Saying Goodbye to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michael Gianaris

I congratulate Erie County's Assemblyman David DiPietro (R-NY) for introducing A05498, a bill that would divide New York into three autonomous regions: New Amsterdam, New York City, and Montauk.  It proposes regional governors and legislators, and it limits statewide taxation to a sales tax. It also proposes that state court and prison systems be separated.  

In an emailed press release, the Divide NYS Caucus Inc. says that under the bill a token New York State government would remain, with most taxing power transferred to regional governments. About three-fourths of state laws would become regional laws. Each region would have its own legislature and regional governor.  

When I lived in Northern New York (the region north of the Adirondacks, running along the Canadian border  from Plattsburgh to Watertown) in the early 1990s, I scoffed at some who advocated separating upstate from New York City.  Most of the state's revenue came from Wall Street and other New York City industries. Nevertheless, since the 1910s the city has eliminated growth in upstate New York.  Some of this is the aim of elite upstate landowners such as Kingsman Gould and the Rockefeller family, who will almost certainly be opposed to this proposal because it would end their environmentalist bullying of the people of the Adirondacks and Catskills.  

My own neighborhood, the Town of Olive in Ulster County, has been subject to the  rapacious theft of land to build reservoirs and impose costly regulation that saves the city's inhabitants billions each year. The city's corrupt,  imperialist history is outlined in Professor David Soll's Empire of Water.

The plugging of fracking proposals for the Southern Tier handed Pennsylvania massive economic opportunities and had zero effect on the environment. New York consumes the same amount of natural gas as it would have, only it buys it from Pennsylvania instead of producing it.  Better that  the people of the Southern Tier should be forced onto the welfare rolls and forced into long-term poverty than they should earn good wages in the energy business.  The people of New York City are true geniuses, as they   frequently claim about themselves.

More recently, the grotesque performance of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Michael Gianaris with respect to Amazon.com gives new meaning to the term "jerk."  Given New York's national leadership in taxation and bloated state and city governments, after the $3 billion in tax breaks, Amazon would have probably  been paying more in taxes than the majority of Fortune 500 corporations. That's a brilliant reason to deprive the state of 25,000 jobs that pay $150,000 on average. (Disclaimer: I own an apartment 1.8 miles from the site on the Long Island City/Ocasio-Cortez border on the Long Island City side, and I saw my property value rise and then sink by 20%.) 

With the media attention paid to Ocasio-Cortez, the people of New York City look like jerks now more than ever. It is time to end the pain that they are imposing on upstate New York. 

How the Democratic Party Has Caused Upstate New Yorkers to Flee

Upstate New Yorkers flee in large numbers.  According  to Jeff Platsky of the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin. (h/t Glenda McGee),  84 people leave Broome County each month, 39 leave Chemung County, and 29 leave Tioga County.   

Platsky observes that every single county along Route 17 from Orange County to Pennsylvania has declined in population over the past decade; moreover, in upstate New York overall, 42 of 50 counties lost population.  Route 17 runs along the state's southern rim, known as the Southern Tier, which borders Pennsylvania. 

The reason is simple: lack of jobs. Yet, the Democratic Party has prevented  fracking in the Marcellus basin, which would have created thousands of jobs.  Instead, the jobs went to Pennsylvania.  Meanwhile, New York has the worst income inequality in the country--and the highest electricity rates.

Much of the protest against fracking has been misguided. For instance, Youtube  carries several videos of people who are able to ignite their tap water. The video makers claim that the problem was caused by nearby fracking. 

I asked a colleague at Brooklyn College about the videos.  The colleague, Constantin Cranganu, is a geologist who has written books on fracking. He told me that the water was catching on fire before the fracking and that fracking cannot possibly cause this, in part because the fracking occurs at a depth of over a mile while the water well is 100 or 200 feet deep.  Thousands of tons of rock separate the well from the fracking drill. 

Yet, meshuggener Democrats show this video to each other and proclaim that they wear the mantle of the one settled science, courtesy of Youtube, Bill Maher, and Al Gore. 

