Here comes that 'c' word again. You know...CONSOLIDATION!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Town, village talk about sharing public services BY MARK ROBARGE Gazette Reporter Reach Mark Robarge at 395-3123 or mrobarge@dailygazette.net.
At a joint meeting held in Scotia’s Village Hall Tuesday, members of the village and town boards set up committees that will develop recommendations on how the two municipalities can work together on police, code enforcement and water distribution services, as well as sharing space in a new municipal center. The boards also agreed to have the town and village clerks look into whether the municipalities could save money by jointly seeking insurance coverage. The study groups will include one member from each board and work with town and village officials to develop recommendations that will reviewed at another joint meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 26 at the Glenville Municipal Center. The municipalities already work together in such ways as sharing highway equipment and had considered earlier this year collaborating to build a sewage treatment plant, though that idea was rejected. Now, officials want to push to see where they can work together to both save money and improve the quality of services. “We’ve had one meeting in a year and a half, and I haven’t seen a lot, so I’d like to see the process moved along a little,” said Glenville board member Valerie DiGiandomenico. Glenville Supervisor Frank Quinn suggested the possibility of sharing space in a new building, saying the town had been approached by an unnamed developer interested in the Municipal Center on Glenridge Road, as well as the adjacent Glenville branch of the Schenectady County Public Library. In return, Quinn explained, the developer would be willing to provide another plot of land and possibly even build a new center. DiGiandomenico said the PiSCOTIA & GLENVILLE otrowski family had expressed interest to her in donating land near Freemans Bridge Road for a combined police station. Fellow Glenville board member Edward Rosenberg and Scotia Mayor Kris Kastberg said any talk of the two police forces working together would likely involve either a shared facility or outright consolidation. “I think that will become a necessity if we talk about police,” Rosenberg said of a shared station. Water and code enforcement were chosen as topics largely because officials agreed town and village services in those areas could be easily joined, water because connecting the systems could be easily accomplished and code enforcement because of the small staffs in each municipality. “If these boards can’t combine the water departments by the end of the year, then we couldn’t do anything else on this list,” said Scotia board member Armon Benny. “Water is crucial and should be the easiest.”
Sharing services can be a hard sell Gov’t consolidation back into local focus BY MARK ROBARGE Gazette Reporter
Consolidation is a dirty word to Glenville town Supervisor Frank Quinn. It’s not that Quinn necessarily opposes the concept of sharing services or even merging municipalities in hopes of serving residents more efficiently and at a lesser cost. What bothers Quinn is the connotation the word carries with the public. As the town of Glenville and the village of Scotia look at the possibility of consolidating services or sharing facilities, Quinn said he is very conscious of public reaction to past discussions dating back as far as the 1990s. “What we’re looking for is where we can consolidate, where can we collaborate, where can we cooperate, and the dirtiest of those three words is consolidate,” he said. “It gets everybody’s value system wrapped into this, and rather than doing it because it’s rational, we start to say, ‘I like this, you like that’ ‘The village will lose its identity,’ ‘This will be taken over by the bigger brother.’ Blah, blah, blah.” More and more area communities are looking to work together in hopes of doing more for residents at the lowest possible cost. But while many proposals have been successfully implemented, many others have failed to make it off the drawing board. The reasons for opposing consolidation are many, from fears such moves will make government larger and less responsive, to concerns about loss of public-sector jobs. State officials hope to combat those concerns by offering support to municipalities. FOCUS ON EFFICIENCY New York state comprises about 4,250 local government entities, including 62 counties, 62 cities, 932 towns and 556 villages. A study by David Miller of the University of Pittsburgh published in his 2002 book, “The Regional Governing of Metropolitan America,” identified New York as the eighth-worst state in terms of fragmented government and ranked the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan area as the most fragmented of upstate’s eight metropolitan areas. Gov. Eliot Spitzer created the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness by executive order in April in hopes of streamlining government at every