GFY. Our Town Administration has ended the decade of dysfunction and renewed a sense of pride in our Town. Anyone wishing to cast stones and slander our fine leaders can drop dead.
"Return the Democratic Party to it's Pro-Life roots and remove control of it from the Neo-Liberals!
I am as awesome as a man can be, especially when I am passionate about something. ~ Glryinthhighest
Rotterdam budget process raising eyebrows Town officials make last-minute changes without vote before hearing By John Purcell As of Thursday, November 1, 2012 -4:23 p.m.
#ROTTERDAM — Municipal budgets are often hotly debated, but in the Town of Rotterdam talk of dollars and cents recently took a back seat to a discussion on checks and balances after the Town Board never voted to approve a preliminary budget.
#Budgets go through revisions, but the timing and manner of changes to Rotterdam’s proposed spending plan have left some questioning whether the process has been transparent. The tentative budget was first presented to the board on Sept. 26, and then Town Clerk Diane Marco filed the preliminary budget on Friday, Oct. 5, without it ever seeing a vote from the board. At its Oct. 10 meeting, the Town Board called for a mandatory public hearing on the budget for Wednesday, Oct. 24, but a revised version of the budget was filed hours before that hearing was held.
#The revised budget was not posted to the town’s website until late Friday, Oct. 26, after The Spotlight inquired about the revisions. Town Clerk Diane Marco said on Friday the revised budget should have been posted earlier, but there was a problem with the company who manages the website. The board never took a vote to accept either budget plan.
#The changes to the budget had to do with payment in lieu of taxes revenue from General Electric. Town officials thought the revenue from a new agreement would be realized next year, but no money would come until 2014, leaving an $865,000 gap in the budget.
#To help cover the loss, the town shifted accounts set aside for a GE settlement totaling around $520,000. It then raised revenues in the sales tax, mortgage tax, safety inspections and fines and fees budget lines, reduced medical expenses and cut highway spending to close the remaining gap.
#Councilman Robert Godlewski called the public hearing “illegal” during the Oct. 24 meeting. He also suggested the board leave the public hearing open, so residents could comment on the changes submitted. The state’s sunshine laws require when substantive changes are made to a law or resolution after a public hearing is called, a new hearing must take place.
#Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government, said he has concerns with the town’s budget process.
#“I think that there is an issue here,” Freeman said. “It appears that the process was not conducted in a manner consistent with law.”
#Freeman questioned how the preliminary budget was approved without a board meeting, and said the changes to the budget made before the hearings were not done properly.
#“Changes could not validly have been made absent a meeting,” Freeman said.
#Town Supervisor Harry Buffardi on Tuesday, Oct. 30, said the town attorney is reviewing if the budget process “should have been done another way.” At the board’s next meeting, Buffardi said the board might vote on a resolution to approve any errors in the process.
#Town Law requires the Town Board to review the budget and make any revisions it deems necessary. After such a review, the board then approves the preliminary budget.
#Freeman wondered whether a second public hearing must now be held since changes were made to the budget after it was originally scheduled.
#“I don’t see anything in the town law that would call for a second public hearing,” he said, “but then again the town law doesn’t envision an alteration of the preliminary budget between the time that it is developed and the time of the public hearing.”
#Town Attorney Kate McGuirl on Tuesday, Oct. 30, said she didn’t agree with Freeman’s interpretation of the law. McGuirl didn’t have any concerns about the budget process.
#“The town appropriately held a hearing in respect to the preliminary budget,” McGuirl said.
#She went on to say the public hearing was not on the revised budget, but rather on the preliminary budget previously presented. She agreed there couldn’t be a revised preliminary budget without Town Board approval, but said such a document “is kind of a legal fiction” in the first place.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
AND look who is spoke and presented the budget statement......conspiracy???.....who put the figures together???.....Paolino in the mix???....DM and JP together????
seems to me the residents need to stand up and demand a TRUE investigation.....what a mess...
and did they take out the salary and benefits for a position not needed??? full time at that????......
this was inevtiable.......and Rotterdam asked for it....
WAKE UP TAXPAYERS....YOU ARE BEING RAPED...... and it does no good that RG is on the council..........he is the voice and the others dupas....
Didnt someone here write a letter blasting Bob God?
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Didnt someone here write a letter blasting Bob God?
I believe there was a letter to the editor in the Daily Gazette several days ago. It was attributed to DGarrow (although no one really believes he wrote it, as he has been described as having the intellect of a grape), in which he/they wrote some rather disparaging remarks about Mr. Godlewski. We feel that rather than writing such tripe, young Mr. Garrow's time would be better spent tending to his family's (uncle's) delinquent property tax bills, or as the saying goes "People who live in glass houses etc...."
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