Supervisor John Clarkson feels the Town of Bethlehem should be a role model for the rest of the state when it comes to fiscal responsibility, ethics reform and politics.
In his first State of the Town address given at Town Hall on Monday, Jan. 30, Clarkson called Bethlehem a vibrant and thriving community, which is in “far better shape than most municipalities,” despite significant financial challenges.
“It’s the best place to live in the Capital District, a great place to do business, and I think we all feel that way,” he said. “With great fortune, however comes responsibility.”
Clarkson said Bethlehem now needs to lead by example.
“If we can’t put together a sustainable budget that provides the services we need for the long term, I don’t know who can. And if we in Bethlehem can’t have engaging politics, I don’t know who will, and if we in Bethlehem cannot create a model, modern local government that excels in every area, we should ask, ‘Why not?’” he said.
The supervisor’s agenda highlighted economic and residential development, the newly approved citizen advisory committees and senior issues within the town. He also spoke of the upcoming budget negotiations.
Clarkson said he would like to implement multi-year budget projections in order to be prepared for the deficits ahead and develop a specific policy for how to spend the town’s reserves, naming what fund balance should be maintained. In April, the supervisor will also publicly present an estimate of the budget for the coming year; the budget is usually rolled out in the early fall.
“I think it’s tremendously necessary. It’s necessary we know the size of the problem we have, both for the Town Board and I and town staff as we start to look at options to reduce the cost of government, but it’s also important for the public,” he said.
But there are some things Clarkson said he would not continue.
The Supervisor said after his speech he does not agree with continuing the practice of bonding for annual repairs like highway repaving and the bonding of a pension enhancement for police valued at around $1.7 million.
“A lot of things that can be legally done, it still doesn’t make good fiscal sense to do them,” he said. “All of our infrastructure, like sewer and water, those are appropriate borrowing activates. I’m not averse to borrowing for good debt, but it’s the bad debt I have a problem with.”
Clarkson said his administration has done its best to promote citizen engagement and involvement. At its first meeting of the year the Board voted to push back the start time of meeting to 7 p.m. to allow more time for the pubic to attend after work. Soon, residents will also have the option to view all town meetings online via a live Internet feed, with the videos backlogged by category and all agenda material uploaded to the Internet, as well.
He also said he would like to look into improving the “vital gateways” of the town along Delaware Avenue and Route 9W, and review the 20/20 Comprehensive Plan, possibly through neighborhood forums.
“Together I think we can do this and I’m seeing many encouraging signs,” he said.
Board Members Jeffrey Kuhn and Kyle Kotary agreed with Clarkson’s main ideas, as did Town Republican Chairman Fred Di Maggio.
“I think the supervisor did a good job of outlining the picture we’re facing,” Di Maggio said. “One of the things that I and other members of the Republican Party are going to recommend to him are volunteers for the budget, governance and economic development committees, as well as propose someone for the IDA (Industrial Development Agency).”
Di Maggio said the town needs to continue to work on budget issues and not to spend money the town doesn’t have, focusing on reductions and not filling vacant positions.
“And frankly taking a harder look at the police contracts, because that’s the biggest outlay for the town and one thing we cannot continue to afford,” he added.
According to Clarkson, the town spends the most money on its police force, followed closely by the Department of Public Works and Highway Department, but departments within the town are looking to share some services to save funds. He did add traditional festivities, like the Independence Day celebration, will not be halted.
“Those are I think the last things you want to cut back on, especially in times of economic distress,” he said. “We owe it to ourselves as a community to pull together and I for one would never support cutting back on those types of things. It’s just the wrong place to cut back.`
