeing up additional space. Yet all the Town Board can worry about is allowing the Credit Union to add outside signage (which was not allowed in the lease).
And there is also the vacant office space of the Energy Coordinator and the book cart storage room across from the STAR office while meanwhile, the Assessor's office still has lots of space laid out to look occupied.
Overall, in what should be austere times, (20%+ increases being one such measure), perhaps it is time to better utilize the floorspace at Town Hall, maybe even having Departments share unused conference rooms.
If the space in Town Hall is inadequate or not near enough to the Courtrooms, then perhaps the Police Department can swap some space with the Court. Alternatively maybe some "crims" could instead be detained at Town Hall and be nearer their white collar counterparts. But since crime is forever declining in Greenburgh (thanks to the uniforms performing the civilian roles), clearly little space would be needed for either classification.
Those of you reading the blog will remember that I worked diligently to bring about a new Town Board, one that would spend its time productively instead of quarreling amongst themselves. Some questioned that the "just three votes" post election would be better than the mayhem before November. Now I am presenting the due bill. The most important matter before the Town Board is waging a war on rising taxes, something that benefits everyone, rich or poor, incorporated or unincorporated. Whereas the problem may not necessarily be, going foward, one of the Town Board's making, it still exists as a problem. Depleting their efforts or diluting their efforts is not a tolerable solution. Dramatic steps at the Community Center do nothing to staunch the rising tide of taxation; worrying about parking spaces along Central Avenue does nothing and robbing Peter to pay Paul (the names were not changed to protect the innocent) by way of finding ways to throw a few bucks to help out a few Seniors is not the same benefit or effort as helping ALL Seniors and ALL residents by reducing taxes for everyone.
Let's treat rising taxes as the number one concern in Greenburgh. And if takes putting WESTHELP and the Fairview Fire District behind us, for once and for all, so be it but let's move on Quickly and Decisively.
My definition of the above Q & D is finding methods to trim the Town's operating budget and Capital Budget by a combined $4 million by July 1, 2008 (something that should have already been of concern since the 2008 Budget was adopted). And this also means that afterward, the Town Departments will submit their Budget REQUESTS by August 1 (no August vacations permitted if this deadline is not met). On Friday, following Labor Day, the tentative 2009 Budget will be released and Public Hearings on the Budget will commence on October 15. There will no longer be an end of the year rush punctuated by November elections, Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas shopping.
Paul, lose the detours and deflections. Everyone has seen last year's movies, "The Prestige" and "The Illusionist". Now it is up to you and the "Team" to deliver.
Yo, ANON 7:42 PM. Unless there was an earthquake I'm not aware of, Edgemont is bouded by the Pipeline on the east; the Greenville Elemantary School on the west; Jackson Ave on the south and the busstop at Scarsdale Ridge on the north.
You've added a great deal to this discussion with your keen Socratic, didactical approach.
As to ANON 9:21 PM you're probably correct since the Scarsdale Library is much closer to the Edgemont section of town.
Back to:7:42PM-
Are you so jealous of the Silver Box winners that you derisively refer to them? Don't fret, there's a web site from which you can obtain "knock-off, genuine Edgemont 'near' silver boxes."
Just send me a self addressed stamped envelope, and I'll be glad to hook you up. You understand, I hope, I can't give this kind of iformation out over the internet because people will buy so many engraved near-silver boxes devaluing the real thing.
By the way, what do you prefer on your sandwich, bread or mustard?
Just asking.
To Richard Garfunkel:
Please refer to the March 2008 link on the right hand side of the blog; click on and go to Democracy Week March 10, 2008' the next to the last posting at 11:09 AM is just for you. And you deserve each and every word.
"detours and deflections" ... That seems to be Mr. Feiner's standard modi operandi.
Dear Ed,
I must beg to differ with your treatment of 7:42.
Edgemont, as defined by those borders, is still the product of the bad press gained by the handful (five is the loneliest number) of Edgemont residents who have pretensions of speaking for that land mass. However, for a presumed, well educated body of 7000+ mortals, their tolerance of limited representation on very local matters is seriously deficient. Whereas, whatever the repeating number of attendees of the ECC (I've heard as high as 15) may validate a statistically correct representative constituency on a national level, for locals concerned about their immediate quality of life, their taxes and their schools, this low number does not justify the ascribed power that is seized by this limited but vocal group.
And as you yourself have admitted, at the time of the Referendum, you an Edgemont resident also responded to the Library's beckoning finger. Only later on did you recognize just which finger it was that was pointing your way.
