Quoted from TippyCanoe

and what about Mr. Delorenzo Esq / appt owner doesn't he represent the town?

as for the current years budget the past admin should have cut another 200,000 clams before they left town but they didn't bobbie g is lucky he is just whimpering, he could be crying

if he really wants to save cash start with the biggest expense in town, RPD not the officers but the admin.

Actually, the BIGGEST expense in town is the Town Highway Department .. NOT the Police Department.
The Highway Department needs to have its spending brought under control .. maybe even seek to merge it with the County Highway Department or at least share services with them to save big time $$.

and just how much do both cost????

do you enjoy paying our police chief over 100K??? for what

i seem to remember how badly the county did compared to the town during last years storms, rotterdam has always been a well plowed haven in schenectady county

put the chips on the table

don't let schenectady happen here!

Quoted from TippyCanoe

and just how much do both cost????

do you enjoy paying our police chief over 100K??? for what

i seem to remember how badly the county did compared to the town during last years storms, rotterdam has always been a well plowed haven in schenectady county

put the chips on the table

don't let schenectady happen here!

The Highway Budget/Fund is separate from the Town General Fund -- if you look at your tax bill they break it down   Highway Tax and Town Tax ..  the Highway Dept spends almost as much $$ as the rest of the Town government costs us.

I think the County has done a good job .. and we could eliminate duplicated services .. and thus save $$

looking at my 2009 data adopted budget

highway fund               3,819,530 taxed separately from total town operating
police                         5,306,330
remaining town            7,855,181 includes 168,231  listed as sup. of highway and garage
total town operating    13.161,511

total town and highway 16,981,041

now the percentages

highway vs total town and highway  22.49%

police vs total town and highway  31.24%

tax rates 2009 homestead
general fund  $2.1427/1000
highway         $1.2505/1000
combined      $3.3932/1000

i agree on the tax rate discussion but not on operating budget
and moving the expense to the county doesn't change the amount collected the county would love to get their hands on $1.2505/1000 of the towns 2.3 billion dollars of assessed value

Quoted from TippyCanoe

looking at my 2009 data adopted budget

highway fund               3,819,530 taxed separately from total town operating
police                         5,306,330
remaining town            7,855,181 includes 168,231  listed as sup. of highway and garage
total town operating    13.161,511

total town and highway 16,981,041

now the percentages

highway vs total town and highway  22.49%

police vs total town and highway  31.24%

tax rates 2009 homestead
general fund  $2.1427/1000
highway         $1.2505/1000
combined      $3.3932/1000

i agree on the tax rate discussion but not on operating budget
and moving the expense to the county doesn't change the amount collected the county would love to get their hands on $1.2505/1000 of the towns 2.3 billion dollars of assessed value

Thank you for the information -- the Highway Department is still a huge part of town spending and       thus of our tax bill.  

Through intergovernmental cooperation - you could save money - by eliminating duplication of positions .. particularly the supervisory ones.
For a county the size of Schenectady - 150,000 persons .. and the 2nd smallest in land area ... we
really don't need 7 highway departments, 6 police departments,  7 chief executives (Mayor/Supervisor) 7 clerks, 7 receivers of taxes, etc    (oops .. I didn't count the villages of Delanson and Scotia .. add 2  to some of the previous numbers).

Now throw the denographics and the picture changes

Change the demographic and you will change the need

Remove the county tax on an auto purchase, then demographic will change and then ther needs of the services will change and reductions can be made

"Make me want to move here" should be a requirement for every thought in government- and I don't mean handouts!!!


When I  worked for county government my goal was always find ways to increase revenue and reduce services given out

Nothing has changed

Start a business in NYS and they will tax you out of business ASAP.

Quoted from TippyCanoe

Now throw the denographics and the picture changes

Change the demographic and you will change the need

Remove the county tax on an auto purchase, then demographic will change and then ther needs of the services will change and reductions can be made

"Make me want to move here" should be a requirement for every thought in government- and I don't mean handouts!!!


When I  worked for county government my goal was always find ways to increase revenue and reduce services given out

Nothing has changed

We can increase revenue by expanding the property tax base and by bringing in businesses that
will allow people to spend their sales tax dollars IN Rotterdam and/or Schenectady County .. and not in Albany or Saratoga Counties.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

We can increase revenue by expanding the property tax base and by bringing in businesses that
will allow people to spend their sales tax dollars IN Rotterdam and/or Schenectady County .. and not in Albany or Saratoga Counties.

