Good luck Al Regula, Commissioner of Public Works and Butch Nanna, Deputy Commissioner of Public Works. Both town officials have advised the Town Board that they will step down from their positions in mid December. We anticipate a smooth transition and have started the search for permanent replacements.
Al Regula, Commissioner of Public Works has worked for the town since 1974 -- for 34 years. He has been Commissioner of Public Works since 1992. Butch Nanna has worked for the town for 33 years - since 1975. He has been Deputy Commissioner since 2000. NYS pension provisions discourage many long serving employees from continuing their employment --they actually are working for next to nothing if they continue their employment with the town.
Both officials deserve our thanks for the excellent services offered. They were responsible for overseeing roads, sanitation, snow removal, water, engineering, construction projections, road repairs and drainage issues. Some major capital projects were completed on their watch: a new Town Hall, an expanded and new library (to be open in mid December, 2008), two major police headquarter renovations, a new garage for our fleet, a second floor at the Theodore Young Community Center, Irvington-Greenburgh RUmbrook joint venture pump station, a new multipurpose center at AF Veteran Town Park, renovations at the water shop and much more. The town's recycling program also expanded during their tenure in office.
We will be conducting a search for replacements. E mail: townboard@greenburghny.com.
In the coming months the town will review current operations and continue to look for new approaches to manage the town in the most efficient manner possible.
PAUL FEINER
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74 comments:
this town is in deep s..t!!!!!!!
In the coming months the town will review current operations and continue to look for new approaches to manage the town in the most efficient manner possible.
(and who will do this)
Word on the street is that Gary Kriss is looking for a new job.:)
(and who will do this)...
the new appointees. Who else?
Turnabout is fair play. After years and years of Feiner claiming credit for constituent service, when all he ever did was buck the calls to Al and Butch, who Feiner then trashed publicly whenever it was convenient for him to do so, these guys were just counting the days until they could both get out of Dodge with all their benefits intact.
Now the Town has to deal with cuts in essential services, including cuts in sanitation and DPW, with no one in charge of sanitation, leaf and snow removal -- and just as the weather is about to turn nasty. Feiner left out of his e-mail the fact that he and the other town board members met in executive session today with Al and Butch in an effort to get them to reconsider, or at least stay on until replacements can be found, and they said no way, leaving the room like teenagers with their new-found freedom.
Good for them. Bad for us.
paul can you please post the job requirements
paul i bet you do no the job requirements, this town will sink
One hopes that Feiner and the rest of the town board will not deal with these departures in the same way that they dealt with the departure of the commissioners at the TDYCC -- by appointing a clearly unqualified "acting" commissioner. One also hopes that when sanitation, snow and leaf removal services go to hell in a handbasket, as they most assuredly will this winter, that Greenburgh residents will hold Feiner and the town board accountable -- for they are responsible for Al and Butch leaving, and no one else.
post the job requirements
on the town web site
Feiner and the town board,are NOT welcome at the DPW
paul give the job to Gabe
All are welcome at DPW
Al Regula and Butch Nanna sorry to see you go,but i dont blame you, i dont know how you two put up with all that crap, you two are the BEST
Hard to tell from the Supervisor's announcement whether or not he was being sarcastic.
I say this from practice.
Consider:
"Both officials deserve our thanks for the excellent services offered. They were responsible for overseeing roads, sanitation, snow removal, water, engineering, construction projections, road repairs and drainage issues. Some major capital projects were completed on their watch: a new Town Hall, an expanded and new library (to be open in mid December, 2008), two major police headquarter renovations, a new garage for our fleet, a second floor at the Theodore Young Community Center, Irvington-Greenburgh RUmbrook joint venture pump station, a new multipurpose center at AF Veteran Town Park,"
Do I have to recite the problems and mismangement surrounding these various construction projects on their watch?
Perhaps the realization that since the Town Supervisor is robbing the new Court construction piggybank and the Highway Fund, there will be less money left for those holding the keys. Could this have had something to do with their timely departures.
Kinda weird to see a Department Head and his Deputy pull up stakes and hit the trail together. Maybe there's a movie in this.
Odd too that they may miss the grand opening of their greatest triumph? Does this mean that the Town has run out of Library Change Orders to rubber stamp? Does this mean that the Town will no longer have to pay twice for the same job?
