Too Much To Let Pass............

I will probably lose some readers after this Post as it is slightly of off topic but worthy of discussion.
Our local newspapers have been full of information regarding shortfalls in the school budgets. Kingston Consolidated is one of local concern although events taking shape at both Saugerties and New Paltz are equally troubling.
It seems once again we taxpayers will be subject to our annual gut wrenching tax and tax levy increases and, once again the School Board will be deflecting their mismanagement upon the hard working residents of the School District.
I realize the situation might have been created in Albany, or even, if you wish, Washington DC, but the pain will be felt by local families trying so hard to keep a roof over their heads and even food on their tables.
Its time to send yet another message to our elected officials, it seems, like the health care bills, they haven't been reading them either.
Some logical ideas would be to consolidate one ore maybe even 2 of the elementary schools. I understand from going over past enrollment they once had double the students and half the teachers and staff as today. They also had a greater success rate than today.
Middle schools as well. Its great to provide additional services but once again the success rates do not substantiate throwing more and more money at a system barely functioning.
Our school system does do one thing well, it keeps far too many people on the payroll that taxpayers can no longer afford.
In short, we need to utilize a more equitable method for funding the system, although fixing it must preceded any such changes. The problem is, fixing the system requires difficult decisions and looking at our school board, I doubt they are up to the task.
Times are hard and will most likely get harder. The private sector has yet to begin adding jobs, in fact they are still bleeding jobs although at a slower pace, could it be that business has cut payroll as far as they can and just don't have many people left to lay off?
Continually raising taxes only exacerbates an already snowballing situation. The cycle of increased taxation has a negative effect on the situation, but, for an elected official who has never had to raise capital outside of taxation, it is their logical and easy choice.
Public sector jobs have now outpaced the private sector. At one time government positions were desired not for the pay but for the security. It seems they now have both and this can no longer be sustained.
When any system spends more than it brings in it is doomed to fail. It might have taken the worst recession in 30 years to shed light on the situation, but its failure in any case was inevitable.
I may not have the answers, whether you agree or disagree with some alternatives I outlined earlier is not the point. We need to find new solutions as the old ones no longer work.
It is my hope that in the comments that follow maybe one or two solid propositions will develop that can offer realistic choices to those who make the decisions.

Let the Process Move Forward..............

The Process for developing the Environmental Impact Statement is just that, a process.

While many of the questions asked of the developer at Town Hall are reasonable, if there are any issues regarding the Millen's Operation that are not addressed, this developer seems to be willing to oblige.

Although my opinion can be considered uninformed, from what I can glean from the developers plan, it seems to take into consideration many of the objections voiced by local residents.

The developer seems to be investing in a state of the art operation that will offer the town 'quality development' for the first time in as many years as I am a resident.

I can sympathize with homeowners located in or near the project site, no one wants to have his property negatively affected by commercial development, however the area is zoned for such development and residents should consider the investment Millen's is making to be a good neighbor. 

The Town needs growth, commercial as well as residential, you really can't have one without the other. I'm sure this post will receive a lot of criticism for not taking a stand one way or the other however, If Supervisor Quigley continues to let the process advance without the interference and manipulation for which the former supervisor was famous, I'm sure the laws that are in place to defend concerned residents will be sufficient to see that only acceptable development proceeds.