Budget Deliberations Heat Up
Well, that didn't take long. Last Wednesday evening, Putnam Valley Supervisor Alison Jolicoeur released next year's tentative budget to her fellow board members and the public. By Friday, Bill Gouldman, the town's current legislator who is running against Jolicoeur in November, released a statement and visual on Facebook pages comparing the town's proposed 7.28% tax hike to lower ones at nearby towns.
By Saturday morning, Jolicoeur had released a video reminding everyone that she has only been in office ten months and was initially presented with budget numbers that showed a 26% tax increase which she has already reduced considerably. "This is something that I inherited from the previous administration," she said. "We are working to do everything we possibly can to continue to bring that number down."
This evening she released a second video from Town Hall offering details about what she described as the "kick the can down the road" strategy of the previous administration. In her video, she also raised questions about the use of Volunteer Fire Department reserves for operating expenses and infrastructure investments being made before hoped-for grants were actually obtained.
The furor over the budget raises the political stakes not just for Jolicoeur and Gouldman but also for Town Board member Christian Russo, who is running for Gouldman's seat on the county legislature, and for Shawn Keeler, who is running for re-election as Highway Superintendent, albeit uncontested. Keeler's department was one of those highlighted for its big jump in expenses related to rising prices for asphalt, salt, and equipment, and he offered concrete examples of those price increases towards the end of Jolicoeur's second video .
Russo released his own video about the tentative budget this afternoon. After acknowledging what he agreed were "drastic increases" in costs, he also said, "I do believe there is room for improvement in this budget." Russo laid responsibility for the current predicament squarely on Jolicoeur. "It’s important to note that when it comes to the budget, it is the duty of the Town Supervisor to create and present a budget that is affordable for the people within the town," Russo said. "And over the past four years, we were able to stay under that tax cap by being very conservative with the spending, making sure that we did not increase salaries out-of-control, kept to cost-of-living type increases and by finding new revenue sources to bring into the town." Russo committed to working with the Town Supervisor to produce a more affordable budget.
Residents will have two opportunities to engage with the Town Board on this important issue. The Town Board will hold its monthly work session at 5pm on October 14th and a public hearing has been scheduled for 6pm on October 21st.
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