PART TWO: Council Majority Leader State of the City Report

Ward 7 Alderman and Majority Leader Bill Reynolds.  Below is his state of the city report read on April 6th, 2010. If you have any thoughts or feedback, please use the Ward 7 Yahoo! Group that Alderman Reynolds is a member of.

Public service is an honor for anyone privileged enough to have been chosen by the voters to represent them.  The aldermen here tonight together in this great room with Alderman-at-Large Noble and officials who work in an appointed capacity have lately been particularly honored by the public to serve, because we were elected in the midst of what many are calling the Great Recession.  The voters chose us to do the hard work for them, and to do the best we can on their behalf.

That is why I am here to tell the people of Kingston that – we hear you.  We understand your fears and concerns.   And we will continue to listen to you because we who sit at these desks every month to make new laws and pass budgets don’t have all the answers.  We need your help and your input to make Kingston a better place.

Times have been tough, for sure, and they will continue to be difficult for the remainder of the year.  We are committed to keeping a sharp eye on the bottom line and to make the best use of taxpayer dollars – and we are prepared to make the tough decisions required to keep living and doing business in Kingston as affordable as possible. We are walking a tightrope for sure – but as long as we remain steady and as long as we keep our heads up, we will make it through this recession.

So, let’s focus on the challenges we face:

We need to rectify the safety net inequity that Kingston shoulders.

We need to continue to hold the line on property taxes and ensure that taxpayers are being assessed equitably. Bearing that in mind, we urge the school district to do the same – a 12 percent school tax increase is unsustainable.

On the heels of the ongoing success of the URGENT task force, we signal our support for the new block-by-block sweep program designed to clean up bad influences that pollute and destroy homes and neighborhoods.

We need to focus on getting our act together now, ahead of an economic upturn, by re-focusing on the basics: cleaning up the city, cracking down on crime and blight, and cutting back on a cost structure that’s outgrown our ability to pay for it.

We must continue to focus on the inequity of our “homestead/non-homestead” tax policy, which is steadily eroding the city’s commercial tax base and private-sector job market.  That being said, the immediate source of distress for many taxpayers has been the property revaluation process that was first conducted in 2008. While serious flaws and inequities were apparent in the results produced so far, this is a problem that can and will be corrected with a new revaluation.

Speaking of inequities, we had to learn quite by accident that Kingston was paying social services costs for people not living in Kingston.  And, while we look forward to the mayor working together with the county administration to be sure the city is reimbursed for lost taxpayer dollars, we remain committed to auditing future claims, and will work together with the city and county comptroller as this process unfolds.

This is terribly important, given the cost – $1.2 million in safety net spending this year, up from $400,000 seven years ago. Not only do we take in the county’s disadvantaged, we take on the entire local portion of the bill.

We remain committed to sustaining an infrastructure that up until recently seemed to be crumbling every week.  And, though we have allocated substantial sums to guard against infrastructure decay, we will continue to be sure our infrastructure meets our basic needs.

Bankruptcy is not an option for Kingston, for a whole host of reasons not the least of which such a move would require state legislative action and, quite frankly, you have to be bankrupt after all to declare bankruptcy. Kingston is still well below its tax and bonding limit, although by no means are we in a position to brag about such a thing.  But to declare bankruptcy, as I have said publicly, would be equal to raising the white flag.

That said, the financial situation we face remains serious. Correcting it will depend on how we approach labor contract negotiations.  And while we are pleased two out of three of our unions provided give backs for the 2010 year, we may still need to work with them to be sure we’ll be able to provide required services to the people while holding the line on taxes as we work to assemble a 2011 budget. The mayor has indicated he will include members of the Common Council in discussions and negotiations with the three unions.  That’s the right approach.

Some of the things we could look for would include new flexibility in the way departments are staffed and job responsibilities defined, with a particular emphasis on putting more police officers on the street at critical times each day, and cross-training more firefighters to act as building-code enforcement teams during otherwise idle periods.  We will need to look at realistic contributions by employees toward their health-care plans, recognizing that we must work together to reduce costs.  We just received word, for example, that the premium increase for the Empire Plan for 2011 may be more than 13 percent.