Writing in Forbes in 2015, Jude Clemente notes that New York's natural gas consumption had risen by more than a third, to 60% of its entire energy generation, but the state cut its natural gas production in the interest of ideological purity. The anti-fracking proponents are rich Democrats who work in tax-subsidized businesses: academia, government, law, and health care.  They have no qualms about forcing blue collar laborers into permanent unemployment. 

The handful of upstate counties that have gained population in New York mostly have been the ones surrounding Albany, seat of New York's bloated state government, or college towns. 

Platsky notes that there have been plenty of bureaucratically inspired, state-subsidized development schemes, all of which have failed.  

The exit of manufacturers like IBM and GE in the 1980s has not been followed by the kind of innovation that occurs in a free market economy. New York's high tax rates and totalitarian regulatory regime have inhibited entrepreneurship.  Retirees have little incentive to stay because of the cold climate and high taxes. 

Ulster County, NY Vote Stronger for Trump Than for Romney

A comparison of the vote counts for Ulster County, NY (h/t Glenda R. McGee) reveals something interesting: The vote for Clinton was weaker than for Obama while the vote for Trump was stronger than for Romney. 

Ulster County is a mixture of two elements:  rural New Yorkers whose ancestors have lived in the region for generations and are chiefly Republican  and transplanted New York City refugees like me.  The New York City refugees are mostly Democratic. 

Clinton stimulated less interest among the New York City element than Obama had while Trump stimulated more than Romney had. However, the numbers in the region are now overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats because of the demographic shifts. 

 2012 Ulster County Presidential Votes:

              Obama                              Romney

2012:     47,752                               29,759

               Clinton                              Trump

2016       44,597                               35,239

Source: Glenda R. McGee  

Growing States Have Right to Work Laws; Declining States Do Not

According to the  Albany Times Union:

New York’s [population] percentage increase was just 0.1 percent making it the 41st fastest-growing state in terms of percentage increase. Idaho was the fastest growing at 2.2 percent from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017, according the Census Bureau.  

The high-tax, pro-union states are the slowest-growing or declining while the low-tax, right to work states are the fastest growing: 

Right behind Idaho, with increases were Nevada at 2 percent; Utah, 1.9 percent; Washington; 1.7 percent; and at 1.6 percent each, Florida and Arizona.  

Only one of the high-population-growth states, Washington, is not a right to work state.  

According to Governing.com, the states with declining populations include Illinois, New Mexico, Maine, and Vermont, which don't have right to work laws. Vermont is the state that has repeatedly elected Bernie Sanders. It has among the worst population declines in the country.

West Virginia passed its right to work law in 2016, so although it has had a declining population and numerous other problems, it will be interesting to see whether its declines start to reverse as it deregulates. Vermont is the state that has repeatedly elected Bernie Sanders. It has among the worst population declines in the country.

The only state with a declining population and a longstanding right to work laws is Mississippi.

Why I Don't Support the Separation of Upstate from Downstate New York

Following the reelection of Andrew Cuomo as New York's governor, I began thinking hard about separating upstate New York from downstate New York.  Downstate New York includes the five counties of New York City and the four counties that surround it--Westchester, Rockland, Suffolk, and Nassau.   Upstate New York is more Republican than downstate, although it is not as Republican as it was 50 years ago because few retirees can afford to remain here, and most of the productive business--as opposed to real estate developers, Wall Street, and other businesses on public outpatient support--have fled.

The issues of guns, fracking, religion, and regulation divide the state, but views are variable. The upstate urban centers of Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are Democratic, and the many university-and-college centers sprinkled throughout upstate also are Democratic. Woodstock and Olive, where I live, dominated by  the music, film and art businesses as well as weekend homeowners from New York City, is Democratic too.  Nearby Kingston and New Paltz, home of a state university campus, are also Democratic.  Therefore, upstate New York is variegated; nevertheless, there is a difference because the big-government philosophy dominant in New York City is less prevalent upstate.  The recent gubernatorial election saw small-government candidate Rob Astorino lose in downstate New York but win the majority of the vote and the majority of the counties in upstate New York.  Crooked, big-government advocate Andrew Cuomo, closely linked to super rich real estate developers, hedge fund managers, and other of the privileged rich on government outpatient support, handily won downstate.

