The Town Board will be stepping up efforts to cut costs. On Tuesday Commissioner Al Regula advised the Board that if the town required all residents to place garbage at the curbs the town could save over $250,000. When one factors in gas and employee benefits - the savings could exceed $300,000 a year. The Commissioner recommended that this cost savings measure be implemented in January, 2009--after the sanitation schedules are released.
The Town Board also asked that departments create vehicle use logs and require all employees to provide the town with a vehicle use report.
A week from Tuesday the Board will meet with Comptroller Mike Kolesar to discuss overtime of all employees. We are requesting an accounting of all part time and consultant positions (not including summer help) --how much are we paying each part timer/consultant, the total costs. I am suggesting that the Town Board approve or reject each of the hires. Currently, department heads do not have to receive permission to hire part timer's/consultants from the Town Bd.
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46 comments:
and what sacrifices will the town board itself be making?
how about stopping the farce known as the comprehensive plan?
how about a pay cut?
That is so correct put the comprehensive plan aside until we could afford the expense.
Sheehan has to start thinking of the tax payers and not his own glory.
If this plan was a matter of life and death it would be another story.
Will the police dept.comply with your request.
How about letting villages handle their own EMS.calls.
We helped them out for too long.
One of the biggest waste in the police dept.which I have noticed that when the police answers a call they never ever shut down the vehicle. They just keep it running.
This blog writer is happy. The Town Council and Supervisor seem to be working hard trying to reduce spending. Way to go!
What we need is results.These cuts have been demanded right along at town meetings.
Now that the public decided to rebel everything will be done to pacify us.
Let's see what happens.
As far as the DPW goes may I ask why is it that supervisors in the suvs ride up and down streets many times during garbage collection.
They are not issuing summones to those that have uncovered garbage pails at curbside they are not issuing summones to contractors that throw debris all over the place .
Do they have to satisfy the boss Regula that they are doing their job by putting milage on the vehicle??
As far patrol cars go yes they keep their vehicles running all the time. WHat's the reason for that.
Another thing why is it that sanitation cannot do the job in picking up all the garbage at peoples homes.
When for some reason or another they forget a pickup a vehicle has to be sent out for the special pickup.WHY?
Listen to the peoples complaints,we are the one that notices what is happening arround town.
This is a good idea.
The real question is why none of the departments with vehicles have use logs already. Good management practice has recommended vehicle use logs for decades. Why is Greenburgh only now getting the message?
Ossining is looking for a new police boat. Lets sell ours. Unincorporated Greenburgh has no access to the river.
Greenburgh is well run. Services are excellent. Whenever I complain to Public Works I receive an almost immediate response.
Nothing is perfect. The private sector is not perfect. The civics are not perfect. Human beings are not perfect.
Services stink. Taxes are sky high. No one cares about the B budget. What are police doing? Every day I see them at Hartsdale station, standing around, not directing traffic.
The real question is why none of the departments with vehicles have use logs already.
Indeed. WTH?
"Good management practice has recommended ..."
I wish this town would run like a real municipality. This unincorporated thing is ridiculous. You'd think this was Hooterville or Mayberry. Can't we get a professional manager or at least a mayor at the helm?
Re:Police,Recently my wife took ill(trouble breathing and pain)I called 911 and a police officer came,he radioedback that my wife did have diffeculty.2 firetrucks came(FairviewEMTS)they were great a police paramedic came,she was great.My wife was treated professionaly.However there were 3 other police cars there,and all the police officers did was stand around and chatted while there cars were running.I dont know why they stayed there when it was obvious that Paramedic and firefighter EMTs had it under control.
You dont know why? Maybe they wanted the OT??
This is why I say no OT unless related to a homicide within the previous 48 hours. Other than that, we certainly have sufficient manpower on regular time.
The bigest crime in Greenburgh is how the police dept. is taking us to the cleaners.
The only reason that they are on the job is to see how much extra money they could make.
The overtime has gotten to be a habit .
We are told habits are hard to break. So what will the chief do.
Well between you and me he doesn't give a dam because he is retiring in one and half years.
He has his pension in order so why should he help lower the taxes.
It is clear that someone other than Kapica MUST set rules for authorization of OT. And then must happen NOW.
I love this town. The Super and board members seem to be trying hard to make improvements. Nothing is perfect. They are trying hard. My town is run nicely. That is why I say thank you!
Can Comptroller Mike Kolesar please ecplain why the part time employees who take care of our children in camp did not get paid like they were supposed to today? What kind of message does this send. Mabe employees were waiting for this paycheck!!!!
I never heard of a camp that pays counselors every week. Usually twice during the summer. Once again, our town has no controls.
If the town really listens to complaints, why did the sewer guy have to go to the state comptroller? The town only responds to the little complaints. They attempt to ignore the big ones. They act as if it didn't happen. Read the sewer guys website to see what I am talking about. Here is someone who went to the town with the evidence to prove the town was at fault and he was ignored. Sheehan even wanted to charge his district for a study! Read it all at www.sewerdistricttruth.com.
