Remember - blog posts migrate downward, so the most recent post is at the top; the oldest at the bottom.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Senator Seward's Survey

I assume that you all got the same survey in the mail that I did, from NY State Senator Seward's office. He asks a few simple questions about some important topics, and leaves room for comment.

One of the questions involves the home rule issue for gas drilling. Sen. Seward has proposed legislation allowing local municipalities (county, town, city) to restrict, regulate or ban the kind of heavy industry that hydrofracking represents. This is a very difficult and controversial topic – giving us local folks the ability to say “no” to some of the largest corporations in the world.

If you agree that this is an important issue for us here in Otsego County, I would urge you to complete the survey and send it in. Make your opinion known. We are at a point in time where we are able to have an impact at the point of action. Let's not miss it.

If you didn't get a survey, or don't have it any more, you can complete it at Sen. Seward's website. I looked there and didn't find it, so I've contacted Sen. Seward's office and I will update here as soon as I get a reply.

UPDATE:  1-10-12:  The survey is now up on the site, available from the home page - just click on "Share Your Ideas for a Stronger New York." 

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Possible Job Opening

I just got a notice of a job opening in the Board of Elections, and thought this blog might be a good way to spread the word.  The position is not currently open, but the BoE anticipates a retirement this Spring.

The Board of Elections tries to strike a party balance with the whole staff, which is why they will be looking for a registered Democrat.
 
Here's the message:
The Otsego County Board of Elections anticipates a possible job opening at the Board of Elections to replace a long term employee who is planning on retiring in the Spring.  The position to be filled is for an Elections Specialist.  They pay is about $30,000 / per year with standard Otsego County Benefits.  The job is in Cooperstown and requires a M-F, 8 hour / day schedule.  It is mostly clerical / administrative in nature.  If you know of any interested Democrats who might be interested in this position, please ask those people to go to this link and fill out the form there.
http://tinyurl.com/OCElections
We will be in touch with them once the position opens. 
 Questions?  You can call the BoE at (607) 547-4247 or -4325, or contact them by e-mail.

Friday, December 9, 2011

SGEIS Comment

Earlier this week, my wife and I attended a letter-writing workshop at Capresso on Main St. Dave Hutchison, a retired Hartwick College geology professor, provided information and strategies for making effective comments on the DEC's current draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS). This is, as I understand it, the State's statement regarding whether hydrofracking is safe or not. It's a 1,500 page document, so it's pretty complex. At the end of the day, however, the draft indicates that hydrofracking can be safe if proper precautions are in place.

Here's the letter I wrote today, and will send to Gov. Cuomo and the DEC:

I am a newly-elected County Representative. During the next few years, I'll be asked to take action, on behalf of my constituents, on the topic of hydrofracking here in Otsego County.

I've made a tremendous effort to understand this process and its effects on the landscape where it occurs. I have found no source of information that suggests that it will be as safe as we need it to be.

In Otsego County, our natural resources – beautiful countryside, pristine lakes and rivers, clean air and water – are the economic engines that support so many of our citizens in the tourism industry. We cannot lose this, and the drilling rigs, pumping stations, buffalo tanks and endless heavy truck traffic will change our world forever.

But more importantly, we – and every other community located above the shale deposits – have not been shown any evidence at all that our water will be safe if drilling proceeds. In fact, we're being convinced of the opposite. Exempting the NYC and Syracuse watersheds from drilling suggests that you are already concerned about the danger (and arguments about different treatment processes are not convincing, as the chemicals causing the concerns are not necessarily removed by other municipal water systems). And the news from Pavillion, Wyoming, where groundwater has clearly been contaminated by hydrofracking, simply helps to make the case.

There is no technology currently available that will guarantee the safety of our watersheds in the presence of hydraulic fracturing. We need a guarantee, not assurances that it is 'reasonable safe.' There is no remedy for contamination – you can't go back and 'clean up' a watershed or aquifer – and so I must request that you take action to suspend the granting of drilling leases statewide until technology is developed which can guarantee that our water will not be compromised.

Here's the distinction I think needs to be made: hydrofracking must be 100% guaranteed safe for it to be safe at all, because we can't go back and fix it. And there's no way it can be made safe given current technology. Case closed.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Budget Workshop

The newly-elected Board members got a glimpse of the steep learning curve facing them last night at Treasurer Dan Crowell's first 2012 County Budget workshop. But after all the complexities are sorted out – and they are many, especially given the funding traffic among the County, towns, city, state and the federal governments – the news seems better than one might expect. Sales tax revenue is above expectations, and there are other expected expenditures which will be less than anticipated.