level. The commission is charged with making recommendations on how the state and local governments can better work together to improve the efficiency of local services. While the commission will focus largely on reshaping state programs and laws to make consolidation easier for municipalities, John Clarkson, the commission’s executive director, said part of the process involves helping local officials gather both public understanding and support. “We want to look at where significant efficiencies and improvements can be gained,” he explained, “and often with a good, open discussion of that, people can certainly see the advantages. “Part of that process is having a good, public, open dialogue, a thorough public study of the issues and the potential benefits. If you do that, it certainly helps pave the way for an informed public choice.” YEAS AND NAYS Examples of local governments working together can be seen throughout the region. For example: Fulton County centralized municipal planning and emergency dispatching and created a consolidated fuel depot for local governments, school districts and nonprofit groups more than 15 years ago. The city of Schenectady contracted with Schenectady County in 2004 for maintenance of its fl eet of nearly 400 vehicles. Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties jointly operate a juvenile detention facility. However, there are also many examples of proposals that never came to fruition, such as: Fulton County voters have twice rejected proposals to consolidate property assessment services. The Berne Town Board rejected a proposal in November 2006 to consolidate its Highway Department with the Albany County Department of Public Works. Voters in the village of Mayfield overwhelmingly rejected a proposal in 2001 to dissolve the village and become part of the town of Mayfield. Albany County Executive Michael Breslin said in testimony at a public hearing hosted by the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness in Saratoga Springs that the proposal to merge Berne’s Highway Department with the county Department of Public Works would have initially saved the town about $400,000, with future savings estimated at more than $300,000 a year. That wasn’t enough to save the proposal, which would have resulted in the 2007 town budget carrying a two percent decrease in property taxes. Instead, the Town Board approved a budget that included a 28 percent tax increase. “A host of small issues accompany consolidation efforts and will be faced by other local governments as they explore similar possibilities,” he told the commission. “They include political considerations, fear of the unknown, fear of losing control, desire for the status quo and developing trust among individuals. These issues affected the ability of the town and county to successfully implement a relatively simple and clearly cost-effective proposal.” STUDY GROUPS The village of Scotia and town of Glenville already share highway equipment, and their police departments work together informally to provide mutual aid when needed. Now, officials of both governments are looking into ways they can join forces to improve other services they offer. The two groups had considered jointly building a sewage treatment facility, but instead decided to continue contracting with the city of Schenectady for that service. “The idea is, can we cooperate — which we’re already doing — can we collaborate — which we’re already doing — and then who knows, maybe consolidation would be the end result,” Quinn said. “If you collaborate and cooperate enough, maybe at the end of the road, it implodes into the dirty word.” Scotia’s village board and Glenville’s town board agreed last week to set up study groups to determine if and how to consolidate police, code enforcement and water distribution services, as well as to look into the possibility of sharing space in a new municipal center. Quinn said the process will be one of small steps taken only after careful consideration and followed by thorough review before the next step is considered. “What we’re doing is we’re saying, ‘OK, let’s try something. If it works, we’ll move to the next step. Try something, move to the next step,’” he explained. “You may eventually end up with some kind of implosion, and that’s where we’ll go.” The Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness is just the latest in nearly two decades of efforts by the state to encourage cooperation and consolidation. Gov. Mario Cuomo formed the Commission on Consolidation of Local Governments in 1990, citing concern with the large number of local governments, especially small governments, and the lack of a logical structure. Cuomo’s commission recommended several ways to encourage governments to cooperate, collaborate and consolidate, but no substantial reforms resulted.
Spitzer is returning us to the way Cuomo ran things. There's a big boost for New York State. Hear that sucking sound? It's New York City, at the bottom of everything and where everything gets sucked in the end.
