The state Board of Elections has released the 2009 political calendar.
Close watchers of Town of New Paltz politics know that the real town election is at the Democratic caucus. Given the high proportion of registered Democrats, winning the nomination at the caucus is pretty much a sure bet for winning in November. Seats up this year include town supervisor, two town board seats, and highway superintendent. (Do any readers know the terms of the town clerk and town justice? They may be up too if their terms are two years.)
According to this year's calendar, the earliest possible date that the Democratic Committee can set the date is June 9th. Look here to see my earlier post about my problems with a June caucus.
Monday, May 4th is the next Democratic Committee meeting (Village Hall, 7pm) -- most likely the committee will be setting the date for the caucus. Registered Democrats can attend. I'm not going (it's my birthday!) but I will be sure to report back to Gadfly readers the next chapter in the story as soon as it is revealed...
Also -- Village residents! Check out the village board debate on Channel 23 broadcast live from Village Hall on this Friday night, goodness gracious that is May 1st already!
kt tobin flusser
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Unification isn't the real threat
It's not unification that is most likely to destroy the "way of life" people who live in the village want so desperately to protect - it's the lack of solvent taxpayers.
I was dumbfounded that the situation is so serious, and asked if they had considered other options to keep the full work force, like furloughs and shortened work schedules and pay cuts. Less of a job is better than none, I would think. Apparently the unions don't see it that way, and they aren't willing to reopen the contracts.
The village board is trying to find another $300,000 or so in budget cuts, and they're running out of things to even consider. I was told that they might even consider laying people off - people like the ones that are busting their butts cleaning up after us this week.
I was dumbfounded that the situation is so serious, and asked if they had considered other options to keep the full work force, like furloughs and shortened work schedules and pay cuts. Less of a job is better than none, I would think. Apparently the unions don't see it that way, and they aren't willing to reopen the contracts.
Now I'm all for collective bargaining, but if this is true it's a case where the members are not being represented by their union. How does it help anyone? $300 might mean four to six people (I'm not sure exactly, because benefits have to be considered in the total employee cost) that are out of work. It will probably mean the same reduction in services as any of the other options I asked about, but with more people jobless.
The only problem I have with collective bargaining is the idea that you can be required to be a member of the union. This is why unions sometimes - often - don't have their members' interests at heart. If employees could freely join and leave - and for that matter, freely create and dissolve a union - then groups like CSEA would see enrollment dip when employers are humans, and rise when they become monsters. There's no reason why union membership needs to be a protected class, and there's plenty of reasons why it shouldn't.
I wonder if that's a contract negotiation point?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Responsive Government
For about eighteen months now I have been a regular attendee at the New Paltz School District school board meetings. This is the second budget process I have had a front row seat for (literally). Throughout these two cycles, myself and others, via public comment at board meetings, and now this year, via a school district budget blog, have requested more detail -- down to the line items -- on the proposed budgets.
And guess what. Last night, by a vote of 5-2 (Rod Dressel and David Dukler dissenting), our school board voted to post the full, detailed, line item proposed (draft 3) budget on the district's website. You can see it here.
WOW! KUDOS to our school board! Thank you for listening.
(See, being pesky works!)
kt tobin flusser
And guess what. Last night, by a vote of 5-2 (Rod Dressel and David Dukler dissenting), our school board voted to post the full, detailed, line item proposed (draft 3) budget on the district's website. You can see it here.
WOW! KUDOS to our school board! Thank you for listening.
(See, being pesky works!)
kt tobin flusser
Gadfly Candidate Throws a Party
I've been an observer of the School Board since the Middle School renovation debate began, and I have spoken out about the need to have a mom on the School Board. After careful consideration I have announced my candidacy, and I look forward to your support.
Please join me to talk about the upcoming election, my candidacy, and the challenges our district will be facing in the next few years at a campaign kick-off on Monday, April 13th, 6pm to 8pm at the Mudd Puddle at the Water Street Market.
You can RSVP on Facebook here.
Please join me to talk about the upcoming election, my candidacy, and the challenges our district will be facing in the next few years at a campaign kick-off on Monday, April 13th, 6pm to 8pm at the Mudd Puddle at the Water Street Market.
You can RSVP on Facebook here.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Mapping New Paltz Walking Trails
When Google Maps first added the "walking" feature I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but not one that was complete. Sure, I can get walking directions to London (sort of), but look what happens when you ask for walking directions from Stop and Shop to Meadowbrook:
View Larger Map
Obviously the Google Mappers don't know that we preserved the walking path between this condo community and the New Paltz Plaza (no, we really can't call it the Ames Plaza anymore). I know Google is good about fixing things that are wrong if you ask, but understanding the nuances of adding my own maps is a little beyond me.