Does this mean that one of the two four door sedans ($25,000) purchased for DPW in the capital budget can be returned? Or does their departure create another problem, how will the Assessor get around? Oh, I forgot, she purchased $170,000 of new software which she's never in the office to use.
Of course the last laugh could be on the Town. Maybe the next guy will realize that the Town really should be charging for curbside garbage pick-up.
Finally, regarding "working for free", don't employees get pensions based upon their latter years' compensation? The longer you work, presumably, the higher your salary and the higher your pension. Oh, I forgot, the 2009 budget shows no raises for department heads. No raises, no higher pensions, see ya around.
One down, three to go.
Al and Butch:
You did a good job.
Town Board:
Al & Butch did good. Consider this an opportunity. Review operations in the dept. Don't be afraid to make change. Look for ways to save taxpayers money if you make good changes.
New blood among commissioners could be energizing.
10:02
You must be out of your mind to suggest Gabe as the replacement!
He can't even do his job now. He still has not stopped the people on Prospest Ave. from storing their garbage at the curb 24/7
against Town Code.
" ... the Town Supervisor is robbing ... the Highway Fund ..."
Please don't touch highway funds. The lack of roadway maintenance in Unincorporated Greenburgh is such an embarrassment, as well as a problem with so many storm drains covered and clogged with debris. Doesn't the town own a basic street-sweeper?
Before the jobs are even posted, please do research regarding the professional standards, best practices, education expectations and such for modern-day public works managers. (Things have changed a lot in the profession and in the township over the past thirty years.) See www.apwa.net, and also consult with neighboring municipalities like Scarsdale and Yonkers which are well respected for their professional DPW operations.
I want to hear from the blogger who constantly killed Al Regula on this blog. Maybe he can apply for the job. If you think this Town went through a lot of Comptrollers just wait and see how many DPW Commisioners we go through. This town is in trouble. No one is going to put up with Feiner's B.S the way Regula & Nanna did.
Hey Hal, I really do enjoy reading your post's and 99% of the time I agree with what you are saying. You are so off base with your negative comments of Regula & Nanna. Just wait, you will see.
HAL,
MUCH OF WHAT YOU SAY & EVENTUALLY UNCOVER IS VERY VALID
BUT AS A RETIRED, LONG TIME EMPLOYEE, THAT DEALT WITH ALL DEPT.
HEADS, YOU HAVE BEEN WAY OFF BASE
IN YOUR CONSTANT CRITICISM OF THE
D.P.W. COMMISSIONER--
AS FOR HIS DEPUTY, THIS IS A MAN THAT WORKED HIS WAY UP FROM THE BOTTOM & IS WELL RESPECTED BY THE
WORKERS IN THE MANY DEPTS. THAT REPORT TO D.P.W.-
JUST WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NOW!!!
AS FOR PENSIONS, PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR THE LENGTH OF TIME THESE GUYS HAVE ARE ACTUALLY WORKING FOR ABOUT 20-25% OF THEIR
SALARIES WHEN COMPARED TO WHAT THEIR PENSIONS WILL PAY-
STAYING AROUND THIS LONG WAS OUT OF
LOYALTY & CERTAINLY NOT THE DAY TO DAY B/S & CRITICISM FROM ALL THE SO-CALLED EXPERTS.
THERE ARE ONE OR TWO MORE EMPLOYEES WITH THIS KIND OF TIME IN, IF THEY DECIDE TO LEAVE WATCHOUT-
GREENBURGH'S SALARIES FOR MANAGEMENT HAVE BEEN LOWER THAN SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES FOR A LONG TIME, "HIGHLY QUALIFIED" PEOPLE HAVE AVOIDED GREENBURGH FOR YEARS FOR THIS REASON & ARE WELL AWARE OF THE THE DAY-TO-DAY B/S THAT GOES ALONG WITH THE JOB HERE.
Al and Butch have been around a long time and I have to say as an employee that they will be sorely missed! Trust me they have put up with a lot of political B.S.
While I can agree with some of Hal Samis's comments, he really needs to work in this place to see what is really going on as opposed to listening to what he he hearing and/or being told.