My own recall of the times and thus affirming what 7:42 writes is that those then perceived as all-knowing, all shot-calling and all self-serving fatuous five, when speaking at Town Hall about everything else, did not have any extra wisdom or prescience to share with residents on just one topic, the Library. Embarked on a mission to unseat Feiner, they were not willing to question the $20 million project, its intentions, scope or its backers' abilities to manage such a matter of consequence and cost. Instead, they gave the project a "bye" on scrutiny and kept their fingers crossed, except when you ran for local Edgemont Party office. At that time this group opened their hands to you only to present you with the order of the extended finger.
And this atrophy of Edgemont concern about the single most costly Greenburgh undertaking continues through the present even though the cost of bonding the Library's $20 million absolutely by only unincorporated Greenburgh is of lesser importance how it is spent than whether the $4 million for Taxter Ridge is paid for by just unincorporated or should be shared with the Villages.
Math is not my best subject but I think that being solely responsible for how $20 million is spent and paid for is more significant than the possibility of sharing a $4 million expense.
Call it, if you will, political triage.
Thus whether 9:21 is correct about the voter turnout in Edgemont is not the issue; what is being trumpeted by 7:42 is that those Edgemont mirror-carrying "civic leaders" turned a jaundiced eye to any contrary word uttered against the Library expansion and closed their ears to the "facts and figures" presented on the handouts from the Library. If the preceding sentence is detectable to you as a structure being in serious disorder, then you probably did not applaud at the end of the Library's "information sessions".
Thus, turning to the other matter: the implication from 7:42 that the silver box may have less than sterling qualities and that it is just another vetting of a small clique for its own gratification may be a valid observation. If the current assessment making the rounds is that the ECC brings embarrassment to the defined dimensions of territorial Edgemont, then that is a premise that I heartily agree with as well.
Without naming names other than maligning Groucho, any organization that would have the fatuous five as its membership is not an organization that an Edgemont resident would want as his or her voice.
And I think that this is really something that you agree with as well.
That the coveted silver box has been awarded to some deserving citizens does not bring about the universal agreement that it has been given ONLY to deserving citizens. Just as the Oscars, the Grammys and other peer group prizes are not entirely free of politics, at least the public knows who the other contenders were. That each year's silver box nominees never get as well promoted beyond the pale: this situation would be akin to a Greenburgh which only divulged the winning bid and not the losers, or even did not seek alternate bids.
Even though I am not an Edgemont resident, perhaps knowing who or how large a field of contenders was before the voting "Committee" or entity, indeed who is the Committee, this might give more credence to accepting the credentials and the final selection of the "winner".
Hal,
don't forget to take the police officers out of the ambulances and let civilian emt's/paramedics do ems work for half the money.Also don't forget the duplication of the tech rescue squad. You already have firefighters from fairview/hartsdale and greenville trained for this. do we really need police officers doing this type of work too?
How many people work at the Ted Young center? I know more than parks and rec. Why ?
Why would anyone south of Hartsdale have voted for the Greenburgh library? Why drive up to 119 when we can use libraries closer to our homes - Hastings, Yonkers, Scarsdale or Ardsley. Too bad the Greenburgh library isn't more centrally located.
at the next town board meeting, all board members should give us directions to taxter ridge from
where they live. if they cannot, give it back to the state and the county. the great and powerful mr richard g got lost when he tried to find it.
seems the town is no different.
ps - extra points for directions home. (should appeal to professor juettner and lecturer sheehan)
Ed and Hal very good comments,too bad the board will not listen to them.
With ths past election we thought that things will be changing some what but something tells me we were wrong.
Both of you and many more bloggers have put much food for thought in their minds but as we can see it's been falling on deaf ears.
The reason I see I may be wrong is that these elected officials have become too too friendly with certain department heads and they will not do anything to upset their friendship.
As we have seen in the REC.Dept.
DPW and the POlice dept many ideas have been brought to light but not a one has been followed WHY.
It all has to do with friendship.
hah - and you think suzanne berger would have done better??
bass and especially barnes were totally ineffective.
you want results, support the candidacy of people like hal samis.
Sorry to disappoint you, t'was not me who signed that note about an "operation" to one of our fellow bloggers. Have been way out of the loop in recent days!
Must be another wag who is getting his/her jollies!
By the way, One can access an interesting interview with Tom Abinanti on my site www.advocates-wvox.com. Just was intrerviewed yesterday with Ken Brooks of Go-Eco regarding PHEVs, plug in hybrid electric vehicles. This type of technology is what is sorely needed in this future world of $120+ per barrel oil.
My next show, this Wednesday on WVOX 1460 will be with Marine Corps Times correspondent Andrew Tilghman. He will be talking about his article "The Army's Other Crisis, Why are Brightest are Leaving." It can be heard live-streaming on www.wvox.com.
