In early summer of 2004, the petition drive for creating the Village of Woodbury was almost completed. But suddenly, just before the petitions were turned in, a number of people came forward and asked that their names be removed, claiming that they had been misled by petition carriers.
The mood in the town began to swing away from having a village.
Then on July 11, 2004, one day before the petitions were turned in, KJ’s attorney, Dennis Lynch announced that KJ was going to form a new village of their own in Woodbury, Monroe or Blooming Grove, and that it would be done in record time.
The reaction to this announcement was fear. Rampant fear.
Interest in forming a Village of Woodbury soared.
Dennis Lynch never attempted to create a new village in Woodbury (he couldn’t while the petition was pending) or in Monroe or in Blooming Grove (and there was nothing to stop him in either of those towns).
The only effect that Lynch’s announcement had was to scare a lot of people into supporting the Village of Woodbury.
A month and a half later, as people saw that there was no move by Lynch, the fear abated. Once again the Village of Woodbury was losing supporters. The time for a vote was getting closer and it looked like the vote would be “NO.”
Just then, supporters of the KJ leadership sued to bring the vote to a halt.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Now, two years later, and a vote is a week away. Opinion in Woodbury is split. The outcome is very much in doubt.
And now, again, there is a flurry of activity by KJ’s bosses.
Lynch threatens to appeal the law suit.
KJ Mayor Abe Wieder sends a letter to Woodbury residents claiming that he is warm and fuzzy and sweet and good and please vote no on the village.
And suddenly, there are a bunch of new voters registering as residents of Milval and Serpi and Paradise Park.
It seems that the people who run KJ want the village defeated.
BUT
IS THAT REALLY WHAT THEY WANT?
Every move they have made will have one single effect – to scare Woodbury residents into voting for the village.
Is Lynch so stupid that he announces his appeal rather than sneak into court to file it?
Is Wieder so stupid that he doesn’t know what effect his letter will have?
Are the masterminds who suddenly came up with these new registered voters so stupid that they all register ONE DAY TOO LATE TO VOTE?
If the bosses of KJ are so anxious to have the Village of Woodbury defeated, why is it that EVERY SINGLE MOVE THEY MAKE HELPS GET THE VILLAGE OF WOODBURY PASSED?
But why would Szegedin and Weider and Lynch all want Ralph’s village to win?
Does it make any sense?
YES!
It makes sense if they expect that Ralph will run the new village and if they expect that Ralph will be very friendly to their goal of annexing part of Woodbury.
But why would Ralph want to do that?
Ask Ralph.
And ask his boss, Bill Larkin, who has given the bosses of KJ everything they ever asked him for.
And ask yourself, what the hell is really going on?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
28 comments:
Worthless crap by Ari Felberman deleted.
Ralph has lied from the start.
He lied about a village preventing annexation. Now he's claiming that it won't affect the workers, that taxes won't go up, that he knows exactly what choices the new Mayor and Trustees would make.
Obviously, he intends to run this new village. And if he needs Bill Larkin's friends in Kiryas Joel to make that happen, so be it.
He's shown again and again that he's willing to screw Woodbury to get what he wants - most recently by joining up with the Supervisor from Cornwall to raise money to keep the lawsuit against Woodbury going.
He and his pathetic gang - Siebold, Bo, Grace Gerard - were an embarrassment at the town board. So much so that Gianzero, McNeil and Queenan were foolish not to let them talk all they wanted.
I could not believe what I saw at last nights Board meeting. first let me say that I am totally against having a Village in Woodbury. That being said, what were the 3 board members thinking not letting the Pro side speak? Last week when people were saying "where are the folks who want this village pasted, and why aren't they telling us the reasons for wanting a village"? And you 3 board members agreed. Well they were there last night, and you completely censored the meeting. I believe, (and every person I have spoken to since last night) also belive that you looked like frightened children. You came across like there was something that you didn't want the people to know. Like I said, I am not for the Village, but you made me think twice. Anyone who was undecided has just jumped the fence. How dare you 3 only allow the people against the village to speak. Ralph would have made a jerk of himself as usual. Instead you made jerks of yourselves.