Camp Employees Must Be Paid!!!!
This is not only unfair but arrogant!
Paul please step in.
Camp employees must be paid according to the contract. Again, my daughter has worked at two local camps, one private, one public (not Greenburgh). Counslors are paid twice during the 6 week session. If Greenburgh camps pay more frequently than local custom, we need to know
I was reading a book about Abraham Lincoln today. Don't worry, Town government. They said the same things about good old Abe back then as they are saying about you now! Democracy encourages complainers.
Are camps charged to A budget? If not, why not?
Put more foot patrols out to protect the public.
The cars are used to chase speeders and other types of traffic problems.
If we see a patrol car on any of the streets we say that something must have happened .
Have police direct trafic where needed at peak hours.
If you need information how this could be accomplished ask the traffic person in White plains PD to teach you how this could be done.
We pay huge amounts for police and they do nothing. And Paul doesnt care. We could cut force in half and no one would notice.
We got more out of our police force when salaries were lower and the personel was less.
Today we have more police with ridiculous salaries and less work.
Figure that one out.
I think our supervisor gets too chummy with all department heads and because of this a lot is overlooked.
Paul stop wearing blinders and listen to what the public is saying.
We on the outside see more of whats going on within this town. In this time of recession you have to help out the residents. Listen to them and maybe you can lower the taxes not for next year but for years to follow.
STOP BEING A NICE GUY.REMEMBER NICE GUYS FINISH LAST.
Dear Anonymous 7/3 9:31 PM,
If you will either email me at mkolesar@greenburghny.com or call my office at 993 1534 I will look into any soecifics that you provide and get you an answer.
I happeneed to meet with both Comnmissioner Byrne and his deputy Thursday (July 3rd) at about 4:45 PM and nothing was mentioned to me at this time about individuals not being paid. To the best of my knowledge, the first payroll for summer seasonal employees is July 17th.
It is July 4th at 7:16 PM and I just checked my Town email and there is no message from anyone on this topic
I look forward to your communication.
"They are trying hard. My town is run nicely."
I believe that there are employees of the town who do try. Unfortunately, however, the town is run poorly.
the Greenburgh police do a commendable job. Serious crime continues to be at an all time low thanks, in part, to the good leadership of our chief of police (and the support he has from the Town Board).
Pray tell where is crime down in Greenburgh.
If you are saying that there is no crime here have you been reading the newspapers. Some residents had to hire their own security person
a retired Greenburgh police man] to patrol their road.
You have the nerve to say that crime is down.maybe you are referring to murder.
As far as car breakins ,home invasions and burgleries well I guess those are not considered crimes to you.
I think you had better spend the money to pick up the local newspaper and above all the Scarsdale Inquirer and see for yourself how much crime has risen in this town.
Smarten up buster and see what's happening in your own back yard.
One has to wait for something to happen in the area to see patrol cars cruising up and down the road maybe twice a day.
No crime in Greenburgh.
No one is paying attention to what is needed as far as policing the streets. They are too interested in making money and preparing for their retirement. In other words the ones in charge are just biting time .
The police go to many burglar alarms and other calls they are very busy.
I think that this is part of their job.We do pay for a permit to have them respond to alarms.
If it is a false alarm we do recive a summons.
So we are not getting this service for free.
At least it keeps them on their toes.
Didn't Kapica state that serious crime is down? There will always be some crime. We have a good police dept working for us. Even the homeowners who hired an off duty cop to patrol had words of praise for the police and for Kapica.
the amount of crime that being home and car breakins has never been this bad.
I don't know what part of town you live in but I do not consider the amount low.
I would thing that hiring someone else to do a payed mans' job on the police force is a good slap in the chiefs' face. His men are not doing a good job period end of discussion.
That fact is Kapica doesnt care, plain doesnt care. Traffic backs up. White Plains has police officers standing up and directing traffic. Lights could be retimed. Overtime is useless, it is only to increase pensions. And Feiner doesnt care.
Especially check the cost of outside counsel the Legal Department uses. It's ridiculous!!!!!
the costs of outside legal counsel under Tim Lewis's leadership have been coming down. He even eliminated one job.
Excessive litigation costs might be the fault of the client.
Do any detectives work the midnight shift or are they called in for o.t. for those hours when a crime is committed. Why do any D.P.W. employees take their work vehicles home every night? Do they pay for their own gas? Why summer help when you can't even afford full time workers?
All excellent questions. I concur.
Had the town board listened to the residents at town meetings we would have never reached this point of cutting services.
No one was to be believed that commissioners were spending money like it was going out of style.
You have allowed each person in charge do what the hell they wanted and now you are trying to prove to the residents that you are trying to lower the taxes.
What a farce.
Samis spoke up about the police ,library and rec.depts.
Krauss spoke on the library and many other issues concerning this town. Did You listen?