Yes, by the way, just looked at this blog for the first time in a while. Great thoughts from Hal Samis. I would disagree on the energy office, I think that avenue should always be pursued. With regards to the comprehensive plan, I have always thought it should be immediately jettisoned. It serves no purpose now and 98% of these plans are on some shelf collecting dust. I propose establishing a strong econmic development board to lobby our new governor on creating more Empire Economic Zones.
Again, I believe that the Taxter Ridge issue has no traction except with the folks who have a political agenda and who write to this blog. By the way I will use my Garmin GPS next time to find Taxter Ridge, so that anon 6.51 am can rest well for the balance of the morning.
Of course, the Town Board will be closely looking at our services and tough decisions will have to be made. Cutting out small expenses, which some here have suggested, is more symbolic than helpful, but it could be that every little bit helps.
My suggestion is that the people who oppose the Young Center, the arts, the energy office, the parks and the services that are rendered there, and many other quality of life budget items, join the Republican Party, contribute to its empty coffers, nominate fresh faces and bring the two-party system back into vogue.
This is not meant as an insult in the least. We need a two-party system and these unending internal debates amongst so-called Democrats seem pointless.
Therefore, if challenges to the incumbants in the Democratic Primary of 2009 do not work, there is always November. This way Republicans, Independents, and others, along with Democrats, can have real choice in November.
That should be what the process is all about. My sense is that a fraction of a fraction read this blog and the real voter probably is much more concerned with excellent and relaible services, and understands that we are facing a "slowdown" way beyond their control. But quality of life must also be reasonable and affordable for many of our residents that are being squeezed.
But in deference to some of the good ideas offered here, I believe that these individuals should submit their suggestions to the budget committee and the Town Board in writing or in person and dispense with the usual histrionics, In this way their opinions can be directed more pointedly at the people who are paid to make these decisions.
By the way, I enjoyed a great Saint Patrick's Day get together at Dudley's next to the wharf and Hudson Park in New Rochelle. Had a wonderful chat and time with Bill O'Shaughnessy, his sons, his fine staff at WVOX, the legendary Bill Mazer, who is still going strong at age 87, Paul Redd, Paul Feiner and other politicos sho stopped by for corned beef and a beer. It was a great time to lighten up!
Richard J. Garfunkel
I've said it right along the only way Greenburgh will get straighten out will be if Samis runs for one of the seats.
Could you imagine how much of a change would take place to the betterment of taxpayers.
Too bad we have to wait another two years for another election to come upon us.
Maybe with some luck someone will resign and Samis could take their place.
Sounds simple but you have to have a willing party.
i guess things are so good here according to dear richard that the edgemont incorporation committee (a/k/a the party of five) has just decided to disband.
now they can back to the dromore matter.
or is the dromore affair?
spitzer, paterson, who is next?
marry a beatle!!
I see the Domain store on Central Ave near the 4 corners is closing. Will this be replaced, or become another empty big box providing no tax revenues to the town? Between the disgrace of the Gaseteria, the still empty B&N location, the soon to be empty Domain and the decrepit Carvels, we are seeing the some serious blight in our neighborhood.
The nice thing about the Danny Gold/Trust for Public Land payment was that it didn't require the Town Board's approval - it was a deal between "private parties." The sad thing is that the Trust for Public Land is really neither trustworthy nor public. Only a forensic accountant could hope to unravel the exact amount and conditions of the deal - which probably wasn't illegal, merely distasteful and self-serving.
Forget Samis running for anything already. While he is probably the most astute commmentator on town issues - and it would behoove Feiner to hire him as a consultant - Hal enjoys his Waldorf & Statler role too much to come down from the balcony and take reponsibility for the results of his advice. Besides, it sounds like he has a real job and life, so why would he want to become a small town hack politician? To paraphrase Woody Allen, those who can't do teach, those who can't teach teach gym and those who can't teach gym go into small town politics.
Hey Richard -
Where is the electricity for the "plug-in" hybrid vehicle going to be generated - and how?
Opposition to Indian Point, if successful, would close down about 20% of the local generating capacity - and the chances of building another nuclear generation facility are impossibly small, so we can either burn coal or oil to produce the electricity required. Which do you prefer?
Remember, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch - and if something is too good to be true, it probably is.
Town Crier, just who are the five?
To Anon 10:53 am
With regards to PHEVS they are plugged-in in one's gargage! They have a range of approximately 60 miles, which can cover much of one's local driving, and when the battery runs down the engine seamlessly reverts to a normal internal combustion, gasoline driven engine. These engines can be expected to extend one's car mileage to appromimately 150 miles per gallon.