Trust me, there are going to be more department heads that may follow because of things that are being done or not done in the Town.
Butch and Al while I am sadden to see you leave, I am sure you have better things ahead :)))
Good Luck to the both of you
It seems like everyone has such great things to say about these two men except for hal. Well hal I guess i see some of the things you see. A library that went way over budget, and instead of hiring a professional to oversee we used the resources that town thought they had, which we all know now they were wrong. Let me not forget to mention the multipurpose center at AFV park. Anybody ever been inside when it rains. If not take my advice stay outside of the building under the front awning and you will stay dryer then being inside. The building was built as if it were a warehouse. Were was everyone during this project. And from my understanding a few thousand will be going into replacing the roof of this building. Maybe instead of three pricing this job out the town will actually check out the credentials of the contractor they use. As far as both guys go retiring at the same time, their must be a reason, but I'm sure we will find out something after they leave, you know one of those hush hush deals that have been going on in the town for the longest.
Unincorporated Greenburgh seems to lurch from crisis to crisis. How could Feiner, the only elected full-time town official not have known that these long-time two commissioners were going to take early retirement when they did? Like everything else Feiner touches, this too reflects very poorly on both his management and communication skills. Doesn't he talk to his commissioners? Do they talk to him? Doesn't sound like that's been happening and who gets screwed -- why us the taxpayers of unincorporated Greenburgh.
I am not unsympathetic to the "pressures" that Al and Butch faced working for the Supervisor.
Nor am I unaware of the enormity of the task.
Not having to deal with the Town generated bullshit myself as an employee, I can understand most of what I don't understand.
However, this is a free country and over these career lifetimes, there must have been some roads not taken, some choices not made.
My role here is not to defend those who accept promotions and salary increases but do so by agreeing to tolerate the wrong thing.
It is certainly human to place the security of your family above all other considerations. However, this is a two-sided coin; one does what they do can accept or turn a blind eye to for reasons and it is not my place to judge their priorities.
However,
I am only concerned by the effect on the Town of their choices. The bloggers who write that there is a lot I don't know are correct. There is a lot I don't know. But apparently there is a lot to know that no one wants to air in public.
And that is the problem.
The only road I can follow in light of this is that Town employees who accept their paychecks should recognize that it is not the Supervisor's money that makes their check good for deposit.
It is the taxpayers and residents who are really their employer. And the notion that citizens should wait 34 years for the truth to trickle out is ridiculous.
I depend on information to make my sometimes oblique approach to viewing the official version. If bloggers and people more close to the source continue to sit on or otherwise hide the facts, then the consequences of these Town Board tolerated deceptions are the result.
Let's join forces and work together to go beyond spilling the beans; not leave them simmering on the slow cooker. I call on all Town employees to assist in throwing out the beans which are by any standard of taste, ny now years and years overcooked.
Maybe Paul can appoint Hal Samis as DPW commissioner. He can check into privatizing the sanatation dept. and save millions. other municipalaties do it. Why not us?
While he's at it, check into bringing in the State Police and County Police to take over the police dept.Other towns like Cortlant and Somers do it, why not us?
How bout it Hal, can you use $100,000? for something you do now for nothing.
As I drove on Central Ave. I saw some of Als' workers dancing in the streets.
I'm sure that it was not for the new president but they got the word that they will be free from a dictatorship running wild.
Well I guess after he spent all our money at Veterans Park for a roof that always leaked and is still leaking,a garage that was built too short to house large garbage trucks but above all the biggest fiasco the library.
Al you should have left a long time ago because you have nothing great to report as to what you did for Greenburgh that we the taxpayers did not pay for through the nose.
Everytime you opened your mouth it was granted needed or not.
Why the hell did you suggest a law that all garbage must be put curbside or the home owners must pay $300.00 more a years.
Your leaf law is another cowardley jesture.
Will you be remembered for what good you did well brother I can't remember one good thing other than you spent more than you took in and gave us no return ..
Paul fell for your BS all the time which is the reason that flooding was never checked into not only on Hartsdale ave, but throughout the town.
AL You had a habit of passing the buck but your employees took the
punishments like men.
Sorry but I have not one good word for you .I hate to see MR Nanna go but if that's his wish I wish him the best..