Bernstein spoke up on the Taxter Ridge fiasco and also all your parks.
Others spoke on the center the biggest guzzler of our tax dollars.
Housing authority with the private patrol given to them by our police dept.
Have they paid up????????
Now one can see that each of our elected officials had no intentions of doing the right thing with the tax rate.
You have heads of departments that have been living off of our taxes for too long.
Bring in some new blood that could make this town a win win one.
Your commissioners are here up to about twenty years. Get rid of them. What have they done to help the residents but spend and spend some more.
What have they gotten in return from different vendors since none of you watched or inspected bills thoroughly.
Honesty ,in this town went out the window.
Each one of you has lined your pockets fully at taxpayers expense.
Now Regula wants to cut some services that have been in existance since I moved here fifty years ago.
Who's he kidding.
Police services are the pits.
Yes they do answer medical calls which turns out to be a duplicate service since all three fire deparmentst do the same.
Do we need the police to handle medical calls?
The parks and rec. are stealing the residents deaf dumb and blind.
There budget is the same every year for the exact same work that has to be done.
Who is pocketing this money since nothing is getting done.All the parks look like dumps.
The center, where has our money gone for refurbishing every year
maybe in some ones home.
Now comes the highway and sanitation our roads are a mess .yes they paint the yellow lines in the middle and the white lines to the side. Big deal.
You were told all about the library but did you listen now your manager Regula is telling us about the maintenance.
Why do the taxpayers have to pay for this expense.?
The library should cover all the expenses that they have.
This rate hike can go on for years and years without any solutions since we do not have the right people watching the ship or in office.
Did you listen to all the above comments presented to you during town meetings and on this blog No.
What kind of miracles are you looking for,well the source for miracles has been tapped out.
There's a saying that a fish starts stinking from the head in other words start making changes in your departments from the head down.
"You have allowed each person in charge do what the hell they wanted ..."
Why don't we get a mayor or town manager or something? There's no professional supervision. I know the Town Board is supposed to be the overseers, and I've never understood the role of the Town Supervisor, but we're not a sparsely settled township anymore as when that structure was set. For all intents and purposes, Unincorporated Greenburgh is a city, and we should start operating as such.
If a home is registered as a two family house why give permission to make it into a three family.
We all have problems paying our bills in today economy why give this person the ability to make something legal that she had for thirty years as an illegal rental
If this is granted you will have many of us asking for the same favor.
Will she be getting this because of where she lives if so that is wrong.We all live in Greenburgh and we are all having problems paying our bills.
She payed taxes for a two family house but had the ability to have a three family for all these years.
He kept saying that the state does not require a sprinkler system for an existing home but the truth is that the apartment has been an illegal apartment for thirty years.
It's a safety hazard and should not be granted.
The building department is trying to make homes safe with their inspections now this old timer comes in and wants what he says is needed to make the change from two family to a three family.The state law does not cover an illegal apartment .She had the benefit of renting a third apartment while the house was assessed for a two family.
Change the law for her and you have to change it for everyone.
Could someone tell us how this woman can have a legal two family home but has turned it into a three family for the past thirty years has the nerve to say that she cannot afford the expenses for the home since the family living in the basement had to leave.The family had to leave because the apartment was illegal.
Her reverend has fought with the town board for some time.
We are all having problems trying to make ends meet.
If this is granted I too will like to have an income from my basement.
You must not grant this for safety reasons.
She paid taxes for a two family home but raked in the money for thirty years from the illegal third apartment.
Watch out if granted you will be opening a tremendous can of worms.
If granted one thing is for sure the building department will have plenty of work.
Just remember we are all in a bind with this economy.
Don't be fools and grant this request.
You are also leaving yourselves opened for law suits where mother and daughters lived and were made to remove the stove in the basement apartment.
Town board, i am sure you are going to ask michael kolesor why he has 2 full time workers and 1 consultant for the payroll dept.
-- who is watching the watcher?
p.s. police dept, you are doing a great job, keep up the good work.
Please do not let this lady, make her house into a three family. She has been a burden on the town for 30 years already. You should hit her with a big fine, for having the 3rd apartment.
It's not safe! You don't need to ask the Fire dept to know that. It also brings more garbage and more usage of the sewr system, witch she did not pay for, also if there were kids living in this apartment,it's a burden on the schools.
Right on the town should not listen to the reverend or this lady.
She screwed the town for thirty years receiving rent for an illegal apartment now because she got caught she wants to legalize it.
Come on give us a break.
Now she's crying that she cannot meet the payment of bills. Well lady that's tough.
Your house was and is a two family dwelling and that's it.
I would like to change my home into a two or three family dwelling also since I am having problems paying my bills.
The laws in Greenburgh are there to be followed by many of us regardless of what part of town we live in or how many reverends come to our aid.
You committed a crime for thirty years and because you got caught you are asking for a pardon .Nice work lady.
Tell me did you declare this third apartment on your income taxes as earned revenue or did you forget to abide by the law again.
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