Myers’ budget reforms good for taxpayers
Republican Supervisor Kelly Myers should be complimented for her new approach to the process of preparing the next Saugerties town budget. It is refreshing to see a public official do something about reducing town taxes other than just talking about it.
As budget officer, Myers issued a tentative budget, reducing the appropriations for some departments. The Democratic majority on the Town Board were upset that she prepared and filed a tentative budget without first reviewing it with them. They evidently did not realize that the law permits her to issue a tentative budget which will then be the starting point for developing the 2014 budget.
In the past, the budget process consisted of reviewing the prior year’s budget and increasing appropriations and taxes. The accumulation of those annual increases has now resulted in property taxes which town taxpayers find difficult to pay.
Myers made that point at a recent candidate night when she mentioned that 36 Saugerties homeowners lost their homes at the tax foreclosure sale last spring. Former Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel, whom Myers defeated in 2011, was arrogant and condescending in his remarks. Helsmoortel dismissed the fact that 36 Saugerties taxpayers lost their homes. Helsmoortel attributed their plight to being irresponsible in obtaining mortgages they could not afford. His comments were an affront to those 36 families. It also revealed Helsmoortel’s lack of knowledge. He evidently does not know that tax foreclosures are different from mortgage foreclosures. Tax foreclosures result from the property owner’s inability to pay the taxes. If there was a mortgage involved, the bank would pay the taxes so as to prevent the tax foreclosure sale of the property which is the security for its mortgage loan. Those 36 people lost their property from non-payment of taxes, not a mortgage.
Helsmortel’s disregard for taxpayers is evidenced by his past support of the town buying a merry-go-round and Opus 40. Both ideas failed after the public voiced disapproval. In addition to demonstrating disregard for taxpayers, those proposals also demonstrated poor judgment. That should be a fatal flaw in a candidate who, if elected, is supposed to exercise good judgment on behalf of his constituents.
Someone once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Kelly Myers wants to stop budgetary insanity by starting with a reduced tentative budget and requiring proponents of increases to make a strong case to justify them. I compliment her for thinking outside the box and realizing that financing town operations needs to be restructured.
Michael E. Catalinotto
Saugerties
Read letter: Myers best represents responsible Republican ideas (previously posted)
Myers works hard for Saugerties
I am writing to encourage my friends and neighbors to re-elect Kelly Myers for town supervisor.
I live next door to Town Hall, and I know how many hours she puts in. Long after the other town employees have gone home for the day, Kelly is working late or coming in for meetings. She is there when emergencies happen. She manned the Emergency Operations Center all night during the hurricane. Last week when trees came down during a wind storm she stopped by the police station at 8:30 p.m. to make sure all the roads had been cleared and to check on emergency workers to be sure they were safe.
My husband is a member of Saugerties Fire Department and he sees Kelly show up when there are emergencies. She’s there for people in the middle of the night when their homes are flooded, or if there’s a serious fire. She made sure Saugerties had an emergency shelter set up for the hurricane and even went shopping herself for groceries to leave at the Senior Center for people who had to be evacuated.
This is a big contrast to the former supervisor who got on a plane the day before Hurricane Irene and left Saugerties to fly south on vacation, with no plan in place to handle the severe weather emergency.
She attends events and fundraisers for all the fire companies in Saugerties, and often serves and busses tables for the Glasco Fire Company monthly fundraiser breakfast. She volunteers her time for many organizations and supports local fundraisers– you might have even seen her working the gate for the Garlic Festival, or teaching merit badges for scouts.
When all the other town employees were off for the holiday on Monday–b Kelly was at Town Hall having budget meetings with the town accountant and police chief, and when she was done with her meetings she went out door to door campaigning– because she really cares, and she’s willing to work for your vote.
Kelly stands up for us. She proposed a tax cut that we really need this year. She had the courage to stand up to DEP and hold them accountable for polluting the Esopus Creek. She wrote two laws to keep synthetic drugs and paraphernalia out of convenience stores where kids can access them. She went to the County Legislature Ways and Means Committee and asked the county to take over paying for Safety Net welfare costs– which will save us over $250,000 this year and $400,000 next year! She voted no on more tax breaks for Steve Aaron’s Birchez housing project. She wrote to the Governor and told him the people of Saugerties didn’t want another housing project (Dickinson’s Keep). Kelly is working to bring good jobs and new businesses to Saugerties so people can support their families.
Please re-elect Kelly Myers for town supervisor, she works hard for us, and really cares about the people in our community. She gets it.
Kayla Nadal
Saugerties
Regarding Hurricane Irene preparedness, we gave Greg Helsmoortel a chance to reply. He said prior to leaving for the vacation, which had been planned well in advance, he held “extensive preparedness and planning meetings all week. My final decision to go was made after NYC downgraded Irene to a tropical storm. I tried to get back day later and couldn’t, roads were closed. I was on phone hourly and attended all county meetings via phone. I would never have left if I thought for a minute this storm would have been what it was.”
Read letter: Hinchey endorses Helsmoortel (previously posted)
Supervisor’s budget is political
Supervisor Kelly Myers has just presented a draft budget that is a totally political document and not worth the paper it is written on.
Here’s the history of how that budget was generated. On Sept. 5 all department heads received budget worksheets and were informed that they would have subsequent discussions with the supervisor and the town’s accountant. Those meetings never occurred. Ms. Myers created the draft budget without their input and without including her Town Board members.
The first time Town Board members saw the budget was at the Town Board meeting of Oct. 2. The press had already received it. In fact, the Conservative Party candidate for supervisor noted at the recent League of Women Voter’s Candidate Forum, that even the Republican Party chairman had seen the budget before the Town Board. How do we know that this was a political document? Well, in the very next edition of the local newspapers a political advertisement appeared where Ms. Myers touted her budget cut and claimed that the Democrats would not vote for it. How could the Town Board members supported by the Democratic Party and Republican Deputy Supervisor Jimmy Bruno vote for a budget when there was never a meeting to evaluate it line by line?
In fact, a cursory examination of the budget indicated that she made cuts to an education line that was necessary to fund the certification of our building inspectors. She made cuts in areas that had were mandated through previous union arbitration. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Voting for this budget as it stands now would put our town in serious legal and operational jeopardy.
Supervisor Myers squandered an opportunity to create a budget with real savings. In 2011 she promised that she would institute “zero-based budgeting,” which has yet to happen. Her categorization of departmental worksheets as “wish lists” disrespected the experience of the department heads, Town Board members and town employees who work diligently to find savings while providing essential town services to our taxpayers. Her proposed budget is showboating in an election year and a classic example of pandering for the public’s vote.
We need transparent, professional leadership to move Saugerties forward. That is why I encourage you to support Greg Helsmoortel for town supervisor on Election Day, Nov. 5.
Mike Harkavy
Chair, Saugerties Democratic Committee
Join the family! 