I first started my job in DPW with the Town in the summer of 1966. I have had many bosses since that time and I have to say that Al and Butch combined for the best department heads that I've ever had to deal with. I've seen them both rise through the ranks while I decided to stay a caretaker for way over thirty years. I didn't want to deal with all the garbage that they dealt with over the years. It is very hard running a Department in this Town with what you have and with everybody looking over you but they managed to do it very appropriately. They found out throughout the years that they made more per hour when they had CSEA titles and less the work. It was very unfair the abuse they took from certain people. Al was told to take on the Library project while running the rest of his department. He did not volunteer for it. At least he waited for the project to be completed before he left. I know that I am going to miss them for the little time I have left here and am convinced that the Town will be hard pressed to find their replacements. I wish them both good luck in their futures.
Thanks 10:06,
I can use always use $100,000, even $1000, even $100.
However, be serious: we both know that there is a lot of technical expertise involved.
Just having a salaried staffer to say NO to Feiner however might prove to be a real cost savings.
However, instead of repeating the same mistake, perhaps instead of looking for one person to oversee the various DPW entities, perhaps the Department needs to divided into parts to be conquered, with some of the parts outsourced. Perhaps the job is too big for one person while, what is now likely too late to do, is visit the idea of introducing time sheets so that an expert can review them and see how much time by the Department head is spent overseeing each DPW "subsidiary".
Consider that the title, Town Supervisor, has never been taken seriously to mean exercising oversight of each operating unit because that clearly is not what our Town Supervisor does. He is much better tempermentally and genetically suited to worrying about individual consitutent complaints -- never the big picture.
In the past, even the not too distant past, I have thought this quaint and endearing because I also thought that the Town really ran by the hard work of qualified, capable, independent Department heads who dealt with the hands-on, daily operations while I assumed
the Town Board, collectively, was the planning department for Town operation.
However, this seemingly romantic view crashed when I got a better perspective on what makes the clock tick. We've got a Timex (Feiner who just keeps running and running) with a Mickey Mouse face (Town Council) and week by week it's always "Circus Day" while the public is hostage to the entreatments of the merry mouseketeers.
Meanwhile, residents have been paying for a Patek Philippe.
The problem is that as cartoon time now appears, the Department heads (not all) are either unqualified or Feiner sycophants or both.
We need to take advantage of the current vacancy in DPW and we need to create similar vacancies in the Town Attorney's office, the Assessor's office and the Planning Department. We'll let the public decide next September (November if you believe in miracles) as to the fate of the elected officials (3) seeking to continue riding the gravy train.
Two things to take away.
1) The Town mess has grown to proportions demanding the hire of a Professional Manager (yes, I'm coming late to the party).
2) Remember: last year's 22% tax increase hasn't gone away. The 7.7% proposed increase for 2009 merely represents additional taxation ADDED on top of what you paid last year.
"Happy trails to you until we meet again."
The town will continue to have a great public works department. Al set up a good foundation. The new commissioner, once appointed, will build on a good department and make it better.
Sanitation men are great.
When it snows the town does a good job clearing the snow. Compare our streets in Edgemont with Yonkers? Our streets are clean and Yonkers is white, with snow.
I have no complaints.
SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING, EVERYTHING. THAT IS WHAT THEY LIVE FOR.
THEY DON'T APPRECIATE WHAT IS GOOD.
Hal,
Now Seriously, you really need to give that keyboard of yours a rest. You are wrong on this issue and mulitple posts from yourself are only going to hurt your credibility. You are really off base on this one. Wait and see what is going to happen to services and then watch the DPW budget go up by 35% just to get things back to where they are now before these two gentleman retired. I don't think Paul and the Board even have a clue on how bad things are going to get.
would you like for me to cheer you up? hear goes!
Let Valarie Whitehead take over the DPW
hahahahahahahhahahahahahhahhahahha
hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha
10:48 is right. Al absolutely, positively KNEW about the sewer problems on EHA and did absolutely nothing!
This is not rumor. It is fact.
Yorktown is considering a Town Administrator, I think we should move there.
Al & Butch did a good job. Their successors will also serve the town well. The town is in good hands.
general foremans will NOT work with the new commissioner or the town board or paul until CSEA gets a RASIE.just a remember the teamesters contract expries 12/31/2008
Dear 3:49,
Are you a friend of General Bullmoose or is this just more general bullshit.