One can learn more by listening to my interview with Mr. Ken Brooks of Go-Eco at www.advocates-wvox. com.
The subject regarding the future of the Indian Point nuclear facility is not an easy one. I had on Ms. Michel Lee, whose credentials are below:
Ms. Lee is currently Senior Policy Analyst for Promoting Health and Sustainable Energy (PHASE), an energy policy think tank.
She also serves as a member of the board of directors of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), www.nirs.org, an international nuclear industry watchdog organization based in the Washington D.C area. Michel is a member of the Steering Committee of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC), www.IPSECinfo.org, a coalition of over 70 public interest, public health, civic, environmental and citizen groups which formed in response to a flood of citizen concerns about the safety of the Indian Point nuclear power plants after 9/11.* Michel chairs the public interest group the Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy (CIECP), which is a member of IPSEC.
You can listen to her interview also on The Advocates. It was broadcast on this past February 6, 2008.
She offers some alternatives, and reflects on some obvious concerns, which should be of interest to any thinking person. I also recommend that you visit some of the organizational websites mentioned above.
Personally, as I have said before, I would like the plant hardened, made more sustainable and therefore more resilient. This facility's breakdown or vulnerability to internal or external sabotage could affect millions and cripple the region and possibly the United States in the immediate.
Concerns over its internal infrastructure should be addressed sooner than later. The same people who are concerned about replacing this source of 2000 MWTs, would be first in line to question why greater oversight wasn't imposed early enough.
Energy is going to cost more! We must all understand that reality. Maybe unless we invest in new technologies now, we will be much poorer in the future. We are living on borrowed money to sustain our current life-style, what else is new? If we use our great reservoir of talent and ingenuity maybe we can buy a future that will continue to provide a very high and rewarding lifestyle.
Cynical dismissal of our present reality will not cover over the flaws that exist with Indian Point.
Richard J. Garfunkel
Dear 10:47,
Written like you would like to have people believe you know something that others don't.
Like the location of the weapons of mass distruction.
So when you write "the nice thing about the Danny Gold/Trust for Public Land payment was that it didn't require the Town Board's approval...", what you hope people will believe is that there was a payment when in fact you have absolutely no proof to make this claim. Creating a ficticious event and then continuing to refer to it as though it actually happened is straight from the dummy's guide to propoganda.
Not only do you have no basis or first hand knowledge -- if such an allegation were true, then it would seem more in your professional interest to have this reported by the local media. Thus just drop your "proof" in an envelope and mail it. If it is indisputable, then I suspect that the media will even publish it even were it obtained from an anonymous source and let the "proof" speak for itself.
But you don't have any proof; you weren't in the room so, what you "do do" instead is hide in your hole and not only abuse Mr. Gold but also the innocent until proven guilty doctrine. Why don't you act like a man or a woman and stand behind your claim?
Perhaps what you fear is that someone would do to you what you find so easy to do to others.
Franklee my position is known regarding the Taxter purchase. It would be a welcome bit of news were such allegations both provable and public. But I have no use for unsustainable anonymous chatter.
And, why limit it to Mr. Gold. Why not include Greenburgh County Legislators Bronz and Abinanti and the County Director or Real Estate (Sal...whose surname eludes me) who went along with purchasing an overpriced piece of steep slopes/wetlands without an updated appraisal and, wearing their County hats, voted to spend County funds on a parcel that cannot be used by County residents for lack of parking. All of this is available as public record but it doesn't interest you.
There are bigger fish to fry than the activist head of an abutting civic association.
But if you need to continue your anonymous sliming, maybe it is because you find satisfaction in "abutting".
Anonymous 8:26 & 8:52 3/17
8:26 am
Gaul was divided in three parts! Did you forget? Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres! You have the "gall" to think that the WestHelp money was yours! Only Bernstein would write in to defend his name, but i assume he can spell!
8:52 am
You rave on like a lunatic. Greenburgh is not collapsing, the purchase of Taxter Ridge wasn't done for a "friend" and it was approved by all of the elected officials that represent Greenburgh, including our state representatives. If you recall, in your density, the many hearings that were packed to the rafters that there was nary a word of disapproval. Yes, there are always worthy naysayers, but little was heard on that subject!
I blame you for run-on sentences and functional illiteracy. There is no Luddite Party in Greenburgh, nor in the State of New York, and I assume the Conservatives wouldn't want you. So I would suggest you form your own little group and march with your hoary feckless band on Hillside Avenue and petition your government!
William Batson
c/o Mazahs
At the work session, the Chief of Police was joking, wasn't he? If so, why weren't any of the Town Board laughing?
Dear Mr. Batson,
Perhaps with your name, your simile of "packed to the rafters" was an unfortunate choice of words.
