Leesa Perazzo to be Schenectady's next City Council president  
By Paul Nelson Published 2:08 pm, Thursday, December 31, 2015

City Councilwoman Leesa Perazzo will be sworn in Friday as the new City Council president during the annual organizational meeting at Proctors.
She was locked in a battle with Councilman Ed Kosiur over the coveted leadership post but, during a hours long contentious meeting Wednesday, the Democrats were able to iron out their differences, agreeing to rally around Perazzo for the job.
Once she is formally voted in Friday, Perazzo will assume the job of presiding over the City Council meetings and setting the agendas.
She will succeed Margaret "Peggy" King, as council president. King did not seek re-election.
Perazzo said Thursday that the theme of her acceptance speech will be the progress being made on several fronts in the Electric City.
She'll likely make her point that the city is moving forward by talking about the $330 million Rivers Casino project being constructed on the former Alco site on Erie Boulevard and the recently adopted $81.81 million budget for 2016 that included a modest property tax reduction.
Perazzo hopes to build on that success.
"We're on a great positive forward motion but you can always do better than the good we're already doing," said Perazzo who lives in the Bellevue section of the city. "My focus will be to work hard and try to continue to do better."
Kosiur, the man who Perazzo beat out for council president, will become the majority leader/ president pro tempore, an appointed position.
However, he will not have the full support of his fellow Democrats. The majority leader is in charge of the municipal meetings when the council president is absent.
Perazzo, 49, said she has no hard feelings about her rocky path to becoming City Council president.
"I think it was good, healthy discussion, and I'm fine with the way the process unfolded," she said.
Mayor Gary McCarthy, who won a second term in November by defeating Roger Hull, will take the oath of office on New Year's Day at Proctors before delivering a truncated State of the City address. He'll give a longer, more detailed speech on the city's affairs later in the month.
Democrat John Polimeni, a newcomer elected to the governing body, and Vince Riggi, an independent and the top vote getter among City Council candidates in November, will take the oath of office.
Riggi, who was not part of Wednesday's meeting among the Democrats, said he looks forward to working with Perazzo and Kosiur in their new roles.
"In the spirit of bipartisanship, I will go along with the majority Democrats," said Riggi, the City Council Minority Leader.
The organizational meeting will get underway at 1 p.m. the GE Theater inside Proctors.

talking heads...bobble heads

Queenie has a conflict of interest.  She is employed by Proctors for whom the count taxpayers pay her boss King Philip a quarter of a million dollar in salart.  

She should NEVER utter the word "Proctors" while on the council, especially as president

I hope that she mentions Proctor's often and particularly how it can be a model for the collaborative long-term visioning and hard work that will be necessary to continue and move forward the Renaissance in the city and county.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I hope that she mentions Proctor's often and particularly how it can be a model for the collaborative long-term visioning and hard work that will be necessary to continue and move forward the Renaissance in the city and county.

So DV, you think she should use the taxpayers to enhance her own personal riches, while the taxpayers fork over a quarter of a million dollars to her boss in salary.

Explain DV why a FOR PROFIT business should be exempt from paying taxes.   Please answer that.  Oh, your silence is deafening, natural response of a non-taxpayer.

By selecting Leesa Perazzo as the City Council President and Ed Kosiur as the Majority Leader, the city Democrats have proven once again that they have a deep bench of talented and effective leaders.  

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

By selecting Leesa Perazzo as the City Council President and Ed Kosiur as the Majority Leader, the city Democrats have proven once again that they have a deep bench of talented and effective leaders.  

So DV, why can't you answer a LEGITIMATE questions?

Do you think a council rep should use the taxpayers to enhance her own personal riches, while the taxpayers fork over a quarter of a million dollars to her boss in salary.

Explain DV why a FOR PROFIT business should be exempt from paying taxes.   Please answer that.  Oh, your silence is deafening, natural response of a non-taxpayer.

Quoted from mikechristine1

So DV, why can't you answer a LEGITIMATE questions?

Do you think a council rep should use the taxpayers to enhance her own personal riches, while the taxpayers fork over a quarter of a million dollars to her boss in salary.

