Quoted Text

McCarthy boosts volunteerism for city; Hull approves
Thursday, September 22, 2011
By Kathleen Moore (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — The cash-strapped City Hall is turning more and more to volunteers to accomplish tasks from park cleanups to disaster recovery.

Acting Mayor Gary McCarthy called for volunteers to pass out emergency information before Tropical Storm Irene hit, and is now recruiting volunteers to be matched with property owners who need help repairing storm damage.

He also used volunteers to clean up the city’s snow-dump site at Central Park this spring. Most recently, GE volunteers interested in park cleanups were sent to City Hall to find out where they were needed, and city officials researched park needs before asking them to paint the playground at Vale Park.

McCarthy believes volunteer work will strengthen community bonds while also helping the city complete projects that it can’t afford on its own. He also thinks it will give residents the power to address some of the problems in their neighborhood.

“They understand some of the problems and they’re working to correct them,” he said.

He expects many new volunteers to join the ranks of those who have labored for years through church and neighborhood groups.

“People, I think, have a very high willingness to help out, or do good, but they don’t know what to do, there’s not a specific project,” McCarthy said, adding that volunteers also sometimes need an introduction before they can start work.

“There’s an awkwardness to walking down the street and just saying, ‘Hey, can I help?’ ” he said.

His staff is developing a database of projects so that volunteers can see a list based on when they’re available.

McCarthy’s opponent in the mayoral election said McCarthy was on the right track — but questioned why no one had ever started such a program before.

“It’s something I did for 24 years. It’s an obvious thing. That should have been done long ago,” said Roger Hull, the former president of Union College.

Hull instituted “mandatory volunteerism” at the college, requiring all freshmen to do two days of volunteer work during orientation. “I wanted them to feel and see what they might be able to have an impact with,” he said.

During his tenure, many students became regular volunteers, particularly with Big Brothers Big Sisters. “We had the only Big Brothers Big Sisters program that was headquartered at a college campus,” Hull said.

Hull and Price Chopper CEO Neil Golub’s Schenectady 2000 program also marshaled hundreds of volunteers to clean up Schenectady’s parks, Vale Cemetery and other sites. Hull often cites that work as being more important than the development of the Metroplex Development Authority, which also rose out of Schenectady 2000.

“What was more important, in my opinion, was the feeling of optimism that developed when people saw we could really get things done,” he said.

McCarthy is going in the right direction, Hull said, but he should do far more to organize volunteerism. “It’s just not enough,” he said. “The first thing you do is you bring the organizations together, bring the businesses together.”

Then, he said, city staff should proactively seek out projects for the volunteers to undertake............................>>>>....................................>>>>.......................http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/sep/22/0923volunteerism/

I'm all for having the community volunteers but......

the last budget FAILED to cut ANY jobs (as a matter of fact, some were added), it did not confiscated the free cell phones and free City vehicles to non-residential employees and yet, the homeowners continue to pay outrageous tax amounts.

Where's all our money going? ? Not into the roads, not into the safety of our streets, not into revitalization of the neighborhoods.

Ah yes, $3 million into the munic golf course.

Mr. McCarthy, you should be ashamed.

So, if we're getting more volunteers to do the city's work, taxes will go down?

This is so bizarre............the same elected officials that have screwed the residents royally with the highest taxes and fees in the state, are asking them to volunteer around the city cause they are 'broke'!!

You just can't make this stuff up!!

Attention city officials: to save money cut spending and eliminate all stupid ideas like a 3 million dollar golf course improvement.

Is Baumgartner, Mazzone, Hull, and Malozzi volunteering?  

Quoted from CICERO

Is Baumgartner, Mazzone, Hull, and Malozzi volunteering?  

If they are volunteering anywhere.....it should be in rotterdam jct or schoharie! (I hear that Malozzi is)
Shame on Gary McCarthy!

Did McCarthy volunteer?

He's carrying a shovel for obvious reasons. Got pit bulls? Working together works!

he's waiting for Tonko to put on his dickies and join him

VOLUNTEERS WHEN YOU HAVE COLLECTED HOW MUCH IN TAXES????

where I work,,,,we take government payment and provide care.....we are only allowed to have a certain number of volunteers otherwise it is called FRAUD......

on CNBC they reported that only 14% of their population works as the rest of the country collects and has benefits, this sounds like NYS/Schenectady county/city of schenectady/public school system/town budget etc......

what a FRAUD

Quoted from senders

He's waiting for Tonko to put on his dickies and join him

That's troubling on many levels. Schenectady has the highest tax rate in the State but they have to rely on volunteers because they have squandered all the resources? Keep the implosion going. No need to change anything- lol,

Quoted from bumblethru

This is so bizarre............the same elected officials that have screwed the residents royally with the highest taxes and fees in the state, are asking them to volunteer around the city cause they are 'broke'!!

You just can't make this stuff up!!

The homeowners have no time to volunteer.  They are probably working OT and taking on second jobs in order to pay their taxes---nearly the highest in the whole U.S.!

Or they are spending time attending DIY seminars at places like Home Depot in order to rectify the code violations the city charged them with.....violations that they only have because they couldn't pay the taxes AND fix their homes.  So now they are trying the DIY methods because they STILL can't afford the increasing taxes and pay a professional contractor.    Then watch when the city inspects the repairs "oh, you didn't use a licesned person, this wasn't done right, etc. etc."

Quoted from Shadow

Attention city officials: to save money cut spending and eliminate all stupid ideas like a 3 million dollar golf course improvement.

That's Acting Mayor McCarthy's neighborhood big quality of life issue. Not pit bulls, not graffiti, not the highest tax rate in the State-improving drainage on the muni golf course which is already excellent.

volunteering doesn't create longlasting systems.......it's like church....only 5-10% of the congregation keep the church running.......and in the scope of government THAT IS PATHETIC......I bet there's alot of volunteering in GREECE...

Oh wait....how about DSS chain gangs? no really with free hot dogs....or atleast the swiper on board the vending cart so they can take food stamps, and travel along the chain gangs.....