uncle betty thank you. fair and honest, soca
To Disheartened- did you listen to the reason Mr. Liberth gave for not taking any comments, pro or con on the Village? When annexation time comes around, and it WILL come, whether or not a village is created, KJ is going to have volumes and volumes of paperwork to present to a judge. The most damning piece of evidence will most likely be Ralph's recently distributed newsletter. Anyway, the Town Board (past and current) has always maintained that ANYTHING said or inferred about KJ, especially on TV, could hurt Woodbury's chances of defeating annexation. From time to time, the subject has come up unexpectedly, and the board has been caught off-guard. This time, with Ralph's underhanded, in the dark of the night newsletter, the MAJORITY of the board was willing to take a stand to protect ALL of us! I found it interesting how Ralph, when shot down, went running to John Burke. That makes me 100% believe the rumours that John Burke is nothing more than Ralph's puppet, and will do whatever Ralph says, which is not only frightening, but sad. I pray that the voters will have the common sense to once again tell Ralph he's unwanted in our town, and vote NO. Then, I think the majority of the board needs to take a closer look at the job that Mr. Burke is actually doing, and what laws, ethics, and codes of conduct he is seriously VIOLATING.
FINALLY - THE TRUTH ABOUT FIRE DISTRICT PLEASE READ
Opinion 90-27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This opinion represents the views of the Office of the State Comptroller at the time it was rendered. The opinion may no longer represent those views if, among other things, there have been subsequent court cases or statutory amendments that bear on the issues discussed in the opinion.
FIRE COMMISSIONERS -- Appointment (in joint fire district)
FIRE DISTRICTS -- Establishment of (joint fire district)
TOWN BOARD -- Powers and Duties (appointment of commissioners of joint fire district); (establishment of joint fire district)
VILLAGE BOARD -- Powers and Duties (appointment of commissioners of joint fire district); (establishment of joint fire district)
TOWN LAW, §189-a et seq. ; VILLAGE LAW, §§22-2210, 22-2212: The town board of a town and the board of trustees of a village located within the town are authorized to establish a joint fire district by resolution subject to a permissive referendum. The members of the board of fire commissioners of a joint fire district may be appointed by the town board and village board of trustees or they may be elected pursuant to the provisions of article 11 of the Town Law.
This is in response to your inquiry concerning a proposal that the town and the village within the town establish a joint fire district. You indicate that the town is currently served by a single fire protection district encompassing the area of the town outside the village and that the village wishes to discontinue the operation of its fire department. You ask how the town and village may proceed to establish a joint fire district. In addition, you ask whether the board of fire commissioners of a joint fire district must be elected or whether they may be appointed by the town board.
Chapter 241 of the Laws of 1988 repealed chapter 595 of the Laws of 1938 and amended the Town Law and the Village Law to provide authority for the establishment of joint fire districts without petition. Article 11-A of the Town Law (§189-a et seq.) and article 22-A of the Village Law (§22-2210 et seq.) provide the procedures for establishing, financing, and operating joint fire districts within contiguous territory of one or more towns and one or more villages within those towns.
Pursuant to Town Law, §189-a(2)(a), if it appears to be in the public interest, the town board and the village board shall hold a joint meeting for the purpose of jointly proposing the establishment of a joint fire district. The meeting must be held at a location within the proposed district. If, at the joint meeting, it is decided by majority vote of each board to propose a joint fire district, the town board and the village board of trustees must, within 30 days after the meeting, hold a joint public hearing at a location within the proposed district (Town Law, §189-a[2][b]). Notice of the hearing must be published at least once in a newspaper having general circulation within the town and village and postedin 5 public conspicuous places within the area of the town outside the village and 5 public conspicuous places in the village not less than 10 days before the date of the hearing. Also, notice must be mailed to members of the town and village boards. The notice must contain a brief description of the boundaries of the proposed district and of the objects and purposes for which the district is proposed to be established, and must specify the time when and place where the hearing will take place (Town Law, §189-a[2][b]).
If, after the public hearing, the town board and the village board of trustees determine that the establishment of the joint fire district is in the public interest, "subject to permissive referendum, such town board and board of trustees shall, by resolution duly adopted by a majority of each board, establish such joint fire district" (Town Law, §189-a[2][c]). Section 189-a(2)(c) does not expressly state that separate referenda are to be held in the village and the town (cf. Town Law, §206[9] relative to the consolidation of special districts; General Municipal Law, §121-a, relative to the formation of joint village and town police departments; NY Constitution, art 9, §[1][h], relative to certain transfers of functions or duties in a county with an alternative form of government). However, given the requirement that each board adopt a separate resolution establishing the joint fire district, we believe it follows that the separate resolutions are subject to separate referenda.