It's still a tough time to try and fund a municipal government – and so far it has taken the elimination of 23 full and part time positions to balance the budget. Even though 19 of these position are currently vacant, that will have an impact on services. Our fund balance is in good shape, especially compared with other nearby counties, with the possible exception of the $5 million owed to it by the Manor which, at this point, the Manor cannot pay.

The conversation last night – hard work, tough choices, good people trying to do an almost impossible job – strengthened my commitment to prioritization and planning. If we had a clear view of, for instance, the top three (non-mandated) County priorities, this process would be – well, not easier, but simpler.

The next budget workshop – open to the public – is on Monday, November 28 at 1:00 PM, in the Board room at the County Office Building.

I had an interesting reaction to the Pledge of Allegiance we all said at the beginning of the brief Board meeting which preceded the budget workshop. In a career in public schools, I've said the pledge a million times (most recently that morning). This time, my first as a part of the system of government that the Pledge is about, I was moved to tears by the words – especially “...one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

That's my job – a little part of maintaining that Nation. It's an awesome privilege, and a massive responsibility. I'll do my very best to live up to the confidence of the citizens who sent me to Cooperstown.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Civil Debate

I was a little distressed to see the headline on the front page of the Star – two days after the election - “Split county board could lead to clashes.” Of all the ways to characterize the new configuration in Cooperstown come January, this was not, perhaps, the most useful.

There will certainly be a new atmosphere at Board meetings; from a deficit of 5-7 (and, within the last year, 4-7), the Democrats will have an equal number of voices in debate. And although Republicans will have the advantage in weighted votes, the greater number, and variety, of Democratic voices will guarantee a new environment in the Board room on Wednesdays.

I think this is going to be a very good thing, but characterizing the new term as adversarial, rife with 'confrontation' and 'clashes,' can only make real progress much harder.

If there were no differences of opinion, there wouldn't be a need for democracy – or for government at all, actually. We expect those differences. They form the heart of the legislative process. Handled well, they lead to creative solutions to difficult problems.

I was not elected to sit quietly and listen; I'm not so good at that anyway. I will certainly join the debate, and make my points in no uncertain terms. However, the privilege I have been granted – to represent my neighbors in a democratic legislature – requires that I honor those citizens, and my fellow legislators, by acting with the utmost civility and respect. I suspect that this is the fundamental intent of all the County Reps, veteran and rookie, Republican and Democrat. Speculating on uncivil discourse which may never happen is in no one's best interest (although it makes better news than its opposite).

There's a lot of hard work to do. Let's go into the new term expecting not conflict and clashes, but lively and stimulating – and ultimately fruitful – debate.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Thanks!

Well, that was exciting!

Thanks to all who voted - you probably know how I feel about voting by now; it's patriotic, and essential to democracy.  Also essential are folks who are willing to take on the democratic process even when they're outnumbered.  Barbara Jass worked hard, learned a lot and provided friendliness and good cheer in a hard campaign.  Thanks, Barbara! 

I'm looking forward to January and the start of a new adventure.  The Democrats won't have the majority, but there will be seven of us, and seven Republicans, and the committee assignments should be interesting.  I know that I am not the only one who will be looking carefully for ways to have an impact on propositions and policy.  Right now, I am most interested in finding ways for the Board to establish a clear set of priorities for Otsego County; this will assist us in all major decisions, and will allow us to make decisions which are truly in the County's best interest.

Right now the plan is to continue this blog as a major channel of communication between me and the citizens of District 11 (and anyone else who's interested).  Feel free to use the Comments section available at the end of each post, or write me directly at otsego11@gmail.com.

And thanks again.  Let's make some progress!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Election Day

Well, we're down to it.

Dozens of candidates in Otsego County, and thousands nationwide, have been working for months (in some cases, years) to prepare for Tuesday, Election Day. Citizens striving to be part of democracy in a different way.

I've met lots of you and heard from more. I've talked and listened. I've stuffed envelopes, and prepared for debates. I've walked every street in this District and knocked on just about every door. I am exceptionally grateful for your hospitality, as you welcomed me onto your porches and smiled while you let me say my piece. For a moment, we did democracy, together, there on the porch.

So let's do it again. Democracy. Let's go down to the Foothills atrium on Tuesday and vote. Everybody wins when people vote.

And, again, thanks. Win or lose, I've had a great time.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Debate

 It turns out that if you missed the League of Women Voters' debate last Tuesday night on the SUCO campus, it's available online (or will be shortly) here. I participated in the County Board candidate debate, with Barbara Jass, my Republican opponent, and the two candidates for the seat representing the Town of Oneonta on the County Board: Rich Murphy and Scott Gravelin.

I've been in awe of the LWV for a long time. They have a passion for democracy that is unparalleled in our society, I think, and they make an enormous effort to include all citizens in the process, without a taint of partisanship, ever.