Nevertheless, if you were present at the meeting held at the old town hall building, perhaps you may also recall my addressing the assembled East Irvington homeowners and suggesting that in return for the immediate increased valuation by at least $100,000 to the value of their homes when the dedicated parkland was purchased, that perhaps it would be reasonable for them to support a condition surviving the closing: that the purchase be conditioned upon the intention to construct ample parking so that others in Greenburgh, the people from Long Island and the Supervisor's cousin in Buffalo could have access to the park. Many in attendance thought this was a fair quid pro quo.
However, in my subsequent comments before the County Board of Legislators (then headed by Lois Bronz), I reiterated making parking a condition of purchase. Privately I requested Tom Abinante to insist on this -- why would the County spend money on something that County-wide residents would receive no benefit whatsoever or even be able to visit if there was no parking.
Thus we have the rafters packed with residents from East Irvington, the Town Board on the dais; later we have the County Board and now years later we are paying for the purchase, some residents more than they expected, but what continues undisputed by all is that no one can use the park -- for any purpose -- and there are no plans afoot to contract for the improvements necessary for its use by the public, even those that are paying for it thrice over because they are residents of unincorporated, the County and the State.
This is not my view of reasonable.
And, I would also agree that the residents of unncorporated cannot afford to underwrite the needed capital improvements to make the park available. So, there we have it, a burden to purchase and a burden to retain and a substantial burden if ever it is to be open to the public -- based anywhere.
I'm sorry but I cannot abide the argument that this was a wise purchase, even ignoring the irritation that just one school district and one group of residents are the only beneficiaries. And this does not mean that it would follow another route to the same end had the parcel been located in Edgemont, albeit at a much greater cost per acre.
So where do we find ourselves today? Confronting a new scenario; one not much different in arriving at the same ending but also a tall tale acted out on another stage. Still the similarities and conclusion are consistent, only the vehicle is different.
In fact, those that opposed the Taxter Ridge purchase are the same persons lined up to subscribe to buying this new gift horse. Or as explained: this year's white elephant. This time, the ballast is dressed in the wrappings of...the Comprehensive Plan (CP).
With a 20%+ tax increase in unincorporated this year, with at the very least a 15%+ increase next year, 2009 and a 20%+ increase in 2010, the residents can't bear to give up any of the toys that they want when they hang up their stockings on the mantle ahead of Christmas. The Town Budget being passed by December 21 is not a schedule coincidence.
Like the purchase of Taxter Ridge, going ahead with the CP is something that residents cannot afford to pay for and they cannot avail themselves of what it promises because, like Taxter, they cannot afford to pay for the implementation. If this were Monopoly, then I would remind bloggers that there is no free parking on this Town Board; there is no "pass go and collect $200" and there is no Community Chest.
So if you're still bleeding from the Taxter Ridge purchase and can't use it; if you're still bleeding from the Library bonding (wait for the full effect after the last set of bonds get sold later this year) and then you find that residents can't afford to operate the larger Library with its increased budget, and then watch the Police Department (what if someone were to die) demand that thye need still another new set of toy trains and then see whether Santa will sit you on his knee and write a bonus check from his Bear Stearns account.
What is more likely is that you will be seeing slightly enjoyed "silver boxes" being offered on EBay.
Fortunately, I rent.
But for the rest of you, one thing remains clear -- the Town has to learn to say no: no to open space, no to filling the Library bookshelves because they will return asking for a larger Library; no to overtime especially when it is used as a retirement plan builder; no to new programs; no to hiring; no to unions. And it might consider saying yes to the income proposals that may have the wherewithal to withstand the rigors of the current economy: yes to the Tennis bubble, yes to selling pool memberships; yes to development.
Or, you can continue the unlistened and unheeded warning:
not that you may be the one unable to afford to live here anymore (you probably own your home at a much lower than market cost but even that is evaporating as I write)...what you need to consider is if there are still buyers who can afford to buy your home at market value and also afford the rising taxes.
Otherwise you may find yourself in the same boat as the Bear's stockholders..."but the book value was $80..."
Well maybe you'll convince your buyer when you tell him about Greenburgh's hidden jewel, Taxter Ridge Park and how all the king's horses, all the king's men and all the king's courts couldn't get humpty dumpty in.
Or anyone.
Sell Waterwheel to the highest bidder.
And if reserved for affordable -- no priority to Ardsley -- must be Town wide.
Sell Waterwheel to the highest bidder.
And if reserved for affordable -- no priority to Ardsley -- must be Town wide.
