No News Is Good News.................

With all that is going on in County, State and Federal politics there is not much to discuss on the local front aside from the Fishing Pier at Town of Ulster Park.

Good, bad or indifferent, (opinions will vary),  the Pier adds to the landscape and will afford local fisherman a venue for catching the big one. 

"It kinda' resembles a playpen for adults, but I digress". 

The truth is, things around town have been quiet, not much news beyond the continuing push to bring finances into the black and the recent plan to allow town employees to apply for early retirement. Progress is being made and we should see a more realistic budget proposed this October.

Not much has been mentioned regarding the lawsuit brought by the mining company in Eddyville and the fact that the town attorney has asked for a 2 week postponement will keep it on the back burner for at least that long.

We have some issues regarding the new teachers pact agreed upon by KCSD, a 4.47% increase over 2 years while the economy is experiencing deflation is questionable at best, we are convinced it is a reward for their contribution of $1.2 million from the teacher's health care trust fund toward their benefit package. In itself all well and good but concerns remain regarding smaller classrooms, lower enrollment, excess staff, student performance and a pension/benefit package that will only continue to cause issues for taxpayers in the future. 

Did any one at either the School board or Union officials pay attention to Governor Chris Christi and his actions regarding union contracts in New Jersey?

This is troubling on many levels, the first of which is the fact that the only payrolls growing in this economy are that of state, federal and local government. It still takes tax dollars from the private sector to fund them and unless serious concessions are made by local unions, we don't see any improvement in the immediate future thus making these contracts even less sustainable.

On a side note: The Ulster is Your Town Too team would like to wish Councilman John Morrow continued success in his recovery and continued prayers for him and his family.

All that aside, I guess we begin discussing the impact that County, State and Congressional elections will have for local residents.

It is our position that fiscally responsible/small government candidates are our only intelligent choice. Government is growing faster than any aspect of our economy, a situation that can only spell disaster for every citizen. It is time to forget the ideology of party and entrust our future to elected officials who regard their constituency above their own ambitions. Political service should not be a career choice as many of our elected officials have opted. 

Realizing government should have little influence in social issues beyond enforcing our laws, defending the Bill of Rights and protecting our liberties, the choices we make should be based on the best man for the job rather than old party loyalties that can only divide the people and weaken what we can become: 'The most formidable force in the political landscape'.

What’s Really So URGENT………………….

It appears that the Town of Ulster has the leadership necessary to make difficult decisions in trying economic times! 

Changes approved by the Town Board acting as Town Police Commission on Thursday regarding the reorganization of the Town of Ulster Police Department are welcome and necessary. Years of blown budgets, out of control overtime and unnecessary use of official police vehicles have no place in this tough economy. 

The Taxpayer ‘gravy train’ is over! 

There is no doubt, politics being what they are, detractors of the Quigley Administration will find ways to criticize this Town Board and of course Supervisor Quigley himself for this reorganization, however, if the past administration had done its due diligence when spending the ‘people’s’ money we would not be in such dire financial straits to begin with and such cutbacks would not be necessary. 

Ulster is Your Town Too applaud Supervisor Quigley for standing up for the residents of the town. Anyone with some concept of reality would understand this was not a move to weaken the Town Police but, with the limited ways of cost cutting available, a tool in keeping the budget in the black and avoiding higher property taxes for it’s residents. 

I’m sure there will be other decisions critics will weigh in on, but the Town of Ulster Police withdrawing from URGENT should not be one of them. 

URGENT, (Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team), is well represented by the County Sheriff and City of Kingston Police Department.  Many of the daily operations are in the City of Kingston where Town of Ulster Police has no jurisdiction anyway. If the concern is the loss of shared services, lets face it, when was the last time Town of Ulster Police acted alone at a major crime scene. County Sheriff, State Trooper and at times even Federal Agencies like DEA and FBI are on scene offering their assistance and expertise. I’m sure it behooves these agencies to keep Town Police informed. After all they too would be at a loss if the information highway was to become a ‘ONE WAY’ street. 

It has become painfully obvious that the financial reporting of the Woerner Administration left much to be desired. Unraveling the books is often an adventure and always a mystery, one which would have confused even the likes of Sherlock Holmes. 

In the short time he has been in charge, Jim Quigley has done an admirable job of maintaining, even improving necessary services as well as getting control over frivolous and unnecessary spending, especially in light of the recklessness of his predecessor. 

Just a side note, If toes have been stepped on and egos dented downstairs at the Town PD, all we can say is get over it, many town residents have lost their jobs, some even their homes, a few detectives can afford a little loss of personal pride.

TechCity.........Its About Time!

Without detailing the finer points of the site plan for TechCity, (its available), it is a pleasure to note the vision of Town Supervisor, Jim Quigley.

It took Nick Woerner 4 years of foot dragging, empty promises and the 'hope of government grants', (The Hinchey Connection), to go nowhere, while Only 6 months into his term as Supervisor, Quigley has put forth a nuts and bolts plan that actually has the potential of bringing our town into the 21st Century.

Even property owner Alan Ginsberg is on board with the proposal which might finally force IBM to expend some of the $27 million fund and clean up the toxic waste so long holding up any development.

