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Putnam Valley Public Hearings Attract Audience but Not Comments
by Edward Paul Greiff
Two public hearings were held on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at the Putnam Valley Town Hall. At 6:10 pm the 2008 Budget hearing was held. It lasted all of ten minutes. At 8:10 pm the Public Hearing for the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for both the Comprehensive Master Plan and the Zoning and Subdivision Amendments was held. It lasted all of three minutes with no comments being made even though the courtroom was filled with spectators.
But the strange thing about both public hearings was that people actually had many comments, comments which they freely expressed in small pockets of gatherers and off the record.
The Putnam Valley 2008 Budget has been trimmed down to $8,682,746 of which $2,572,550 is estimated to be derived from revenue the Town receives and $5,794,319 to be raised through Town Taxes. This represents a 12.3 percent tax increase over the 2007 tax year. The example cited by the Town Board is if your house is assessed for $500,000 the 12.3 percent tax would raise your tax liability by $95 for the year.
Some of the important considerations made in preparing this year's budget were a cut in the amount of money being allocated for road maintenance, fire protection, and a general 10 percent cut across the board by all departments. A key factor in this year's budget is that it does not provide for rebuilding the Town's fund balance account which is at approximately $300,000 and should be around $800,000.
More than likely the budget presented at the Public Hearing is the final version although it still can be changed. Director of Finance Maryann DeSantis informed the audience that the final budget is due by November 20 and must be adopted at a public meeting.
Councilman Dan Ricci questioned if the $2,000 was still in the budget to repair the hole in the roof of the Historical Society Museum building. He was told yes. He said he would try and get the labor done for free. If so, the Town would only have to pay for materials and they should run around $500.
Kathleen McLaughlin and George Olsen expressed their concerns that the Library budget might be further cut. Supervisor Sam Davis and DeSantis both said there was no intention to do that, but if they did decide on additional cuts McLaughlin and Olsen would first be informed.
After the budget meeting there was a two hour wait before the Environmental Impact Statement public hearing was scheduled to start. Many people went home and then came back.
As the eight pm hour began to approach, the court room began to fill up. Maryann Arrien had her three cameras set up. A court stenographer set up her typewriter and was giving out instructions as to how she wanted each person to identify themselves before they began talking. The stage was set and at 8:10pm Supervisor Sam Davis opened the public hearing and asked if anyone had any comments, the stenographers hands were poised above the keyboard, Maryann's cameras were rolling, but there was dead silence. Councilman Ricci tried to break the ice by saying, "Come on folks, somebody say something, we're paying a lot of money for this!" But there were no takers.
Supervisor Sam Davis remarked, "If there are no comments then I make a motion to close the public hearing." It was seconded and unanimously passed. At 8:13 pm, three minutes after its opening, the public hearing was over. But then a strange thing happened, nobody got up to leave. They just sat there as if waiting for the next shoe to drop. Slowly they got up and gathered into small groups in the courtroom, in the hall, and outside the building. They talked about many subjects and voiced their opinions to one another. One view held that the DGEIS did not accurately reflect the latest version of the Comprehensive Master Plan nor did it accurately reflect the zoning and subdivision amendments and they were going to research it in detail.
All those attending the public hearing, and the public in general, have until November 16 to make their comments in writing. After that date, the comments would have to be answered and a new public hearing scheduled, but only if changes were substantive. If that occured then the chance for a year-end adoption of the Master Plan would be greatly diminished.
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