PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kingston, New York – April 16, 2011
My two potential democratic opponents have been namedropping and debating over who has the better campaign manager. I doubt highly that this election will be decided by the notoriety of anyone’s campaign manager. Rather, it is the strength of the plans and proposals of each candidate that will decide the matter.
When I announced my candidacy, I promised to produce details throughout the campaign of my comprehensive plan for improving economic development, spending and tax reduction, and quality of life in the City of Kingston. With that in mind, I am offering the first part of my plan.
For years, we have dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the city’s Economic Development Department. In the most recent budget, the total expenditures for this department totaled nearly two hundred thousand ($200,000.00) dollars. As is obvious, there has been precious little economic development in our city. Certainly, the money we have spent, which exceeds one million ($1,000,000.00) dollars in the last six or seven years, has not been fruitful.
Therefore, I propose that the Economic Development Office be eliminated and replaced with two more positive and fruitful ideas. First, a small portion of the funding from this department should be used to create a grant writing office. There are numerous state and federal grants available especially in the areas of law enforcement and fire fighting. We need to pursue these grants aggressively. To fund this office would require only about ¼ of the current funding. The balance could be applied to tax reduction.
The second thing that should replace the Economic Development Office is an Economic Recovery Team made up of Kingstonians with expertise in business, law, real estate, architecture, and other areas of importance to economic development. For years, the city has hired consultants from outside our city. I believe that Kingstonians have the ability to solve the problems facing Kingston. By creating this group of civic-minded volunteers and allowing them to study the problems facing our local economy, we can use the combined brain power of our city to create solutions and new ideas to unleash Kingston’s true economic potential.
Kingston created a similar team to deal with housing issues. That team offered several valuable proposals that have been implemented by the city and proven quite successful.
This first part of my comprehensive plan will save a large amount of taxpayer money, allow us to tap into other resources and take the burden off our local property taxes, and will provide for new and innovative economic ideas.
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29 comments:
Well the current Director gets paid well over $100K a year and all he has done is some little waterfront development and now is walking around uptown taking pictures of the pike plan. That also has a project manager overseeing the project at $150K. Time for this guy to go.
You are right on the money on this one, Cahill. I support this idea all the way.
Rich, Economic development funding comes to the city via the CBDG and a return from our section 8 housing
rentals. Sure the budget probley does fund the department with minimal funds but before you start selling the puplic on half truths do your DUE DILIGENCE MR.LAWYER
3:39, I agree! I have seen Mr. Finkle walking around uptown wearing a hard hat taking pictures. He needs that to leave to the project manager and get back to work! Get rid of him, and pronto.
6:25,
Your statements are wrong. CDBG money is not handled by the Economic Development Office. That's done by Murphy's office. The housing money does not go through the Economic Development office.
I have done my due diligence. Moreover, any money that actually would be handled by that office would be reassigned.
So Senor says in todays Freeman that the City is a "pig Sty" and that yard waste laws will change that. Has he loked at the City recently, it already looks like a "pig Sty", put your glasses on Senor.
Rich, It's all one department under Steve Finkle. Get it right Murphy, Maloney, and all the staff work for Finkle.
6:25 are you implying that we get a source of revenue from section 8 housing? What a flawed formula if what you say is true. Explains the crime that seems to follow low income housing or fraud in the housing process/application. Any "profit" gets consumed by a police force needing to keep crime under control. But I have a feeling you espouse a falsehood. Namely, you have the wrong department.
Cahill raises some interesting plans for his recovery program. It sounds so simple and common sense. All the more reason government refuses to own up and offer a sensible solution, hence our current dilemma.
And your campaign manager is who? What are his credentials? Chirp, chirp. Oh, that's right. You announced your candidacy and who your manager is on a Friday night radio show that nobody listens to.
1:20,
Obviously, you listened.
10:10,
You are incorrect. Go to the city's web site and look at the budget. There is $ 177,218.00 budgeted for office supplies, and consultants, as well as the salaries and benefits of Finkle and his assistant.
Murphy and Bruck-Little are in the Community Development Office and are not a part of that budget account number. Their salaries are paid by the KLDC via federal money. They are completely separate.
Eliminating the Economic Development Office and its budget will not alter the Community Development Office.
If you wish to disagree with my positions, more power to you. But, please try to use facts and not false allegations. I enjoy debating, but prefer to use facts and figures, not false conjecture.
Sottile made you look like a fool again, still kicking your butt like he did in 07 and he's not even running. Go to the back of the room kid and put that gun on your nose.
7:49,
Really?? Are you so hateful that this is the way you debate issues, by telling someone to kill himself?
In my book, that makes you pretty pathetic.
