Mayor vetoes Schenectady budget, gives no reason McCarthy only says he has many concerns Friday, November 9, 2012 By Kathleen Moore (Contact) Gazette Reporter Text Size: A | A Schenectady Mayor Gary R. McCarthy presents the 2013 proposed budget to members of the City Council and the public at a meeting in September. Photographer: Stacey Lauren-Kennedy Schenectady Mayor Gary R. McCarthy presents the 2013 proposed budget to members of the City Council and the public at a meeting in September.
SCHENECTADY — Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy has vetoed the budget his Democratic colleagues spent weeks rewriting.
He made the decision late Friday afternoon after calling for and then canceling a meeting with Councilwoman Leesa Perazzo and City Council President Denise Brucker.
The decision left the council with no idea why he vetoed it. McCarthy said before the veto that he did not want to explain his reasons.
He said he had “a number” of concerns about the budget.
“I’m surprised there weren’t more issues raised,” he said.
After his veto, he did not respond to requests for an explanation.
The council could override a veto with five votes and save the budget it approved last week. However, with Councilwoman Barbara Blanchard still recovering from a medical problem in a rehabilitation hospital, there are only six council members available for a vote. If McCarthy can persuade two of them not to override, his original budget would go into effect.
Perazzo and Brucker said they might support his veto.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m going to talk to him,” Brucker said. “I want to hear what his concerns are. It depends on his concerns.”
Perazzo added that some of the council’s changes to the budget were “really good.” But, she said, she wouldn’t immediately oppose a veto.
“I think before [an override vote] I would want to know why the mayor wanted to veto it,” she said. “I would want to hear what his reasoning was.”
She added that she hoped there was room for compromise in the veto-override process.
“I don’t know the process,” she said, “but [the mayor’s concerns] may be a very minor reason that we’d be willing to come to terms with.”
Councilwoman Marion Porterfield, who just won election to a full term Tuesday, said she had not been informed of the possible veto.
“But I’m going to call him now,” she said, adding that she preferred the council’s budget to the mayor’s original proposal.
In a veto-override situation, the only two choices would be to accept the mayor’s original budget or override to keep the council’s final budget. However, council members retain the authority to make adjustments to the budget at any time, so alterations could be made after a vote.
The approved budget is what is used to set the tax rate. If the city reverts to the mayor’s original budget and alterations are not made immediately, taxpayers will see a tax increase of 4.1 percent. The council’s budget has a tax increase of 1.7 percent.
Councilman Vince Riggi, the only non-Democrat on the council, said he would vote to override a veto even though he voted against the council’s budget. He said he had wanted further cuts to the budget, but would rather have a 1.7 percent tax increase than a 4.1 percent increase.
“It’s certainly better for the taxpayers than 4.1,” he said.
Riggi added that he wasn’t happy with apparent padding in the mayor’s original budget. Vehicle leases were overstated, he claimed, and other expenses were pegged to rise more than the trend for the last few years.
“There’s no way that can be justified, particularly the leases,” Riggi said. “I’m not happy with the [mayor’s] budget as it was because we were not told the truth.”
The council reduced those items to what fired Budget Analyst Jason Cuthbert had said was a reasonable amount. Cuthbert worked on the budget with both Riggi and Councilman Carl Eriksen, the finance committee chairman, and almost all of his proposals were incorporated into the final budget.
Cuthbert worked behind the scenes after being fired after publicly disagreeing with the mayor on the city-county sales tax agreement. Cuthbert argued the new contract would hurt the city; McCarthy said it was the best deal possible for both the city and the county.
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
imbecilic crooked behavior designed to screw the taxpayer and build the democrap party up
"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."
Not surprised that Perazzo and Brucker would side with the mayor, so they'll get two others to join in.
No word on how B Blanchard is doing, should there be a "fill in" until then ? Should R. Pateriene be put on the council until BB return?
When watching the budget vote Perazzo was very vocal (like a fingernail on a chalkboard) about using the 'extra" money from the budget to lessen the taxes for the taxpayers, she wanted more kept in the kitty.
Looks like this might have been a plan all along, make it look like Brucker Perazzo etc worked soooooo hard and long on the budget get MP reelected then screw the taxpayers.
imbecilic crooked behavior designed to screw the taxpayer and build the democrap party up
All of you DEM morons that voted for Marion Porterhouse deserve a major tax increase. A rope a dope from a fiscal idiot who must be replace by a Control Board. No comment from DEM stooges Brucker and Leesser Perrazo? Another first. Resign in disgrace before Cuomo removes the whole rotten lot.
"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."
All of you DEM morons that voted for Marion Porterhouse deserve a major tax increase. A rope a dope from a fiscal idiot who must be replace by a Control Board. No comment from DEM stooges Brucker and Leesser Perrazo? Another first. Resign in disgrace before Cuomo removes the whole rotten lot.
Don't blame the idiot voters.
Romney and Ryan scared the voters with their extremism, into voting straight Democratic ballots.
Mayor vetoes Schenectady budget, gives no reason McCarthy only says he has many concerns....