Yes, HL, you maybe right about the consequences regarding the Taxter Ridge purchase. But is it the end all, and be all, of every discussion? I am not sure your metaphor about Bear Sterns is quite on the money, But even the word "Shazam" will not make Taxter Ridge go away, or the Library come in under budget and fully supplied, outfitted, and ready to roll. The CP was foisted upon the town by a vindictive Board that used the same rationale as it used with the Library.
Frankly you may have been right with the Ridge, and I still have the large green "Save the Ridge" button, and a number of us were right on both the Library and the CP. Unlike the new Library, the Ridge will need no real maintenance. With the Library's grand opening, the cash register will start really ringing.
Billy Batson
Billy, Holy moly!
Are you whom I think you are?
Didn't you just get a substantial advance against the film and dvd rights to your life story?
Maybe you'll donate a few of those dollars to the Parks Department to reimburse the Town for the $100,000already paid for a retaining wall and then a few bucks more for paving and striping the parking area, some lights, an emergency phone system, electric, water and sewage lines, public bathrooms, trail signs, a park ranger, refurbishing the affordable housing onsite and we'll be ready to rock 'n roll at Taxter.
Well maybe the Town will also have to throw in a few mitigations for the traffic that will be warmly greeted by the happy homeowners along the entry road who won't be thrilled by all the school buses arriving from around the County.
School buses? Children? Ok, we'll also need a snack stand and some teenagers to run it. You know how those kids can be on those class outings to observe nature. Oh, yeah, we'll also need to bump up our insurance and widen the entrance so fire trucks and emergency vehicles can get in and out quickly. Maybe even throw in some fencing to protect the wetlands from kids wandering off the trails.
Trails? Oh, I guess we'll need to put some of those in too.
Maybe even some token acknowlegement of stricter ADA requirements for Park trails.
Maybe even someone to stand at the front gate just to make sure that no one from New Jersey tries to sneak in. And to lock the gate at night in case anyone comes to dig up Jimmy Hoffa's body.
Yeah, no real maintenance expense, just leave it up to mother nature.
All in all, maybe just add another, say $400-450,000 to the annual unincorporated budget. But we can reduce that by your generous contribution of....?
Or maybe we can find a credit union that wants to open a branch next to the snack stand. Maybe they'll even spring for some of the trail signs.
Above all, remember what Smokey says: "Only you can help prevent forest fires".
What a line of crap was shoveled out in the discussion on the capital budget.
What did you save the tax payers?
NOTHING.
You have fooled many of us for too long with all the talk that residents are calling and saying that they have to sell their homes since the tax rate is hitting the roof.
Who are you kidding?
We thought that this time arround the board would be for the people and not against,oh were we wrong.
What did you do to save ?
You passed a law to give away monies to Fairview knowing well that this could have helped the tax roll.
This board will prove to be worse than the one we had before.
This time arround we will see how one siding the voting will be and how the two oldest members are kissing ass to make sure that they get reelected.
This government was elected by the people but it is not for the people.
One looses the heart to vote in coming election as we can see the outcome here in Greenburgh.
Folks we are and will be screwed royally for a long time.
The town council should be gearing themselves for two or three major lawsuits that will be coming up pretty soon.
This will happen because of all their wrong doings and poor management.
Let's see how they will try to pass the buck this time.
9:08 anon
You must be drunk or kidding!
No I'm not kidding.
This morning, I sent the following letter to Paul Feiner, the Town Board members and various others.
Subject: Reading is good for the mind
A head line on page one of the 3/20/08 Journal News read, "Amicone: Yonkers faces big shortfall, 700 layoffs."
Does it give you( the town board) a template on how other governments work?
As a public service please read it. You can also read it on line.
You've been Edified by,
Ed Krauss
Then I had to go to work. So with your indulgence I'd like to followup my "public service."
The sands under the Saudi Arabians were just sand until American technology and ingenuity converted, by digging below the surface- thinking outside the box, if you will- of that arid wasteland into a revenue stream of liquid gold and untold fortunes.
We too are, and have been in a position to mine for our "gold."
If you read the Journal article you would quickly see Yonkers' "salvation" according to its mayor is, STATE AID! He goes to the Albany contingent representing Yonkers as his port of first call. Who can blame the guy?
It's worked in the past. When my friend Chuck Lesnick was the director of development during the Zeleski administration, he amassed grants in the $millions (more than ten) for the waterfront rehab. And this kind of "fishing for grants," is available to all.
There are literally millions, or even billions of grant dollars available, IF you know your way through the "grant maze."
Not only is it avaiable from the
federal, state and county government, there are foundations, charitable organizations, charitable families i.e. the Lanzas who donated to the Greenburgh library, and many many more. The trick of course is you have to know what you're doing. You have to know where to look; what to say and how to make your case more worthy than other "grant fund-seeking fisherman."