Anyway – here's one more way to find out about the candidates. Enjoy!

UPDATE:  The video doesn't seem to be posted at the LWV site yet (it's 11/5).  Sorry - keep checking...

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Daily Star questionnaire: Prosperity

I just finished completing a platform questionnaire for the Daily Star.  I'll be posting the questions, and my answers.  Here's the third one.  The fourth one was about hydrofracking; I took it almost verbatim from my "Clearing Up The Onion a Little" post, so there's no need to repeat it.

If elected, what steps would you take or support to ensure the county's economic prosperity?

I think we need to be realistic about what County government can do to substantially impact the economic prosperity of Otsego County. I find it odd that the voices which strongly oppose government intervention or regulation (mostly in good times) are the first raised to demand that government improve the economic environment in bad times. 
 
Government – federal, state and local – can, at best, adjust some of the parameters at the periphery of economic activity. Tax policy, regulation, infrastructure and active marketing of under-used economic resources are its major tools. The primary responsibility for economic growth lies with private industry. I think that the County has a role, as well, but at most, a secondary one.

In Otsego County, we have some of the best conditions for economic activity that could be imagined. World-class tourism sites, breathtaking lakes, beautiful and accessible countryside; history, opera, geology, art. Clean, fresh air and water. Rail and highway access. We have two hospitals and two colleges. 
 
We have not suffered from a lack of economic development councils and the plans they have developed. It's hard to believe that, over the years, all that activity has missed major methods of marketing our County and workable ideas for stimulating business. We certainly need to keep doing this kind of thing: letting professionals examine what is, and plan for what could be.

Once again, of course, we need to consider just what role the County has in economic development, especially in a long-term economic downturn, when drastically reduced revenues require public and private organizations to make hard choices. Tax incentives, infrastructure upgrade and regulatory relief can encourage business growth, but they each have their cost: incentives and infrastructure cost the other taxpayers money, and regulatory relief often has a negative impact on their quality of life. How much of this cost are we willing to pay? Hopefully, it will depend on the priority level established by the Board, if they are able to – and choose to – take on that responsibility.

Daily Star questionnaire: County Manager

I just finished completing a platform questionnaire for the Daily Star.  I'll be posting the questions, and my answers.  Here's the second one. 

Do you support the establishment of a county manager? Why or why not?
I am in favor of hiring a County Manager, and the more I think and read and talk about it, the more convinced I become that this is the direction that the County (and the City) needs to go.

County Reps are all professionals but, for the most part, not in the area of running a municipal government. It's a part-time job in public service, and most do an exceptionally good job: they work hard, learn what they can, and do what they think is right. If I'm elected, I hope the same can be said of me. But we're not professional municipal managers. We're elected by the people, I believe, to guide the County through the longer-term, not to spend time on the shorter-term operational details.

County Reps are currently functioning as county administrators, rather than leading as a County Board. At full meetings and in committee, they spend time on administrative tasks such as approving requests for conference attendance, raising petty cash funds from $25 to $50, and deciding whether to approve Coke or Pepsi machines in the Manor. I do not believe that this is what we elect our leaders to do.

There are urgently important planning and prioritizing issues on which the Board should be focusing most of its energy. We need to establish very clear guidelines regarding what county government should be and what it should do; we need to create long-term goals and visions that will drive our functioning. Then, we need to do the hard work of aligning our planning, our organization and our budgets to those goals and visions. This cannot be done while the County Board is authorizing the purchase of vacuum cleaners.

There is a good deal of talk, from candidates and current Board members, about redistricting (which is a different subject), and the suggestion that the Board be reduced from 14 to perhaps nine members. I think this would be a great mistake without a County Manager. As we know, the urgent tends to trump the important, and with only nine Board members, the administration issues would continue to clamor for the attention of fewer Reps, and long-term prioritization and planning would fade even further into the background. With a County Manager taking responsibility for the day-to-day running of the County, I think that nine Reps could lead from a more global perspective.

Regarding the financing of a County Manager, we could start by eliminating a certain number of Representative Districts – for redistricting purposes, or just because so much of the Board's work has been shifted to the Manager's office. Other County positions could be eliminated (because the work was being done or directed by the Manager), and we would certainly expect the Manager to provide cost savings by cutting waste and improving efficiency – that's one of the reasons we'd be hiring him or her in the first place. There is every reason to believe (or even write into the contract) that the Manager's office would be paying for itself before long.

Daily Star Questionnaire: Otsego Manor

I just finished completing a platform questionnaire for the Daily Star.  I'll be posting the questions, and my answers.  Here's the first one.