Here's little boy Ronnie, posting in a mommy name, cheering for the mayor hiking the taxes on financially struggling homeowners, just make sure there is all kind of stuff for McC's cronies downtown, huh?
Why don't you post this under your DV name?
Moving into the city yet? Are you buying one of the homes on the taxpayer-funded open house tour this weekend? Or have you awoken to the fact, supported by overwhelming EVIDENCE that the taxpayers in the city are getting screwed by the dems and the city IS falling apart and you are much too embarrassed to admit that in your DV name?
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.
I wouldn't say they are intelligent enough to split their ballots or make conscious choices in general. When you have some of the lower forms of DNA, you generally get very simplistic results when you empower them to make choices that effect their children's futures.
"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."
Lazy entitled non tax payers and their social programs.
Intolerance of all abortions.
Intolerance of gays being treated as equals..
Never apologize, just keep pissing off the world. Apologies display weakness.
Absolute insistence that everyone not have health coverage and absolute insistence on repeal of Obamacare.
Absolute intolerance of Mexican illegals.
Absolute insistence on extending tax cuts for those who don't need it.
Intolerance of Democrats, calling them socialists because they want to care for the sick, the elderly and the handicapped.
Crazy right wing people acting on behalf of Romney, and his failure to denounce them. Obama's not an American, he's a socialist, he wants to destroy America, Libya is an outrage, Donald Trump's 5 million dollar challenge, the list is endless.
Yesterday Rush Limbaugh put forth the idea that Republicans should offer amnesty to illegals with the condition that the illegals can't vote for 25 years. He said that will prove the Democratic agenda. It won't. It will further prove that the Republicans don't want to lose white old men majority status.
An internet survey of reason why people thi8nk Romney lost is listed below:
1. Personal Extremism Romney’s views on today’s social issues such as abortion, gay rights, immigration, the poor and the elderly do not coincide with the views of the majority, including a substantial number of Republicans.
2. Party Extremism The Republican party has steadily moved toward the fringe, not only in candidates (Mourdock, Akin, Bachmann), but in supporters. Whether conscientiously or not, the party has drawn racists, bigots, religious nuts, and those who use religion to justify anti-social, intolerant behavior.
3. His Backers Divisive figures like Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Mitch McConnell, and Karl Rove did not help Romney. At a time when most of America is hungry for level-headed moderation, and hoping for at least some bipartisanship cooperation, these narrow-minded, hyperbolic figures are advancing deeper divisions. Even Romney’s celebrity backers, like Ted Nugent and the band Mustaine added to the crazy, fringe element with talk of assassination and staged shootings. No rational person likes to be on the side of crazy.
4. Corporate Interests Many Americans do follow the money. In Romney’s case, the massive donations from political henchman Karl Rove’s SuperPAC, along with those from billionaires Sheldon Adelson and the Koch Bros. (who have spoken of creating a “conservative Utopia” eerily reminiscent of an Ayn Rand novel), as well as those from major Wall Street interests, painted the candidate as the rich man’s puppet. What favors would Romney be expected to return for those billions of dollars? Exactly what legislation or policies were the donors hoping their money would buy? It’s a question that many Americans, quite rightfully, ask.
And then there are the letters sent out by some Romney-backing corporations to thousands of their employees, threatening that they would lose their jobs if Obama was elected. American workers don’t appreciate being treated as pawns and threatened, especially when it comes to a fundamental personal right like voting.
5. The 47% There are some comments that just can’t be taken back or spun into non-existence. Romney’s comment that 47% of Americans see themselves as victims who will never take personal responsibility or care for their lives was, to put it mildly, appalling. He repeated the line about “caring for the 100%” after that, but it rang hollow and untrue.
6. The Tax Returns The campaign seemed to think that Americans would forget about the undisclosed tax returns, but we didn’t. The lack of disclosure only raised more questions. Was Harry Reid’s information right? Did Romney not pay taxes for 10 years? We wanted to know the tax history of the candidate who was espousing tax cuts that would, according to all bipartisan sources, largely benefit the wealthy. Romney’s refusal was like an admission that he had something to hide.
7. Paul Ryan Young, attractive, healthy… and yet so far to the right that the majority of middle Americans couldn’t connect with him. His professed admiration for the tenets of Atlas Shrugged; his pre-campaign language of “forcible rape“; his desire to meld his religious beliefs with law; the tax plan that only groups like ultra right-wing Heritage Foundation found feasible — all of these things made Ryan an unpalatable running mate.
8. Flip-flops and Lies Romney’s flip-flops were so head-spinning that not even a 19-minute video could capture them all. His outright lies number 917, according to “Chronicling Mitt’s Mendacity“. Romney’s proclamation that his campaign wouldn’t be “dictated to by fact-checkers” turned into a seemingly shameless disregard for the truth. In the most recent debacle, the accusation that Chrysler was moving their jobs to China, even a denial from the head of Chrysler himself wasn’t enough for Romney to pull misleading ads.
