|
County-Owned Properties for Private Use Generates Controversy
Legislature approves buyout provision on retirees health insurance
by Margaret Sternberg
Putnam County's current policy of sometimes allowing those in need of a place to stay to use county-owned properties without payment and sometimes for an indeterminate length of time may be headed for change.
At its April 1, 2008 meeting, the Putnam County Legislature found itself debating the issue which arose from the County allowing a county resident and her four children, whose house had burned down, to use a county-owned building on Tilly Foster Farm.
First noting that the Legislature must approve all leases, Legislator Dan Birmingham felt that there were two issues with the initial lease that had been granted to the resident: the length of time was unspecified and, more importantly he said, there had been no "consideration" in exchange for the lodging. Birmingham argued that "the county has to get away from residential rental lease - for whatever [any] reason."
He noted that there were at least six buildings leased to private individuals who had no connection to the county, other than being tenants. Birmingham observed that several of the properties had come into the county's possession through the purchase of other properties, such as what is now the county golf course, but that in some cases it was almost six years later, and the county was "still acting as a landlord for private individuals." He said he was concerned from both a liability and policy standpoint.
Stating that he thought it was a smart move, Legislator Birmingham announced that another Legislator would shortly be putting legislation before the Legislature's Rules or its Physical Services Committees stating that the county would "no longer be in the residential leasing business. Adding that in many cases the buildings "are costing us more than we're bringing in," Birmingham said that at a time when the county was talking about no longer subsidizing its half of the School Resource Officer Program, layoffs and curtailment of services to county residents "in many cases we could do without…giving someone a below market rate."
Legislator Sam Oliverio agreed, expressing his sadness at the family having lost their home, but noting that in the Town of Putnam Valley they were facing about 67 foreclosures and saying the county could not "pick and choose" to whom to offer services, asking how it is decided "who is worthy."
Although acknowledging that he understood Legislator Birmingham's arguments, Chairman Tony Hay fought for passage, noting the county has no emergency shelter, the individual has four children and that "the county had reached out to this Legislative body and asked for a consensus of opinion" [on the lease for the family] as well as that this was roughly the sixth time this type of service had been done for someone in need.
Legislator Birmingham said that emergency housing did exist within the county and "while not perfect," could handle cases like this and was "time-tested" with criteria for eligibility, procedures for length of stay and access to ancillary services that might not be available otherwise.
Legislator Vinny Tamagna suggested putting the properties into the social services system and a formalized process in the future, but supported passage of the resolution for the family involved.
Despite the two "no" votes of Legislators Birmingham and Robert McGuigan and one absent Legislator, the resolution passed, giving the resident a 90- day lease, with the option of 90-additional days beyond the initial term.
In other business, Legislator Mary Ellen Odell introduced a resolution, passed unanimously, authorizing a retiree health insurance buyout provision that would allow a retiree who has other health coverage to opt out of the county's retiree health insurance plan in exchange for a cash payout. Legislator Odell characterized the plan as a positive for both the retiree and the county, which would save, she said, about $3,500 per individual.
For the first time and as part of a resolution requesting that the report be submitted annually to it, the Legislature received a formal report from the Putnam County Magistrates' Association detailing revenues of $2.7 million received over the past year. Legislator Dan Birmingham said the report covered not only county, but town and village court justices, noting the fiscal impact of the collected fines and suggesting that because of that the Legislature needed to stay abreast of the activities of the courts and revenue. Calling the collected revenues "extremely impressive," Chairman Hay lauded the hard work of the towns and villages in dealing with the issues before them.
Legislators authorized the County Executive and Clerk of the Legislature to sign and forward to the state legislators a Home Rule request that would support the State Legislature passing a law that would allow county employees to live outside the county.
Finally, Cathryn Fadde, owner of Cathryn's Tuscan Grill in Cold Spring and a Philipstown resident, was picked as the first Putnam County resident to lead the Legislature and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance that opens the Legislature's meeting.
The May meeting of the Putnam County Legislature will be posted on the PCN&R's website as soon as it becomes available.
Providing local news, information and opinions from
Philipstown and Putnam Valley, NY
Encompassing the Villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville,
and the hamlet of Garrison, Putnam County, NY.
This site is a publication of The Putnam County News and Recorder, the source for news and information of the Philipstown
and Putnam Valley area. The PCN&R is 139
years old, published in hard copy every Wednesday, and circulated throughout Putnam
County, NY.
The PCN&R prints LEGAL NOTICES
for: Putnam County, The Town of Philipstown, The Town of Putnam Valley, Village of Cold Spring, Village of
Nelsonville, the Haldane Union Free School District and the Garrison Union Free School
District.
Deadline for printed press releases, advertisements and classifieds is Monday at noon for
Wednesday publication. This site is updated on an as-needed basis with a minimum update
weekly on Thursdays. For further information or to request a subscription to the paper, please
contact us with your name and mailing address at:
(845) 265-2468 PO Box 185, Cold Spring, NY 10516, or e-mail us at editor@pcnr.com
If you see an advertiser on line, tell them! | 