Do you support the privatization of Otsego Manor? Why or why not?
Otsego Manor takes up a very substantial proportion of the County budget. This suggests that it is one of the most important things that Otsego County does. If this is not the case – if, after careful planning and prioritization of County functions by the Board, running a nursing home is not very high on the list – then the work of generating and considering options should begin.

First priority for this work is the current residents of Otsego Manor. Not only must we honor the written and unwritten commitments Otsego County has made to them, but they must understand this clearly and completely. The Otsego Manor committee must meet with residents and their families personally, throughout whatever process is chosen, and continue to assure them of the stability of their position at the Manor.

What this means is that the Board needs to articulate the difference between the County's commitment to current residents, and the County's view of nursing home services as a major priority in the future. We may decide that the latter is not something a County should be doing; nevertheless, that decision should have no substantive effect on the former.

If, in fact, the County decides that it should not be in the business of running a nursing home, privatization would seem the only option. However, as with the MOSA decision, there are varieties of privatization. As this issue evolves, we will learn a good deal more about how this might work. One thing I hope that we can remember throughout this process: the private sector has a single goal, which is to maximize profits for its stockholders. This often works well, but in human services, it often results in “collateral damage” - in people being left out. Decisions regarding the future of the Manor really have to be made with this in mind, and efforts need to be made to make sure that our older citizens do not become collateral damage.

Without having been close to the work and decision-making involved in running the Meadows and the Manor all these years, I would certainly like to learn more about all this before taking a definitive stand, but at this moment, it seems to me that, given the required commitment of resources, the County should not choose to be in the business of running a nursing home.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Clearing Up the Onion A Little

I got an e-mail yesterday from a District 11 resident, asking if I'd summarize my position on hydrofracking clearly. That's not the only request I've gotten on this issue; sometimes when I get a little too wordy, my fundamental position gets obscured. On the other hand, a lot can be lost when a complex issue is boiled down to a short sentence. So let's see if I can be clear without losing some of the important bits. Here's my reply:

I am completely against having any methane drilling - any hydrofracking - occurring in Otsego County.  There is no question that the potential dangers are real, and that they (the dangers) have come to fruition in other areas where hydrofracking has gone forward.  There is a high probability that our water, our roads and our way of life will be damaged beyond repair.  We (both the citizens and the legislators of various municipalities) would be irresponsible if we did not oppose this kind of environmental damage in our county.  I am amazed at the fact that there doesn't seem to be anyone presenting evidence that the opposite is true.

Two things stand out for me, in this issue.  One is that we are not sure, at this point, whether Town Boards, the City Council here in Oneonta, or the County Board, will have any authority to ban or regulate hydrofracking.  I feel strongly that we should have that authority, and that our efforts should be focused in that direction.  The anti-hydrofracking community has done the citizen and legislative education, raised awareness, and built networks.  All this needs to be mobilized in the service of bringing the authority to ban and regulate back to the local municipalities.  Sometimes, a locality needs to sacrifice a little for the good of the wider community - siting of prisons, dumps, wind turbines, etc. - and some localities get lucky - parks, schools, transport - since these things are necessary.  Hydrofracking is not necessary, and no locality in New York State should be required to 'take a hit for the team,' just because there are those who predict that jobs will be created.  We should be able to say 'No.'

The other issue is:  If we win, we are leaving a large amount of (relatively) clean energy in the ground.  We need to make up for that, with alternative energy eventually, but conservation now.  How can we, in Otsego County, after successfully opposing the use of a large methane reserve, help make that reserve unnecessary?  What if we all spent the next year working at reducing our fossil fuel usage by 10%?  It's the right thing to do.

I do have clear and strong opinions on many issues, but as you can see, I get interested in the pieces that make up the puzzle, and sometimes led astray from the simple conclusion.  I hope I've been a little clearer than I have in the past. 

Thanks again for the conversation -

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Economics

I recently got an e-mail from a neighbor, who was concerned about rising costs of government.  He wanted to know how I stood on entitlements, and whether my approach included cradle-to-grave assistance.  Good questions, hard questions.  He's retired, on a fixed income (as I am), and his property taxes have doubled since his retirement; the last two years, he has had to borrow money to pay them. 

It's the same kind of concerns that most middle-class Americans are expressing, about real financial setbacks.  Here's what I wrote to him:
Thanks for your thoughts.  None of that is easy, and we ran out of simple answers a long time ago.

I'm glad you mentioned my thoughts about government's role.  I think there are basic needs that, as a community, we can provide for each other.  But I really mean 'basic' here.  I'm retired, too, and on a fixed income, and I'm no more in favor of cradle-to-grave entitlements than you are.  It would be great if the free market could provide enough prosperity, spread around equally, that anyone who wanted to work could work, and enjoy at least a basic standard of living, without going hungry, or having to borrow to pay taxes.

