No Developers For Uptown Parking Garage Project

Now you can see why we are always complaining about the unreasonable Fire Budget and contract in Kingston.  Also, the Business property tax rate being higher than the residential property tax  rate chases developers away.  Do you notice that there is little or no private construction going on in Kingston?  I disagree with planner Sue Cahill.  The new Uptown vibrancy will not draw a developer.  But if the Mayor and Common Council had a plan to slash and reorganize the Fire Budget and to equalize business and residential property taxes, then developers would come.

Kevin Cahill..Please Apologize

Let's call a spade, a spade.  Kevin Cahill is at fault at least 90 percent.  He risked a spike in local City of Kingston and Town taxes in order to interfere and pressure County government to take on safety net......something Hein and the local towns had already committed to.  So now Cahill is happy with what Hein and the local towns had already committed to.  However, there is one small problem.  Since time ran out on Cahill's risk and the Assembly/Senate left town for good in 2013, we local taxpayers are left with millions of dollars less of local sales tax revenue which needs to be made up by property tax increases and local government layoffs and local government service cuts.  My basic question, "Kevin Cahill, what were you thinking of, when you risked the local government tax revenue in order to pick a fight with Mike Hein and local government leaders?"  My suggestion.  Admit that you made a mistake and admit that local legislative issues should be solved by local Ulster County citizens and not solved by Assemblymen interfering in the local legislative process.

Let's make a deal. Move the KHS $138 Million Bond Issue vote to the regular Election Day, Nov.5th.

Let's make a deal.  Move the KHS $138 Million Bond Issue vote to the regular Election Day, Nov.5th, and we the taxpayers will be less cynical and we may vote Yes.  What is cynicism?  It is the distrust of the motives of others.  We will request by letter and / or petition that the Kingston School Board move the vote on this single issue from December 10th to the regular November 5th Election Day.  This move of the vote day will save the district $15,000, since the Ulster County Board of Elections conducts the Nov.5th vote.  Also, the Nov.5th vote would dramatically increase voter participation on this issue.  Finally, the Nov.5th vote would reduce local voter cynicism for the scheduling the bond vote for Dec.10th, which is 2 weeks before Christmas, when many local taxpayers have already left for Florida.  Right now, the scheduling of the bond vote for Dec.10th appears to be motivated by "voter suppression", ie. more YES votes than NO votes will come out on Dec.10th.  Kingston School Board, let's do the right thing and move the bond issue vote from Dec.10th to Nov.5th.  If anyone is interested in helping by carrying a one-page 25 signature petition asking the school board to move this vote, please contact me.

Local Taxpayers Lose $10,000 per year due to lower property values

One thing the conservatives are correct on is the slow, dismantling and closing of our public schools, to pay for automatic salary and step increases, pensions and healthcare for union teachers in our Soviet-style monopolistic school systems.  The very bad economy and the lack of government money has exposed the illogical public school system which has grown into a monster, which is eating NY State taxpayers alive. What is the evidence of this?  As Governor Cuomo openly admits, young adults are leaving NY State in droves due to lack of job opportunities.  Do you want more evidence?  How about property tax values plummeting in many upstate areas?  Locally, property values have gone down as much as 5 percent per year.  What is 5 percent of a $200,000 house?  Thats's right.  A loss of $10,000 per year by taxpayers to finance a bloated public school system, which is paying good teachers more than we can afford.  The time for the conservative idea of school vouchers, school choice, and school competition among public, private and parochial schools, has come.

School Vote Should be November 5th NOT December 10th.

Ulster County's Election Commissioners have verified that school budget votes could be handled on Election Day in November. Therefore, why not have this important building vote when everyone comes out to vote in November? This is the same subtle voter suppression technique that is used for the School Budget and school board votes held in May instead of November.  Let's call a spade a spade.  If the KHS renovation/expansion Vote is held on Election Day, many more people will vote and express their opinion and the project would probably be voted down.  If the KHS renovation/expansion Vote is held on December 10th, during the Christmas shopping season, the vote total will be way down and the building project could possibly pass.  Is this anyway to run a democracy?  I  don't think so.  The Kingston School Board and administration should be ashamed of themselves.  This is pure bold arrogance.

Caged Animals

When a leading intellectual such as Alan Chartock, who knows the score, tells us there is nothing that we can do to change the leadership in the NYS Assembly, then our democracy and republic are in deep trouble.  We citizens have been corraled.  We are like "caged animals".  How can we continue to teach with a straight face, our young high schoolers about Civics and "Go out and Vote", when Alan Chartock knows, Gov.Cuomo knows and we know that we "caged animals", we citizens in NY State can do "nothing" about this rotten state government that we have.  I say that we organize and put heat on our individual assemblymen.  SUGGESTION.  Ask Assemblyman Cahill, "Why do you continue supporting Shelly Silver as Speaker of the Assembly?"  Let's publish the answer in the Freeman.

What is Wrong with This Picture? --- The Case for School Vouchers

Let's do the Math.  It costs the Kingston School district and other NY State school districts around $15,000 to $20,000 per year to educate each child in their districts.  On the other hand, it costs
$3000 per year to send your child to local Catholic elementary schools.  What is the reason for this
$12,000 per year discrepancy?  There are 2 big reasons.  1) Uncontrollable increases in teacher union contracts including automatic step raises for all, benefit increases, pensions, plus percentage contract increases and 2)  Administrative overhead expenses.  Let's face it.  Education only requires a committed teacher and well-disciplined, enthusiastic children in a safe building.  How are we going to get Our education system back?  We are going to propose a small change to the New York State Constitution that will :"allow school vouchers to education our children".   These vouchers will then give each New York State parent or guardian a voucher of about $3000 or $4000 for each of their children between the ages of 5 to 17, to send their children to the schools of their choice, including public, private and parochial schools.  We will end up with drastically lower education bills and a superior, vibrant and competitive education system, which will put students first and teachers second.
Any volunteers interested in working on this project, let me know.