But now there's WikiWalki, a user-edited database of trails that combines the ease of Wikipedia with the database of Google Maps. I gave it a shot by eyeballing the visible location of the Rail Trail to see how easy it is:
It's not perfect by any stretch - for one, I stopped mapping because it's 2:30 in the morning and I couldn't follow the line on the satellite photo very clearly, so I was afraid I would map people right into the Wallkill. But since it's a wiki, anyone can come along and improve upon my work and extend the Rail Trail map from Gardiner to Rosendale.
Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee, Senior Task Force, and anyone else interested in pedestrian needs, please take note!
(And did anyone notice that the pedestrian-in-crosswalk signs have returned on Main Street without fanfare? I'd like to know who to credit for that!)
View Larger Map
Obviously the Google Mappers don't know that we preserved the walking path between this condo community and the New Paltz Plaza (no, we really can't call it the Ames Plaza anymore). I know Google is good about fixing things that are wrong if you ask, but understanding the nuances of adding my own maps is a little beyond me.
But now there's WikiWalki, a user-edited database of trails that combines the ease of Wikipedia with the database of Google Maps. I gave it a shot by eyeballing the visible location of the Rail Trail to see how easy it is:
View Trail at wikiwalki.com
Trail Map widget provided by Wikiwalki.com
It's not perfect by any stretch - for one, I stopped mapping because it's 2:30 in the morning and I couldn't follow the line on the satellite photo very clearly, so I was afraid I would map people right into the Wallkill. But since it's a wiki, anyone can come along and improve upon my work and extend the Rail Trail map from Gardiner to Rosendale.
Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee, Senior Task Force, and anyone else interested in pedestrian needs, please take note!
(And did anyone notice that the pedestrian-in-crosswalk signs have returned on Main Street without fanfare? I'd like to know who to credit for that!)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Village Spending Freeze: End to Innovation?
It's a common pattern that is sad to watch: great strides toward more sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices are made during economic boom times, only to be all-but-undone when municipalities start cutting their budgets and freezing spending. Is that the fate for New Paltz Village?
Like every level of government, the Village of New Paltz is struggling with the realities of the current economy. Terry Dungan initiated a controversial spending freeze last month, and there can be no doubt that the fiscal crisis is at the root over bickering about the solar panels on Village Hall. It's funny how government officials act, isn't it? During boom times they spend like nobody ever loses money and during a crisis they think that no spending is okay ever. The rest of us have to budget for good times and bad, but governments somehow are allowed to act surprised no matter what happens.
So for the Village, this surprise manifests in ways like spending freezes and fights with the Town to get more money. Since we apparently never think of saving money when the economy is good, can we think about how to use innovation to save a little money in the long term now that times are tough? Many environmentally sound practices, like the 2005 solar panel installation, cost a bit of cash up front but provide environmental and economic benefits down the line - they save us money in the long run. Does it make sense to spend money during a freeze to save money later? Probably - I for one have no faith that our elected officials will plan for a rainy day during the next boom time, so why not now when we're thinking about how difficult things are?
I was looking at various ways that roads can create energy, and honestly I think forward-thinking isn't nearly enough to finance a solar road network or anything close to it. However, the idea of speed bumps that power street lights is actually pretty cool - they're almost certainly cheaper than a road, we use or could use speed bumps in various locations, and I'm guessing that there's a grant out there somewhere that could help us finance these things.
The question is, can our mayor and our town supervisor play nice with each other for awhile and look into some serious changes, or would they prefer to continue defending their fiefdoms and use that as an excuse for not doing something exceptional with their jobs?
Like every level of government, the Village of New Paltz is struggling with the realities of the current economy. Terry Dungan initiated a controversial spending freeze last month, and there can be no doubt that the fiscal crisis is at the root over bickering about the solar panels on Village Hall. It's funny how government officials act, isn't it? During boom times they spend like nobody ever loses money and during a crisis they think that no spending is okay ever. The rest of us have to budget for good times and bad, but governments somehow are allowed to act surprised no matter what happens.
So for the Village, this surprise manifests in ways like spending freezes and fights with the Town to get more money. Since we apparently never think of saving money when the economy is good, can we think about how to use innovation to save a little money in the long term now that times are tough? Many environmentally sound practices, like the 2005 solar panel installation, cost a bit of cash up front but provide environmental and economic benefits down the line - they save us money in the long run. Does it make sense to spend money during a freeze to save money later? Probably - I for one have no faith that our elected officials will plan for a rainy day during the next boom time, so why not now when we're thinking about how difficult things are?
I was looking at various ways that roads can create energy, and honestly I think forward-thinking isn't nearly enough to finance a solar road network or anything close to it. However, the idea of speed bumps that power street lights is actually pretty cool - they're almost certainly cheaper than a road, we use or could use speed bumps in various locations, and I'm guessing that there's a grant out there somewhere that could help us finance these things.
The question is, can our mayor and our town supervisor play nice with each other for awhile and look into some serious changes, or would they prefer to continue defending their fiefdoms and use that as an excuse for not doing something exceptional with their jobs?
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