Republicans are disingenuous
Nobody likes to pay property taxes. That’s a given. But the attacks on Saugerties Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel from Republican Chairman Joe Roberti Jr. and his echo chamber of letter writers are not meant to educate voters or clarify town tax and budget matters or even to help resolve the unjust method of funding education through property taxes. No. Their only purpose is to generate resentment about property taxes and make Greg the scapegoat in the hope that they can defeat him in November. Add to the mix the simplistic statement from Republican would-be-Supervisor Kelly Myers that she will “reduce property taxes so that Saugerties is an affordable place to live” when she has made absolutely no effort to do so as a village trustee. We all know that school taxes are the lion’s share of our property tax burden by a long shot, not the Town General Tax or the Highway tax. Given these realities, Myers’ pledge is just empty and meaningless.
These are tough economic times. And the last thing we need are more disingenuous letters and attacks that only fuel peoples’ unease about their futures. I’ll take Greg Helsmoortel’s proven leadership and record of accomplishments on fiscal and budget matters any day of the week.
Chris Kelly
Saugerties
Myers will fight muddy water
I spend a lot of time in the village of Saugerties and each time I cross the bridge and peak at the amount of turbidity in the Esopus Creek it sickens me. While recent storms have made the condition worse, the actions put forth by the powers that be in New York City show obvious disregard for the amounts of water being released by them which in turn cause the unbelievable turbidity in our local creek. I take this opportunity to commend Kelly Myers for her relentless position to control this situation. Not only is Kelly’s mind in the right place put her actions have earned her the title of a woman of distinction by Senator John Bonacic.
Robert Aiello
Saugerties
The writer is an Ulster County Legislator up for election in November.