With respect to the procedures for these referenda, article 7 of the Town Law (§90 et seq.), which governs the conduct of referenda on petition in towns, is applicable "[w]henever this chapter [the Town Law] shall expressly provide that an act or resolution is subject to a permissive referendum ..." (Town Law, §90). Consequently, in accordance with article 7, if a sufficient petition is filed in a timely fashion, the town board's resolution adopted under article 11-A of the Town Law would have to be submitted to the qualified electors of the "district affected" (Town Law, §§91, 92). In the instant situation, it is our opinion that the district affected would be the area of town encompassing the fire protection district (see, e.g., 1982 Opns St Comp No. 82-149, p 189).
Article 9 of the Village Law, which governs the conduct of referenda on petition in villages, similarly provides that it shall apply "[w]henever this chapter shall expressly provide that an act or resolution of the board of trustees is subject to a permissive referendum ..." (Village Law, §9-900[1]). Section 22-2212 of the Village Law provides that, "[i]n all respects the provisions of article eleven-A of the town law shall apply to the establishment ... of any joint fire district provided for by this article". Thus, since the Village Law incorporates by reference the provisions of Town Law, article 11-A, including the permissive referendum requirements, we conclude that article 9 of the Village Law prescribes the procedures for such referendum. Therefore, the resolution of the village board of trustees establishing the joint fire district would have to be approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the village if a sufficient petition requesting a referendum is filed with the village clerk within the statutory period (Village Law, §9-902[1]).
If the town board and village board determine that it is in the public interest to establish the joint fire district, they shall, by local law, dissolve the existing fire protection district (Town Law, §189-c). In addition, the village board of trustees may, by resolution, authorize the sale or transfer of the fire house and fire equipment owned by the village to the joint fire district with or without consideration and upon such terms and conditions as they deem proper (Town Law, §189-b).
Once the joint fire district has been established, the property and affairs of the district are under the management and control of a board of fire commissioners which may have from three to seven members (Town Law, §189-e). Town Law, §189-e provides that the board of commissioners may be appointed by the town board and the village board of trustees in joint session or may be elected in the manner provided in Article 11 of the Town Law. The determination of whether the board of commissioners is appointed or elected is made by the town and village boards "by resolution adopted at the meeting for the establishment of the district in the same manner as the resolution for the establishment of the district is adopted" (Town Law, §189-e). If the commissioners are appointed, section 189-e provides that where there is an even number of commissioners, village residents may not constitute more than half the board, and where there is an odd number of commissioners, the number of village residents on the board may not exceed the number of town residents by more than one.
In summary, the town board and the village board of trustees, acting jointly, are authorized to establish a joint fire district encompassing the entire town and the village pursuant to the procedures outlined above. The members of the board of commissioners of the joint fire district may be either elected in the manner provided in Article 11 of the Town Law or appointed by the town and village boards in joint session, as determined by resolution adopted at the meeting for the establishment of the district.
August 2, 1990
James M. Steele, Supervisor
Town of Avon
from everything I have seen so far it seems to me that yes, there can be a joint fire district acting exactly as it does now.
Yes I heard the reason that Mr. Libirth gave. He stated that "some board members" have asked that no questions about the village be brought up. He didn't say legally that they couldn't speak of it, only that they didn't want to talk about it. Fine, then don't answer any questions. If Ralph and Co. said something wrong, whats that got to do with the board. And yes Ralph went running up to John Burke, and i'm sure Swiller went out for drinks with MeNeil, Gianzero, and Queenan. My point is, anything that a private citizen says can't be the responsibility of the board. Anti-Village info was being spread around town, along with Pro-Village info. And unless i'm wrong, the board didn't write any of it (officially). I've said it before and i'll say it again, you can't have an open forum, and then close it when you ( the 3 boardmembers) don't like whats going to be said. You have put doubts in the heads of people on the fence, plain and simple.
I would say John Burke's letter in Ralph's newsletter is official???? Otherwise, John would have been jumping up and down about them using his name. Frankly, from what I understood from a town board meeting shortly after the Ace Farms flip, Mr. Liberth stated that LEGALLY, ANYTHING said about KJ, even by John Q Public, at a Town Board meeting could and most likely would be used against the town in a case for annexation. And, because the board cannot control what someone may say, they put the STIPULATION on what they would allow...ie- protecting us!!
Your logical progression of events just demonstrates that your are certifiably insane. You apparently want to add to the paranoia instead on quelling it.
