It was a night of digging into what the consultant will do in the consolidation process, and it was also a night that revealed some differences in what elected local officials should be discussing in public, and what is acceptable to address ahead of time. In a rare joint meeting of the town and village boards in New Paltz, discussing issues around this historically controversial topic was what took up most of their time together on the evening of September 25.
In large part, the purpose of the joint discussion was to approve a contract with the Laberge Group to facilitate developing a consolidation plan, which ultimately would have to be approved by New Paltz voters. That was broken down into approving a scheme in which grant money — which will pay as much as $50,000 for this work, reimbursing 50 cents on the dollar — will flow through the village; the contract with Laberge itself; and the document laying out the scope of work.
The responsibility of the consultant includes facilitating meetings of a steering committee for this process, along with public outreach and meetings to provide for education and opportunities for input by residents, all of which work should lead to a plan for consolidating the town and village governments on which voters will, at some point, have their say. With at least eight months of work ahead, no vote will be forthcoming for some time.
Supervisor Amanda Gotto was very focused on ensuring that this process does not result in costs that balloon, nor in a plan that falls short of the quality needed to address the potential complexity of consolidating. Mayor Tim Rogers noted that New Paltz is in a better position to be consolidated than, for example, Wawarsing with Ellenville, as in that community the police is a village department not funded by all town residents, as it is in New Paltz. There’s also been a number of changes since a consolidation effort failed about ten years ago, including the fact that the old town court — adjacent to the village hall — stands empty and ready for reuse, while many town offices are in trailers that are arguably long since past their useful life.
A source of disagreement during the meeting was over process. Town council member Kitty Brown had a number of questions to raise about the contract and scope of work, but Mayor Rogers was of the mind that these could have been asked in the weeks and months during which these documents have been circulating, rather than holding them until the public meeting. Brown’s perspective is that the purpose of a public meeting is to discuss and hash out these details, but Rogers takes the view that it’s more efficient to ask questions in advance, as it allows responses directly from the consultant’s representatives. The mayor did not appear to be alone in that view; body language such as the shaking of heads and explosive exhalation were observed during the lengthy discussion, which took up the bulk of a meeting that did not get adjourned until nearly 10 p.m.
Brown’s concerns were addressed, and in the end all members of both boards approved the documents necessary to get the consultant to start work. What was not decided upon was the makeup of the steering committee. The process calls for two individuals from each government, and either one or three additional members from the community. Rogers expressed a desire to include former village resident KT Tobin, who as director of the Benjamin Center, does this kind of work professionally. Other names that were raised on the fly included former village planning board chair Michael Zierler, and former town planning board chair Paul Brown. The mayor suggested allowing the process to be kicked off with an initial wave of public outreach, to see if others might be interested in participating.
Incentives exist to make consolidation appealing, but it will take this period of study to determine how they might impact residents in practice. A million dollars a year in state funding would be slated for a consolidated New Paltz in perpetuity, which Rogers believes would lower taxes for most residents. If the plan to consolidate is approved, more of the cost of consultants preparing for that outcome would also be covered. There could be reimbursement up to 80% of that cost if the plan is voted in, as well as money for the implementation of the plan.
Town residents — which, in New Paltz, includes all village residents — should expect to see much more information about the consolidation process in the coming months. “I want people to be sick of hearing about consolidation,” said Rogers.
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