GLENVILLE Lowe’s plan gets OK Public hearing set for Sept. 10 BY MARK ROBARGE Gazette Reporter
Construction of a new Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse along Freemans Bridge Road moved one step closer to reality on Monday night. The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously gave preliminary approval to plans for the 171,000-square-foot store as well as a subdivision of 300 acres of land owned by the Piotrowski family. About 20 acres of that property will be used for the store. The commission also scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for its Sept. 10 meeting, after which it will consider final approval of the project. Lowe’s first proposed the store to town officials in April 2006. The preliminary site plan approval came with several conditions that Lowe’s will have to meet before receiving the commission’s final OK, including an agreement with the town and the state Department of Transportation on a twophase project to improve Freemans Bridge Road to handle additional traffic expected to be generated by the store. Phase one of that project involves the development of an intersection and traffic light in front of the store, with the second phase to include the widening of Freemans Bridge Road south from that intersection to the intersection of Maple Avenue to include a left-turn lane. Lowe’s has agreed to contribute to the cost of those improvements, but town officials have said the state has placed a low priority on the work. DOT offi cials said they would not be able to get to the project for as many as eight years, according to town officials, but offered engineering support if Lowe’s and the town were willing to undertake the work. The commission also unanimously gave final approval Monday night to plans by John Fogg, owner of Fogg’s Automotive and Suzuki on Saratoga Road, to expand the dealership by adding a second showroom to the front of the building and a parts storage area in the rear. The additions became necessary, Fogg said, after the dealership signed on as a Suzuki dealer about a year ago. Fogg previously said that he expected to begin construction in the fall, with the additions to be completed by the end of the year. Another project to receive unanimous approval from the board Monday night was a proposed water testing facility proposed by Super Steel Schenectady for its facility in the Scotia-Glenville Industrial Park. The 2,000-squarefoot building will be used to test refurbished rail cars to ensure that they are watertight.
SCOTIA & GLENVILLE Impact of tax increase to vary across school district Changes in state’s STAR assistance program cited BY MARK ROBARGE Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Mark Robarge at 395-3123 or mrobarge@dailygazette.net.
Scotia-Glenville Central School District officials were able to lop a little more off the tax increase in the district’s 2007-08 budget, but the state is adding to the tax bills of some and taking away from others. The final tax rate set by the district’s Board of Education Monday reflected an increase of about 1.8 percent for property owners in the town of Glenville, which includes about 99.8 percent of the district. District officials had projected a tax hike of about 2 percent when they sent the budget to voters in May, but Andrew Giaquinto, the district’s business manager, said the total assessed value of town property came in slightly higher than projected, leading to a slight decrease in the tax rate. But, Giaquinto said, changes in aid to taxpayers through the state’s School Tax Relief (STAR) program mean town homeowners could see their tax bill decline sharply over last year or increase just as sharply, depending on their income. “It’s very simple at my level to say we have a 1.8 percent tax increase, but it affects people differently,” Giaquinto said. The STAR program offers assistance in two ways: exempting part of the property’s value from school taxes and providing rebates directly to property owners. The Basic STAR program is available to anyone who owns and lives in his own home, while Enhanced STAR provides a larger exemption to homeowners age 65 and over with an annual income of less than $70,650. Giaquinto explained that STAR exemptions are adjusted every year by the state Office of Real Property Services. This year, he said, the amount homeowners could deduct from the assessed value of their homes was cut by 5 percent after state officials reduced the town and village equalization rates from 100 percent to 90 percent. Equalization rates are assigned by the state to reflect how closely a municipality’s assessments reflect the actual value of property. For example, a home in the town of Glenville with an assessed value of $160,000 is considered by the state to have an actual value of $176,000, based on the 90 percent equalization rate. “The districts have no control on STAR,” Giaquinto said. “We don’t set the equalization rate, we don’t set the STAR exemption.” Geoffrey Gloak, a spokesman for the Office of Real Property Services, said equalization rates are adjusted annually to reflect changes in the actual value of properties in municipalities that did not similarly adjust assessments. The STAR exemptions are similarly adjusted to reflect that change in actual value, he explained. In fact, Gloak argued, the actual value of the STAR exemption in the town of Glenville increased because the cut in the exemption was smaller than the cut in the equalization rate. However, that value is not reflected in local tax bills, which do not take into account any change in the actual value of a home. “Really what you’re looking at when you look at the assessed value is 90 percent of what the town feels the full value of the property is,” Gloak said. “And if you’re looking at the STAR benefit for this year, it really is 90 percent of the full value of the STAR exemption.” While that cut in the equalization rate and resulting cut in the STAR exemption amplified the impact of the district’s tax increase, a change in the Middle Class STAR rebate program is responsible for the wide discrepancy in tax bills. When the state implemented the program last year, it gave the same amount to all town homeowners enrolled in the Basic STAR program — $207.72 — and to all those enrolled in the Enhanced STAR program — $346.89. This year, however, rebates through the Basic STAR program are based on household income, with the rebate ranging from $450.29 for homeowners with an annual income up to $90,000 to no rebate for those with income more than $250,000. As a result, the amount the owner of that home assessed at a value of $160,000 will pay in school taxes will drop by 7.7 percent if their income is less than $90,000 or increase by 13.6 percent if that income is more than $250,000. Those in the Enhanced STAR program will see their rebates increase slightly — from $346.89 to $355.22 — but that won’t make up for the cut in their exemption, leaving the owner of a home with an assessed value of $160,000 facing a 7.3 percent tax increase. “If you’re coming home from your job at GE or Golub, you look in the paper and see a 2 percent tax increase, but your tax bill isn’t going to be 2 percent,” Giaquinto said. “It’s going be some factor of that on either side of the equator.”