I am aware of a "grant office" in the town. What I am not aware of is how productive that office has been. To my knowledge, grants for Greenburgh are smaller the a pimple on a tyrannosaurus' butt...and just as proportionate.
So let's look to obtaining grants with a fervor. And the exercise begins by getting a grant professional. One with a proven track record, measured in dollars.The other part of getting grants is to prove to the grant giver, proven,prudent, fiscal management.
There I'm stymied. Giving away $100,000 doesn't look too prudent. Giving away $650,000 looks down right fiscally illiterate. Little or no oversight on a $19.8 million capital project is gounds for a social demotion.And that's only in the last year or so. And so on and so forth.
Which comes first, cleaning up the fiscal mess or getting a grant magnet? Given the protracted inability of Board after Board to show any semblence of fiscal management, I would opt for the Grant pro, AND turning the fiscal management of this town over to a pro there too.
I've identified a revenue steam untried and untested to any substantive degree in Geenburgh in over 35 years I've lived here. Now, of course it has to be implemented by those who've mismanaged fiscally and who've employed a grants getter with bubkus to show on his resume.
But again, this is the NEW Town board, so with no other coice available to me/us, I wait to see how this episode will play out.
We do have one major advantage over the Arabs. Our soil is significantly more arable.
Proof reading this piece, I find a monumental irony in my choice of word in the last paragraph. Arab soil is not arab-le.
Oh well, sometimes as the fingers tire, the mind wanders.
The question which Feiner and the Paulitburo should have asked is "Should we act responsibly and leave the Town's infrastructure in at least as good condition as when we took office, or should we just assume our children and grandchildren will be willing and able to pay for our mistakes?"
To 9:38 AM:
I agree with your thought procss with one small cavaet. At the rate our taxes in Greenburgh are increasing, our children and their children will not be able to afford to live in Greenburgh. Maybe someone elses children named: Buffet, Bloomberg, Trump, and A-Rod will move in and turn Taxter Ridge Park into Central Park North. Put in a zoo and a stadium (with luxury boxes) and create a faux lake to accommodate boating- with fees of course.
Or, Greenburgh will experience an epiphany and a NEW, NEW, New Town Board will be elected and have the know-how and courage to put its finances on the right track.
This is Good Friday, stranger things have happened. Look at the Renaissance being unfolded in NOHO, SOHO, TRIBECA, THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT and of course DUMBO. All these delapidated areas have turned into gold mines, so why can't Greenburgh?
Those are my "cup half full" thoughts for a Good Friday morning with none of thephones ringing.
To 9:38 AM
I agree with your thinking process with one small cavaet. At the rate our taxes are increasing, our children and their children will not be able to afford to live in Greenburgh. But other peoples children named: Buffet, Bloomberg, Trump and A-Rod will.
And they could possibly turn Taxter Ridge Park into Central Park North. With improvements like a Zoo, a stadium, a man-made lake for boating-all with use fees by everyone who lives in unincorporated ONLY and, without question, A PARKING AREA.
Stranger things have happened. Look at the Renaissance in SOHO, NOHO, TRIBECA, the MEAT PACKING DISTRICT and DUMBO. All dilapidated area morphing into $1,000,000 studio apartment condos.
Maybe, a NEW, New, NEW TOWN BOARD will be in office with the know-how and courage to put our finances on the right track.
That is my "cup half full" thought for this Good Friday, with none of the phones ringing, and happily anticipating going home with little or no traffic to hinder me.
To all, I wish a good Good Friday and an equally good weekend.
To 9:38 PM
I agree with your thought process with one small cavaet. With the rate of taxes escalating at the alarming rate in Greenburgh with no hope in sight, our children and their children won't be able to live in Greenburgh as we know it. However, other peoples' children named Buffet, Bloomberg, Trump and A-Rod will.
They may also transform Taxter Park into Central Park North. They'll put in a zoo, a stadium a man-made lake for boating, all carry fees...for unincorporated residents ONLY.
And, a NEW, NEW, NEW TOWN BOARD with the know-how and courage needed to put the finances on the right track could change things for the better.
Miracles do happen. Look at SOHO, NOHO, TRIBECA, the MEATPACKING DISTRICT and let's not omit DUMBO. These dilapidated area now have $1,000,000 studio condo apartments.
So, those are my "cup half full" thoughts on this Good Friday morning, with no phones ringing and looking forward to a no or slight traffic going home.
Please forgive me for posting three very similar messages. However, I am using a computor as opposed to my trusty WEBTV. So, when I click "send" I wasn't sure it went, and all I saw was an empty screen.
