First they can cut back on the number of times they pick up leaves and brush. Second take a look at the $100,000 a year spent on cleaning police cars. 3rd the police expenses are almost 50% of the budget and really needs to have someone take a look at how to cut back some of that expense. I'm sure that there are more places to cut back if they really look into the way things are being run. Attorney expenses for services for the town are a lot more expensive than past administration costs and should be examined closely. Duplication of services should also be looked at.
I agree 100% that Rene has absolutely every right to vote for whomever she chooses. However, when you are in an election mode and the party has spent money and so has the candidate and their supporters, you don’t publically go out 4 days before the election and shoot someone’s campaign when they are in the same party. That’s what the opposition is for.
I don’t know why Brad wasn’t selected as a candidate for the Republican party. He certainly has the right stuff to do a good job. I wasn’t part of the selection process. Brad and I disagree on Metroplex, but all the candidates supported Metroplex except Brad in LWV forum.
I spent a lot of time and money and so did my family and friends on my campaign. I also worked hard for the entire Republican slate. If we lose, so be it. The voters will decide. No one can say I didn’t work hard in this election season or that I just worked for myself.
Cal, thanks for the kind words for myself and especially my daughter. She is very sweet. Part of my platform was that I was not going to be a typical politician. I am a professional and I approach issues and people ethically and honestly. I have no hidden agendas. I just want to know the facts of a situation. I expected and was prepared for negative campaigning, but the opposition has yet to attack me. I’m pretty sure that’s because I didn’t go negative on them. Time will tell.
I’m very sorry this incident has happened. I apologize for even striking back on this blog. I fight for what’s right and this seemed terribly wrong.
The NNTP is a result of malcontents in the Republican and Conservative parties that weren’t endorsed by the party leadership for whatever reason. While they have noble ideals, I don’t think they will be able to deliver them without cutting services. We’ll see. I wish them all well as I do all candidates on November 3.
Lawyer fees total (including outside counsel, appraisals, abstracts, titles, research, bonding for trials, etc)
2000 $413,418 GE tax that year 2001 $224935 GE tax that year 2002 $159816 Brick was town lawyer ($56,000 for Brick) benefits and future retirement not incl. 2003 $146623 Brick was town laywer ($69,000 for Brick)benefits and future retirement not incl. 2004 $131862 Brick was town lawyer ($71,000 for Brick)benefits and future retirement not incl. 2005 $245518 Brick ($12,000) and Parisi ($91,000 for Parisi) 2006 $338387 Parisi ($112,000 for Parisi firm) 2007 $148683 Parisi ($108,000 for Parisi firm) 2008 $162125 Parisi ($78,000 for Parisi firm)
Why are some years higher? GE Tax case, Walmart case. Some years there was a tremendous amount of outside counsel for certain cases and some not. There is a complexity to it and the records are there, but you need to juxtapose the costs with the work that was in front of the town at the time. It would be simplistic to say "cut legal fees" so easily since you really never know what is up ahead in the world of law and the courts, especially for a municipality.
Why are some years lower? The town had an in-house lawyer as employee. BUT this does no take into account retirement costs and healthcare benefits, etc for the in house lawyer. Contracting saves that. You need legal counsel, you go to court, you have lawsuits, you sue to stop Walmart. You fight so that GE pays their fair share of taxes, with contracting you pay for what you need, you don't have a future committment to pay retirement costs, FICA, FUTA, etc. Do you think that when you factor in retirement, and fringe and employer taxes it costs more or less to have an employee rather than an outside contractor in the public sector.
Were the Brick years cheaper overall in up front costs? Yes. Where they cheaper for taxpayers in the long haul? Someone with payroll/HR experience can tell us I imagine. The next question as to why the price of legal world was cheaper under Paulino? Why, because it was a policy of John's administration to settle with GE and not fight to get all they should be paying. That was the policy. You decide whether it was right or not. You also tell me if it was correct to fight against the Super Walmart and use town lawyers to do it. The Tommasone admin. DID...do you think that was the the right thing to do. Does anyone recall??? did it cost money? Yes. So, you can make it an issue, but you need to promise us that you won't be having any unexpected court cases. Lawyers aren't cheap. Especially if you want to win against developers and GE. If you run a town like a business you count on legal advice you can trust from a whole host of specialists and lawyers who will work as your advocate. Most people have never been to real court. they have no idea what this stuff costs. $$$
Or you can just fold, and let the developers do what ever they want.
