Fishkill officials wasting taxpayer money. letter to Southern Dutchess News

At the April 20 Fishkill Town Board meeting, the failures of police and sewer consolidation were discussed. For those who don't know, Beacon city, Fishkill village and town received a $200,000 Dutchess County grant for sewer and $75,000 for police consolidation studies. The town board and Beacon mayor, who was present, blamed village Mayor Miccio for the plans falling apart, calling the village "hostile" towards such consolidation. The board went further and blamed "politics" for the failure.

I do not understand how politics played a role. The Republicans run the county with a super majority. The town and village also have Republican super majorities. In Beacon the mayor is an Independent who is backed by the Republican Party. Beacon's city manager is also an active member of the Fishkill Republican Committee. At no time did anyone from any other party try to stop either effort.

For the Fishkill Republican-led town board to blame politics for its failures and wasting $275,000 is just plain wrong. But wait, there's more. At the April 18 Fishkill Village Board meeting, Mayor Miccio stated that these consolidation studies came at no cost to Fishkill taxpayers. Well, there is a cost, as we all pay county taxes. For those who do not know, Mayor Miccio is also the Dutchess County Legislature Majority Leader. What that means is that he approves these grants as a legislator and then stops them from happening at the local level. This is the nonsense and waste of money that occurs when Republicans have absolute control of the county and local government.