Who knows, maybe Stupefying Jones will show up tonight.
Gov. David A. Paterson dropped the budget hammer on Wednesday, proposing $5.2 billion worth of cuts over the next 16½ months, with Medicaid and education, the two largest pieces of the budget, bearing the brunt of the pain.
The governor said he would not seek layoffs, but state workers are being asked to forgo a previously negotiated 3 percent pay raise for next year, a move that would require the labor unions to reopen their contracts. Labor leaders have already expressed reluctance to make such a move. The governor is also proposing to make state workers pay for a greater part of the bill for their health care benefits.
The governor said during a press conference on Wednesday morning that Wall Street had “bailed us out” for years, but “now the well has run dry” amid Wall Street’s turmoil and the state must halt its free-spending habits.
“We’re not going to get out of this quagmire we’ve built until we reduce our spending,” he said.
Dear Allin from Ballin:
If the foremen don't do their job they may not have a job.
"Our streets are clean and Yonkers is white, with snow." I'm assuming that this is sarcasm? I actually live on the Yonkers/Greenburgh line, and I know first hand that the opposite is true. I'm fortunate that Yonkers DPW goes to the corner and doesn't stop its work right at the city line, and thus takes care of all the street cleaning and snowplowing for some streets in Greenburgh. When my kids graduate, I can't wait to move down the street into Yonkers for higher quality services and lower taxes.
Dear Allin from Ballin:
If the foremen don't do their job they may not have a job
must be a town board member
Everyone else in the "real world", i.e., not govt employees, are working harder for less money and less benefits. if they dont work, privatize it. We need to elect a Supervisor who will represent the residents.
WHITEHEAD CONSIDERED FOR TDY C/C DEPUTY?!?!?!?
Say it isn't so! Somebody pinch me!! The same Whitehead who is under police investigation, for hiring 5 people including her felon nephew to work no show jobs? These five people claimed to work 50 hours a week as part timers when the building was closed for evening programs. Huh? The same Whitehead who cried like a baby to the TDY Advisory Board? The same Whitehead who fired the Pool Director? The same Whitehead who never finished college? The same Whitehead who never supervised ANY f/t staff before being given a DOUBLE SALARY raise when appointed Interim Commissioner? The same Whitehead who gave away a $10,000 free day to Playland for the TDY Summer Camp, yep you read it right, that one day trip cost taxpayers $10,000. The same Whitehead who failed to inform the public about the Exposure Program? The same Whitehead whom staff protested her appointment in the Journal News? The same Whitehead who didn't start ONE new program since her appointment? The same Whitehead who has bought staff morale to its lowest levels? The same Whitehead who hasn't brought in one extra dime in grants? The same Whitehead who got the job without anyone else being considered? The same Whitehead who needs Councilwoman Brown to hold her hand to do her job? The same Whitehead who disappeared for 5 days when the Greenburgh Police entered the building?
Nooooo it can't be! I want to wake up from this bad dream!
Now before any of the folks she has taken care of respond, tell me one item here that isn't true. JUST ONE! This will be a long wait.
Greenburgh ranked number one for the poorest promotion standards in the USA!!!
George, is that you complaining again or is it one of your co-workers??????????
Dedicated my foot.
The only dedication Al had was to screw his workers and the public.
You can see this by the leaf law and curbside pickups that he initiated before he announced his retirement.
Get back at the public was his aim,but I think he will be working till December and who knows what else will hit the fan about his working methods.
Let's wait and see.....
Paul the assessor who made the bigest mistake ever made should be let go.
He mind has not been on the job and it will not be.
Why wait till more errors are detected that will cost us more money.
She has another job which she is probably conducting herself in a professioal manner.
Hal,
We as employees also live in Greenburgh, therefore that means we to are contributing to our own salaries. While you say we are "obligated" to let the public no what is going on, I disagree.
We have families and homes just like the next person and if we speak up at meetings to the public we are setting ourselves up to be targeted to be fired! Trust me it almost happened to someone.
So Hal are you going to insure us a salary when dept. heads or the Supervisor have our heads rolling when we speak up? this is the only recourse we have is to remain "anonymous." Maybe you should run for Town Board and then you will see what the 411!
