The Town of Fishkill raised taxes by 53 percent, after failing to agree on any other path. On Nov. 19, the 5-0 Republican town board failed the citizens of Fishkill and disrespected the Fishkill Republican Party that runs the town and nominated them based on character.
First a little background. In late 2009, the state comptroller issued a stinging audit report on the finances of Fishkill. This was followed up by Moody’s downgrading us to just above “junk bond” status. This made Fishkill one of the worst-run towns in New York state. In 2011, the Fishkill GOP decided to primary out the incumbent Republican supervisor, Joan Pagones.
Supervisor Robert LaColla, Councilman Kurt Buck and Councilman Tony Curry were successful running on a campaign on a platform of fiscal responsibility, accountability and a willingness to make the tough decisions.
The citizens of Fishkill in the general election, by a small margin, also decided to make Fishkill a 5-0 GOP board.
As a citizen who has attended every board meeting this year, I can tell you exactly how the budget process went.
Supervisor LaColla first proposed a 38 percent tax increase, and then it jumped to 63 percent. Councilman Curry asked if the board could spread out the increases over the course of the year. Later, Fishkill Comptroller Dawn H. Kertesz-Lee presented a 4-year plan with the 63 percent increase, a 5-year plan with a 53-percent increase and a 7-year plan with an even less percentage increase. The board asked the comptroller for her advice. She responded that a 63 percent was a hardship and recommended the 53 percent increase. No board member at the time offered any other alternative, and the 53 percent tax increase became the preliminary and ultimately the final budget. None of them made a suggestion for an alternative, even though two of them actually voted “no” when the final vote took place at a later date and another was absent.
The public hearing for the budget was canceled due to a minor snow event. It was then moved to Nov. 14 and the debate was spirited. Councilman Brian Callahan stopped the vote as he wanted Councilman Buck, who was absent, to attend. Callahan also stated that Buck should be present, as, “He worked on it all year.” The board was unable to make contact with Buck and the vote was set for Nov. 19, the day before the state deadline.
On Nov. 19, in a full house and a non-televised meeting, with the biggest vote in modern Fishkill history, Buck was once again absent. Discussion with the public was allowed and the vote was then up for remarks.
Councilman Curry indicated that he would be voting “no,” because he was denied access to the budget. Curry then read a letter from absent Councilman Buck. The letter stated that Buck would vote “no” if present — his reason? Supervisor LaColla “ordered” his comptroller not to give board members the proposed budget. Now, I am not here to defend Supervisor LaColla, but I cannot remember once when this issue came up at a board meeting. For argument’s sake, let’s say Buck is correct. Did Buck speak out at a board meeting? Did he go to the press? Or the citizens of Fishkill? Nope, he waited till the day before a mandatory vote to speak up through his letter. He sure showed a lot of courage while absent.
Councilman Callahan also decided to vote against the budget. His reason?
He was concerned for those living on fixed incomes would not be able to afford food or medicine. Well, his concerns are valid — and moot as the 53 percent tax increase became law. Also, don’t forget the 2 percent property tax cap override, which was passed in a 5-0 vote earlier in the year that allowed all of this to happen.
In closing, three members — Buck, Callahan and Curry — doomed this process: They failed to propose any alternative, they failed to call for an investigation on how the town’s fiscal vitality was ruined, they failed to call for a forensic audit as many have called for. They failed to keep their campaign oaths of fiscal responsibility, accountability and a willingness to make the tough decisions.Ozzy Albra lives in Fishkill and has a blog, http://ozzyalbra.blogspot.com.
OZZY ALBRA
COMMENTARY
Current board has acted in the public interest
As the Town of Fishkill supervisor, I believe that our government works best when it is focused on delivering essential services effectively and at a reasonable cost. The services of maintaining roads and public spaces, providing safe drinking water, conveying and treating sewage, and ensuring public safety are the primary functions of our town government. In order for our town board to do our work effectively, I believe it is essential that we work in good faith and collaboration to reach our decisions. Providing any of these basic services is independent of one’s political party. And doing so in a fiscally responsible way is also independent of political affiliation. An argument that party affiliation is more important than the diligence and competence of elected officials is unfounded.
