tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post4076619761994919712..comments2023-09-01T03:29:34.801-04:00Comments on New Paltz Gadfly: What the Middle School opposition is sayingTPWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03264842579175313715noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-71794947011716345142010-01-29T00:14:52.589-05:002010-01-29T00:14:52.589-05:00And I am sure you have all paid your taxes on time...And I am sure you have all paid your taxes on time, right? Are any of you on the delinquent payers list?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-88179771859003087272010-01-25T15:50:22.261-05:002010-01-25T15:50:22.261-05:00Martin, well said.Martin, well said.Brittany Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02329337890735136976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-13215075161697854322010-01-25T09:59:25.519-05:002010-01-25T09:59:25.519-05:00What I'm saying is that doing what is necessar...What I'm saying is that doing what is necessary to upgrade the Middle School vs. what is optimum will strike voters as more reasonable in the current economic context.<br /><br />Given the way voters have consistently passed the annual school budgets, if we were still in a boom period this project would sail right through.<br /><br />The real issue beneath the money issue, I think, is the hubris of the school district.Martin McPhillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02702640115003772857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-91963589105777505662010-01-24T15:49:29.182-05:002010-01-24T15:49:29.182-05:00To Anonymous- See web address below -Here is my un...To Anonymous- See web address below -Here is my understanding- In 2015 the net monthly increase relative to today reaches about +$17.86/month. After this, the increase relative to today's tax rate declines. Note the increased number over 20 years is $13.56 (less than $17.56). I believe that the decrease after 2015 comes about because debt we already have is paid and some of that money goes to the middle school debt.<br />http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1fDgRwvRVcqMzUyYmNiYzAtMWI0ZS00NTVhLTg2OWItYzRkYTVhZDUxMTc2&hl=en<br /><br />To martin<br />You said "Well, how about a $20 million dollar renovation?"<br /><br />So you are saying that people can afford a peak of $8/month, but not a peak of $18/month. Both of these numbers are a small fraction of the total school budget.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-18379247760372153152010-01-23T20:58:18.629-05:002010-01-23T20:58:18.629-05:00No one has been honest thus far with the numbers. ...No one has been honest thus far with the numbers. That is part of the problem. There's some hokus pokus going on with the use of school board reserve funds (that should be used other building repairs and needs) to offset some initial year payments. All resources seem to be thrown at the middle school, until the next need comes up. I have heard that the real cost of property tax increases after year four due to the project will be $500 more a year per $300k home. Why doesn't some accountant due a true financial analysis and publish it in the newspaper. I am tired of all these vague statements by both sides in the letters to the editor. These are huge dollars, people, we deserve better public info.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-24106313754955898522010-01-22T14:35:13.262-05:002010-01-22T14:35:13.262-05:00And I'm a homeowner who does support it, so pl...And I'm a homeowner who does support it, so please don't lump me together with blood sucking landlords, OK Rachel?Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-56822679767777070832010-01-22T12:03:12.455-05:002010-01-22T12:03:12.455-05:00Hmm... I'm opposed to the project, and I don&#...Hmm... I'm opposed to the project, and I don't think I've made any of those arguments.Brittany Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02329337890735136976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-65257969962258213262010-01-22T09:27:39.632-05:002010-01-22T09:27:39.632-05:00Terence asks: "What other options are there?&...Terence asks: "What other options are there?"<br /><br />Well, how about a $20 million dollar renovation?<br /><br />The Middle School is not structurally unsound. You repair it like the Ford that it is and don't try to transform it into a Rolls Royce.Martin McPhillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02702640115003772857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-62402905219018191642010-01-22T09:19:38.110-05:002010-01-22T09:19:38.110-05:00There are long and short arguments both ways, Rach...There are long and short arguments both ways, Rachel. But I'll stick with the short analysis here at Gadfly:<br /><br />People are simply tapped out. So now is not a good time to ask them for more.<br /><br />If that's not accurate, then the renovation will probably be approved.<br /><br />If it is accurate, the renovation will be defeated.<br /><br />I'll add that if the school district was being funded to the extremely generous amount of, say, $16,000 per student, instead of the app. $23,000 per student level that it has managed to reach, then voters might not find this such a difficult choice, even now.Martin McPhillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02702640115003772857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-41476699172222048172010-01-22T08:30:01.947-05:002010-01-22T08:30:01.947-05:00Marty
It's all about the money. The bottom lin...Marty<br />It's all about the money. The bottom line is where, as a community, do we invest our money? The landlords and homeowners are investing money in a smear campaign against the project so they won't have a tax increase now. That is a short term goal with limited return. Defeating the bond won't decrease their taxes. Spending money to defeat the bond turns out not to be a wise investment because the project, though it involves an initial increase in taxes, will actually cost less than continuous repairs on an inefficient building, or building later when the prices for fuel and labor and supplies are just going up. My suggestion would be to vote "yes" for the bond, and then make sure the project is as efficient and effective in the long run as possible, and watch every bit of the construction process to make sure there is no waste. Make sure they hire local people. Check up on the pricing and sourcing of all the material they get. Try to help them do the best job possible by bringing their attention to local resources and expertise.<br />If the project comes in under budget, the money would go back to the taxpayers. If it ends up costing all that money, the community still gets the high performance building. The children have a wise investment in a healthy school that does not depend on fossil fuels.<br />There probably are ways that taxes can go down without depriving the students. At least the tax burden could be distributed more fairly. The problem in New Paltz is that your property gets taxed instead of your income and many of us here bought houses when they were cheap, still live in the same houses and make the same incomes, but have to pay double and sometimes triple the taxes as we did 10 years ago. That is not a reason to refuse to pay for the middle school. That is a reason to restructure the taxation. <br /><br />rachelrachel lagodkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14911494427141139629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-35309422735017808512010-01-22T08:19:36.172-05:002010-01-22T08:19:36.172-05:00Martin, the arguments posed aren't directly co...Martin, the arguments posed aren't directly complaining about the cost, because they don't believe that will defeat the bond. They attack the process, dissect the details, or propose things that have been beaten to death as a means to put off until tomorrow what should have been done yesterday. Sure it's expensive and I would rather not spend it, but it will COST MORE EVERY DAY and HAS TO BE DONE. What other options are there?TPWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264842579175313715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-27123505830104041382010-01-21T21:14:24.346-05:002010-01-21T21:14:24.346-05:00As much as I would like to agree with John Bligh t...As much as I would like to agree with John Bligh that Terence has made a good argument...<br /><br />Well, let's put it this way, there has been forensic insufficiency on both sides.<br /><br />My views on what should happen to the Middle School are...ah, not practical, for the purposes of this debate.<br /><br />But this is why I think the project is drawing so much opposition, regardless of how well made the arguments are:<br /><br />People tend to spend their own money very carefully. People in a position to spend other people's money are much less careful. And in an economic time like this one, those two tendencies are destined to have a head-on collision.<br /><br />When you tell people "it will only cost you X dollars more per year," and those people are saying, often only to themselves, "I can't pay what it's costing me already," that's not a matter of short-sightedness.<br /><br />A lot of people are looking at conditions day-to-day, and wondering if there is any way these taxes can go down. So telling them it will only cost them this much more is not a winning argument.Martin McPhillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02702640115003772857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859894191147478362.post-83100885285337678032010-01-21T10:46:14.677-05:002010-01-21T10:46:14.677-05:00This is the best pro-renovation argument I've ...This is the best pro-renovation argument I've read on this subject. It should be published in the NP Times. Good job.John Blighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06543592173944572738noreply@blogger.com