what a beauracratic joke the whole star program is.....the $$ still comes from somewhere....then we have to 'apply' to get it back....they system is complicated on purpose....dont let them kid ya........equalization my @#$.........
Most of us cant afford someone with 'expert eyes' or 'connections' to loophole our way around this freakin' state.....
SHOW ME THE $$ TRAIL
SHOW ME THE TRUTH
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Barber approaches 50 years in ‘small-town atmosphere’ Mayor Mark Kastberg proclaimed Aug. 8 ‘Vern Foster Day’ BY MARK ROBARGE Gazette Reporter
Many things in the village may have changed over the past half-century, but there has been one constant at 37 Mohawk Ave.: Vern Foster can still be found cutting hair in the same barber shop he opened on Election Day 1957. In all those years, Foster said he could never picture himself working anyplace other than the brickface building about a block west of Collins Park. “It’s been a great ride,” he said. “It’s a great place to have a barber shop. I can’t imagine being anywhere and enjoying it any more than in Scotia.” Foster, 74, was honored at a village board meeting earlier this month with a resolution proclaiming Aug. 8 as Vern Foster Day in the village. Mayor Kris Kastberg said the proclamation was the village’s way of thanking Foster for his dedication to the community. “What he does pretty much exemplifies the idea of a small village, where you’ve got somebody in business for 50 years,” Kastberg said. “He’s a focal point for the village.” Vern’s Barber Shop still looks much the way it did when it opened. The traditional barber pole with swirling lines of red, white and blue is affi xed to the wall outside the front door, and an old-fashioned mechanical cash register rings up each of the haircuts he gives in the solitary barber chair. Foster first came to the village in 1955, after he was discharged from the military. A 1952 graduate of Salem High School, Foster went to barber school in Schenectady and worked briefly at Rocky’s Barber Shop on upper Union Street before being drafted. After his discharge, Foster went to work for George Arnold, a friend from Cambridge whom he had played basketball against in high school and who then owned a barber shop on Mohawk Avenue. Foster stayed there for more than two years until he had the opportunity to buy the building that has been the home for his business ever since. “Buildings change and people change, but Scotia is still Scotia,” he said. “It’s just a great smalltown atmosphere, and it’s always been that way.” Foster said four generations of customers have sat in his chair through the years. Fathers bring their sons in for haircuts, just as their fathers did with them and their grandfathers did with their fathers. Foster still wonders, though, if the children enjoy coming because of the haircuts or because of the penny gumball machine to the left of the counter on which he keeps the tools of his trade, or perhaps the lollipops — or “energy sticks,” as he calls them — he still gives out after each haircut. The walls of the shop are covered with pictures of family and friends and mementos of his other passion, golf. Foster said he plays golf every day but Saturdays, often hitting the course at 5:30 a.m. to get in nine holes before opening the shop. Rollie Jacobson of Charlton has been coming to Vern’s for about 10 years, taking the recommendation of a coworker from General Electric after his previous hair stylist retired. “This guy is a very funny person, and he has some very funny stories,” Jacobson, now retired from GE, said as Foster cut his hair. Jacobson, in turn, recommended Foster to another friend, John Greene, who has now been a regular for about five years. Greene said he went through many hairstylists before meeting Foster, but now comes to Vern’s whenever he can. “I like the barber and the jokes,” Greene said. As Foster cuts their hair, the three swap stories and jokes, old friends catching up on the happenings in each other’s lives since they last met. “This is what makes my job great, to have guys like Rollie and John, and I look forward to seeing them,” Foster said. Outgoing, friendly and with a seemingly ever-present smile, the white-haired Foster fits the classic profile of the barber who is at the center of conversations and is the source of the latest rumors and gossip. “People talk in here, they gather information,” he said. “I don’t know how many times I have heard somebody say, if you want to know something, go ask Vern. It’s because of the people that you’re talking to.” The walls also hold little reminders of his support for community groups, including a pin flag he received for sponsoring a hole at a charity golf