In November 2011, the residents in the Town of Fishkill voted overwhelmingly for a new government leadership. Our town had a new supervisor for the first time in two decades. The fivemember town board had three new board members — only one council member remained from the previous year. When our board first took office just 12 months ago, the town’s finances were in shambles, reporting requirements had been routinely missed, communication with the public had been limited and often misleading, and many resident requests had been ignored for months and sometimes years. There was much work to do, but we knew that going in. So we set out to do our work in full view of the public. As those who watched our deliberations can confirm, the process to come to agreement was not always neat and tidy. As with anything new, our new board members had much to learn. We often disagreed about the best way to address an issue. Yet we always remained civil and worked through our differences. Despite any disagreements, when we looked back on the year, we realized that we accomplished a tremendous amount of good solid work.
One of the principal reasons our new administration has been able to address so many issues quickly was due to our focus on the work at hand and, just as importantly, working to eliminate political posturing from our decision-making process. For the first time in years, town board meetings were moved from their daytime schedule to the evening so residents who wanted to attend could do so. We established the practice of televising most meetings on the local cable channel and streaming them on the Internet for those who cannot attend the meetings. We managed the town’s finances to conform to the adopted budget, thereby halting the growth of the massive deficit that had been mounting since 2005. The town board produced a five-year plan to eliminate the staggering $4.8 million deficit. Even with the 53 percent tax increase needed to fund the deficit reduction, our budget for 2013 keeps the Town of Fishkill with one of the lowest tax rates in Dutchess County. We made town hall more accessible to our residents by changing hours of operation, consolidating functions, crosstraining staff, placing more information online and placing a greater focus on producing results. We also returned to a five-day work week to better accommodate our residents.
Moving forward, I will do my best to ensure continued openness and to work collaboratively with the board to make decisions in the greatest interest of our residents. I will continue to present our debates in full view of the public. I will continue to make all available information accessible to the public. I will continue to make my office accessible to the public. And I will continue to ask for partisan politics, rancor and unfounded allegations to be checked at the door in order for us to do what is best for all of our residents in the Town of Fishkill.Bob LaColla is Fishkill supervisor.
BOB LACOLLA
As the Town of Fishkill supervisor, I believe that our government works best when it is focused on delivering essential services effectively and at a reasonable cost. The services of maintaining roads and public spaces, providing safe drinking water, conveying and treating sewage, and ensuring public safety are the primary functions of our town government. In order for our town board to do our work effectively, I believe it is essential that we work in good faith and collaboration to reach our decisions. Providing any of these basic services is independent of one’s political party. And doing so in a fiscally responsible way is also independent of political affiliation. An argument that party affiliation is more important than the diligence and competence of elected officials is unfounded.
In November 2011, the residents in the Town of Fishkill voted overwhelmingly for a new government leadership. Our town had a new supervisor for the first time in two decades. The fivemember town board had three new board members — only one council member remained from the previous year. When our board first took office just 12 months ago, the town’s finances were in shambles, reporting requirements had been routinely missed, communication with the public had been limited and often misleading, and many resident requests had been ignored for months and sometimes years. There was much work to do, but we knew that going in. So we set out to do our work in full view of the public. As those who watched our deliberations can confirm, the process to come to agreement was not always neat and tidy. As with anything new, our new board members had much to learn. We often disagreed about the best way to address an issue. Yet we always remained civil and worked through our differences. Despite any disagreements, when we looked back on the year, we realized that we accomplished a tremendous amount of good solid work.
One of the principal reasons our new administration has been able to address so many issues quickly was due to our focus on the work at hand and, just as importantly, working to eliminate political posturing from our decision-making process. For the first time in years, town board meetings were moved from their daytime schedule to the evening so residents who wanted to attend could do so. We established the practice of televising most meetings on the local cable channel and streaming them on the Internet for those who cannot attend the meetings. We managed the town’s finances to conform to the adopted budget, thereby halting the growth of the massive deficit that had been mounting since 2005. The town board produced a five-year plan to eliminate the staggering $4.8 million deficit. Even with the 53 percent tax increase needed to fund the deficit reduction, our budget for 2013 keeps the Town of Fishkill with one of the lowest tax rates in Dutchess County. We made town hall more accessible to our residents by changing hours of operation, consolidating functions, crosstraining staff, placing more information online and placing a greater focus on producing results. We also returned to a five-day work week to better accommodate our residents.
Moving forward, I will do my best to ensure continued openness and to work collaboratively with the board to make decisions in the greatest interest of our residents. I will continue to present our debates in full view of the public. I will continue to make all available information accessible to the public. I will continue to make my office accessible to the public. And I will continue to ask for partisan politics, rancor and unfounded allegations to be checked at the door in order for us to do what is best for all of our residents in the Town of Fishkill.Bob LaColla is Fishkill supervisor.
BOB LACOLLA
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