I thought I'd write a piece about separating the two regions for the Lincoln Eagle, and I interviewed a leading activist in the separation movement. He told me that there is increasing support for the idea, especially following Cuomo's reelection.  Cuomo's dictatorial approach to guns and his fascistic attitude toward conservatives (he says that they don't belong in New York) stimulated strong opposition upstate.

My thought was that the values and needs of upstate differ sharply enough from New York City that government would be more representative if it were more decentralized.  I've changed my mind.  Having interviewed the separation activist and read an interesting piece in the Rochester Business Journal, I am coming to the conclusion that separation isn't worth the fight.

The decision to separate or not should not be financial; it should not be based on on net monies transferred from downstate to upstate.  First, no one is clear about the direction in which money actually flows. Second, even if money flows upstate, if the political union doesn't work, then the money isn't worth it.  Readers who posted   on the Rochester Business Journal article claim that upstate could not build roads without New York City's financial support; they might consider turning their heads toward Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, whose roads are fine without New York City's help.

Two elements counterbalance each other.  First, New York City probably does subsidize the rest of the state because of the taxes collected from the financial industry, although the subsidization probably benefits two categories: special interests and welfare recipients.  Second, upstate suffers heavily from regulation and political mandates that emanate from the city.  These include a bloated, stupidly managed Medicaid system and heavy demands from public sector unions, to include the Service Employees International Union--which has successfully lobbied for the bloated Medicaid plan--teachers' unions, and statewide bureaucrats' unions like PEF and CSEA.  There is also the current prohibition on fracking, by which the environmental ignorance and superstitions of New York City's ideologues and cranks have deprived New York's Southern Tier of billions in revenue.

The question that remains is whether, given freedom, upstate will repeal the mandates,  regulations, and bloat that the city has imposed.  If it does not, will not, or cannot, there is no point to separation.  Having lived in Albany, Kingston, Potsdam, Binghamton, and New York City, my guess is that the people of New York are unable to overcome the lobbying of the special interests, the unions, the developers,  and crackpot green advocates, who have driven business away from the state.  The same processes of special interest brokerage will continue to dominate upstate New York, just as it has,  and I have no reason to think that upstate New Yorkers will gain 15 IQ points and start to think rationally about the costs and benefits of government policies.  North Dakota, with a population not much bigger than Buffalo's, has, but few states have.

The inner cities in upstate New York, such as the small city of Kingston, which is near me, are as backward as New York City; New Yorkers in rural areas are often co-opted by welfare and Medicaid programs that make them advocates of the bloated state, and a large share of upstate New Yorkers are public union looters.  The result will be, like the breakup of Standard Oil, two behemoth operations rather than one.  In the case of Standard Oil, the oligopoly included Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, ARCO, Sohio, and Pennzoil. In the case of New York, the oligopoly will become the bloated bureaucracy to the north and the bloated bureaucracy to the south. I don't think upstate New Yorkers have the brains to end the bloat that has deprived them of an economic future.

The Science Is Settled: What's Interesting about the American Media Is What It Doesn't Talk About

I was privileged this past Saturday to join Lincoln Eagle publisher Mike Marnell on Scott Harrington's Speak Out show on WKNY, Kingston, NY.  We discussed education and politics; I posted the interview here.  WKNY is a great local music station that plays close-to-nonstop soft rock.  Since they had me on the air, I've been listening to their programming. The soft-classic rock format is great, but the station is an affiliate of ABC News.  As a result, I've inadvertently heard a few of the ABC newscasts, which breaks one of my personal moral rules: Do not listen to the media.  Most of what ABC discusses is irrelevant.  What caught my attention was their blaring claim: "The debate is settled: There is global warming." Well, that's all well and good because there has been a global warming for the past 10,000 years, since the last Ice Age, as the chart below shows.

