Villanova gets it
Dear Editor,
After watching the Putnam Valley Business Association’s candidate forum, one thing is clear: We need radical change in town government. Each of the five candidates for town board was given two minutes to answer this question: “Everyone runs on a platform of fiscal responsibility, but the taxpayers still take the brunt of poor planning. Please tell us specifically what you would do to save money for taxpayers of Putnam Valley?” Of the candidates that hold, have held, or are seeking office for the first time, Patty Villanova stood head and shoulders above the others.
Devoid of the political diatribe we are accustomed to, Patty was the only candidate with specific proposals that would provide immediate relief to taxpayers. She responded with three specific proposals that included discontinuing medical insurance for part-time employees; abolishment of two jobs that were created for political cronies; and turning over labor negotiations to professionals.
All of her proposals make perfect sense and are an essential beginning to returning fiscal responsibility to local government. With some taxpayers having their benefits reduced or losing them entirely and others unemployed or underemployed, the town cannot justify providing benefits to part-timers or the creation of heretofore non-existing jobs. Her position on labor negotiations is also crucial. Allowing local politicians to negotiate with municipal labor unions is like having a rooster negotiate on behalf of the chickens, with a fox already in the hen house; it usually doesn’t end well.
With the economy in a tailspin, taxpayers can no longer support candidates who lack the political resolve to make the hard choices necessary to keep Putnam Valley affordable. There will be no cost-of-living increase in social security checks in 2010 and no STAR rebates checks this year, yet our town board puts a happy-face on its tentative budget increase of only 5.02 percent. They conveniently neglect to emphasize the 11.86 percent increase in the tax rate on top of last year’s 12.16 percent increase. The reason is simple; it’s the rate and their assessment that gives the taxpayer the bad news.
For years taxpayers have fallen for promotional pitches such as “it’s only about the cost a cup of coffee a day,” or “it’s only going to add another few cents per thousand” and you see where that’s gotten us. Now in addition to taxes that are already out-of-control, we’re looking at a new $9.76 million firehouse, a new several million-dollar town hall and a $3 million school construction project. How much more can you handle?
For those who were unconcerned about escalating property taxes and relied on the appreciation of their home’s value to fund an escape by selling to down-size or moving to an area with lower taxes, that plan is pretty much kaput. With mortgage rates at historic lows and home prices depressed, excessively high property taxes create a situation where you’re asking someone to jump into the proverbial frying pan and let you out.
On Nov. 3, I’ll cast one vote for Patty Villanova. I’ve had enough.
Tom Cafferty
Putnam Valley
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