Biggest fallacy in the WORLD!  Increase tax base and Town increases budget, County increases budget, School District increases budget.  Nominal increase in tax base results in huge taxes for residents across the board.  Only resolution to problem is roll back budgets at all levels.

You continue to spew exactly what we have seen not work.  It's a two variable equation, tax base revenue + budget expenditures.  The two cancel each other every time.  If you hold budget revenues or roll them back, then you realize taxpayer savings whether there is a tax base increase or not.  Ramrodding every available piece of property is not the answer, and it uses valuable future space if a real company should ever show an interest in a municipality.  "Oh sorry you can't come to Rotterdam, we used all of our properties for bars, convenient stores, gas stations and pizza parlors."  How many decades of this do we have to endure before the taxpayer figures out a very simple two variable equation?  Pathetic

Quoted from AVON

Biggest fallacy in the WORLD!  Increase tax base and Town increases budget, County increases budget, School District increases budget.  Nominal increase in tax base results in huge taxes for residents across the board.  Only resolution to problem is roll back budgets at all levels.

You continue to spew exactly what we have seen not work.  It's a two variable equation, tax base revenue + budget expenditures.  The two cancel each other every time.  If you hold budget revenues or roll them back, then you realize taxpayer savings whether there is a tax base increase or not.  Ramrodding every available piece of property is not the answer, and it uses valuable future space if a real company should ever show an interest in a municipality.  "Oh sorry you can't come to Rotterdam, we used all of our properties for bars, convenient stores, gas stations and pizza parlors."  How many decades of this do we have to endure before the taxpayer figures out a very simple two variable equation?  Pathetic

and your solution is to keep your head between your legs and let Rotterdam die a slow death

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

and your solution is to keep your head between your legs and let Rotterdam die a slow death

I am not an elected official who has been entrusted to uphold the highest fiduciary responsibility of the residents of this Town.  That's the problem, if you had a Town Board that felt this way, they would guarantee the budgets get rolled back.

And what type of slow death are you referring?  When money gets tight you reduce services.  You yourself mentioned a Town/County highway merger to save money.  Why isn't anyone disecting the budget to score services based on "need to have", "good to have", "can do without", and reconfigure the budget?

(T) of Glenville is 50 sq. mi., Budget 11.55 million
(T) Rotterdam 36.5 sq. mi., Budget 20.47 million
basically same populations

This would tell a casual observer something is drastically wrong in Rotterdam, IMO.

Quoted from AVON

"Oh sorry you can't come to Rotterdam, we used all of our properties for bars, convenient stores, gas stations and pizza parlors."  Pathetic

That is what we like to call "consumer traffic".  

DVOR, tell AVON how ignorant he is. C-O-N-S-U-M-E-R  T-R-A-F-F-I-C.

what is the VALUE of our tax dollar.....what has the most value and measured by what? We all agree taxes need to exist....but at what cost to value?

Quoted from AVON

(T) of Glenville is 50 sq. mi., Budget 11.55 million
(T) Rotterdam 36.5 sq. mi., Budget 20.47 million
basically same populations

This would tell a casual observer something is drastically wrong in Rotterdam, IMO.

Me being that casual observer, it would tell me that in Glenville there must be people dying in the streets waiting for ambulance services.  Skyrocketing crime due to under funded police.  Poor road conditions because of an under funded highway department.  

Glenville must be on the verge of ANARCHY.

Quoted from AVON

I am not an elected official who has been entrusted to uphold the highest fiduciary responsibility of the residents of this Town.  That's the problem, if you had a Town Board that felt this way, they would guarantee the budgets get rolled back.

And what type of slow death are you referring?  When money gets tight you reduce services.  You yourself mentioned a Town/County highway merger to save money.  Why isn't anyone disecting the budget to score services based on "need to have", "good to have", "can do without", and reconfigure the budget?

(T) of Glenville is 50 sq. mi., Budget 11.55 million
(T) Rotterdam 36.5 sq. mi., Budget 20.47 million
basically same populations

This would tell a casual observer something is drastically wrong in Rotterdam, IMO.

I was responding to your criticism of efforts at economic development .. economic develop which WILL
expand our tax base ...  we need to do BOTH .. cut spending and expand the tax base.