As I mentioned on the radio show, the useful information to be gained from listening to the media is to learn what it doesn't talk about.

Is the Town of Olive's Sylvia Rozzelle Double Dipping or Skinny Dipping?

 Is Town of Olive Town Clerk Sylvia Rozzelle planning to double dip on her pension money and so ride the gravy train down Watson Hollow Road? Rumor has it that Rozzelle, who is running for town supervisor, is applying for a pension from the State of New York for her years with the Town of Olive as town clerk.  How much is enough?  The Town of Olive already pays its town supervisor more than does almost any other town in Ulster County.  The $50,000 paycheck for a part-time job is apparently not enough for Rozzelle, who also aims to collect almost $40,000 in pension money.  But what are the exact amounts?

The Democrats are fond of claiming that they believe in openness in government and in democratic processes.  But when it comes to the Democrats' pockets, they are notoriously averse to allowing public scrutiny. Let's see if Rozzelle responds to this Freedom of Information Law letter:

PO Box 130

West Shokan, NY 12494

October 2, 2013

Ms. Sylvia Rozzelle

Town Clerk, Town of Olive

PO Box 96

West Shokan, NY 12494

Dear Ms. Rozelle:

Under the New York Freedom of Information Law, N.Y. Pub. Off. Law sec. 84 et seq., I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of records that pertain to the computation of the pension benefit of Sylvia Rozelle.  These include all application forms to the State of New York and any other New York State pension fund and any estimates of or statements of actual amounts of pension benefits to be paid to Sylvia Rozelle. 

I also request all records stating the amount of annual salary currently paid to the Town of Olive Town Supervisor and the Town of Olive Town Clerk.

If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me if the cost will exceed $75.  However, I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of salaries and pensions paid by the Town of Olive.  I am a journalist for The Lincoln Eagle as well as a citizen in the Town of Olive.  This information is not being sought for commercial purposes, although it is on the record and may be used for journalistic purposes.

 The New York Freedom of Information Law requires a response time of five business days.  If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than this amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records. 

 If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.

Thank you for considering my request.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

Pennsylvania Town Rejects Agenda 21

Lynne Teger forwarded a February Lebanon Daily News (LDN) article about West Cornwall, Pennsylvania's rejection of Agenda 21.  West Cornwall is in southeastern Pennsylvania's Lebanon County. LDN says that the town passed a resolution opposing Agenda 21 and then withdrew from the state's regional plan.  As the article points out, Agenda 21 is a UN-based plan to globalize the world economy and redistribute wealth from more to less economically productive nations' citizens.  It aims to eliminate property rights by imposing taxes that one-percent property owners can easily afford but that those with constrained resources cannot. The United States signed it under George H. W. Bush, and the nation has funded its implementation ever since through the President's Council on Sustainability and, more recently, through a range of government agencies.

In the Empire State, Andrew Cuomo, emperor of economic destruction, has funded 10 regional councils or soviets to implement Agenda 21-based plans.  The regional soviets are Emperor Andrew's first goose-step toward attacking local democracy.  Given the abject failure of the emperor's economic policies, it stands to reason that  His Majesty Il Duce now pursues fascistic environmental policies.  

One of the tactics that proponents of Agenda 21 use is to forestall intelligent conversation by claiming that Agenda 21 does not exist or that it is a "tin foil hat" conspiracy theory.  Such proponents usually have not read the document and have not thought through the implications of global redistribution of wealth and soviet government.

Agenda 21 is no more a conspiracy theory than is the World Trade Organization, NATO, or the UN itself; you can read it here.   Under town plans like the Woodstock, Saugerties, and Olive, New York comprehensive plans, people who live in rural or suburban areas with constrained cash flows or limited means will be the first to see their lifestyles curtailed.  In exchange for escalating taxes and ever-increasing environmental regulation and control, the towns will build cramped urban housing in mixed-use areas. 