But the free market doesn't work that way, as you know.  I assume you worked all your life, but the free market didn't leave you the means to retire with a basic standard of living.  I assume you receive Social Security (as I will, soon), which is our community's (our country's) way of helping out our older citizens who had no retirement plan, or one that didn't meet their needs.  For many of us, yourself included, even that isn't working so well.

But it's not really the market's job to provide us all with that prosperity, even when we work hard all our lives.  It's the market's job to maximize profits for corporations.  When this works well, prosperity affects a large proportion of us - but never all of us.  And when the market doesn't work well, like these days, there are a lot of us who get left out.

So what I'm saying is that I don't want to leave these folks behind.  In a country like ours, even in this economy, it's still a pretty small proportion.   9% unemployment is awful - but it still means that 91% of us are working. 

How do we run a government - Otsego County, for example - with increasing costs and falling revenues?  We cut to the bone, of course.  That means, to me, that everyone sacrifices.  You already have, paying interest on the loan to cover your taxes.  There are some who haven't.  So as we look for ways to pare down the size and scope of our County government operations, we have to make sure that those who have the least don't give up the most.  That's the way it generally works, and that has to stop.  Those who have a lot - not you or I, but those who have a lot - must be asked to help out.  Our solution has to be fair to everyone.

So I don't have a detailed plan to lay out for you (yet), but I hope I've been clear (if a little wordy):  1.  We have to examine every dollar we spend.  2.  The solutions have to be fair to everyone.   3.  We have to identify the really basic needs of those who are left out   4.  No one's entitled - we respond to basic need emergencies. 

Your questions really got me to think on a deeper level - thanks - and I really believe that 'no one's entitled.'  It's not about entitlement.  It's about responding to really basic human needs.  In my career, I met a whole lot of really poor folks.  Many of them worked very hard - some harder than I ever had to - but they never got ahead economically, and they often were short of food, or heat, or utilities, etc.  They got left out.  That's what I mean by 'basic human needs.'  If we can help them meet those needs through the free market, that would be my first choice, by a long shot.  That hasn't worked so well.

As I said, no easy answers.  Neither I, nor my opponent, are economists, nor have we served in County government before.  If I'm elected, I intend to learn and listen.  Thanks for being part of that conversation.
What do you think?

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Democrats

I was at the annual Democratic fundraiser dinner a couple of weeks ago, and ended up sitting next to Tom DiNapoli, the New York State Comptroller, who is responsible for all things fiscal in the State. He was a featured speaker, and his remarks included this:
There may be some satisfaction in the knowledge that the rate of home foreclosures has declined, but I don't think that helps the family which has lost their house and don't know where they're going to go next. We may celebrate a downturn in the unemployment rate, but that always makes me think about the worker who is still looking, still jobless, and losing hope.
I think that this kind of wraps up an important reason why I'm a Democrat. There's a approach to economic policy that assumes that a certain level of 'collateral damage' is acceptable for the good of the majority. This leads to policies which enrich many, but leave way too many others less well-off than they had been. Too often, those who get left behind are those who are already poor and powerless.

This isn't my idea of American democracy. We need to work on reducing the economic damage across the county, state and country, of course, but we also have a duty to address the needs of our neighbors, who are real people, whose lives reflect the economic damage done far away from our homes and theirs. And when things get better, we need to remember that 'better' is always relative. If you look, you'll find folks who aren't following the rest of us into 'better.'

I think American democracy is about everyone, every last citizen, with noone left out. I'm not sure that either party does that really, really, well, but over the forty or fifty years I've been following politics and government, the Democrats seem to have been trying harder.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Picture

OK.  I got the haircut, and the picture.  It's right up there at the head of the page.

I am really glad that this election is not a beauty contest.

Yard Signs

It's time to think about yard signs, already. They should arrive at my house any day now. Some of you have already offered to 'host' a yard sign, and I thank you for your freely-offered generosity. Name recognition is, of course, a big part of the puzzle.

If you would be willing to have a 'Gary Koutnik for County Rep' sign (left) grace your lawn, first: Thanks! Second, please contact me (otsego11@gmail.com), and I'll come by and set one up. Or let me know when you see me.

I'll be by the day after Election Day to take them all down (unless you want to keep it...). If you do have one, and it disappears, let me know, and I'll replace it.

Did I say – thanks!

Monday, September 26, 2011

County Manager

If' you've read the City Manager post (or the card I distribute when going door-to-door) you'll know how I feel about a professional manager vs. amateur legislators. The term 'amateur,' by the way, means, in my lexicon, anything you do that you don't earn your living by. I'm a professional School Psychologist and school administrator; the County Reps and the Oneonta City Aldermen are all professionals as well, but, for the most part, not in the area of running a municipal government. It's a part-time job in public service, and most do an exceptionally good job: they work hard, learn what they can, and do what they think is right. If I'm elected, I hope the same can be said of me.