Also the 3% we keep looking for has been budgeted into the 2008 budget, but from what I hear it has been spent!
Finally I got a Tax Bill and a BS letter today saying something about a mistake, I already budgeted money for school taxes, now I have to get together and additional 400.00!!!!
Paul you are going to hear about this one!!!!
Paul should be blamed if he does not fire the assessor.
This is the first time that an assessor has ever made a mistake of this magnitude.
WHY?????
She is not doing the job that she was hired for.
Does this dame know how she has put out so many of us that have planned on what to put aside each month for our taxes.
Do you realize this Paul or is it that you don't give a dam.
Why should we pay this all at once.
If we have to pay let's make a deal $1.00 down and $1.00 a week.
Why do you allow her to stay on.
I bet if someone else made an enormous error like this she or he would be fired.
all chicken chit when you don't put your name on something you write
Dear 12:27,
Information can be given to me and other interested parties in a number of ways. No one need give their name. If you or others want to remain nameless and faceless, that is your choice. In that case we will be alert to the hand-off and carry the ball to touchdown.
However, it would be nice for some documentation to accompany this information. You can understand that I(we) don't want to waste a lot of time chasing down a lot of false leads.
Paul
If you make Valarie Whitehead the deputy commissioner at TDYCC. I Promise you, I will never vote for you again! and do everything in my power to vote you out of office!
PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE!
Bring James Robinson Back to the center where he belongs
Hal,
You never mentioned the number of ways and if employees are giving you information, trust me it is 98.9% true!
You might want to look over that budget and "fine tooth" it, there are a lot of "hidden" agendas, get to know the employees, drop in to Town Hall and walk around you can hear a lot, that is for starters!
I am still fuming from this tax bill I got and this sorry a-s letter that was included.
I am with 3:50, if this was any other employee they would be gone by now! She wouldn't even address Samis's question at the meeting!
Also why are you sending a few buses to DC on 1/20, security is going to so tight, it is going to be freezing.
Why not make arrangements for huge screen TV's and donations for food, instead of getting kids in harms way?
You will never get my child down there, while it is history in the making, it is also going to be a very HIGH security detailed area, those kids won't even get to the new president. You might want to think about things first.
I understand that they will be holding a retirement party for Al in a phone booth.
Al Who???????????????
Amid budget talks in Peekskill, concerns grow over layoff rumors
By Marcela Rojas • The Journal News • November 14, 2008
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PEEKSKILL - Dozens of city employees showed up in force at a Common Council meeting this week troubled by reports of possible layoffs.
More than 40 city workers turned out at Wednesday night's budget meeting after many had heard that up to 12 department heads were expected to be dismissed. Several employees approached that evening declined to comment on the matter.
"I can't remember a budget meeting where I've seen so many employees and citizens. Staffing is not where you should cut," said Vincent Vesce Jr., a lifelong Peekskill resident who works for the Port Authority. "I've never seen so much concern for the administration and how Mayor Mary Foster is running the city."
Foster said at the beginning of the meeting that they were discussing the budget and that rumors, including one call she received that 14 people would be fired or laid off, were untrue.
"If those of you are here because you believe that we are looking to lay off or fire rank and file, we're not," Foster said to the crowd.
Yesterday, Foster offered little insight on the subject.
"There are no union positions being discussed for layoffs," she said.
Some Peekskill workers expressed concern about losing non-union directors, including ones in the personnel, public works and parks and recreation departments.
The Common Council is in the midst of hammering out its 2009 budget that must be adopted by Dec. 1. Acting City Manager Marcus Serrano's tentative $48 million budget calls for an 11.99 percent property-tax increase next year. Under the tentative budget, residents with an average assessment of $10,000 would see a $255.48 increase in their tax bill.
Councilwoman Cathy Pisani said the city council has not had any discussions about layoff plans. She said she heard that there had been a staff meeting on Wednesday about layoffs.
Deputy Mayor Don Bennett stressed that the council has not talked about terminating any city employees.
"Whoever started this rumor should come forth and apologize," Bennett said. "It's a shame that it shook up our employees, that they had to come to a meeting."
