A change in the way emergency calls are handled in Schenectady County.
On Thursday the county formally opened a new Unified Communications Center on 2696 Hamburg Street in Rotterdam. Police, fire and emergency medical calls will be handled at the center.
Legislator Rory Flumen tells News Radio 810 and 103.1 WGY that he believes the new communications center will achieve savings for all the municipalities involved. He estimates that the City of Schenectady will save $249,000 annually, the Town of Glenville will save $149,000 and the Town of Niskayuna will save $104,000 annually.
Equally important, Flumen says smaller centers often struggle to keep up with the cost and training involved with updating their technology. By having the services consolidated under one roof, staying current won’t be as much of a hardship.
Flumen admits the project wasn’t always easy to get everyone to agree on, but he says one of the most important aspects is that no jobs were lost. Anyone employed at the original centers has been offered a job at the Unified Communication Center. Initial discussions about consolidating emergency communications services began over 15 years ago according to Flumen. He says he hopes to be able to work with other county legislators to develop other consolidation projects.
Governor Cuomo has been calling for consolidation of government services to save money wherever possible. Some of the money to pay for the new center came from a New York State “Local Government Efficiency Grant.”
Great news -- we need to consolidate more services -- create ONE City-County of Schenectady with ONE school district.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
Personally, I think that they should take partisan politics out of local elections. Candidates should NOT run under party labels. All voters would vote in a single primary -- and for the office of Mayor or Supervisor the top 3 vote getters in the primary would face-off in the general election -- the top vote getter would be elected.
I think that at least some of the City Council and Town Board seats should be by district and not at large. This would ensure that all parts of a municipality have a representative on the municipal legislative board.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
One County-One Party! Agree with DVOR on districts in the City. That way all would not come from the Stockade and GE Plot. Consolidation is a big joke around here. Start by consolidating Scotia into Glenville and eliminating the village tax. NO cannot do that! A couple lobs might lose their cushy jobs. Consolidating the school districts would save millions in purchasing alone. But too many hands being greased with the current system.
Great news -- we need to consolidate more services -- create ONE City-County of Schenectady with ONE school district.
One school district. AGAIN, DV, you NEVER answer. Please explain how having one school district which will cause the need for many more buses, the added cost of gas, maintenance, insurance, etc etc. will save money.
Please explain that!!!!!!!!
How will having more buses driving kids from the far eastern end of the county to the far western end save money. Come on, tell us.
If you had a brain you would know that the transport costs ALONE will way far outweigh the savings from eliminating less than a half dozen supts.
If you had a brain, you know that the fed govt will come down hard, mandating busing, because the kids in the hill will have to be bused to the ritzy areas of the county and the kids in the more affluent areas of the county will have to be bused to the worst areas of the city. There will be no "neighborhood" schools.
And tell us DV, when the students leave the school grounds and wreak havoc in the quieter areas of the county, committing crimes, let's see, increase in police costs. But you don't have a brain to figure that out, do you.
Let's see, how is consolidation going to save money. Let's see, in Rotterdam, for example we have volunteer fire depts. Of course you would not know this because you don't have a tax bill in your name, but we do pay some tax for the department, but we are not paying the huge huge salaries to the firefighters. If you had a brain in your skull you'd know that there is absolutely no way in hell that the firefighters in the city would EVER give up their bloated salaries. And one fire department would mean the end of volunteers, at HUMONGOUS tax increase to pay more firefighers. Just imagine taking all the volunteers in al the towns and paying then $100,000 salaries plus benefits and pensions. Tell us DV, tell us HOW that would save money.
Let's see, another thing your non-educated brain doesn't think of. Since you are not a normal man, not a normal adult who has to be self sufficient, you wouldn't have a clue, but in the town we have septic, we have paid for our systems, and we pay $150 every three years or so to pump them out. If you had a brain you'd know that one government would spread the city's sewer financial pain to all of us, so we who have septic would pay increased taxes for sewers in the city. See, since you don't pay bills of a mortgage, taxes, utilities, maintenance of a house, repairs, groceres, the costs of a wife and children, and then to be burdened with having to pay for your septic to be pumped out PLUS pay for the city's sewers, Big tax increase.
How about street lights. How about the people who live out in the rural areas and pay next to nothing for taxes for lighting -- they live out their by choice. Ah increase their taxes.
If you had brain, you'd know that people make choices on where they live, they CHOOSE to live in areas perhaps that don't have as many services because they like the lifestyle and they like the lower cost. But that GRAND SOCIALIST OF THESE BOARDS--DV--would force city costs and upon all. And the grand socialist would force huge tax increases on all to pay for it.
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
One County-One Party! Agree with DVOR on districts in the City. That way all would not come from the Stockade and GE Plot. Consolidation is a big joke around here. Start by consolidating Scotia into Glenville and eliminating the village tax. NO cannot do that! A couple lobs might lose their cushy jobs. Consolidating the school districts would save millions in purchasing alone. But too many hands being greased with the current system.