Residents of the Town are reaping the rewards of their November 2009 decision to replace incompetence with efficiency. It is a shame that 4 years of a good economic landscape were lost in the hands of Mr. Woerner and while the economy might not be ripe for economic development, by the time the legal challenges are met and the site plan approved investment capital may once again be readily available.

Does any know what has become of Andy Zweben and Steve Aaron?

 

Can You Imagine.........

After reading the article in this weeks Freeman regarding CSEA demanding and ultimately suing the City of Kingston for wages of 14 union employees who had been laid off due to 2010 budget cuts, reality sank in.

The unmitigated gall of union officials dictating how a municipality functions and meets the demands of tough economic times is appalling. The idea of paying 14 men whose jobs had been cut because of budget demands for lost wages because the work was done by convicts and volunteers, (unpaid labor), is absurd.

Taxpayers cannot afford to pay a price so a union boss can look good to his members and they shouldn't have to. I'm not a big Sotile fan, in fact I think he is the most incompetent Mayor the City of Kingston has ever had, but the truth is he made a few tough but necessary decisions. OK, they may have been 'no brainers' but the fact is he made them. The next mayor will have to make even more.

Pension Funds will become a thing of the past, so will exorbitant benefit packages and Cadillac Health plans and town supervisors and city mayors will have no choice but to fight union bosses to protect the future of their residents and the life of their municipalities.

I'm sure strikes will be threatened and work slowdowns promoted but with unemployment lingering around 10% for years to come, any such action would be self-destructive for the unions themselves.

The best way to protect the workers and residents alike is to revamp future contracts to reflect economic challenges and the reality of tough economic times.

I know Jim Quigley will no doubt have his battles with highway, sheriff and parks department employees and their union bosses, the truth is if the town goes broke, more and more jobs will have to be cut or lost, I hope these union leaders come to the table with a sense of reality rather than unrealistic expectations.

Remembering our Fallen Soldiers!

Before I begin the sentiments of the article, I would like to thank the readers of this blog for utilizing it as a forum for debate and discussion. Unlike other blogs of this nature, most commenters to our threads have maintained a high degree of decorum and refrained from the type of slander that typifies this venue.

I must also apologize to our friends and neighbors as it has been some time since my last post. Without going into detail, family issues have taken up much of my time, but with the help of GOD, things are returning to normal.

I realize that for many in our nation, Memorial Day weekend symbolizes the beginning of the summer. At long last, Bar-b-cues will be rolled out of sheds and garages and pool covers will take their place. The sound of children playing summer games late into the evening is a pleasant change to  parents who have listened too long to the noises of Xboxes and Playstations. 

Evening walks renew friendships with neighbors sitting on porches and lawns that have been ignored for much of the winter months.

All of this is a welcome sight and it brings with it a freedom that has eluded so many of us since October or November of last year.

To many Americans Memorial Day means so much more. Remembering a son or brother lost in battle in a land far away. A husband or father who has made the ultimate sacrifice, who has left a hole in the lives of those he or she loved to keep men and women they have never met safe and secure.

Arlington National Cemetery, The Vietnam War Memorial, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Gettysburg, Vickburg, Fredricksberg, Lexington, Concord, Bull Run, Iwo Jima, Corregidor, Guam and Manila, Korea, Sicily, Normandy, Bastogne, Tripoli, North Africa, the Trenches in France and Germany. The list of locations that Americans have given their best, their most, is long and sometimes filled with names of places we cannot pronounce let alone find on a map. 

For us they have done things that should not be asked of any man but without their unselfish sacrifices and the sacrifices of their friends and families this thing we call freedom, this liberty we enjoy would be but a footnote in history  books written by a dictator or other form of government whose sole purpose is to enslave and exploit the peoples they have conquered.

I am far from self-righteous and even further from heroic, I did not serve, I cannot hope to understand the feelings of those lucky to have returned from the battlefield, only to have left a buddy behind.  I have friends and family who have served from WWII to Afghanistan and to a man they all find it difficult to talk of that part of their lives, they have all left friends on the battlefield, all have seen the tragedy of war and all know of sacrifice. 

We do them as great an injustice as we do to those who have not returned if we trivialize their sacrifice with a hot dog or hamburger and forget a prayer or praise or just a plain, Thank You!

THANK YOU, Our fallen heroes, Our Marines, Air Force, Army and Navy, Thank You!

Hijacked!!

I apologize to our readers regarding our last Post, it was our intention to begin a debate surrounding the failings and success of our schools system and issues regarding its funding and spending.
It seems there is no longer any forum in which you can have a conversation or debate an issue without the discussion being hijacked by ideologues from both the right and the left.
In a thread with almost 50 comments maybe 3 or 4 readers put forth ideas on how we can improve a system of education that is on the verge of collapse, not only for funding issues but with regard to performance.
I understand their passions, however, like health care, immigration reform and global warming, the conversation is being controlled by the extremes, regardless of their small numbers and those considered moderate, a vast number of Americans, must make their voice heard at the polling booths.
The 'cooler' heads in the middle have suffered at the hands of extremists of both sides and either have had bad legislation jammed down their throats or have no legislation enacted to protect their interests.
I can only hope this conversation is more logical and less ideological, there is much that is needed in the way of reform in all sectors of government, Federal, State and Local, but the change must be reasonable and even 'Constitutional' in policy and product.

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.