9. Flubs, Foreign and Domestic Romney offended all of England over the Olympics. He jumped on the opportunity to politicize Benghazi before all the facts were in. He disenfranchised the poor with talk of safety nets that aren’t really all that safe, and diminished the troops by omission in his convention speech. His supporters complained that he wasn’t getting photo ops for Sandy, so he held a campaign rally under the guise of a food drive. His VP nominee faked helping at a soup kitchen. There were many flubs in, by, and surrounding the Romney camp, a few of which might have been redeemed had the overall number not been so high.
10. Fox News As the country becomes more divided, and people grow increasingly uncomfortable with the level of animosity, the media darling of the right-wing is seen through less naive lenses. There is real fear, some of it founded, that Fox News is brainwashing a considerable segment of America. Fox News viewers are some of the least informed yet most opinionated television watchers. In the age of social media, Fox News has popularly become known as “Faux News” — an entity to be ridiculed and reviled — along with its viewers. Call it guilt by association, or not wanting to lie down with the dogs, but rational people, including moderate Republicans, are becoming ever-more leery of anything Fox supports, including candidates.
11. Minorities Most Republicans may not be racist, but as has been pointed out so many times this season, most racists are Republicans. And again, it may be guilt by association, but non-bigots of all political persuasions tend to not want to sidle up to a party where other members are hanging Obama dolls, creating “Don’t Re-Nig” bumper stickers, damning immigrants, and talking about “self-deportation”. Romney and other candidates had many opportunities to condemn overt racism, yet chose to stay silent. It hurt them.
12. Women The over 1100 Republican-sponsored bills that have been introduced in the last two years to restrict women’s reproductive rights were only the base of an iceberg seemingly meant to sink women. Fair pay was attacked by Republicans, and Romney/Ryan went along with it. The politicizing of rape into categories of “forcible” or “legitimate” was, for many women and the men who love them, disgusting. The fact that Romney has called for an abortion “prohibition” defies the majority will. That he would elect Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. Wade is something many women fear.
13. Jobs In economic hard times, Romney’s (flip-flop) statements on minimum wage increases seemed as Dickensian as billionaire Gina Rinehart’s call to pay mine workers $2 a day. His speech about a Chinese factory with high fences — where we know low wage workers labor for long days, 6 days a week, while living on premises in substandard conditions — was almost slavish in admiration. Yes, America wants jobs, but it doesn’t want low-wage sweatshops or a return to the days when workers had few protections and almost no rights.
14. Health Care Love it or hate it, the Affordable Care Act, now known as Obamacare, was an action that addressed chronic, long-standing public complaints. By a slight majority, Americans approved of this plan. Romney/Ryan wanted to abolish it on “Day One” with nothing ready to stand in its stead — no comprehensive overhaul, no great new idea — only some limited voucher plan for the old and disabled.
Lazy entitled non tax payers and their social programs.
Intolerance of all abortions.
Intolerance of gays being treated as equals..
Never apologize, just keep pissing off the world. Apologies display weakness.
Absolute insistence that everyone not have health coverage and absolute insistence on repeal of Obamacare.
Absolute intolerance of Mexican illegals.
Absolute insistence on extending tax cuts for those who don't need it.
Intolerance of Democrats, calling them socialists because they want to care for the sick, the elderly and the handicapped.
Crazy right wing people acting on behalf of Romney, and his failure to denounce them. Obama's not an American, he's a socialist, he wants to destroy America, Libya is an outrage, Donald Trump's 5 million dollar challenge, the list is endless.
Yesterday Rush Limbaugh put forth the idea that Republicans should offer amnesty to illegals with the condition that the illegals can't vote for 25 years. He said that will prove the Democratic agenda. It won't. It will further prove that the Republicans don't want to lose white old men majority status.
Well, he lost by less than 3 million votes. The electoral spread and popular spread was LESS than 08. If yours and the left wing analysis was correct, than Obama would have increased his margins in both - he didn't. The bigger news is the turnout.
The Republicans lost because they squashed a vital and growing wing of their party, the libertarian wing. The republicans thought they could successfully co-opt Ron Paul's growing "tea party" liberty movement by having Dick Armey create Freedomworks and organize rally's that mimicked Ron Paul rallies using the similar limited government, liberty message that Ron Paul was championing. Problem was, the millions that believe in the liberty message didn't bite and knew it was phony. Then to add insult to injury, when Ron Paul was winning delegates and taking over state parties, the Republican Party began changing the rules to protect the establishment control.
The republicans rolled the dice and thought they could win without the Liberty vote. They didn't only lose, but people didn't even show up to vote for any of them. The last report I read was that the voter turnout was 56%.
I predict over the next few years, there will be more Republican Arlen Spector's defecting to the Democrat Party. Especially in these swing states. Since the power mad neocons believe in the same big government philosophy as the Democrats.
Their position on gay marriage, the war on women, immigration, social welfare, compulsory health insurance, and other social issues had very little to do with their loss. The fact is, they manipulated their own party's primary to exclude MILLIONS of voters. And they'll never get them back, because those voters believe in limiting government power - neocons do not. Neocons will go where there is access to government power - that is now the Democrat party.
The democrat party will become the party of war, law enforcement, and welfare. They've already been moving in that direction.
Logged
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All of you DEM morons that voted for Marion Porterhouse deserve a major tax increase. A rope a dope from a fiscal idiot who must be replace by 