But we're not professional municipal managers. We're elected by the people, I believe, to guide the County through the longer-term, not to spend time on the shorter-term operational details.

A school district elects a Board of Education to lead and plan. And in every district, no matter what size, the Board hires a Superintendent, a certified professional whose job it is to operate the school district on a day to day basis. That way, everyone does what they do best.

Doesn't that make sense for the County, and the City as well?

Knocking on Doors

I've been walking around the District, going door-to-door and meeting lots of folks. My goal is to knock on every door in the District. As of today, I've gotten to everyone north of Center St.

I wasn't sure about this part of the job of running for office; I'd never done it before. But, other than the sore feet, I've been having a really good time.

You have been, without exception, warm, welcoming and interested. It's understandable for anyone to be a little careful with a stranger at their front door; but as soon as I said I was running for office, a change comes over peoples' faces; it's like you've connected with an old idea that energizes and interests you.

I'm thinking that that idea might be democracy. “Here's someone at my door, inviting me to participate in democracy. Cool!”

Anyway, I'll keep knocking. I like this idea – democracy. If I missed you somehow, let me know (otsego11@gmail.com). It's a good idea.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Post-MOSA

Our County Board heard recently from Hans Arnold of Gerhart LLC, regarding options for solid non-recyclable waste after our relationship with MOSA ends. Options were considered and, it appears, investigated with some diligence. According to the minutes of the last Board meeting,
Mr. Arnold recommended the public-private partnership as providing the lowest cost to homeowners and haulers, and an O&M [operation and maintenance] savings to the County. He stated that this option minimizes environmental liability, insures an even playing field for all haulers, stabilizes costs over time, and coordinates a county-wide program.
One would assume that the other option, turning the whole operation over to the private sector, would not provide these benefits: in other words, in private hands, household disposal costs would rise (and perhaps make it unaffordable for some), smaller haulers might be forced out of business, etc.

The partnership option is the most complex, but it could prove interesting. I work part-time at Hyde Hall, a huge old stone historic mansion within Glimmerglass State Park at the head of Otsego Lake. The Hall is owned by the State but run by a private company, Hyde Hall, Inc., and this collaboration has been effective for forty years or more. It works well, as far as I can see, with each partner doing the part that it does best.

It's important that we are able to dispose of our trash in a responsible manner, and that everyone in the County has an affordable disposal option. Mr. Arnold indicated that the private-public partnership is the way to achieve this, and it makes sense. The market has a place in this process, but so does government; not only do we need to run an efficient and competitive operation, we also need to make sure no one gets left out (including the environment). And so, when the Home Rule issue is clarified, I'd certainly like to see the Board begin to outline a plan of action, and maybe begin thinking about how this kind of partnership can operate effectively in other areas.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Updating the Charter

I attended a public forum this morning, organized by my opponent, Barbara Jass (thanks, Barbara!), where the City Charter Commission, chaired by Dave Rissberger, presented the changes recommended in the proposed charter, and led a spirited discussion of the issues, mostly regarding the addition of a City Manager.

This is, of course, not a county issue, but it will be – there is still some interest in pursuing the creation of a County Manager position – and everyone in the 11th District is a City resident, so I thought it was important. The perfectly understandable objections to the addition of a City Manager revolve around the cost, and the addition another level of bureaucracy.

Rissberger, and four members of the commission who assisted him in the forum, made cogent points which addressed these concerns. Most cities our size have a City Manager, and one of their primary responsibilities would be to save money by reducing inefficiencies and waste. For instance, a City Manager would be responsible for making sure that all the City's various insurance policies – now, for the most part, just renewed automatically – are the best deal for the protection they provide. They would write and follow through on grants; there are a lot of examples of cities (and, in my experience, other organizations) who don't have the resources to manage grants through to the end, and end up losing them. The example of Cherry Street was presented; it was, apparently, dug up twice within a year or two, because the work – done by a variety of city departments and private corporations - wasn't coordinated well enough.

Former Mayor Dave Brenner spoke about the difficulty of being Mayor part-time, and holding together all the various parts of the city by “cajoling and negotiating.” The old charter wasn't any help with this – it made it harder – and the new charter, including the City Manager, will allow everyone to do what they do best: administrators will administrate, and elected officials will develop policy based on the needs of the people of Oneonta. Brenner warned, however, that we shouldn't expect the City Manager to save his or her whole salary in the first year, although those savings will come, and they will be substantial. Duly noted. But there's a vacant post – Municipal Facilities and Operations Manager – that may not have to be filled if a City Manager is hired. That'll go a long way to making up the added salary, which only represents about 1% of the City budget.

