Whats that goo? and... why is it costing Village taxpayers $$$. Get details at the Saugerties Blogspot

TOP 10 Concerns for Ulster County

1.Taxes, taxes taxes.

Who wouldn't list this as the number one concern of Ulster County residents. This is the common denominator of government inefficiency, planning and lack of vision. All failures in government lead to more taxes for its constituents.

2.Uncontrolled growth.
Residents must realize first and foremost, more houses do not translate into less taxes. This is a myth. For every new house there is an additional cost to the taxpayer for schools and infrastructure. These costs far exceed what can be recovered in taxes. Ulster County needs to take planning seriously. The planning should take into consideration the needs and concerns of the community, not just the developer who cashes in and walks away.

3.Taking care of our Seniors on EVERY level
It seems that in every other culture but ours, the elders command the most respect and every effort is made to accomdate them so we can still utilize their wisdom and experience. Unfortunately, we do not honor our seniors. This must change.. We need to make provisions to lessen their load in taxes and make more resources available to them. Like us, they have worked hard and shouldered their share.. let's give them the respect that they deserve.

4.Reform health care
This could be accomplished by eliminating private insurers and taking back the administrative waste, while new fees could be imposed, replacing current, outrageously high premiums paid by individuals and employers.

5. Really 'affordable housing'.
This term "affordable" is really annoying. It seems every proposal includes this phrase and it has come to mean nothing. Affordable is relative to the wages of local citizens and their ability to pay. The 'old"rule of thumb used to be your housing costs should be 25% of your income. With the medium house in Ulster County at $240,000. To buy one of those houses, a worker would need to make a minimum of $600 per week, for the mortgage alone, which translates to $15 per hour. Think of the taxes, insurance and everything else that is also a part of living and you are at $20 + an hour. So where are those jobs?

6. Promoting clean viable businesses.
With all the resources our county has we are experiencing a dead end attracting businesses to our area. In Saugerties, we have access to a major waterway, rail, the Thruway and a location between New York City and Albany. What's not to like? Evidently the lack of funding and initiative for developing key areas for business growth, taxes and the cost of the workforce relative to the cost of housing. It is all connected. That's why attacking only one part of the problem cannot work.

7.Unnecessary government spending
We're all too familiar with the wasteful spending and thanks to diligent officials, citizens, the press and some aggressive grassroots efforts it is being chipped away, albeit slowly.

However, the definition of spending needs to add two new componants: efficiency and sustainability. There are current proposals and thinking that bring the focus on the quality and durability of goods and services with emphasis on maintainence concerns and merging of resources. It's now on the table and we need to support it and realize how much more cost effective we can be.

8.Partisan Bickering
Watching local politics unfold is frustrating at best. Similar to their national counterparts there is a my party right or wrong attitude carried into the chambers. Then subdivide that by egos and personal agendas and you have a very dysfunctional group of law makers. There are, however, some dedicated individuals trying to make a difference. They need to be supported and the others,regardless of party affiliation, need to be voted out. In parenting we learn, 'when kids play well together they are more productive.' We need to fully understand that officials are paid by the communities they serve and should bring their primary attention to their it's best interests, not theirs.

9.Make a move on the future.
With rising costs of fuel, global warming and other the fast paced growth of our community. We must put the stop to "the way we've been doing it" and think of "how it needs to be done" to address issues for generations ahead.

10.Synchronizing problem solving efforts
The overall solution lies in coordinating efforts to address all these problems. Like a puzzle each piece needs to be put in place to create a prospeous and happy future for Ulster Countyand all of us who live here.

Slow Down
South Peak neighbors tell planners their concerns
Saugerties Times (Feb 22)

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail”

You have to read this one
A tale of two stories:
Were Saugerties casino plans even BIGGER?
What developer says and what you get could be two different projects
Press Release

I know school taxes were for educating kids...I've heard about "administrative costs" and was curious how that worked.
Take a look at some educational funds spent here
Take a look at the 2006 school budget here

Though voted down...This redistricting proposal is giving Saugerties taxpayers their first heads up on development's residual costs

Saugerties Planning Board needs to plan We could call this redistricting proposal a ground-breaking for a 35 to 40 million dollar new school taxpayers will be confronted with, not long after the 185 planned units from this year alone become filled.

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