Having received voter support to finish up a term started by Neil Bettez, Amanda Gotto would like serve another four years as supervisor in New Paltz. The incumbent notes that, of the two candidates, Gotto has more experience running a town government in particular.
Gotto will be facing off against Tim Rogers, the ten-year mayor of New Paltz’s village, for the Democratic ballot line. When town voters make their choice in the general election in November, some of them — those who also live within the village line — may also be deciding if the village itself will be dissolved. If reelected, Gotto promises to work closely with Rogers regardless of the outcome of that dissolution vote. If that proposal passes, “residents will have the benefit of both of us bringing our expertise to the merging of our governments,” Gotto wrote in the campaign announcement. “If dissolution fails, Tim and I will use the findings from the study to build even more efficient collaborations” between leaders and workers in the two governments.
The current supervisor created a task force of residents to provide insight into this year’s town budget, and included Rogers on that panel, along with the village’s treasurer. Town taxes are an area of concern, and Gotto took that step to increase transparency and input into how the budget is shaped. “We wanted more eyes on it,” Gotto said, to ensure that as much is done as possible to pare back what can be controlled. Many town expenses are locked in by virtue of union contracts, retirement costs and health care obligations. Department heads all are working with smaller budgets this year than they would have preferred. “In the town, we have very little non-tax revenue streams,” with perhaps the most obvious one being fines levied in court. “It’s never our intention to make money off of traffic court; that’s intended for enforcing the law.”
Other fiscal accomplishments Gotto highlighted include high marks from the state’s comptroller regarding financial controls and obtaining a grant for municipal solar panels to help realize the net-zero potential of the new justice center. Another grant will provide solar power for the town’s innovative municipal composting program.
Prior to being supervisor, Gotto was briefly an appointed member of the town council and had put in many hours on volunteer municipal bodies including the town and county planning boards and the climate-smart task force. Gotto brings to the supervisor’s office more than 30 years of project-management experience in the health sciences industry.
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