Letter to Helen Chase, Central Catskills Collaborative

PO Box 130

West Shokan, NY 12494

July 2, 2012

Helen Chase, Town Council/Robert Selkowitz

Town of Olive

Central Catskills Collaborative

PO Box 18

West Shokan, NY 12494

Dear Ms. Chase and Mr. Selkowitz:

I have finally had time to read part of the so-called Route 28 Central Catskills Scenic Byway Nomination Final Draft of Project Description of the so-called Central Catskills Collaborative that appears on the World Wide Web.  I object to the entire document, for it amounts to a primitive power grab by opportunists eager to hop on the special interest gravy train on offer by our dying New York State.  

For one, the plan claims that it and your group will contribute to the local economy, but there is no evidence that you or the plan's authors know how to do so.  Yes, let us imagine a state where the Department of Environmental Conservation is the engine of economic growth.  Then let us consider that it exists--in North Korea--and it has gone down in ashes. The New York State government that has funded this plan has repeatedly crippled the state and local economy, and your credentials are even less impressive than theirs.  

Because local, regional, and national planning have failed, as evidenced by the collapse of Robert Moses's New York State,  the Soviet Union, China, and the decline of the big-government, blue, rust-belt states, the entire discussion in the document  is inept and ill informed.  However, the following statement is especially shocking, even given the document's dismal quality:

"…existing and new development might be enhanced while managing the corridor’s significant resources. For example, are there any major intrusions on the enjoyment or character of the roadway? If so, describe what will be done to improve these conditions."

Private property is the cornerstone of prosperity.  If the individuals who drafted this plan cared about the economy, their first concern would have been for private property.  The document advocates spying on your neighbors, bullying them, and stealing from them.  It is a plan of action for criminals.  I am ashamed of this state, I am ashamed of this nation, and I am ashamed that I live in the same town as you.

 Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

Cc: Governor Andrew Cuomo,  Joseph Martens, Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Tuesday's Republican Primary

I received an e-mail from Robin Yess about Tuesday's primary.  I did a bit of homework about the three candidates, Wendy Long, George Maragos, and Bob Turner. Like most Republicans, the three say that they favor lower taxes; however, they are vague about how low.  Turner says that Obamacare should be repealed and tax increases should be avoided.  Avoided? How about tax cuts to eliminate the Departments of Energy, Education, and Labor?

Wendy Long is a lawyer. Her website says this:

 The main purpose and idea of my campaign is not original. I can't claim authorship. An inspired group of New Yorkers and other Americans came up with the idea, about 225 years ago.
It's called limited self-government, of the people, by the people, and for the people.

No one in this country is above the law, and no one is beneath it. The law is what protects the weak from the strong, affirms the dignity of every person, and overlooks no one in its demand of equal justice.


That sounds good, but what does it mean?  Would she have opposed the Bush-Obama bailout of Wall Street and the Fed's $29 trillion subsidization of global banks?  Her Republican colleagues believed those actions were constitutional. Local news sources such as Cayuga County's Auburnpub.com offer sketchy information about the three candidates.

When you log onto George Maragos's website, there is a video that does not work properly. How come Netflix can stream two hour movies into my television, but Maragos can't get a one-minute video to work?  Also, his secure e-mail (the site doesn't give any other contact information) limits questions to 245 characters (characters, not words), so I could not ask him a few simple questions.

According to Maragos's site:

We must take action now to reduce the deficit, eliminate wasteful spending, and reform entitlements in order to restore America's economic strength, provide for individual opportunity and guarantee future prosperity for our children. Government programs which have proven ineffective and wasteful should be terminated...Medicare and Social Security are a sacred commitment to our seniors and should be protected. Senator Gillibrand voted to kill these programs by her vote against raising the national debt ceiling.