Meanwhile, one proposal on the table is to eliminate 10 vehicles from the city's fleet. These cars are mostly used by department heads for both personal and professional purposes, Foster said. The measure could save taxpayers roughly $100,000, she said.
"I think it's been a nice personnel practice, but in these hard economic times this personnel benefit is hard to justify," Foster said. "It's got nothing to do with how hard our department heads are working because they all work hard."
Peekskill now has 22 vehicles, seven of which will remain in use by the police and fire departments. The plan is to get rid of the 10 vehicles and keep five for in-city use, Foster said. One consideration, she said, is to sell those 10 cars, the majority of which are sport utility vehicles. Serrano said it costs about $36,000 to fuel the entire fleet per year.
"These are tough times out there," said Councilwoman Patricia Riley. "I'd rather cut stuff like this than people."
Reach Marcela Rojas at mrojas@lohud.com or 845-228-2271.
In your voice
Fewer trash pickups not a good idea
Having just read the Tuesday article, "New Rochelle seeks 8.25 percent tax hike," I'm wondering if anybody with common sense is "watching the store" in New Rochelle.
Our wonderful city manager, Charles Strome, is suggesting one way to save money is 2009 would be to cut garbage collection from twice to once a week. There's a new show in New York City called, "What's That Smell?" You got it.
And, since when has the Sanitation Department ever bagged leaves? Never. We bag our leaves. So who's going to pick up these leaves once they're bagged? They do this now. Where's the savings?
If Mr. Strome is thinking of cutting back, I suggest he rethink once-a-week garbage pickup. It will take twice as long to pick up all that garbage and possibly take two days to do it. And where do we keep all this garbage? Think sidewalk. I repeat - what's that smell?
Judith Mantovani
New Rochelle
Al Regula states in the Inquirer that he is leaving so he can better take care of his family.
I did not think that he was married and above all that he had a family.
Good to see you go Al too bad it wasn't years ago .
"This is dedicated to the one I love..."
Al Regula in today's Scarsdale Inquirer: "It's a waste of my ability and my talent to stay when I can go out, make additional money and benefit my family".
Be you ever so humble.
'When asked why he did not retire years ago when he was already eligible, Regula said, "There was too much to do." At that time, Regula was asked to oversee the $20million library expansion, an opportunity he said he found exciting.'
He in leaving the Town in a month's time and he needn't be afraid of Feiner. However his supporters continue to float the story that he had no choice regarding taking on the Libary assignment.
Seems like having the credentials and the time to do a competent job were not part of the equation.
After all, permitting the waste of taxpayer dollars was never the issue; Al was just on board for the excitement.
Good riddance Al. Butch, "I hardly knew ya".
Hal,
You are a blogoholic, you just can't resist, you have to keep on posting. You are off base on this issue and just lost my respect.
I do like to blog, to excess.
But that isn't really your concern.
It's what I am writing that irks you.
As for losing your respect because I am off base, you win some you lose some.
On the other hand, care to set me straight because I've got a lot of documentation of how badly he mangled handling Library oversight.
So badly in fact, so quick to sign change orders, so quick to give his blessing to the project, that I've been wondering if there was some "consideration" involved.
But feel free to put me on the right path so that I may revel in your good graces.
I'll even revel from facts from an anonymous post. Consider Al for sainthood, but please first fill out the questionnaire answering why he should be on a pedestal.
Hey, a guy who has "ability" and "talent" and stays not for the paycheck but for the good of Greenburgh and he doesn't even live on this side of the Hudson, now that says something.
You see without anything to the contrary, the cynic in me is just going to think you're concerned that the gravy train might stop with a new, head honcho. You know, those were the good old days...
Without any forthcoming explanation to the contrary, we're just going to have to agree to disagree.
I'm not the person to buy into
"trust me" especially from an anonymous source. If you thought that of me, then you never had any respect for me.
1:32 could everyone be wrong when it comes to Regula.
Ask his men who will tell you what they had to put up with.
If anyone praises him it has to be Feiner.
Regular has cost the taxpayers money in the way that he handled projects that have had and will be done all over again.
The roof at Veteran park--the town garage==and as of late the library.
He says he could not have left sooner because there was too much going on..He would have done us all a favor had he left earlier.
