Blogs > Saratogian Newsroom

The Saratogian Newsroom blog, complete with thoughts and commentary from our newsroom staff and regular posts on happenings around town.

Wednesday, October 6

Updates from the inbox: 10.06.10 - Green ranking for local pols & Murphy endorsed by Lake George paper

Some food for thought on moving city dispatchers to the county. [Saratogian]

EPL/Environmental Advocates released their election scorecard based on how state lawmakers vote on bills that could help or harm our air, land and water.

How did local legislators do? Sen. Hugh Farley (R-Amsterdam) received a failing grade of 51, Sen. Roy McDonald, 61; Assembly Member James Tedisco, 67; and Assembly Member Timothy Gordon, 71.

In addition to being in our offices today for an editorial board endorsement meeting, Sen. Roy McDonald opened his Saratoga County campaign office at today at Carousel Village on Route 50 in Ballston Spa.

In NY-20: Chris Gibson will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Stillwater's Hanehan Dairy Farm to announce the formation of a Farmers for Gibson Coalition.

The Lake George Mirror newspaper endorsed Scott Murphy this week.
"Scott Murphy may be a Democrat, but he’s a Main Street Democrat. Small businesses are responsible for the majority of jobs in the private sector in our region, and Murphy has placed support for small businesses at the top of his list of legislative priorities," the endorsement reads.

Murphy will be in our offices for an endorsement meeting next week. Remember to post your questions for candidates; Susan Savage will be in for her interview on Friday.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ivins has delivered another DOA budget. This year the other members of the City Council must take ownership and not allow another budget by default.

First, they must ask why Ivins is now predicting a $2 plus million 2010 budget deficit. Why - as the Charter requires - did he not take aggressive action months ago to address the problem?

Next, the Council must look within City Hall. We cannot afford three computer techs any longer. Last year Ivins proposed eliminating one but then restored the position when no one was looking. One tech spends a lot of time on a Broadway bench smoking cigarets. Eliminate this title and/or consider farming the service out.

We no longer can afford a $80,000 plus Finance Director and a deputy commissioner of finance. One should go. The deputy is frequently absent and when in the building she is sequestered behind locked doors.

Collapse the health benefits administrator and payroll administrator into one job. Each now make well over $60,000 plus fringe. Both are probably eligible to retire.

Do not fill the vacant deputy comm. of accounts. There is a least one full time position to perfrom the Charter mandated function of Accounts. The deputy is a political job that we simply can't afford.

The mayor should never had filled the vacant planner position. We have three full time planners on staff and one makes well over $100,000. Eliminate one. Development is way off and we simply don't need three in this economic climate.

The Council must stop retaining outside law firms to defend their poor policy decisions. The mayor uses the public's money to hire these firms like it was his.

Privatize the Visitor Center. This would save over $100,000 alone.

The deputy mayor must be told to stop working at her second job while on City time. This has all the makings of a real scandal.

Only when all of this is done should public safety and DPW be cut.

October 6, 2010 at 4:36 PM 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home