The Other Side of Dissolution - April 2008 Edition

The Other Side of Dissolution April 2008 Edition

A monthly article written by Johnson City residents opposed to dissolving the Village of Johnson City. Our goal is to help Johnson City residents make a better-informed choice, when this goes to vote.

Dissolution Study Committee Meetings: Article #2
Written by Julie Deemie

The March 17th Johnson City Dissolution Study Committee meeting was a short 36 minutes long, following a one-hour closed-door executive session regarding (labor) union contracts. My understanding is, that due to the sensitive nature of the contracts discussed, this information may not be fully divulged to the public; or perhaps at later time in the study.

The public portion of this meeting focused around a presentation given by Town of Union Supervisor, John Bernardo, despite not being listed on the meeting’s agenda.
John gave an overview of his office staff, budget, and duties. He painted a fairly rosy picture of the town’s services and relationships with residents, county and state police, and fire districts. One exception was the outlying fire districts, which he claimed minimal interface with. Please note that the Village of Johnson City Fire Department covers parts of the Town of Union. John stated that the Town of Union Fire Districts prepare their own budgets, which the town must accept as is, with no room for debate. John described the Town of Union as being “well managed financially” and that there is a “terrific relationship” with police coverage. He also stated that the residents “seem tickled by it” and that there has been no need for any mediation between the town and the police coverage. The Sheriff and State Police decide their own positioning and number of patrols needed.

Supervisor Bernardo declared a yearly office budget of $51,670. Bernardo receives $20,000 for his part time position. His full time administrative secretary receives the balance, or $31,670. The supervisor stated that his office expenditures consist of: “paper, pens, coffee, and office space-period”.

In comparison, at the March 3rd meeting, Mayor Lewis declared a yearly office budget of $24,500. Mayor Lewis’ part time pay, for his full time duty, is $12,000. Part time pay for his assistant is $10,000; with the remaining $2,500 going toward office equipment, conference fees and training.

John Bernardo also expressed the opinion that he felt that the Town of Union Supervisor’s position could remain part time, after dissolution. This left me wondering if other positions would need to be created to handle the increased work load and responsibility. Since the Village of Johnson City is largely “built-out”, our future is in redevelopment. Redevelopment is more time intensive than development of vacant lots, due to the environmental cleanup rules and code updates. How would a part time supervisor handle the much needed Industrial Spine redevelopment? We need assurance that our village concerns would be heard and addressed in a timely manner. I am not convinced that a part time supervisor serving approximately 43,000 residents would be
capable of such individual attention.

Supervisor Bernardo talked about our village assets; our sewer and water. Parts of the Town of Union currently have to purchase its water from the Village of Johnson City. He recognized the fact that it would be a positive to the Town of Union to acquire this asset through dissolution.

The committee members failed to ask the Town of Union Supervisor if he foresaw any large capital expenses in the next 5-10 years. Mayor Lewis had been asked about projected capital expenses at the March 3rd meeting, when he presented. I also noted that where Mayor Lewis had divulged all board members salaries, John Bernardo did not furnish this information to the public at the meeting. This concerns me. I feel that there should be a standard list of questions to be asked of Village heads and Town of Union heads, if we are to have fair data for comparison.

The April 7th meeting was even shorter than the previous meeting, only 9 minutes long. It was announced that the Johnson City Fire Chief and Marshall had asked for a postponement of their presentation, because they were not fully prepared. Their presentation will be heard at the April 21st meeting.

Since there was no other planned agenda for the meeting, it was decided that the members would convene into executive session. They planned to continue sensitive union discussions from the previous meeting’s executive session. The attending public was dismissed and the doors were closed. I was left to wonder how the committee members should be privy to confidential union contract information, being that they are neither public employees nor members of these unions. I also question how this information will be used in this study. The public should have the right to access all study information. Only then will we have the ability to make the best-informed vote.
I was pleased to see a reporter from the Press & Sun-Bulletin in attendance at the March 17th and April 7th meetings. Thank-you to the press for heeding our call for press coverage.

This month’s quote: “Bigger government does not mean better government”.

There has been very little public attendance at the Dissolution Committee meetings. This is a public meeting and I would encourage all interested residents to attend. The next 2 meetings are planned for April 21st and May 5th at 7pm in the Village of Johnson City Justice Bldg, 2nd floor. I hope you will join us.