I thought the Bible is sacred, but Medicare is a political program.  Maragos puts Social Security up there with the Ten Commandments.  On the one hand he says that government programs that are ineffective should be terminated.  On the other he says that one of the most ineffective programs, Social Security, is sacred.   Might we conclude that Maragos is a Three-card Monte dealer who says one thing to attract conservatives' votes and another thing to attract special interest money?

I have a basic question for any candidate: Where did you stand on the bailout?  None of the coverage in New York's all-thumbs media answers that question.  I attempted to send e-mails to the three candidates.  Only Ms. Long has an e-mail program that allows voters to send her an e-mail to inquire as to her positions.  The following is the e-mail I sent to her aide, Lynn:

Dear Lynn:

What are Ms. Long’s position on local governments’ transferring political authority to NGOs (as has been recommended with respect to the Route 28 Bypass proposal in Ulster County)? This is a longstanding strategy of environmental extremists like the WWF that has been supported by both Republican and Democratic politicians.

What is Ms. Long’s position on Ron Paul’s proposal to audit the Fed?

What is Ms. Long’s position on the 2009 bailout?

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert

Within minutes, Lynn responded with the following message:

 

From: Lynn Krogh [mailto:lynnkrogh@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2012 12:50 PM
To: Mitchell
Subject: Re: NGOs, Fed, Bailout

I just passed on your inquiry to Wendy.  She's traveling in Buffalo right now, but I'm hoping to have these answered asap.

Thnx

Lynn Krogh

518.618.7074

Lynn@wendylongfornewyork.com

M

My response to her was as follows:

Thank you. You’re the only campaign that has a way to e-mail questions, and I’m very impressed that you got back to me so quickly. 

Of the three, Wendy Long seems to be the one who knows how to run a campaign.  So few candidates do.  I don't think we can expect a true limited government candidate at this point in history.  The best we can do is split the nation's governance between Democrats and Republicans and hope that they will do as little as possible. Unfortunately, both parties seem to like Agenda 21 and both love the Fed, so unless the public gets tired of being milked like cattle we can expect an increasing degree of totalitarianism no matter who gets elected. 

 

Crying for Assemblyman Jim Conte

 On May 10 Long Island Politics.com re-posted and then Alex Jones's Infowars re-posted an article about a heart-breaking bill put forward by one of New York's Republicans, Jim Conte (h/t Mike Marnell).  Increasingly, the two party system is irrelevant because both parties have become totalitarian. Democrats advocate socialism and bonuses to rapacious public officials.  Republicans like Conte advocate fascism and ever greater suppression. Conte gives us a good reason to support Gary Johnson this year.

Conte proposes to illegalize anonymous Internet posting.  While I almost never post anonymously, most who have posted on my blog do.  I'm not big on anonymous posting because I think people should take responsibility for their ideas. But illegalizing it?   Is Conte an American? What kind of slime has the two-party system produced?  What rock did Conte climb out from under?

I suspect Conte is ignorant enough not to know that the entire Federalist Papers was written anonymously under the pseudonym Publius.  Anonymous opinion pieces were typically written by both the Federalist and the Jeffersonian press throughout early America.  Since Republican Conte is ignorant of the basic values on which America is based, he does not know that he is attacking one of the great traditions of American freedom.

Like a good fascist, Conte uses a pretext to attack free speech: Internet bullying. That is how totalitarians have whittled away freedom since the dawn of time. 

According to the Wikipedia article about the Federalist Papers:

At the time of publication, the authorship of the articles was a closely guarded secret, though astute observers guessed that Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were the likely authors. Following Hamilton's death in 1804, a list that he drew up became public; it claimed fully two-thirds of the essays for Hamilton, including some that seemed more likely the work of Madison...The authors used the pseudonym "Publius," in honor of Roman consul Publius Valerius Publicola...

All of this is well-known to Americans but not to Jim Conte.  Watching today's America implode through pond scum like Conte drives me to tears.  In Conte's honor, I'm listening to Roy Orbison's "Crying."