I don't believe in one party rule- it is a terrible way to run a democracy. I have supported, worked for and voted for candidates of BOTH of the major parties and even a couple who didn't belong to any political party.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
Petty party division at a celebration of communications consolidation
It's officially labeled the Unified Communications Center of Schenectady County, but there wasn't much unification going on at its grand opening last Thursday.
Instead, the ceremony was more like a meeting of county Democrats called by Chris "Boss" Gardner. He's the county attorney and kingpin of the political party with a choke hold on city and county government operations in Schenectady.
The facility, which houses the countywide consolidation of public safety dispatching, is on Hamburg Street in Rotterdam.
While the new facility became reality thanks to a $1 million state grant, the only lawmaker at the ceremony was Assemblyman Ang Santabarbara, who just coincidentally is a Democrat. Conspicuously left out of the loop were state Sen. Hugh Farley and Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, just coincidentally Republicans.
Spokespersons for the two Republicans said they were not invited. Gardner's fingerprints are all over this "oversight." Santabarbara's invitation didn't get lost in the mail. It's no secret that Gardner is Santabarbara's unofficial campaign manager. You don't have to be Einstein to connect the political dots.
Interestingly, while Farley and Tedisco were snubbed, Gardner made sure there was a VIP spot for Sue Savage, former county Legislature chairwoman, Savage just happens to be a Democrat.
Gardner & Co., for some unknown reason, also left retired Schenectady city police Sgt. Ray Wemple off the invitation list. A few attendees I spoke with said they were stunned by the omission. Wemple has been coordinator of the county's mobile emergency radio district since its inception many years ago.
Just remember how consolidation ends up costing more money
Time Warner & Comcast are planning to consolidate into one. Even the lousy gov of NY yesterday was very concerned, every customer is concerned about much higher cost.
AT&T and Direct Tv are consolidating, the first thing everyone talks about is much hgher cost
Consolidating the county WILL cost more money!!!! Really, think, if you have septic, it WILL cost you more money because you WILL pay for your own septic PLUS you WILL pay for the city's sewers!
And for schools, dV keeps stating it will save money but he NEVER NEVER shows HOW. And I state that because one school district in the county will initially be a segregated school district, the state and fed govt wil come down hard, segregation is against the law. It cost the Schenectady homeowners a huge fortune, taxes skyrocketed because suddenly they had to reconfigure all the schools, busing became mandatory and having busing means cost of buses, insurance, maintenance, gas, etc etc. Having a consolidated school district alone within the county would involve a reconfiguration of all the schools like no one could EVER dream of and taxes would AT LEAST double I'd be willing to bet. Think of the kids what walk around the high school, those who have caused trouble, there have been reports on the news; imagine when those kids are bused to other areas that we now call towns, can you imagine. I mean really, the schools will have have locks on the doors from the inside to prevent students from leaving during the day and wandering around neighborhoods in the towns. Currently there are school children who walk to school. Students who live say on the boulevards that to Schdy HS currently walk. Under one school district and the desegregating of schools, there will not be ONE, not even ONE student who will be able to walk to ANY school. Kids who currently go to Schenecxtady HS will be going to a school miles and miles away. Kids in the towns will be bused into what we now know as the city. Each and every student in the whole county of Schdy will be riding a bus and that will cost a bundle. The cost of transportation alone will more than out way the elimination of the superintennents of each school district that now exists.
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
July 9, Schenectady Daily Gazette - (New York) Schenectady County call center grant official. Schenectady County, New York, will receive $1 million to create a consolidated emergency dispatch center by early 2011, state and local officials announced Wednesday. The effort would centralize 911 dispatch services now operated by police departments in Schenectady, Scotia, Rotterdam, Glenville and Niskayuna. Centralized dispatch would also include Duanesburg, Princetown and the village of Delanson, which now rely on the call center at the state police substation off of Route 7. The state grant will be for equipment to create a unified communications center; no location for the center was cited. The New York Secretary of State said the consolidation will save more than $7 million over a 10-year period. Under the consolidation plan, most of the municipalities would pay less for dispatch services. Source: http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/jul/09/0709_dispatch2/
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
TIP TO NEW VISITORS TO THIS FORUM - To improve your blogging pleasure it is recommended to ignore (Through editing your prefere) the posts of the following bloggers - DemocraticVoiceofReason, Scotsgod08 and Smoking Bananas. They continually go off topic, do not provide facts and make irrational remarks. If you do not believe me, this can be proven by their reputation scores or by a sampling of their posts.
And Schenectady city is saving $249,000 per year but no jobs were cut? Where is the savings coming from then?
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
TIP TO NEW VISITORS TO THIS FORUM - To improve your blogging pleasure it is recommended to ignore (Through editing your prefere) the posts of the following bloggers - DemocraticVoiceofReason, Scotsgod08 and Smoking Bananas. They continually go off topic, do not provide facts and make irrational remarks. If you do not believe me, this can be proven by their reputation scores or by a sampling of their posts.
Logged
One County-One Party! Agree with DVOR on districts in the City. That way all would not come from the Stockade and GE Plot. Consolidation is a big joke around here. Start by consolidating Scotia into
