Friday, March 30, 2007

No Plans in New Hartford

The voters have spoken and have apparently rejected all 8 bond proposals in the Town of New Hartford. The reaction of Earle Reed:

"When I was elected, I hoped I could better the condition of the town," he said. "But voters have spoken. We have no plan B."

This sums up Town Government's problem with these issues: no plans. Few people like to vote for a "pig in a poke." They like to know what they are getting for their money. But the propositions dealing with storm water management, the proposed police building, and sidewalks all suffered from a lack of plans. One would not expect a bank to loan money without plans and specifications. Why should the town government expect its taxpayers to accept less?

Mr. Reed's implication is that in order to better the condition of the town, he has to borrow money. That's just nonsense. Maybe what is needed is smarter regulation of what goes on in the Town . . . and consolidation with neighboring communities for certain services.

For example, how many developments have been permitted without storm sewers and retention basins. The more developed acreage, the greater the runoff. It's calculable, and manageable . . . but only if you require it. Stop developers from creating problems and then expecting all town residents to pay to fix what they created.

Police services ... how about an inter-municipal agreement with Utica? It makes no sense to constantly expand Town government when the population is declining.

The Town has problems because its leaders do not think carefully about what they are doing and are unwilling to encourage a dialog with residents to determine what is best.

There is no true leadership ... just 'know-it-all' arrogance.

Post Script: What's the story with the absentee ballots? Why could they not be counted along with the rest of the votes? To have to wait until the next day to count 110 votes is simply ridiculous ... and it also raises suspicions. Where have the ballots been for the last 24 hours? (Sorry, but this town government has not earned the public's trust).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Earle Reed NEVER had a Plan A, let alone a Plan B.

I would hope that Earle Reed and his political cronies submit their resignations by close-of-business today.

Once they leave, the Town of New Hartford can go forward with newly elected LEADERSHIP!

Rebecca Mecomber said...

While I wasn't surprised that the propositions were defeated, deep down I had hoped the Stormwater Management proposal had passed. Some of us who own property in the outlying areas of New Hartford have been literally drowning in runoff... I have been pleading with the town for over six years now to fix the problems. We are desperate for solutions.

I also wrathfully note that more voters got out to vote and voted "no" on this than had gone out for that horrid school budget vote... HOW can people STILL vote "yes" for such profligate spending by the schools, especially when school taxes take up 85% more of the tax bill than town spending??? Baffling...

Anonymous said...

So what do we do with all this new equipment we have leased in the Town of New Hartford? Does it now cost us more money to run the highway department, or is this going to be a budget transfer from some other line item that has to suffer?