First...
Recall the letter in paper last Friday from Clinton's Bill Lenehan on need to restore five-day week (instead of current 4-day week) for our county's ten Senior Friendship Centers?...(incl. Rhinebeck)...see
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100205/OPINION02/2050317/1004/opinion/Letters-to-the-editor---2/5 (note, however-- fact is that it's the County Exec who originally made this cut; I put budget amendment on floor in Dec. to restore $233,000 cut; was not approved by Co. Leg tho)...
You may have also seen a front-page Northern Dutchess News article on this issue as well recently...
Well-- I can't do it by myself, folks (I am but one of 25); I need you folks to help convince my colleagues in our County Legislature that out of a $400-million county budget, that this will not break the bank!...
[I've had feedback not just from Lenehan, but from others, that 4-day week is breaking hearts of seniors]
Speak up tonight 7 pm on 6th floor 22 Market St. Pok. if you can; email countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!...(recall email I sent out to my list yesterday on this)...
[can't emphasize enough how important you all are on this; unless letters come in, this won't change!...due to snow last night's full board mtg. for our County Legislature was cancelled; need you all tomorrow]
Recall http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SaveDuCo : join 116 others signed on to bring this program back!
[see: http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2009/12/cut-county-property-taxes-in-half-with.html ; in spite of our County Legislature successfully restoring 83% of the funding to many nonprofits and county departments cut/vetoed by the County Executive, unfortunately not enough county legislators supported my efforts in December to stop the following cuts to the 2010 county budget-- our county's long-term home care program for seniors completely eliminated-- and literally half a million dollars cut to our county's Office of Veterans Affairs, our county's Community Action Agency; Astor Services, Family Services, Hudson River Housing]
[...and on that note, in fact-- scroll down just a bit for update just into us this week from Family Services' Ex. Dir. Susan West-- County Exec still continuing to play games with and jeopardize $ for nonprofits;
recall Dec. post: http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2009/12/save-crime-victims-supervised.html ]
Second...
See this in yesterday's paper?...
"Health Payments Stall on Legal Issues" by Jenny Lee-Adrian
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100210/NEWS01/2100329/Health-premiums-push-stalls-on-legal-issues
Co. Leg. Jim Doxsey is still openly wondering why there was an unauthorized deduction of literally hundreds of dollars from his Jan. paycheck (and why the Journal has failed to report this, though told-- until in today's paper-- in tiny "correction" mention buried on p. 2)...
Fact: As Co. Leg. Alison MacAvery has pointed out, section 193 of NYS labor law explicitly states that employers cannot deduct funds from employees' paychecks without due process of authorization(!).
[for more on this see: http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workerprotection/laborstandards/faq.shtm ]
As Minority Leader Sandy Goldberg has pointed out, "If you go along with the County Executive's definition of compensation, which he includes as benefits, then in order for this contribution to occur, you need to first rescind the existing local law passed last fall by the previous Democratic majority, and then move forward with something different. If you don't agree with that interpretation, which is what the current Republican resolution does, then there's no reason why you wouldn't include all elected officials, because you are, in effect, saying that health insurance benefits are not part of salary."
[note-- I agree w/Dem concerns re: health insurance-- but I voted last month for 15% co-pay for leg.'s, as did Co. Leg. Steve White (interesting: So. Dutchess News reports otherwise; curiouser and curiouser); despite media near-blackout, fact is this-- I've been pushin' for this since '08 http://www.petitiononline.com/cutlgpay ; I would have voted for Dem amendments but they never got to Co. Leg. floor for votes in Jan., sadly; recall-- http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-turned-in-my-paperwork-thurs-to-stary.html ]
Third...
Miss Monday's paper documenting more GOP corruption in county government re: DCRRA?...
"Trash Haulers Go Through Hoops in Dutchess" by Mary Beth Pfeiffer
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100208/NEWS01/2080324/Trash-haulers-go-through-hoops-in-Dutchess
[recall-- I organized forum on this in late Oct.; Cablevision came; leg.'s didn't; click on this link to join 46 folks from across county for cost-saving zero-waste approach-- http://www.petitiononline.com/zeroyes ;
more info-- http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2009/12/expanding-incinerator-wasting-more.html ]
Note-- a Committee of the Whole meeting (for all 25 of us) of our County Legislature has been called to deal w/DCRRA issues-- it will be next Weds. Feb. 17th at 6 pm on sixth floor of 22 Market St.-- but GOP are planning to not even allow you folks, the taxpayers of Dutchess County-- speak at this meeting!...
This is one of many anti-democratic measures the GOP already rammed thru last Thurs. in committee...
[recall-- http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/02/gop-co-leg-majority-limiting-public.html ]
...and they plan to ram it through at the full board mtg. of our County Legislature tonight at 7 pm...
[they're counting on local lapdog media to continue to ignore they're doing this; have ignored so far-- except for great column that came out just recently in this week's Hudson Valley News from Jonathan Smith]
So we need you folks to come out and speak up at tonight's mtg.: 6th floor, 22 Market St. Pok.!...
Can't make it?...send us all a letter with your thoughts-- to countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!...
And-- fourth and finally...
As LaGrange's Tom Olsen pointed out to all of us at last Thursday's Government Services and Administration Committee, it is rare (essentially unheard of) for a governmental body like a county legislature to actually repeal a fundamental consumer protection law (for licensing of electricians)...
....but that's exactly what GOP rammed through last Thursday...and plan to do at full bd. mtg. tonight...
[see details: http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/02/re-electricial-licensing-oft-ignored.html ]
So-- again-- if you care-- speak up tonight; email countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!...
[pass it on]
Joel
242-3571/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
p.s. Minority Leader Sandy Goldberg spot-on in her Valley Views from Tuesday's paper; check it out:
"County Executive Needs To Welcome a More Bipartisan Approach"
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100209/OPINION/2090310/County-executive-needs-to-welcome-a-more-bipartisan-approach
p.p.s. As promised above, then-- this just in to us from Family Services Ex. Dir. Sue West...
From: Sue West
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 09:19:58 -0500
Family Services experienced a 15% cut in funding by the County this year.
Below is the final allocation by agency department and by program:
PROBATION
RISC fully funded (e.g. 2009 level)
DAAC fully funded
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
RISC fully funded
Battered Women's Services fully funded
Crime Victims 32% cut
DART 22% cut
Teen Parenting cut completely
Supervised Visitation cut completely
Whereas the Legislature restored FS to 93% of funding (in the amount of $382,222), the County Executive's office used this fund as a "Block Grant". They took $140K off the top and gave $100K to Astor and $40K to Hudson River Housing. The remaining $242,222 was was distributed to our Crime Victims and Domestic Violence Programs. We had some discretion as to the distribution of these funds.
Family Services chose not to advocate any further about this, as it seemed that the budget process was complete and the Legislature had new issues with which to grapple. In the end, despite the expertise and passion we bring to the services we provide, FS is a vendor which serves at the pleasure of the County. The County decides which services they want to purchase at any given time. It's up to us to educate the County and the citizenry as to the effects of funding or not funding any particular service.
I do believe the Domestic Violence Citizen's Advisory Council is continuing to advocate for restoration of the DART funding
1 comment:
Joel, as always you do great work and stand up for what's right. I'm happy that I know you!!
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