Mayor: Bad news on the financial front

By Heather Yakin | Published: March 11, 2010 | 0 Comments

Middletown has a million dollars less in its coffers than expected, and taxpayers will be feeling the brunt of this into the fall budget season, said Mayor Joe DeStefano.
DeStefano attributed the budget discrepancy to a bookkeeping error during 2009. Essentially, he said, the city moved money from its debt service fund to the general fund – but someone forgot to subtract the transfer. On Monday night, the city’s Common Council passed a resolution for two more transfers from debt service – $575,000 to bulk up the water fund and $500,000 to the general fund.
“They are basically subsidies,” DeStefano said.
The city has been using general fund and water fund balances to lower property tax increases rather than cutting costs or finding ways to increase revenues, he said. While it’s perfectly legal, DeStefano called the practice unwise.
Combined with the accounting error, he said. “We’re already $1 million short going into next year.”
To deal with the financial strain, all city department heads have been given until April 12 to find ways to cut costs, this year and next.
“We’re going to have to be honest with Middletown residents. The financial picture of the city is not looking great,” DeStefano said. “You’re going to feel some pain.”
That pain will start in April, when city water bills will show a rate increase of 25 percent as the city begins repaying bonds for the new water treatment plant.
That’s on top of 2010’s property tax increase of almost 14 percent.
The city has taken two fire trucks out of service each day to save money, and they’re capping overtime – although that could go out the window if there’s another blizzard or a homicide.
The good news, DeStefano said, is that the new water treatment plant is in the testing phase and should be online soon, and the city is talking to other municipalities about selling them water. But that will take some time.
So consider 2010 an unpleasant restructuring year. Alderman Joe Masi said the city will work on producing “a realistic budget” for 2011.

Overtime cuts:
For 2010, fire department OT has been cut to $300,000. Alderman Lee Gerow said four firefighters who took the city’s buyout offer last fall haven’t been replaced.
Police overtime, which ran to $1 million in 2008 (a year with five homicides) was trimmed to $743,000 in 2009. The city has budgeted  $514,000 for police overtime in 2010. So far, DeStefano said, Chief Ramon Bethencourt is reporting that OT is about 30 percent below last year’s levels.

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Masi tries to revoke aldermen’s insurance

By Heather Yakin | Published: February 24, 2010 | 0 Comments

First Ward Alderman Joe Masi tried to keep a campaign promise Monday night at the Common Council meeting.

He sponsored a resolution to revoke the city’s practice of giving aldermen the option of either city-sponsored health insurance or a buyout of the policy — a perk that costs taxpayers roughly $71,000 in 2010, Masi said.

“I hope one of my colleagues will have the courage to second that motion,” Masi said.

But no one did.

So the resolution died.

In 2009, one alderman — Tom Burr — used the insurance; Burr, who owns Tom’s Market, opted for the family plan at a total cost of $15,386. Burr paid $2,308 toward the cost.

2009 aldermen Bob Moson, Jim Kitson, Joel Sierra, Miguel Rodrigues John Vandervoort and Maxine Meyer each took the family plan buyout, a payout of $7,693. Alderman Ray Depew took the single buyout at $3,591. Alderman Jerry Kleiner received $3,841 as he took the family plan starting in July 2009. Those figures were provided by the city during the fall budget season — which was also the election season.

The aldermen are paid $5,000 per year; the Common Council preisdent makes $6,500.

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You (officially) have a new police chief

By Heather Yakin | Published: February 8, 2010 | 0 Comments

The Common Council Chamber was packed with a standing-room-only crowd as Mayor Joe DeStefano swore in new police Chief Ramon Bethencourt Monday night. Bethencourt then presented badges to three newly promoted lieutenants and three newly promoted sergeants.

The city’s police commission voted the promotion late Monday afternoon.

Bethencourt, a senior lieutenant who has been acting chief since November, is the first African-American police chief in Orange County.

Bethencourt has about 20 years of service as a police officer; he started out in Ellenville, but for the past 18 years he’s been a member of the Middletown Police Department.

Bethencourt’s two-year contract was approved Monday night by the Common Council. He’ll be paid $135,000 per year.

Bethencourt promised to serve the city with “honor, integrity and commitment.” He said he’s proud to be a member of this community.

Bethencourt presented badges to new lieutenants Francis Graziano, John Ewanciw and George Booth and new sergeants Jeffry Thoelen, Aaron Welch and Essam Khalil.The promotions were also decided by the police commission. Ewanciw will jping Lt. Gregory Metakes as one of two bureau commanders.

Mayor Joe DeStefano said 35 of the police department’s 75 current officers have four or fewer years of experience. It’s a young department, DeStefano said, and one that Bethencourt will be able to shape.

“It’s an important evening for the City of Middletown,” DeStefano said.