The proposed charter can be found here; the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), a must-read, is here. More public forums are planned:

September 19, 7PM at the American Legion
October 10, 7PM at the United Methodist Church (organized by League of Women Voters)
October 13, 12 Noon, at the Elks Club (organized by Rotary; all welcome)

As Chairman Rissberger noted, please “read, think, ask questions and make comments.” Roger that.

A Little More Onion

(To read the first post on this topic, see below: "Hydrofracking - Starting to Peel the Onion")

Another layer of the hydrofracking onion: Do we have the authority to ban heavy industry, and hydrofracking in particular, in Otsego County or in any of our towns? Some residents of the Town of Middlefield are suing the town, which recently prohibited heavy industry; according to the Daily Star:

The lawsuit seeks to declare the provisions of the town's zoning law pertaining to oil and gas drilling void and in violation of New York State law, according to the release. The release states that the local ban violates New York's Environmental Conservation Law, which states that all local municipalities are preempted from passing local laws relating to the regulation of the oil and gas industries. Towns may not pass laws prohibiting oil and gas operations since the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is exclusively charged with the obligation to regulate the oil and gas industries in New York, it continued.

This is probably a very good thing – it was going to happen anyway, and the sooner we get this issue cleared up, the better. There's no sense in pursing this whole issue if all our work ends up being ruled invalid. One more thing to keep track of.

I'm a little concerned about the State alone making the decisions about such a localized and impactful initiative. The Marcellus Shale underlies the Southern Tier and most of the Catskills, and covers an area that represents perhaps a third of the area of the state. This area, however, is represented by only seven or eight State senators – perhaps 12% of the total – and maybe thirty Assemblyment – about 20% of the NY Assembly. A vast majority of the legislators responsible for deciding about drilling in our county, then, have no investment in the quality of life and the complexities of our natural and tourist economy. You can't blame them, really, when the economic and energy benefits of drilling are laid out; they will appear to produce a benefit beyond our politically weak section of the state.

This is nothing new. Anyone who has done any public administration in rural upstate New York knows where the power centers are, and how decisions are made. It makes sense, really – the greatest good for the greatest number – but democracy also has a responsibility to protect the rights of the minority.

So even if State law does indicate that only New York State agencies and legislators have the authority to regulate drilling in Otsego County, I hope the argument will be made, as the suit progresses, that something valuable to everyone is at stake here, and that those of us whose lives are directly affected should at least have a place at the table.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Haircut

Almost every piece of campaign literature since the beginning of politics includes a picture of the candidate. It's just... required, I guess. Obviously, I don't yet have a picture of me on this blog. Most of you will be getting a visit from me soon, and the information card I hand out won't have a picture, either. What gives?

Well, my wife says I need a haircut before I can sit for a picture. She's right. So as soon as she cuts my hair, I'll have her take a picture, and it'll appear here. Because that's the rule: you've got to have a picture. And a haircut.

More Onion

(To read the first post on this topic, see below:  "Hydrofracking - Starting to Peel the Onion")

There are arguments for hydrofracking which really need to be carefully considered. Chief among them seem to be the economic benefit of increased industrial activity, and the assertion by many proponents of natural gas that it is cleaner-burning than the fuels it may replace, such as oil and, especially, coal.

Any new industrial initiative will create jobs and, at least initially, an economic boost. Looking further, we have to ask: are the costs worth the result? Another question of interest to many in Otsego County: how many of these jobs will go to Otsego County workers who are currently looking for work?

Studies of the economic impact of drilling in the Marcellus Shale have been done by both New York State (here's the economic assement report) and PennState University; these are just two of the countless sources of information on this topic. The Penn State study does not appear to consider the negative impacts on the local economy that the NY study does: increased truck traffic, increased fire and police protection, increased housing costs (although other studies suggest falling property values over time). There are a couple of studies that suggest that unrestricted horizontal gas drilling would have, at best, a zero or negative net economic impact (and I'll post these when I find them). The question of whether the increase in employment will have a positive impact on Otsego County unemployment is certainly an important question to ask, as we weigh the costs and benefits.

Is the methane recovered from the Marcellus Shale a cleaner-burning fuel than those it will replace, providing a more environmentally friendly approach to the energy crisis? This isn't a simple question, and we have to answer it completely before we become enmeshed in an endless web of subsidies and structural changes like we with did with, for instance, ethanol. Initially seen as a highly green (corn-based) additive to gasoline, it turns out that no one can show that it saves us anything – many experts say it takes more to produce ethanol than it saves in gasoline. But the growing of corn for ethanol is now so embedded into our agricultural and economic system that it's hard to walk it back. Meanwhile, the impact on the world grain economy is causing higher prices for basic food in the poorest of countries; certainly not an outcome that anyone advocated in the beginning.