tournament benefitting the Scotia-Glenville Lions Club and a poster promoting the local Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. At the back of the shop, Foster displays a collection of Scotia and Scotia-Glenville high school yearbooks that date back to the 1930s. He can regularly be seen in the stands at Scotia-Glenville basketball games, even though his four children have long since graduated and now have given Foster and his wife of 35 years, Rosemary, five grandchildren. “You want somebody who’s dedicated to their community, that’s Vern,” Kastberg said. As much as he’s dedicated to the community, he’s every bit as dedicated to his customers. Foster has no problem with going to the home of one of his regular customers if illness keeps them from coming to the shop for a haircut because that is what he would do for a friend. “They’ve been great customers and very faithful,” he said. “They’re my friends. BRUCE SQUIERS/ GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Vern Foster puts finishing touches on haircut given to customer Rollie Jacobson in his Scotia shop on Thursday.
Barber approaches 50 years in ‘small-town atmosphere’ Mayor Mark Kastberg proclaimed Aug. 8 ‘Vern Foster Day’ BY MARK ROBARGE Gazette Reporter
Hey there, Mark Robarge....you must be new to the area, cause the mayor of Scotia's first name is KRIS!!! Doesn't the gazette pay for an editor? Or were they ones that were fired a while back?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCOTIA Trustee squabble stalls hiring Benny, Kastberg at odds over firefighter staffing plan BY MARK ROBARGE Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Mark Robarge at 395-3123 or mrobarge@dailygazette.net.
Village Mayor Kris Kastberg abruptly pulled back a proposal to add two professional fi refighters to the Fire Department at Wednesday’s meeting of the Board of Trustees, after a heated discussion that included Kastberg and Trustee Armon Benny trading accusations. Kastberg proposed adding two firefighters to allow the department — which includes both paid and volunteer members — to have three professional firefighters on duty for each shift, as called for by village policy. However, Benny said he had several questions he wanted answered by the village’s labor attorney before he voted on the proposal, particularly the mayor’s suggestion to change the shift of one of the positions to allow more flexibility in scheduling. When the mayor pushed to go ahead with the vote, Benny accused Kastberg of trying to force through a “scheme” that might violate the village’s contract with the Scotia Permanent Firemen’s Association, and without allowing trustees to get the advice they needed to make an informed decision. “To hire without the advice of counsel and to deny trustees the advice of counsel ... is just wrong,” Benny said. Kastberg in turn accused Benny, who lost to Kastberg in the race for mayor in November 2006, of trying to stall the proposal because of his opposition to the village staffi ng policy for the department. “Our attorney’s advice is not going to make a difference in how you vote,” Kastberg said. “It doesn’t matter that I don’t accept the three-man model,” Benny replied. “I still have the right to the advice of counsel.” Benny refused to discuss the questions he had for the village’s labor attorney during the meeting’s open session. “I have several questions to ask the attorney, and I’m not going to ask them here because the attorney’s not present,” Benny said. About 20 minutes into the discussion, the board voted to go into executive session, where it remained for about 45 minutes. When the board reconvened in open session, Kastberg said the proposal would be tabled until the board could consult with its labor attorney. The board agreed to fill one professional opening in the department last month from a list of candidates who passed a Schenectady County Civil Service exam; but it delayed acting to fill the two remaining vacancies at a meeting later in the month because of questions about whether one of the candidates was a village resident. That candidate was later disqualified, but Benny said Kastberg had unilaterally changed the conditions of one of the jobs by proposing to change the assigned shift without consulting with trustees. nario than you proposed two weeks ago,” Benny said. Kastberg, in turn, questioned the board’s commitment to a policy it had approved to better insure the safety of firefighters and of village residents and property. “There just doesn’t seem to be the commitment from the board to fill these positions,” Kastberg said. “We go back and forth, and we never get to the point where we fill that model. At what point is the board going to take action?”