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Students donate for Haitian relief; teachers lose hair

By Heather Yakin | Published: February 5, 2010 | 0 Comments

The kids at Middletown schools collected $8,834.42 for the Red Cross Haitian relief effort.
The Twin Towers Middle School kids collected more than $2,000 and as a reward, two of the teachers – Richard Brown and Mark Horler – agreed to shave their heads. Publicly.
The event was held Friday in Twin’s auditorium, and the kids roared their approval as the teachers walked on stage to be shorn by Tracy Sutera, owner of the A Cut Above salon in the Town of Wallkill.
Superintendent Ken Eastwood got the honor of starting Brown’s buzz cut, although Sutera took over to achieve the proper cue-ball finish.
Brown did the honors of starting Horler’s haircut.
As Sutera took over that job, district social workers led by Lynne Ellis took the stage to present the handmade giant “check” to Jackie Dragone, assistant director of community development for the Lower Hudson Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. The giant novelty check was handed over by a group of Twin Towers students.
Social workers Paul Saladino and Tenise Wall said the collection was a district-wide effort.
“Paul actually initiated the project,” Wall said. “We all jumped on board, within all the buildings.”
Parent fliers went home, and lots of kids gave whatever little bit of money they could.
“Kids were coming in with pennies,” Saladino said.
At Thursday night’s school board meeting, trustee Ed Estrada had talked about one of the last donations that came in, and Saladino mentioned the story. One student brought in an envelope containing $4. On the outside, the student had written “Ayuda Haiti.” Help Haiti.

Check out TH-Record photographer Dom Fiorille’s web gallery at http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/_flash/gallery/gallery.html&Avis=TH&Dato=20100205&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=205009997&Ref=PH

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Return of the Safe Yield Study: Common Council

By Heather Yakin | Published: January 25, 2010 | 0 Comments

Middletown’s Common Council tonight approved a proposal for professional services from Clark Patterson Lee — an engineering firm we’ve heard of before — to do an updated safe yield study on the city’s water supply, with a cost capped at $50,000.

Voting for the measure were aldermen Joe Masi, Ashok Sabnis, Scott A. Smith, Bill Himaras, Lee Gerow and Joel Sierra and Alderman-at-Large Miguel Rodrigues. Alderman Tom Burr voted no. Alderman Ray Depew was absent.

Safe yield is essentially the amount of water a system can produce during a major drought — that’s the really simplified version. In Middletown, two engineering firms  Clark Patterson (in 2000) and Camp Dresser & McKee (in 2006) — did safe yield studies a few years ago, and essentially reached the same number, of roughly  3.4 million gallons per day. That can increase to 4.1 million gallons per day with Mill Pond as a fully permitted source and the Indigot watershed is permitted for use during droughts.

After questions by Masi — who lamented the need to repeat the safe yield study again — and from former AldermanGerald Kleiner — Mayor Joe DeStefano and public works Commissioner Jacob Tawil said the updated study is needed because the water meter problems were never fully integrated into the earlier analyses. The city’s master water meters have given vastly incorrect readings — Tawil said ta the meeting that one meter reads the flow 30 percent high and another 20 percent high. And DeStefano said he wants the new analysis to figure in his master plan to sell water to Wawayanda, Goshen or whover else needs it; so the analysis would look at the effects of fully reinstituting Mill Pond (the permits have been the subject of some dispute)  and raising the  Kinch Dam to increase storage.

DeStefano noted that city officials will meet Tuesday with the county Water Authority.

Sierra brought up Orange County’s plan-in-progress, a county water loop. There is no loop without Middletown, Sierra said — the county would need Middletown’s water treatment plant  if it develops its resources near Indigot.

DeStefano said sale of 1 million gallons a day could yield $4.5 million per year in revenue for the city. And water supply is a crucial factor playing into an annexation issue with the Town of Wallkill on County Route 78, just north of Mount Hope Road (yes, that includes land adjacent to the old State Hospital), with the proposed — and approved — Miamisburg development off East Main Street; and at the former Middletown Psychiatric Hospital grounds.

The council also voted 8-0 to renew the intergovernmental cooperation agreement with Steuben County Bath landfill for solid waste disposal ($21 perton) for two years; and authorized issuance of bonds of $202,000 in new expenses for the Mill Pond Dam rehab project.

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Someone wants to save the Chorley School

By Heather Yakin | Published: January 22, 2010 | 0 Comments

The Preservation League of New York State has put Middletown’s own J.W. Chorley School on its list of “Seven to Save in 2010.”

The League puts out its Seven to Save list annually, and the properties in question are often quite distinctive — this year’s other listings include the historic district in the hamlet of Renssalaerville, the old Stone Opera House in Broome County, and Alasa Farms in the hamlet of Sodus, Wayne County. So they choose a variety of properties. And this year, according to the Preservation League web site, the Paul Rudolph Foundation nominated  Chorley.

Paul Rudolph is the renowned architect who designed the Chorley School, as well as the Orange County Government Center in Goshen and a slew of buildings elsewhere in the U.S. and the world. He was one of the originators of  a style called Brutalism, which is characterized by blocky geometric design, and  often, as in our local examples, rough concrete surfaces and exposed beams.

The Middletown Enlarged City School District is, of course, building a new elementary school on property adjacent to Chorley, and Chorley will be demolished to make way for parking and playgrounds once the new school is built. Voters have already approved both of those things.

