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PV Supervisor Bob Tendy Says, "My Door is Always Open, Don't Be a Stranger."
by Edward Paul Greiff
Putnam Valley's new Town Supervisor, Bob Tendy, sat down with the PCN&R early in December and talked about his new position and what he'd like to see happen in 2008.
PCN&R: You are very lucky.
Tendy: "Yes I am, I'm very happy Gene and Bob got elected I really am. It was very fortunate they got elected."
PCN&R: You have a team that's going to want to get something done and you have a team with experience as well as an incumbent board in Wendy and Priscilla that have passed their learning curve and are experienced councilwomen.
Tendy: "Correct, they have had two years to at least understand what the process is, which was sorely lacking after the last election. We had three well-meaning people who had no idea as to the process of accomplishing municipal goals and it was a real problem."
PCN&R: Politicians sometimes face a dilemma when voting on an issue - do they vote their conscience, what's best for the town, or what's best for the party?
Tendy: "Unfortunately when your party is too hands-on this can happen. I've never been told by a party how to vote on any issues. A political party has a very specific role and it's a good role and it is to push their message to the community. But it is not to push their message to their party members who have been elected. They have to vote their conscience and what they believe is for the betterment of the town."
PCN&R: What do you see as a major goal that you would like to achieve in your term of administration?
Tendy: "Well there are two types of goals, one goal deals with the immediate town municipal issues and the other goal deals with a State issue and that is getting the State government to vote to change the way our schools are funded and to change the way they decide how much the individual taxpayer pays in school taxes. It's an archaic, outdated terrible system of raising money for our educational system. It worked fifty years ago and even then people started to talk about it. It's totally outdated and it must be changed."
PCN&R: And how is the local government going to help in that respect?
Tendy: "Local government and voters have to apply pressure on the powers in Albany to get them to realize this is a make-or-break situation for their ability to stay in office. They want to stay in office, I don't care what party they are, they better vote to change this. Those who don't vote to change it should be voted out of office."
PCN&R: How is Putnam Valley going to be able to influence this?
Tendy: "Well, since the election I received in the mail from Sandy Galef, who's a Democrat State Assemblywoman, from John Hall, who's a Democratic Congressman, and from Vinny Leibell, a Republican in the State Senate, flyers, rather pretty and expensive ones at that, telling us about their dedication to bring property tax relief to the voters. I will ask them to be vocal in Albany and down here regarding this issue of paramount importance. Talk is cheap. I want to see things done and if they don't, we are going to rally voters throughout the State to tell these people that we are not voting them back in. And again I don't care what party they are in, this is not a party politics issue. This is an issue for people being able to stay in the neighborhood, people to raise their children where they want to raise them, for older people to be able to retire where they plan to retire. This is an issue that affects our lives and our life style. If people can no longer afford to stay in their homes because people in Albany are too afraid of the political pressures that will be applied to them in order to give up justifiable tax relief, then they don't deserve to be in office.
"The Association of Towns and scattered tax relief groups throughout the state are trying to get things going and I think it's my job and the job of other Town Supervisors to pull these groups together and work towards the common cause, which is getting property tax relief effectuated now through the political process.
"I think the Master Plan is by and large a very good document, but it needs a little tweaking. I think it does a commendable job in making sure the environmental concerns are met and the environment is protected. It bends over backwards to make sure that happens. I do think the Master Plan is a little bit shy and a little bit short on making sure that commercial tax relief is brought into the town. As far as I can see it pays lip service to it but I do not think it sets out any real specific goals to be implemented. So I would like to see more verbiage in that regard in the Master Plan. But I am not so much concerned with the Master Plan either way. My main concern is the code revisions. By and large the code revisions are good but I think we have to expand it somewhat so we can bring in commercial development that the town sorely needs and commercial development that will fit in with the town's rural character. The voters made it quite clear that they do want a commercial component to help offset school and town taxes."
PCN&R: Why do you think the anticipated code change makes it difficult for commercial development?
Tendy: "It makes it very difficult, time consuming and expensive for a small developer to put in a group of shops. It can get done, but the amount of red tape they would have to go through, and the fees they would have to pay would make it not a palatable idea for the small entrepreneur. It's not going to be worth either their time or money; they will go somewhere else. That has to be addressed.
"Two years ago the County met with us about opening up the Oregon Corners area and they were met with cold shoulders. We are going to change that. We have been discussing issues with the County and State and hopefully get some federal funding to develop Oregon Corners.
"The election pretty much confirmed that the people want a commercial component to our rural town and you can have both. It will enhance the character of the town and not ruin its rural character. It will also bring the people of the town closer together; they will have a place where they can meet and see each other. There is no area in town where you can go and sit down and meet your neighbor. Coffee shops will help, instead of crossing paths at a Home Depot or the A&P. Every town has one and we don't. Yet if you go to the delis we do have in town you will find people sitting and talking to each other.
"Another area I want to address is recreation for the kids in Lake Peekskill so they can have a place to ride their skateboards instead of in the streets or parking lots.
"My first goal is to let all of the town employees know that I have an open door policy. It's open to discuss any issues they are concerned about or suggestions they might have. I support the employees of the town 100%, I want them to know that, and it will make a much-improved working atmosphere in the town. These people work very hard and they need to know that the elected officials they work under appreciate what they are doing and will work with them to accomplish their goals. If they do then everybody in town benefits.
"I am going to start looking at next year's budget and the budget two years from now immediately and try to put into work a plan to head off any large increases in taxes. I don't want to start looking at this in June, July, and August and then let the Town Board know its time to discuss the budget. I've already started looking at ways to keep town taxes down to a lower-than-moderate increase.
"If you plan and delegate and you trust people you can get a lot done and I plan on delegating and expecting the work to get done."
"I want everyone in the town to know that town government exists for the people. We work for them and they should feel comfortable to come to Town Hall for information or assistance. I want them to know and understand we are their employees and they have every right to make sure we are doing the job they elected us to do."
PCN&R: What motivates you to do the job?
Tendy: "I've always believed that elected representatives can actually do a lot of good for the people in their town, county, state but somehow they loose sight of what they are. They have been elected to hold that office which is always there, the office is important, not you, and they forget that.
"Once people in office start thinking they are important they are thinking incorrectly. They are going down the wrong road. They are not important, it's the office that's important. I want everyone to know we are a team working together toward a common goal."
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