Mea culpa,
To straighten out the financial affairs here in Greenburgh we need about ten years.
They have screwed up so much that miracles would not help the situation.
Feiner said in the Inquire that he cut spending one million dollars ,may I ask who is he kidding.
What he cut was nothing in comparison as to what he will be giving away as he has done in previous years,(Westhelp money).
Why do you have these budget meetings when you all know what is happening before hand.
Your minds are made up before you take your seats at the meetings.
In politics most of the decisions are made behind closed doors way before they are brought out to the public.
.
Crimestoppers Alert!!
Ed Krauss has found the missing piece of the puzzle. A very large piece, too. You can all stop looking. It was right under your noses all along.
And oddly enough, the only one who could see the solution was a resident who just completed eye surgery.
Actually, Ed's online, head-butting
doppelganger was also closing in on the same answer. However, the Journal News article on Yonkers brought the spotlight to bear, Ed made the connection and if it took an eye operation to bring it into focus, like Lincoln on Sherman's drinking: I suggest that the Town Board should also get themselves booked for eye surgery.
Greenburgh just isn't getting its rightful share of grants. Apparently the money's there for the taking; we need the money. We've gotten it before but just a small nibble. We need to get a mouthful and then some.
How to go about it, like Finneran, it's not my bag. And maybe it is as simple as:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates,
I've read that practically every Library in Westchester has gotten free computers from your foundation. Could we get some too?
However, apparently there are some "musts to avoid" as well. When getting money, there may be some give-backs so we need to have someone who can read before we sign the applications and acceptances for the grants. We really don't want everyone in New York State or the United States to have access to every grant funded program. So we need to exercise some discretion and diligence.
And, gee, we need to be honest. A month ago, the Library and Mr. Brodsky released their good news about some $400,000 in Library grants. What they forget to mention when patting themselves on the back is that these are not new, but old grants, and that they may not be legally acceptable by the Town or the Library due to some interpretations of their offering and acceptance conditions with regard to reducing the already approved bonding.
But kudos to Mr. Krauss. As for the Town Board, now that you are aware that there is big money out there,
let's make this more of a priority than some of the trivia that you get so worked up over.
Let's find funding in these troubled times, not finding parking spaces on Central Avenue or finding make work jobs for Seniors. With less money coming out their pockets to pay rising taxes, Seniors (and all residents) will be happier and some nebulous nominee can afford a parking space at the train station.
Cut 10 positions in the Police Dept. and presto!!! 1 million dollars in savings!! It's all so simple. Try it in other departments and I'm sure you can save more.
Today, a friend for whom I have a great deal of respect called and complimented me on my piece about locating a new revenue stream via grants.
Then he suggested I flesh out the idea by not only giving the Board the idea, but by filling in the names, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of who to contact for what.
In the course of being in the marketing and advertising business for nearly 40 years, that is precisely what I would have done for a client. Becaue that was my job. Floating an idea was only part of the job. Filling in the circle was the complete package.
But,in this case it is not my job. My job was complete when I gave the Board the idea for raising money from sources other than the usual source-the tax payers.
Now that they have the idea, they can reject it; do nothing (which has been their modis operandi for decades) or accept it. If the latter they will have to do some work. I know that's a 4-letter word, but if memory serves me, that's what they get paid to do.
My job is done Mssrs "Phelps," if you chose to take on the assigment it's up to you. This blog won't disintegrate in 60 seconds-however, after its useful time is up, it will be archived for posterity.
The world of Greenburghers is waiting for a response. Not meaning to throw salt on the open wound, a response like answers to the library construction project I asked about 6-7 weeks ago...maybe more.
Maybe you have the right formula. If it's too difficult to answer, offer a "pocket veto,"-don't say anything and it will go away. The less you say the less you'll regret later on.
The idea is free. The implementation is not.
3:57
I think you numbers are low. You are forgetting pensions and benefits. Make it 1.2Million in savings.
Before we start renting trailers, we need to critically examine the space in the Public Safety building. Why are so many police officers in that building during the day. They should either be out on patrol (uniformed or undercover). Only a few supervisory people, and people writing up reports. Not an army.
Paul,
Why don't you ever reply to all the suggestions on this blog? good or bad. We need to have cuts made in the work force,just to try and keep the taxes where they are now.
The services would remain the same even if you cut 10% from each dept.
People complain about the utility companies who have more workers watching one or two men working arround installing new lines.
Well has anyone seen how the employees from the DPW do the same thing.
Where are the supervisors?
Why do you have so many men sent to one job where they are not needed?
You can see the same two men digging holes whenever there is a problem, could this be that they do not have the same degree that the watchers have.
Hey Regula whats going on.
.
Post a Comment