This is not a happy or uplifting speech, I know, but there are times that require us to set aside happy talk and speak to stark reality.  That also means making the hard decisions.  When you say you want to cut costs, you have to mean what you say and follow through on your words.  Cutting costs isn’t easy and it isn’t painless.  You have to back up your words with action, otherwise the things you say and the promises you make will sound hollow and broken.

That isn’t to say I’m not optimistic about this city’s future.  I have always and remain very optimistic that Kingston will one day reach its full potential.  When the cost cutting is over, we will need not only to streamline government but aggressively market this city so we can continue to brag about it being one of the top art destinations in the country, as not only one of the more affordable places to live in the region, but a place where several types of architecture:  beginning with stone houses, through all the great design eras – all exist in one place. We need to continue to show the world what sets Kingston apart from so many other places in the region.

We will work together with a vibrant group of citizens organizations such as the nascent Kingston Digital Corridor, KingstonCitizens.org, Friends of Historic Kingston, the Business Association of Kingston, ASK, the Neighborhood Watch group, and KURA just to name a few.  We were happy to listen to and work together with our business groups in establishing the Main Street Manager, embodied by Nancy Donskoj who has done an excellent job showcasing our city’s assets and opportunities.

I am convinced that with the right combination of marketing and a more sensible tax structure we’ll be able to move this economy forward.  We have some way to go for sure, but Kingston has been through tough times before.  We’ll get through the Great Recession and be stronger and smarter when it’s over.

Thank you.

PART ONE: Council Minority Leader State of the City Report

We have created a two part posting to share both the majority and minority leaders state of the city reports for citizens who were not present this evening.

We’ll begin with minority leader  and Ward 1 Adlerman Andi Turco-Levin (R).  This was her state of the city address presented on Tuesday, April 6th 2010. If you have any thoughts or feedback, please visit the Ward 1 Yahoo! Group where Alderman Turco-Levin is a member.

Thanks.

–  Rebecca Martin

Minority Leader’s Report 2010  Efficiency and Planning

Mr. President, my fellow Council Members, and to all of you here tonight, we want to thank you for this opportunity to share our hopes, visions, and recommendations on how we can move our City forward.

Let’s also take a moment to recognize the hard work of our police and firefighters who keep us safe, to the volunteers of this City who keep our kids off the streets and out of harm’s way from gang violence and drug dealers and also to the private citizens who work to unite our communities.  A heart felt Thank You.

As you know, we are currently forging through very difficult times, not only from an economic point of view but from a quality of life standpoint.  What I hope to outline here tonight is a way for us to recognize how we got here, what we can do to prevent us from continuing in the same direction, and what we can do in order to steer our City towards growth and economic stability.  As with any journey, a roadmap is the key for success.  It outlines boundaries, and allows you to navigate a course to reach your final destination.  We have no roadmap.  The fact that Kingston has not had a complete comprehensive plan done since the 1980’s is evidence.  From one side we wish to welcome development, yet we get mired down with variables leading to lengthy delays, then ultimately leaving us with nothing as the end result.

From the former uptown parking garage to the scarred waterfront once with promise of the Noah Hotel, now a vacant lot collecting graffiti and trash.  Had a long range plan been in place for the City of Kingston some of those hurdles may have been avoided and the outcome much different from what we have today including more super sized drug store chains.

Getting through difficult issues on a day to day basis is not working.

This approach is not successful in life, and it doesn’t work in government either.  Shortsighted planning has no benefit, especially for the future of our City and what we leave to the next generation of our children who we hope can stay here, earn a living and raise their families too.  It affects every aspect of our City’s well being.