Explain DV why a FOR PROFIT business should be exempt from paying taxes.   Please answer that.  Oh, your silence is deafening, natural response of a non-taxpayer.

Not-for-Profit Incorporation Guide:  http://www.dos.ny.gov/forms/corporations/1511-f-l_instructions.pdf

State law (which governs your nonprofit incorporation) and the IRS (which governs your tax-exempt status) allow a nonprofit to pay reasonable salaries to officers,  employees, or agents for services rendered to further the nonprofit corporation's tax-exempt purposes.

"Whether the IRS considers benefits "excessive' depends on the situation. For instance, a staff member earning $100,000 annually from an organization with a budget of $125,000 probably needs to worry, but someone earning $100,000 from a nonprofit with a $5 million budget probably doesn't."

In 2013, Proctor's had a $20.25MILLION dollar budget.  $250k in salary probably isn't going to raise any red flags.

I also think that the persistent, repetitive salacious personal attacks serve no useful purpose.  If you believed the posts of certain people, you'd think that everyone involved in government or Proctor's or certain business entities is 100% evil incarnate.  

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I also think that the persistent, repetitive salacious personal attacks serve no useful purpose.  If you believed the posts of certain people, you'd think that everyone involved in government or Proctor's or certain business entities is 100% evil incarnate.  

Asking a question is NOT a personal attack.

Tell us, should a FOR PROFIT business built (renovated) on millions and millions of taxpayer money, and which it's CEO is paid a quarter of a million dollars in taxpayer money, be exempt from paying property and school taxes?   Yes or No.

Asking a yes or no question is NOT a "personal attack," rather it is your cop out excuse for not wanting to answer the question.

For example, wouldn't it be better to put the homeless and poor into the tax exempt lavish apartments downtown instead of warehousing them in the crime ridden Hamilton Hill?

Quoted from HarryP

Not-for-Profit Incorporation Guide:  http://www.dos.ny.gov/forms/corporations/1511-f-l_instructions.pdf

State law (which governs your nonprofit incorporation) and the IRS (which governs your tax-exempt status) allow a nonprofit to pay reasonable salaries to officers,  employees, or agents for services rendered to further the nonprofit corporation's tax-exempt purposes.

"Whether the IRS considers benefits "excessive' depends on the situation. For instance, a staff member earning $100,000 annually from an organization with a budget of $125,000 probably needs to worry, but someone earning $100,000 from a nonprofit with a $5 million budget probably doesn't."

In 2013, Proctor's had a $20.25MILLION dollar budget.  $250k in salary probably isn't going to raise any red flags.

I do remember the governor once saying he wanted to look into the lavish salaries of CEO's of non profits.  Hey, we're not talking a CEO
who is a highly specialist doctor with advanced degrees operating a hospital.  We are talking a little theater in a small city where the typical income is no mor than $40,000 a year, where it's residents struggle financially.  

But more importantly, it is NOT the "for profit business" called Proctors that pays Morris' salary.   His salary comes from the county budget.  The county gives Proctors about quarter of a million each year.  His salary is about a quarter of a million a year.   Taxpayers pay too much as it is.  We aren't talking Schenectady Civil Players you know.

And we're not talking a business (for profit OR not for profit) that is critical to public safety and health of the people.  ANYONE can go through their whole life never stepping into Proctors and they will not suffer for it.

(yawn)

Quoted from mikechristine1

I do remember the governor once saying he wanted to look into the lavish salaries of CEO's of non profits.  Hey, we're not talking a CEO
who is a highly specialist doctor with advanced degrees operating a hospital.  We are talking a little theater in a small city where the typical income is no mor than $40,000 a year, where it's residents struggle financially.  

But more importantly, it is NOT the "for profit business" called Proctors that pays Morris' salary.   His salary comes from the county budget.  The county gives Proctors about quarter of a million each year.  His salary is about a quarter of a million a year.   Taxpayers pay too much as it is.  We aren't talking Schenectady Civil Players you know.

And we're not talking a business (for profit OR not for profit) that is critical to public safety and health of the people.  ANYONE can go through their whole life never stepping into Proctors and they will not suffer for it.

So, if the Governor said he "wanted" to look into it, did he?  Why not bring your grievance there?