SCOTIA Village adding information to new Web site Residents will be able to see events, download forms, get on mailing list Gazette Reporter
The village has made its longawaited jump onto the information superhighway, but officials say they have yet to move into the fast lane. The village’s own Web site, http://www.villageofscotia.org, was activated early in September after about two months of preparation by Chief Web Solutions, a Web site design business owned by village Police Chief John Pytlovany. The site currently features a list of village officials and their phone numbers, information about village departments, news on upcoming events and village programs and links to existing Web sites for the village police and fire departments and an online version of the village code. Pytlovany said that is just a portion of what the Web site will eventually include, however. “We wanted to get the base up there so people could see it and have a vision in their mind as to where we can go from here, how to improve it and what information to add to it,” said Pytlovany. Mayor Kris Kastberg said back in July that village officials pictured the site including downloadable forms, contact information for village officials, links to all village departments, information on volunteer opportunities in the community and a list of activities at Flint House, Freedom Park and other village attractions. That vision has not changed, he said at Wednesday’s meeting of the village’s board of trustees. “The strategy was to get it up for a couple of weeks and let the department heads take a look at it,” he said. “We thought it would be better to get it up and going and add to it, rather than to wait and wait and wait.” Pytlovany said he is working to get a host of village forms and documents posted on the site. “If there are some different types of forms that you need to fill out to come here to apply for different permits, you’ll be able to download the form, fill it out and then bring it in,” he said. In addition, the site will soon offer users the option of joining a mailing list that will allow the village to automatically send them notices and other information by e-mail. Other possibilities in the future could include the ability to post meeting agendas and minutes and a host of other information. “I have the capability to put up whatever they want to put up,” Pytlovany said. Pytlovany is charging the village $400 a year for the domain name and to provide server space, with an additional one-time charge of as much as $1,400 — depending on the final size of the site — for designing the pages to be posted. Funding for the Web site was included in the 2007-08 village budget.
In addition, the site will soon offer users the option of joining a mailing list that will allow the village to automatically send them notices and other information by e-mail.
I really liket his idea. I think it would be beneficial in Rotterdam as well.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
GLENVILLE Taxi drivers stage strike to fight surcharge BY JAMES SCHLETT Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter James Schlett at 395-3040 or jschlett@dailygazette.net.
The task of hailing a cab became a little harder Friday morning, as Central-Brown Taxi drivers went on a brief strike to protest management’s attempt to increase the surcharge they pay for fuel and maintenance. Approximately 30 non-unionized drivers refused to work for the taxi service provider headquartered on Freemans Bridge Road. The strike started at 5:30 a.m. and continued until management backed away from a surcharge hike announced the previous afternoon, according to Joseph Ward, a driver and dispatcher. Central-Brown planned to replace the flat $10 surcharge drivers pay at the end of each shift with a slidingscale structure going up to $40, said Ward. “This is the first time it ever happened, so he was surprised that everyone stood together,” Ward said. Central-Brown management did not immediately return calls asking for comment Friday. By 7:30 a.m., Ward said, Central management acquiesced to drivers’ demands to reinstate the $10 surcharge. The two-hour strike occurred during Central-Brown’s busiest morning rush period. Capitaland Taxi in Schenectady reported a spike in calls requesting rides Friday morning. “We just stayed outside. Nobody went to work until the owner agreed to go back to $10,” Ward said. The strike put pressure on Central-Brown by threatening to put the company in violation of Schenectady’s taxi licensing code. Cab drivers are required to obtain a license from the city, which sets fare rates. The city prohibits taxi service providers from refusing to accept calls when they have available cabs. It also requires providers to take calls and dispatch cabs 24 hours a day. They must respond to calls as soon as possible and notify prospective passengers of delays. Schenectady Deputy City Attorney Andy Brick said the city received no complaints about taxis not being available Friday morning. Brick said he was not aware of the Central-Brown strike, but he noted that the city will monitor the issue more closely.
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