It seems obvious that many of our City’s woes stem from the erosion of our tax base, lack of well paying jobs and the steady decline with quality of life benefits.  To turn this trend around I believe the first line of defense would be to ask that a long range planning committee be formed in order for us to identify what is needed to create a 25 – 30 year plan on how our City grows into the next generation.  In it we can explore how we grow our business zones, protect historic districts and quaint neighborhoods, all while keeping a healthy balance, and an eye on environmental responsibility.  One of the things that people love the most about our City is our heritage, yet we do nothing to protect it, in fact it seems that even the provisions in place are not enforced.  Not only is this an important task to insure our City’s character, it is an untapped source of revenue which will strengthen our financial footing as well.  Perhaps the Economic & Finance Committee should form a task force designed to look at our City’s Codes and Laws and update them to reflect today’s living standards, incorporating ways to create revenue at the same time.  A simple permit fee to remove a shade tree could create funding for much needed sidewalk rehabilitation.  As it is now, the $250 fine when a tree is removed without a permit is not enforced…you do the math.  Simply enforcing our codes can provide a revenue stream which can help restore many of the services to our residents which seem to dissipate on a daily basis.

Part of this plan needs to include public safety for pedestrians and bicyclists which will also encourage less motor vehicle traffic in our urban areas.  This is just one of the many issues that come to mind so let’s move on to the next topic.

Fiscal Crisis:

Efficiency (and Planning) will be what pulls us through.   The current union contracts are crippling our City where ALL parties need to rethink everything from the ground up.  This may not happen until contracts are open at the end of next year, but it MUST happen.  Looking at how things are done now and how things should be done efficiently in the future, which include the merging of services has to be our plan in order to sustain the City without the unlawful burden on the taxpayers.  We ask that union leaders understand the challenges that we face with the budget process in the upcoming months.  The unity of working together is the only solution that will keep us stable.  Cooperation from every component will make the difference between survival and bankruptcy.

Other departments also need to be realigned in order to reflect tomorrow’s government model.  Economic Development needs do more than secure grant money.  Instead let’s come up with an outline on how to encourage small business with tax incentives and perhaps outline areas that could benefit from programs that attract these small businesses.   Let’s give them a reason to come here.

The last issue that we need to address is crime, quality of life, and the confidence our residents have in us to provide it for them.  Our police department works hard fighting to keep our streets safe and gang activity at bay, not an easy task.  The City needs to stay on solid ground in order for us to turn this trend around and take back our neighborhoods.  Fighting crime is important, just as important is engaging our young people early and giving them something to do instead of getting into trouble. Continually cutting programs that offer these options for them is backwards thinking.  Funding police, very important, but we also need to take steps in prevention and this is where the cuts from the Recreation Dept. become the issue.  These programs provide a safe place for them to grow, play and learn.  Cuts from this department show in the deterioration of our City Parks, their Programs, and the mental well being for all our residents young and old.

There are great things coming with new faces on our Common Council, looking at things with a new perspective for change and expecting accountability.  I also want to compliment the Mayor & the City’s Comptroller for uncovering overages in what we spend in Safety Net funding.  This action can save us millions of dollars in the future.  By working together without party lines getting in the way of progress and compromise we can hopefully turn a corner and see positive change.  We also need do a better job of letting the community know what is happening in City Government.  Let’s encourage the flow of information by setting up a Kingston311.com information website.  It’s based on NYC’s information hotline where residents can ask questions on things ranging from City Codes to Recycling Schedules.  We don’t have the funding for a hotline, but a website with vital information would be a welcome resource for our Citizens without much cost and could even become a source of income in the future.

In summary, we need to look at the Big Picture from top to bottom and re-think how things are done with a long range plan.  Without it we have nothing, no public safety, no funding for police and fire,  no infrastructure, no technology, no youth programs, no business…All of these components lay the foundation for economic stability ending our financial crisis.  Planning and Efficiency is our mantra.  If done right we will see a stronger community with less spending, more revenue which ultimately leads to lower taxes.   We will have a City which offers quality of life for its residents, economic strength for our businesses, and a solid and affordable education for our children.

We look forward to working with all members of the Council and Administration towards this goal.   The city of Kingston is the Jewel of the Hudson.  Let’s put some polish on her and make her shine.

Thank you.

Respectfully Submitted,

Andi Turco-Levin

Minority Leader

Alderwoman Ward 1