Sentor Bonacic Supports Unaffordable-to-the-Taxpayer "Affordable" Housing

H/t Patriot246

Wurtsboro – Construction has barely begun at the Horizons at Wurtsboro senior citizen housing complex, yet there is a waiting list of applicants far beyond the 49 apartments that will be available.
Officials from Regan Development, the Village of Wurtsboro, Town of Mamakating and the state ceremonially broke ground Friday to herald the start of the first affordable senior housing in the area. Senator John Bonacic said this type of housing is in great demand. “The need for affordable housing is insatiable; when we’re done with this project we could do 100 more, and there still would be a need,” he said. The project will include 42 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom facilities. All will be rented at below market rents because of public financing from the New York State Housing Trust Fund and federal tax credits from the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Private equity financing and construction and permanent financing were also involved.

The company is currenlty accepting applications for the next 30 days. Interested persons may call them at (914) 693-3011 for brochures and applications.

My response:

Dear Senator Bonacic:

I am sick of big government Republicans backing corrupt backroom deals like the Regan Development "affordable" housing projects in Wurtsboro and Saugerties.  The projects may be affordable to your rich cronies at Regan Development but they are not affordable to the taxpayers whom you have molested.

I am a registered Republican, but I will be backing (both financially and with my time) your opponent in the next election. The reason is that the only thing worse than a Democrat is a big government Republican who lies to the Republican Committee and says he favors small government while, at the same time, supporting taxpayer-exploiting housing developments that run moderate income homeowners out.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

Town Special Reserve Accounts--a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma

 

Via E-mail and US Mail

PO Box 130

West Shokan, NY 12494

October 1, 2011

Supervisor Berndt Leifeld

PO Box 180
West Shokan, NY 12494
845-657-8118
FAX 845-657-6117

Dear Supervisor Leifeld:

At the recent Town of Olive budget workshop several citizens raised the question of balances in special reserve funds being used for emergencies such as the recent tropical storm devastation.  Your response was that money in reserve funds cannot be used for purposes other than those designated in the accounts.  Your claim is false because special reserve accounts can be reduced or dissolved.  I located a policy statement of the New York State Comptroller’s Office located  at: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/lgmg/reservefunds.pdf .   The report states:

When conditions warrant (subject to legal requirements), the board should reduce reserve funds to reasonable levels or liquidate and discontinue a reserve fund that is no longer needed or whose purpose has been achieved.

The report implies that different reserve funds are subject to different methods of dissolution or reduction.  As well, the report states:

Because of the complexity of some of the legal requirements relating to the establishment, funding, expenditure, and dissolution of reserve funds, we encourage local officials to consult with their municipal attorney.

I assume that you have done so and can produce letters to and from lawyers as to the statuses of the various special reserve funds.  As well:

(R)eserve fund(s) should be established with a clear intent or plan in mind regarding the future purpose, use and, when appropriate, replenishment of funds from the reserve. Reserve funds should not be merely a “parking lot” for excess cash or fund balance.

The report also gives some guidance as to prudent oversight of reserve funds:

Reserve funds can be excellent financial planning tools when combined with a realistic analysis of future financial needs and obligations. All too often, however, reserve funds are established and substantial cash is accumulated without due diligence in monitoring the reasonableness of reserve fund balances. To help ensure that reserve funds are being properly established for an authorized and needed purpose, and the balances in existing reserve funds are not accumulated excessively or unnecessarily, governing boards should answer the following questions:

• ·         Has legal counsel provided guidance on the authority to establish new reserve funds?

• ·         Has the financial need or purpose served by the reserve been identified?

• ·         Does the reserve fit within or complement the long range financial or capital plans of our locality?

• ·         Has a written reserve fund plan or policy been developed?

• ·         What events and obligations is the board planning for?

• ·         Is cash being accumulated for the purchase of a major piece of equipment or to help finance other major capital outlays?

• ·         Is cash being sequestered to help mitigate the impact of other large, nonrecurring expenditures?

