“I love this town.” said artist Maureen Cummings. “It’s my favorite library. It’s my favorite cafe. I have friends here. My son went to high school here. I love this place, and I turned to Family of Woodstock and to the program. I applied, and I got in, and I’ve been living right in the center of Woodstock for the last year.”
The program that gives renters a place to live while keeping the older population in their homes has asked for more money from Woodstock. HomeShare Woodstock wants a greater share of the town’s American Rescue Plan funds allocated to housing.
“The City of Kingston is supporting this expansion with their American Rescue Plan funds, and we hope that Woodstock will continue to support our efforts here in the area,” program director Janice LaMotta said at the October 22 meeting of Woodstock’s town board.
The program matches homeowners with tenants who pay below-market rent in exchange for providing services such as errands, chores, maintenance or even companionship.
HomeShare volunteer coordinator Susan Goldman called the town’s current $35,000 contribution “a pretty cheap date.”
“It’s not a solution for everyone. It’s not the solution, but it does fulfill a need,” Goldman said. “Loneliness among seniors is the new smoking. It’s a killer, and this is an opportunity for people to have someone come into their life and be their best friend …. There’s a person around, a person helping them do things, helping them and keeping an eye out.”
Woodstock taxes too high?
Councilmembers Bennet Ratcliff and Maria-Elena Conte voted against adopting the proposed 2025 Woodstock town budget.
“This budget contains tax increases that are not necessary,” Ratcliff said at the October 22 meeting of the town board. “It underestimates the amount of revenue that’s coming in, and it continues to pay $10,000 additionally that it should not be paying to the supervisor’s budget for his salary.”
After the meeting, Ratcliff explained his position on more detail.
“I oppose raising taxes unnecessarily, which the supervisor’s budget does. We’re running surpluses and should be cutting taxes so Woodstockers can afford to live here,” he said. “Instead, the supervisor is using tax dollars to continue paying himself the $10,000 increase which he pocketed last year as well.”
The 2024 budget had included $10,500 salary increases for the supervisor and the town clerk.
“The town takes in more revenue from all sources than it budgets to spend. This budget has no justification for increased taxes and fees,” Ratcliff said.
He suggested cutting property taxes and fees for short-term rental permits and summer camp.
Proposed general-fund spending is up 5.7 percent from the current year. Highway spending is up 0.8 percent from this year’s budget. Combined spending for general, highway and all special districts is $10.5 million. The combined general, highway, lighting, sewer and water levy is $7.3 million, up 2.5 percent. The levy is $147,624 below the state cap.
A background of hostility
Woodstock’s town board has authorized town supervisor Bill McKenna to sign a contract with Phinney Design Group for the first phase of planning for the town’s recreational campus, including Andy Lee Field and a new youth center. The $62,500 first phase, pre-referendum services, includes programming, concept design and schematic design.
Councilmember Bennet Ratcliff expressed concern the move would put the town on the hook for all phases from planning to completion. “It also locks us into percentages that I think should be negotiated for future phases — the phase-one money, and the phase-two money, and the engineering money. All of these things need to be negotiated,” he said.
McKenna said the town was only going to sign up for the first phase.
Youth center task force member Peter Cantine supported what McKenna had said. “I made sure with Bill’s office today that he’s not going to sign this document unless it very explicitly restricts the expenditure of phase one only,” he said. “We had the same exact concern.”
Ratcliff proposed tabling action until the language was changed, prompting a trade of barbs between himself and McKenna.
“If you want to stall, that’s fine with me,” McKenna said.
Ratcliff said he wasn’t stalling and that McKenna should do his job.
“Bennet, that’s hilarious. You want to come to a few more meetings if you want to talk about doing your job,” McKenna said.
There were groans in the audience.
Councilmember Laura Ricci said the resolution clearly stated that the board was only agreeing to allow McKenna to sign the first phase.
“And I do want to say one more thing,” she continued. “I saw Linda [Lover] had a sign, Stop workplace hostility, and there’s a lot of hostility coming from the other end of the table.”
More groans and shouts from the audience.
Later in the meeting, Woodstockers United for Change member Chris Bailey provided his analysis of the hostility.
“I wonder if you realize where this comes from,” Bailey said. “I mean, where it comes from is the fact that there are a lot of issues in this town that need dealing with, and we don’t get support or communication from the town board on any of these. So yes, there is a shitload of anger in this town, and it’s directed at you, because as far as we know, you’re not doing anything for a lot of these issues.”
Join the family! 