In terms of "official statements" made by Board Members, it does seem that Mr. Burke has made one. However, I don't see any comment on Mike Queenan's letter on the same subject. Is this another example of selective sight by the ocean sect??? If it is against what they think then it didn't happen.
Curious George
I agree that the board members didn't handle it very clearly and it seemed unfair... but the fact remains that even public comments on issues like this HAVE been used against other communities in similar legal battles in the past, and if people recklessly shot off their mouths about certain neighboring communities, it could have seriously hurt the town AND future village in any annexation battles. The last thing we need is someone trying to claim the Town Board was "unduly influenced" by people in the crowd. That isn't fair either, but there is a legal precedent out there, and no guarentee Orange County's courts won't bow to the claims of "religious discrimination" that our neighbors have used so unfairly time after time.
Dear anonymous # ???? (gee it would be easier if people just used their names!)thank you for putting up the informtion regarding the fire department. However, try as I might... it still came to my non-legal brain (I'm great with numbers and science but this was too much for me to process!)as scrambled. From what I could desipher, through the ifs, mays and coulds, was that there is a possibility that everyone could play nicely and the fire department may be able to continue serving our community as they have in the past.....HOWEVER.. they also may not! I spoke to a police officer (while getting my morning coffee fix) who was not sure if he could still be working in Woodbury when this was all over...NOT great for civic morale. If the people closely involved in this do not understand the ramifications (without the help of $300+/hr. lawyers to interpret)are we really ready to make this kind of move? I am not saying I am AGAINST the village idea...I am just saying that until we know more we should NOT make a decision we cannot resind. With the help of members of our town, we can learn the rules(in plain English!) and then we can make informed decisions. All I am saying is I do not believe that in less than a week any of us (who do not want to be Mayor)will know enough to make this big a decision. I say..let's give it a month or two to let the "pro-village" people honestly educate the rest of us...THEN we can make an informed decision...YES or NO...whatever is best for the Town of Woodbury, not given individuals.
AFTER LAST NIGHTS DISGRACE OF A TOWN BOARD MEETING IT MATTERS NOT WETHER WE VOTE YES OR NO TO CREATE A VILLAGE. OUR NEIGHBORS HAVE ALL THE EVIDENCE/AMMUNITION THEY NEED TO ANNEX THE LAND FROM WOODBURY INTO THEIR COMMUNITY. THEY HAVE USED REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY TO PERFECTION WITH A LAST MINUTE PUBLICALLY ANNOUNCED APPEAL TO PREVENT THE VOTE, LETTERS TO SOME BUT NOT ALL HOMEOWNERS WITHIN WOODBURY TO VOTE "NO" AND THE FORMATION OF A HOMEOWNERS ASSOICATION IN THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF THE TOWN ALL TO CREATE FEAR TO PROVE IN COURT THAT THEY WILL BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST WHEN THEY ATTEMPT TO DEVELOP THEIR LAND.THUS, THIS WILL LEAD TO ANNEXATION THAT ANY COURT WILL GRANT. THERFORE, SINCE THE HISTORY OF ANY VILLAGE HAS LED TO INCREASE PROPERTY TAXES, DUPLICATION OF SERVICES AND ADDITIONAL UNNECESSARY LEGAL FEES & EXPENSIVE LIABILTY INSURANCE, ADD INTO IT THE FACT THAT THE VISION OF HOW THE VILLAGE PEOPLE SAY THE VILLAGE WILL FUNCTION CARRIES NO LEGAL WEIGHT WITH THOSE WHO MAY GET ELECTED TO THE VILLAGE BOARD I WILL VOTE NO TO INCORPERATE SINCE THE ONE BENEFIT OF THE VILLAGE IS NOW A MUTE POINT.
dear mindy p. if you read the info regarding the joint fire department there are direct references to both town law and village law. are you that brazen that you would attempt to dispute what is in front of your face and what has already been determined and opinioned by both the attorney general and the comptroller. AT least, admit it can be done. while you are perfectly right that it would require two boards to agree on a joint fire department, I believe that two boards will agree. Here's why. Everyone and I mean everyone knows that if the Village formed and refused to play nice with the Town and the fire department by cooperatively working together with regard to the fire department, and decided not to have a joint fire department but a Village department, I would bet that the current fire members would choose not to join. That would mean that we would no longer have a volunteer fire department because we couldn't get anyone to volunteer. What's worse we would now have to go for a paid fire department. I can guarantee you that no politician would want to be responsible for such an incremental tax increase. I am sure that you watched that debacle on television last night. It is not easy being on that board. Do you remember sheila c. squirming about tax increases. politicians don't like raising taxes. now, i believe that both the village and the town are decent people who truly want what is best for the area of woodbury and neither side wants to be responsible for dissolving a fire department, highway department or any other department. both boards will have to live with the consequences. if the town board refuses to play nice, then you are right people will get layed off. if the village doesn't play nice they will have to hire all these new people. we all lose. so while you may think people are vindictive I tend to believe that noone wants to be responsible for layoffs and tax increases.