Had he left earlier maybe Nanna would have stayed on.
Maybe now that he will be gone his workers will do a better job .
It's was hard working with him at all times .
Too much ass kissing never got the work done the right way.
Proposed Mount Vernon budget would raise taxes over 13 percent
By Hannan Adely • The Journal News • November 15, 2008
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MOUNT VERNON - The city's proposed budget for 2009 would raise property taxes by 13.17 percent, meaning the average homeowner would pay $420 more next year.
The $87.4 million spending plan is up $3.5 million from this year, largely due to an increase in salaries for city employees. The budget proposal includes $5.5 million in surplus that the city will use to offset part of the property tax increase for 2009.
Mayor Clinton Young yesterday said the budget was still a work in progress, adding that he has asked department heads to revisit the numbers and see where they can make cuts.
"I'm not advocating anywhere near that amount as a tax increase," Young said. "This is where we're starting from."
At $50.3 million, salaries are the largest expenditure in the plan, up $4.5 million from last year.
The largest departmental increases include an additional $1.2 million for the Police Department and $521,000 for the Fire Department, nearly all of it for salaries. The budget plan also includes an extra $400,000 for the Mount Vernon Public Library.
Other departments that could see the biggest spending increases include the mayor's office, which would be bumped up to $584,000 from $394,000 this year. The increase is mainly to cover salaries for three new positions created in that office this year.
The city is also seeking an increase in funds for the Department of Management Services, where Young recently appointed his sister, Mary Young, as commissioner. Under the budget plan, spending would go up in that department by $300,000.
The mayor said increased spending in that department is needed to bring computerization and technology to City Hall. Such improvements will help City Hall catch up with the times and can help cut costs and generate revenue, he said.
The city is also seeking $225,000 for the Office of the Inspector General, a department created by Young. The money will cover the salary of the inspector general and a secretary.
The mayor is proposing cuts to the funding allocated for miscellaneous items, which dropped from $6.8 million to $5.3 million. Overtime costs for the Fire Department were also cut by $80,000.
Part of the reason the tax impact per home is so high is because total assessed valuations, or total property values, are expected to go down by $3.8 million next year, which drives up the tax rate, officials said. Also, the city does not expect additional revenue on its investments next year, because of low interest rates, said Comptroller Maureen Walker.
Walker said that a 13 percent increase in the property tax rate, if passed, would be the biggest increase in 14 years.
This week, the Yonkers mayor said the city was facing 200 to 300 layoffs in the current budget year as its financial picture worsened. But in Mount Vernon, Young said he expected to be able to reduce spending before the budget is finalized, adding that he would lay people off only as a last resort.
Residents will be able to comment Tuesday on the budget at a hearing before the Board of Estimate and Contract. The board expects to vote on the budget the following Friday. After that, the City Council must review the budget, hold a public hearing, and approve a budget plan by year's end.
Reach Hannan Adely at hadely@lohud.com or 914-696-8456.
good luck to Mr. Regula and Mr.Nanna. If you think that Greenburgh can find a team and experience like they have good luck. Both of these jobs are not easy to replace.
The town has been well managed thanks to people like Al Regula and Butch Nanna who work hard. They can be replaced. Voters should treat Commissioners better so they will want to stick around.
Regula has been arround too long .He's the reason why we are in such a mess.
Sorry to see Nanna go but that's his choice.
The work will get done much better that Regular has decides to retire.
REgula a dedicated leader,,,,,,
My foot.
The only dedication he has is to fill up his pockets with whatever he can get.
Come on Paul are you trying to tell us that you never knew what this guy was doing.
Paul you have been p,laying dumb for too long now you have the nerve to say he was dedicated to the town.
Sure I would be dedicated if my pockets were filled by other means other than a paycheck.
IS IT NOT ODD THAT REGULA SHOULD BE RETIRING BEFORE THE s--T hits the fan concerning the opening day of the library which by the way will not be completed.
What the library will not be completed but the genius Regula said that everything was on target money wise and work wise.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Who was lying?
Well folks get ready to spend more money to have a workable elephant.
No peanuts please we will need big money.
Memo To those attending Al Regula's retirement party-
No need to get any parting gifts for Al's retirement. He has picked up enough "presents" over the years.
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