In an effort to bring information to the public, Colonie Supervisor Paula Mahan and her staff have began a series of financial informational meetings in which they travel to various locations in town to tell residents how the town has acquired a deficit and what can be done.
Last night I think people went there with high hopes of actually learning more about the financial situation, said Albany County Legislator Carl Zeilman, R-Colonie, the day after the first financial information session on Tuesday, July 14. But, Zeilman said, he and a number of other individuals who attended the meetings were dissatisfied with the format.
During the meeting, Mahan stood before the crowd at the Maplewood Fire Department and gave a presentation about the deficit, which she said totals $18 million.
After the supervisor’s presentation, attendees were able to write questions on 3-by-5-inch note Town Operations Peter Gannon, who read them aloud for the supervisor to answer.
While the supervisor said this system was to keep the meeting organized, some were displeased with the format.
`I think many people were disappointed because it was through her spokesperson,` said Zeilman. `For many people there’s more than one question to your question and you want to be able to ask follow-ups.`
A slideshow portion of Mahan’s presentation discussed what the town has to offer, including its proximity to the state Capitol, the Albany International Airport, and services including parks, Latham Waters and a golf course.
Then came the bad news. Mahan pointed to a lack of effective board oversight from the previous administration as the cause of the deficit. She blamed the previous board for a `lack of a comprehensive plan to address the deteriorating financial conditions.`
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Town Comptroller Craig Blair have estimated the deficit at $14 million through December 2006, and another auditing agency projected that through June 2007, the deficit had climbed to $18.1 million.
Next, the slides discussed the supervisor’s 10-year plan to eliminate the deficit. As a short-term plan, the supervisor re-introduced her highly publicized one-time corrective tax, which would charge residents a one-time fee that would go toward paying off the deficit.
Last month, the supervisor and Town Board sent a home-rule message to the state Legislature urging lawmakers to pass a bill that would put the one-time corrective tax law last month into place. The Legislative session came to a close with no action taken on the bill in the Senate after passing in the Assembly.
The tax, Mahan said, will average about $156 per residential parcel, with 90 percent of residential parcel owners paying less than $250. Commercial parcel owners would pay an average of $550, and all of the money is expected to generate $7 million. Another short-term action is the sale of the town’s portion of Heritage Park, of which will bring in $2.7 million. More property sales were included in the plan, including the Newtonville Post Office, Stony Creek Reservoir and the Colonie Community Center at 1653 Central Ave.
The supervisor’s plans also include the continuation of a freeze on all non-essential spending, EMS billing write-offs, the reduction of seasonal hiring and evaluating existing rental or service agreements.
In the long term, the supervisor’s plan includes the evaluation of advantages of consolidating town departments, generating more property sales, establishing effective internal controls for cash disbursement and more.
Resident Peter Crouse, of Loudonville, said that while the information that was put out to the public was good, he `didn’t think that the format was conducive to a free-flowing of issues.` He did say that the information was helpful, and stimulated the public to ask questions.
`Hopefully, as a result, the supervisor and her team will change the format [of the meetings,]` he said.
Crouse said he plans to attend more of the financial informational meetings. There are five meetings left: July 31 at 7 p.m., Public Operations Building, 347 Old Niskayuna Road; Aug. 8, noon, Village of Colonie Recreation Center Gym, 1 Thunder Road; Aug. 19, 7 p.m., Crossings Meetings Room, 580 Albany-Shaker Road; Aug. 20, 7 p.m., Menands Fire House, 250 Broadway; and Sept. 3, 7 p.m. Standford Heights Fire Department, Station 1, 2240 Central Ave.“