So we have to be careful. Even the apparently self-evident truth must be examined. Here's a summary of a report by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, along with some opposing points, which suggests that replacing coal-fired power plants with plants burning natural gas would not actually reduce carbon release into the atmosphere. It's complicated. Let's learn, and talk, a lot more before we leap.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Resume

If you want to hire someone for an important job, you need, among other things, to look carefully at resumes. No difference here; you should know what you're getting before you have to decide who to vote for. So here's me:

I live on Center St. in Oneonta, right next to Oneonta Creek, which was pretty exciting in early September. Until I retired in July of '09, I was the Director of Special Education for the Oneonta City School District. I was responsible for about 70 faculty and staff, and managed a budget in the millions. I also worked closely with a surprisingly wide variety of programs and agencies, including BOCES, the State Education and Health Departments, Medicaid, ARC Otsego, Springbrook, Catholic Charities and Otsego County Probation, Social Services, SPOA, and Children with Special Needs. Before I was an administrator, I was a School Psychologist for BOCES and OCSD; I've worked in Oneonta schools for over thirty years.

Although I'm retired, I have a part-time job leading tours at Hyde Hall, a historic mansion at the north end of Otsego Lake. I'm also the School Psychologist for Andes Central School. I have a life-long interest in history, government and politics; I've had a leadership position in many organizations, including the New York Ass'n. of School Psychologists. I've written grants, presented trainings in areas as diverse as church growth and ending hunger, and I once ghost-wrote a column for the Daily Star for Rep. Sherwood Boehlert!  In my youth, I spent nine summers working at Boy Scout Camp, ending up as Ass't. Reservation Director.  I also taught a couple of Special Education courses at SUCO as an Adjunct Lecturer.

I've been married to Abbey for 32 years; she's a preschool Special Education teacher, and we have two sons, Randall and Whitsun. Randall's away at college; Whitsun is a senior at OHS, and attends the Visual Arts program at OAOC. I like to join my family in hiking, geocaching, kayaking and other outdoor activities. Indoors, I like to read and write, and I've been acting and directing in school and community theater, often with other members of the family, for almost longer than I can remember. I've also traveled extensively with my family, and I hope to keep doing all of this.

That's probably more than you wanted to know about me. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hydrofracking – Starting to Peel the Onion

Drilling for methane gas in the Marcellus Shale deposits – hydrofracking – is probably the most visible issue in Otsego County at this moment. There are yard signs all over – running about five to one against, by my unscientific count. There's a lot to think about here.

The more you peel back this onion, the more layers you find. Certainly, there are grave risks – to our water, first and foremost, and also to our roads, from the greatly increased truck traffic required to support the drilling operation. These are potential problems that you can measure and monitor, and the available evidence from current drilling locations suggests that the measurements add up to grave risk.

The damage to our way of life is less measurable but, in the long term, it could be as devastating as any other issue. It's been said before, but it's important: we are a rural community, and economically at least, we're dependent on many kinds of tourism for our livelihood. My wife and I have traveled through all the states and all but one of the Canadian provinces, and as grand and breathtaking this continent is, we've always been glad that home is in Otsego County. It's a beautiful landscape, and there are lots of ways to enjoy it. It's a priceless resource. Adding wells, trucks, buffalo tanks, and small armies of drilling company workers can only degrade what we have.

This article in the NY Times added another layer to the onion. As we are learning, hydrofracking uses water (the 'hydro' part) to break up rock; the water is recovered, and although some of it is re-used, eventually it trucked away and disposed of. According to the Times article,

...wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle.

The whole article is worth a read.  Apparently, we could be poisoning someone else's water as well as our own.

And there are more layers still. In the interest of keeping these posts relatively brief, we can look further into this issue in a future post.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Starting a Conversation

You can't tell much about a candidate just from their party label. Party platforms and talking points don't help much when the issues are close to home and unique to your neighborhood or town or county. How is a Democrat to respond to the MOSA issue, or a Republican to the County Manager controversy? We're all just citizens, working through problems and opportunities the best we can. So it's probably important that voters have a clear idea of where everyone stands.

This blog is going to be my attempt to do that – to help you get to know me, and know how I feel about things. I suspect that this kind of thing works best as a conversation – the free exchange of ideas which is essential to democracy. So please feel free to leave a comment, and/or to send an e-mail (otsego11@gmail.com). If you know more than I do about anything I write about, I'd especially like to hear from you. If you have an opinion, I'd especially like to hear it. This thing is not about who gets elected – it's about all of us, participating in our democracy.

I'll update this blog as often as I can; I hope to work through most of the issues facing Otsego County by election day. And I hope I'll learn from we, the people.