oh mindy, I forgot to address your theory on waiting a month. are you that stupid? I am sorry but I don't know what else to call it. If the people of this town don't vote for the village on August 10, then, by law they cannot resubmit the SAME doctrine for another year. to clarify for you, that means they have to wait a year before you can vote on it again. HOWEVER, other members of the community to won property around County rt. 105 would be perfectly free to gather their signatures (which should take about a month) and submit their proposal for their 2nd village. so by you suggesting we wait, we are simply handing over the opportunity for someone else to file their position. I bet you they won't have so much opposition amongst their residents as to whether they want to incorporate or not. I bet you like every other vote the take , they are on the same page. So while you suggest we simply sit back and take time to talk about the issues, someone else is hoping we do the same. Remember the adage, the "early bird catches the worm" Is it that you want them to incorporate? I don't get it, when copies of rulings from the attorney general and the comptroller's office get posted on the web, you accuse people of trying to confuse you. sorry, but you need then to call albany and asked them to dumb it down for you.
To the Anonymous Poster Directly Above This
Just as you say, the SAME EXACT VILLAGE can not be petitioned for one year. But any number of other configurations along various district lines (or no district lines if under 5 sq miles) can be petetioned. If we reject Carusoville, we can still create another,differently configured village.
Yaah!!!!
Actually, Mindy is right to be afraid. And at least a few people are gravely mistaken, or actually trying to confuse us.
The famed "State Comptroller opinion" has ABSOLUTELY NO RELEVANCE to our situation. Legal arguments do no an automatic truth make...
There are several forms of village/town arrangements, each with their own vastly different rules. A village inside a town, a village inside 2 towns, a village completely covering a town or, in our insane case, a village covering most of a town EXCEPT for another village (Harriman) already there.
The Village and Town of Avon New York are the simplest form of village- a 3 sq. mile village inside a town over 13 times larger. Here are links to their wikipedia articles, for those who are intersted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_%28NY%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_%28town%29%2C_New_York
The decision itself states it, plain as can be:
"You indicate that the town is currently served by a single fire protection district encompassing the area of the town outside the village and that the village wishes..."
The decision has absolutely no relevance to our town's situation. As far as I can tell, Ralph and his "Citizens for the Preservation of Woodbury" are using the same, utterly inaccurate basic village arrangement for most of their arguements.
Tell me, do you want the village these people have designed for you? Or, worse yet, have them running it?
Mindy, the fireman, heck all of Woodbury has a right to be very confused. And angry.
Dear Fireman: Please read village law section #22-2210 Establishment of jOINT Fire Districts
The town board of a town or the town boards of more than one town, and the board of trustees of an incorporated village or the boards of trustees of more than one incorporated village located in said town or towns are hereby authorized to establish and/or extend in such town or towns and village or villages a joint fire district for purposes stated and in the manner provided in article eleven A of town law (which means nothing changes because it operates exactly as it does now), provided all of the territory in such joint fire district shall be contigious. Well, the basis of the map of the Village of Woodbury was based on the Map of the Fire District. Because the village proposal encompassed so many square feet , larger than the five square miles normally required for a village, the village people had to utililze the option of following a district, which is another method of getting around the five square mile requirement. They chose to mimic the Fire District. So, in that sense the village and the joint fire district would be contigious. What I am not understanding is why when a reasonable person can see for themself the evidence, which is not a spin, but facts based on clear language from the Village Law Book itself, and numerous interpretations of the atty general and comptroller, you would still try to get reasonable people to believe it is not true. Better yet, why in god's name is the fate of the village being decided on whether or not the town fire department gets to keep their club. this is absolutely crazy. noone wants to get rid of you guys. it would cost us an arm and a leg. but, damn, the outcome of the village should be based on the best interest of the people of woodbury and not the interest of the fire department (which, again, noone wants to change)
ok, let me get this straight. You want to wait a month or so to configure a different village with different boundries. May I ask what would that accomplish. Would the same fears that you are promoting still be there. Wouldn't your fear of the dissolution of the fire dept., police dept, highway dept. still be there. wouldn't the tax rise still be there. wouldn't the fear of ralph caruso and don running the village still be there. wouldn't the lies that you claim the village people are telling still be there. I am confused. I though you didn't want a village for all of the above reasons. now you do want a village but just a different one. I don't get what a month or two would do other than allow KJ to put their own petition in. Is that the village you are hoping for?