"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."
I expected and was prepared for negative campaigning, but the opposition has yet to attack me. I’m pretty sure that’s because I didn’t go negative on them.
Quoted Text
Quoted from Mary Barrie: The NNTP is a result of malcontents in the Republican and Conservative parties that weren’t endorsed by the party leadership for whatever reason.
Mary,
I take issue with your characterization of the NNTP candidates as "malcontents". How about independent and principled individuals who don't sell out their values for a party endorsement?
If it takes cutting some services to lower taxes then that's what the NNTP will have to do. The taxpayers in this town are sick and tired of paying high school taxes, high property taxes, high state taxes, and paying for a federal government that's trying to tax us as a country into non existence. The NNTP are not malcontents who were not endorsed by their parties, their parties have a different view of how to spend the taxpayers money. The NNTP like many of us who support the NNTP are sick and tired of the business as usual politics of tax and spend and want to see some real tax relief for a change instead of just the usual political BS that we always get.
Is this an attempt to speak some form of Yiddish, TBV?
Quoted from 466
Yes TBV-tell us which dialect you speak.
Tuchas, to the best of my knowledge means backside. I don't think it was any "form" of Yiddish, as GB suggested...I believe it is Yiddish. And Cal, I'm almost certain Yiddish is a language, not a dialect.
Better hold some sensitivity training for any seniors or prostitutes you may have offended by mischaracterizating their way of speaking.
TBV--tuchas comes from the Hebrew meaning bottom or under. There are various dialects in Yiddish. Yiddish comes from Hebrew and German derivations. You would be wrong.
I take issue with your characterization of the NNTP candidates as "malcontents". How about independent and principled individuals who don't sell out their values for a party endorsement?
I'm glad that you didn't go negative.
Brad
"I will not run a negative campaign against these troublemakers ~ who are just running over sour grapes ~ who are the worst kind of politicians ~ because I would never say anything negative about anyone ~ especially these losers"
lol
GB ~ I like your argument on the legal fees ~ but drop Joe a quick call and ask him how many hours Gerry spends in town hall? Yea, that's what I thought.
Oh yea ~ did you get to the Tommasone double digit tax proposals yet?
"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."
Yes, Brad malcontents meaning dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs. Wasn't that what brought you all together? You weren't happy with the party leadership for not endorsing you amongst many other things like high property taxes, right? True or not true?
I'm not happy with high property taxes either. I'm also not happy with people living off me that don't want to go to work every day. There are many that do and we need to bring them viable jobs so they can go out to work every day. What's NNTP's plan for bringing jobs to the community? What's the plan to handle the mandatory retirement increases?
GB just outlined a myriad of events that cost the taxpayers. Many of them unforeseen and unpreventable. How do you propose to control those costs? Mother nature can wreak havoc on budgets. Roads and bridges wash out. Running a government like a business isn't a realistic approach. It shows no experience in working in government. The business of government is government. Government provides services with no return as in food stamps, but to help provide food for the poor. It's a lot of outgoing of money.
It's really easy to sit back and pick at the cost of government. Bottom line we need to collectively figure out how to reduce it. You have to be able to work with other members of the legislature despite the party affiliation. Once elected that has to be put aside.
There are absolutely ways to make government more efficient and operate frugally. Consolidation of services is a start. Avoiding duplication of services is another. What are your ideas for consolidation? I didn't hear them the other night.
BTW, when you showed up at the Republican mixer the other night, I wanted you to be able to speak. I was told that was not acceptable. Ironic isn't that I wanted you to have a chance to talk to people in that political forum and was told you couldn't because it was ONLY for Republicans.