I meant Gum, as if to compare you to a child being punished by Jim Sottile, who said and was right in the fact that you don't know what you are talking about.
I will say that typo was awful and not at all what I meant or thought I was writing. Never thought I would say this but I am sorry Mr. Cahill
Sottile was sweating his cojones off during last election, he could hear and feel the footsteps coming right behind him. The fact is, Rich Cahill came close to beating Sottile, because in order to win, he needed some votes from some Dems. along with non- enrollees and guess what? He received both. That is a fact and it needs to be acknowledged by the Cahill haters out there because he is being underestimated for sure...
7:49. what are you? some kind of psychopathic idiot? This is a democracy and I would hope you would behave more like a civilized individual. Your post is disturbing and socially unacceptable.
8:43,
I accept your explanation and your apology.
Rich great start. I have always wondered why we have an economic developement that had done little or nothing for this City. I agree eliminate it. Remember the Noah hotel failure? While we are at it lets get rid of the Mid Town manager and the 50 thousand dollars they make. Some one explain to me for what? Finkle and others are just part of the fog (friends of Gallo), and that was the only reason they got these jobs in the first place.
Do you grasp that the business leaders you suggest should "volunteer" are the same people who need the help of a real economic development plan to make this community more business friendly. City government needs to assist business not ask business to assist it.
Cutting an agency and proposing that their work is done by volunteers is hardly a new or innovative proposal.
It is the same tired plan advocated by republican candidates for generations. It has not worked before and will not work now.
Here we go again the City seeks a Consultant to refurbish the trolley tracks. Once again out $100K econoinc development director has to hire someone to do his job.
Can you confirm if the pike plan was to remove the exisiting structure or just repair it?
I recall reading how the roofs were to be replaced with pitched roofs, but see any of that happening.
It appears like lipstick on a pig right now, but i dont want to assume
Please confirm what you can
12:59
$800,000.00 on the train to no where.
The point is filthy, the train starts behind waste facilty and travels throuhg a dump.
This is the best idea Kingston can come up with.
Huge waste of money, lets fix the streets, or clean up some of the scum that has taken our city hostage.
Town of Ulster has nothing else to do to ban parking along fording Place Road. Why don't they enforce the SPEED LIMIT of 20 MPH. Many seniors watch games from there cars and when it wet and damp is the best place to watch a game. I bet if Pat Burke came to a game as she does and sits in her car no one would tell her to go to the parking lot. This is once again government limiting the public access to what they pay for. The AD is not qualified for his present position.
The last comments are correct.....Take the $800,000 and clean up Kingston....Forget about a train to no where..............LSD
11:46,
What I grasp is that you want to continue throwing nearly $200,000.00 per year down the drain.
What I further grasp is that you believe (as does every other candidate for Mayor) that government is the answer to our problems.
What you fail to grasp is my belief that government more often than not is the problem itself.
I believe the private sector can provide the solutions if government gets off their backs. We need to reduce taxes, reduce city spending, and cut governmental regulation to help our local economy. This includes closing the Economic Development Office.
You can place your trust in city government. I place my trust in the people of Kingston.
11:46 It would seem that the democrat plan is not working as the Economic Development Office at cityhall has not come up with anything new in recent years. I am tired of hearing about Rondout Waterfront development. That was approved quite a few years ago and took a few years to bring in up to speed. I want to know what Finkle has done in the last year. Why doesn't anybody talk about the empty Armour bldg at the Kingston Industrial Park? WHat happened there?
Contrary to what you say, I did not advocate for continuing to pay 200G for the economic development office, didn't take a position one way or the other. Merely pointed out that cutting an agency and suggesting that it is replaced with volunteers is not an economic recovery plan and it is nothing new. You are merely repeating the mantra of generations of republican candidates. The fact that you think government is the problem rather than part of the solution shows a simplistic and limited view regarding the role and potential benefits of effective municipal intervention. Your simplistic view will be put before the
voters of the community and rejected as before. The public knows that effective government paves roads, fixes
sidewalks, take steps to improve the quality of life so that
shoppers and consumers feel safe visiting stores and
businesses. Customers make for successful business.
Effective government takes proactive steps to help bring those customers to the front door. What happens once the
customer gets in the door is in the hands of the private
sector.
1146
Your praise of government proves my point. It is NOT the job of government to create wealth or economic development. It is the job of government to keep spending down, keep taxes down, and make the municipality a pleasant, safe, and affordable place to live and do business. DPW, police, and fire all a part of it. An Economic Development Office is not.
I view Finkle as a glorified grant writer. As a previous poster asked..what has Finkle and his office brought to the table in recent times?
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