MINDY forgot to tell everyone she sold her house and now rents the same house. I wonder who her landlord is? She does'nt have a care in the world. In fact, I think she's laughing all the way to the bank. So please vote YES for the village and maybe Mindy wll buy her house back. Vote yes to preserve the value of YOUR home and the impact of your vote (remember Monroe and the BLOCK VOTE problems). Politics in Woodbury will work itself out.
To anonymous who is posting the "info" on Fire Districts, you state it will run exactly as it does now.............for shame, LIAR.........a Borad of Commissioners CAN be appointed by a Village board.Just who do you think they will appoint? Their political buddies and stooges, thats who!!! Do you want someone with little or no experience in firefighting making decisions, purchases, appointment of Chiefs etc to provide safety for you and your family? If you answer yes, then you're not just a liar, you're an idiot as well!!!!!!!!!!
Uh, who's the idiot.
Once the joint fire district has been established, the property and affairs of the district are under the management and control of a board of fire commissioners which may have from three to seven members (Town Law, §189-e). Town Law, §189-e provides that the board of commissioners may be appointed by the town board and the village board of trustees in joint session or may be elected in the manner provided in Article 11 of the Town Law. The determination of whether the board of commissioners is appointed or elected is made by the town and village boards "by resolution adopted at the meeting for the establishment of the district in the same manner as the resolution for the establishment of the district is adopted" (Town Law, §189-e).
The village board whoever they may be could not independently appoint their cronies or anyone sle as fire commissioner.
Dear Uncle B;
I’ve just got home from an enjoyable and relaxing vacation. Like most travelers, departing from their fun filled destinations, I felt the trip was to short, but returning home was a comforting thought. Well at least that’s what I thought… What’s happened in the short time I’ve been gone???
My mailbox is filled with preservation kits and letters from mayors of neighboring towns-----
I have called and sent the attached e-mail to Mr. Caruso’s preservation group in an attempt to get some answers regarding this “village of straw “ no one from the group has yet responded.
Dearest Uncle B can you please help me get this to them…..
Q. If a village of Woodbury is formed, how long will it take to become a functioning government?
Q. How will a new village government affect the current government of the Town of Woodbury?
Q. Would not a Mayor supercede the authority of a town supervisor? Or would they hold equal power in decision-making and policy decisions? The same for trustees Vs counclepeople?
Q.Exactly what would a village government be responsible for providing its residents? Would this duplicate the services already provided by the town of Woodbury?
Q. Who provided the cost estimates for a possible village, and how were said estimates derived?
Q. What can be done, if anything, to abolish a new village once formed? What if we decide we were mistaken and no longer wish to have a village overlapping our town?
Q. Do we have an example of a village overlapping a town in New York State? If so where and why did this occur?
Thank you in advance for your time,
Christine Martin
Highland Drive
Highland Mills
Hey Ralph,
You state in your newsletter that Vilage taxes will be about $84.00 per year.........did you forget to mention insurance, such as liability insurance for the Incorporated Village and its Board? Some simple fact finding shows this alone would most likely be in excess of $200,000 per year.
Since those "preservation people" think they have all the answers, what exactly is the amount of the budget you (Ralph) think you'll be working with? And what happens if you (Ralph) don't get crowned Mayor? Do we then face yet another twist and petition drive to create yet somehting else to feed your ego? Please- this whole thing is such a farce. The Photo News states that the "perservation people" are made of of a wide-range of people...ya right- try the Republican committee and they're insiders- not too "wide-ranging"!!!
Don't forget the Toad Bob Donnelly. He is chairman of the town Democrats and does whatever Ralph tells him.
To the "expert info" on Fire Districts, do you notice that the word coterminous does not appear anywhere? That's because you CANNOT for a unified fire district in a Village where there is coterminous boundaries within the Town or Fire District. Stop with the misinformation .....Please. same old story with this group...lies, lies and more lies. Pathetic.
Post a Comment