Can we talk about the license plate issue? Anybody else sign the petition against new plates?
PEF - the second largest State Employees union (with their hands just as deep in members pockets) issued this today:
Quoted Text
News from New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF)
For more information contact: Darcy Wells, 518 785-1900 Ext. 277 or 518 859-1274 Public Employees Federation Endorses Barrie for Schenectady County Legislature
ALBANY, NY (10/30/2009)(readMedia)-- The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) is pleased to announce its endorsement of PEF Member Mary Barrie, running for the Schenectady County Legislature in District 4, which includes the communities of Rotterdam, Duanesburg and Princetown.
"We are endorsing Mary Barrie because of her exerience and her record of independent and responsible activism and community leadership," said William Wurster, PEF's regional coordinator for the greater Capital District. "She has demonstrated a strong ability to think and act constructively on the important issues facing her community and the County Legislature."
Barrie is an environmental program specialist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation and received the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voter for her leadership on environmental and conservation issues. Barrie co-chaired the Rotterdam Conservation Advisory Council, crafting an ordinance for erosion and sediment control to complement the Storm Water Management Program, the first in the county. She also advocated for legislation to protect the Great Flats Aquifer and similar potable water supplies in other watersheds of NYS. Currently, she is developing landmark and historic preservation opportunities in the Town of Rotterdam.
PEF is the state's second-largest state-employee union, representing 59,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.
It's really easy to sit back and pick at the cost of government. Bottom line we need to collectively figure out how to reduce it. You have to be able to work with other members of the legislature despite the party affiliation. Once elected that has to be put aside.
No it's not easy to, as you say, pick at the cost of government. Hardly a sit back position. It is hard work. I'm a resident and I'm always trying to gather government information so I can make an informed, educated decision, which is like pulling teeth. So I wouldn't say that people are just 'sitting back' being a monday night quarterback.
And as far as working together......You must be joshing us here. How many county leg meetings have you actually attended Ms. Barrie? Have you had the pleasure of experiencing the warm cozy feeling one gets when they not only see these legislatures interact, and how the residents in the peanut gallery are received? It is clearly a circus. Just ask suhrada. Working together at the county level means...ya better go along with the majority in order to get along.
Trust me....there won't be a problem with Brad or any other newly elected candidates wanting to work 'together'. Ms.Barrie, it will come down to who will give up their strong conservative views and fiscal ideology just to 'get along'?
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
NEW YORK GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES CONTRIBUTE LESS TO PENSIONS AND RECEIVE MORE, CENSUS DATA SHOW
ALBANY—New York’s state and local government employees pay a smaller share of pension costs, but collect higher benefits, than public employees in other states, according to a Public Policy Institute analysis of new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
State and local government retirees in New York collected an average $23,891 in pension benefits in 2005, some 16 percent above the national average, according to the Institute.
New York’s state and local governments contributed a total of $6.9 billion in taxpayer funding for pensions in 2004-05, according to the Census Bureau. That was up from $4.2 billion the previous year, and $1.5 billion in 2001.
New York government employees contributed just over $1 billion in 2005, less than 4 percent of total receipts to the state’s pension systems. Nationwide, state and local government workers contributed an average 9 percent of pension fund revenue.
The New York State figures include data for 14 separate pension funds. Those include the Common Retirement Fund, covering most state and municipal employees in New York; and the Teachers Retirement System, which covers most public-school teachers and some other public employees.
More than 732,000 New York state and local government workers collected public pensions in 2005. That figure represented 10.6 percent of the nationwide total of state and local government pension recipients; New York's population that year was 6.6 percent of the U.S. population.
Mary, you always equate reducing or cutting taxes with a reduction of services. When one "creative" way to address our over taxation in NYS is to get our public employee salaries and benefits more in line with the private sector. Same number of employees - no loss of services.
The New York State taxpayer contributes 96% of the state pension system. Amazing!
Just what we need, another public employee writing legislation.
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