• ·         Are there risks that need to be protected against?

• ·         Does the board’s policy address replenishing depleted reserve balances, as appropriate?

• ·         Is the board provided with periodic financial reports on reserve fund activity?

• ·         Are reserve balances at an appropriate level?

• ·         Has the board reviewed all reserve funds currently established and determined if the balances are necessary and reasonable?

• ·         Is there a limit on the dollar amount to be accumulated?

• ·         Is the reserve serving the purpose for which it was established?

• ·         Are the best interests of the taxpayers being met?

• ·         Any governing board that is planning to establish and finance reserve funds on a regular basis should develop a written policy that communicates to taxpayers why the money is being set aside, the board’s financial objectives for the reserves, optimal funding levels, and conditions under which the assets will be utilized. Boards should also periodically assess the reasonableness of the amounts accumulated in their reserves.

• ·         When conditions warrant (subject to legal requirements), the board should reduce reserve funds to reasonable levels or liquidate and discontinue a reserve fund that is no longer needed or whose purpose has been achieved.

The last three bullets address questions that citizens asked you and that you failed to answer.  Surely you have addressed all of the concerns listed in the above bullets, and I now request you to apprize the public of your deliberations, due diligence, and thoughtful planning at the next town meeting.  Alternatively, I can send an additional freedom of information law requesting documentation of your compliance with the Comptroller’s guidelines and take the information to the media.  As a local gadfly, I anticipate your response with interest.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

Robin Yess to Ulster County Legislature: Why No Action on Golden Hill?

TO: Ulster County Legislators

Good evening. Sorry to say – it’s me again.

While I am aware that many of you were not members of the Legislature when the attached report was presented, a fair share of you were. Whether you were or you weren’t, I suggest that you read the attached report and meeting minutes.

In the spring of 2007, Chairman of the Legislature Dave Donaldson authorized the formation of the Blue Ribbon Health Care Services Advisory Panel to address the issues surrounding Golden Hill Health Care Center, a county-run nursing home.  A group of volunteer citizens including Steve Kelley, Anthony Marmo, Francoise Dunefsky, and Peter Roberts spent more than a year researching the solutions for Golden Hill Health Care Center and submitted a written report in July 2008 and formally presented it to the Health Services committee in September 2008. Their findings after more than a year of work suggested first that “The Committee recommends transfer of the 280 nursing home beds at Golden Hill from County ownership to private ownership.”

Also in the Executive Summary of the report dated July 2008 – “Timely consideration by the Legislature will ensure an orderly transition from an outdated facility in need of major costly repair and requiring annual taxpayer subsidies, to new state of the art facilities with the same total bed component, providing better geographic access, without additional cost to taxpayers.”

So I must ask what did the Democrat-controlled Legislature do with this report that took a year of meetings and volunteer time to pull together? Could it be that because the report recommended privatization that Chairman Donaldson and Health Services Committee Chair Rob Parete decided the best course of action is no action at all because too many union jobs exist at Golden Hill? From July 2008 when the report was released until the end of the Legislative session in December of 2009 no action at all was taken.

So now here we are more than three years after this report was submitted and more than four years after the Committee first met and we are no further ahead. You have made no decisions, made no plan for repairs, and made no plan for reducing the taxpayer subsidy.

I would like to ask every Legislator who was serving during the 2008/2009 term and who continues to serve today and all current Legislators  – what do you intend to do to address the problems outlined in this report and the subsequent report from November 2010 titled the Ulster County Golden Hill Special Task Force Report?

What are you going to do now besides vote on a nonsense resolution (#197) that makes only a statement about keeping Golden Hill, but does nothing to address any of the problems?

Read the reports and please, make some decisions that result in taking action!

Robin Vaccai Yess, CFP

CERTIFIED DIVORCE FINANCIAL ANALYST

Fee-Only Financial Consulting

181 Church Street, Suite 101

Poughkeepsie NY 12601

(845) 471-0764

www.robinyess.com

www.hvdivorce.com

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