Enter the Paul Rudolph Society, a group of ardent fans of the late architect, a group that is dedicated to preserving his stuff. Now, talking to them will give you an appreciation for the intent behind the design. But an appreciation won’t plug the leaky roofs — a characteristic Chorley shares with the Orange County Government Center, and apparently with a number of Rudolph designs.

Chorley has 49 roof plains that slope downward to masonry or glass walls — which leads to chronic leaks and erodes the masonry. Its open floor plan, lack of insulation and abundance of glass make it expensive to heat. Renovations to fix the place up would cost an estimated $35 million, according to the district. That cost, on top of expansions that would be needed to accommodate an expected boom in the elementary population in the next few years, would be throwing good money after bad, the district believes.

What are the League’s criteria for properties in need of rescue? From the League web site at www.preservenys.org :

“The 2010 Seven to Save Endangered Properties list draws attention to the plight of New York’s agricultural landscapes and structures, architecture of the recent past, early public housing complexes andthe need for appropriate commercial revitalization. These seven valued historic resources are in danger of disappearing because of insufficient funding and financial incentives, insensitive public policies, general neglect, disinvestment, and in some cases, demolition.”


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Welcome back

By Heather Yakin | Published: January 4, 2010 | 0 Comments

Wow, it’s been a while since the blog’s been active. My apologies. Needed a little break after the election season.

Tonight, of course, is the city’s annual reorganization meeting, and Joe DeStefano will be sworn in as Middletown’s mayor (again). J. Miguel Rodrigues will be sworn in as Common Council President. Your new aldermen will be Tom Burr and Joe Masi in the First Ward; Ashok Sabnis and Scott A. Smith in the Second; Ray Depew and Bill Himaras in the Third; and Joel Sierra and C. Lee Gerow in the Fourth.

The directorship at Economic/Community Development is vacant after Neil Novesky’s retirement; since DeStefano wants to consolidate the department with the Business Improvement District and Cultural Affairs/the Paramount, it’ll be interesting to see what roles BID Director John Degnan and Paramount Director Maria Bruni will play. We shall see.

The city has updated the “Mayor and Council” page on www.middletown-ny.com/mayor.htm by the way, listing the new aldermen and mayor. But they’ve still got the old picture up. Maybe they’ll get a new photo tonight?

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DeStefano, Kitson debate summary

By Heather Yakin | Published: October 21, 2009 | 0 Comments

Middletown mayoral candidates Joe DeStefano and Jim Kitson debated Wednesday afternoon at the Middletown Kiwanis club meeting at Southwinds.
The Kiwanis debates are pretty friendly affairs, although they ask some pretty pointed questions.

The format was this: Opening statements; rebuttals; questions from the floor; and closing statements.
Kitson won the coin flip – and opted to speak second for the openings.

DeStefano said that as he has been campaigning door-to-door, he has heard two overwhelming concerns from city residents: Crime and taxes.  Crime has risen in the past few years, which drives away business and residents. Over the weekend, the city saw a home-invasion burglary/robbery; a gun point robbery where the gun was fired; and the victim of an Oct. 10 assault died, making that case a homicide.
The current administration added 10 police officers to the force, DeStefano said, but the number of patrols is the same. He attributes that to increased specialization such as SWAT teams and a lack of new patrol cars. Bad management of resources, DeStefano said.
Kitson touted his leadership experience with FDNY, with the command responsibility of being the first one in and the last one out. In the fire department, hesitation in decisions can mean lives lost; in government, lack of action can allow neighborhoods to deteriorate.
Kitson vowed to take a strong position on code enforcement, to secure the city’s water by correcting meter flows and searching for a repairing leaks; to stem the tide of illegal activities; and to encourage businesses to grow and stay in the city.
Kitson said DeStefano’s legacy is still with the city in the form of Masada, the as-yet-unbuilt waste-to-ethanol plant that has been tied up in litigation and arbitration for the past couple of years. Kitson also mentioned the Ruth Court land deal: When DeStefano was mayor, the city hired an appraiser to value the property, which had fallen into city hands. The city sold the parcel at its appraised value of $500,000. Months later, the buyer flipped it for $3 million.
Kitson said the city assessor approached him afterward, saying she had taken her concerns about the appraisal to DeStefano twice, before the city’s sale, but was rebuffed.
“Middletown cannot afford to let this type of leadership return to the city,” Kitson said.
DeStefano’s rebuttal: It’s mismanagement of the Masada lawsuit that has cost the city money. “The Masada project is a dead project,” he said. But at the time – it was a good project.
As far as Ruth Court goes, DeStefano said, the city trusted its appraiser to do his job. After the resale, the city sued the appraiser. DeStefano said he also sent a letter outlining his concerns to police Chief Matthew Byrne and to the district attorney.

Kitson’s rebuttal: The mayor requested the appraisal, and the figures just don’t add up. And it was Masada that dragged the city into court.

Question 1: Tough budgetary decision abound. Do you see areas where the city could combine services with the Town of Wallkill, such as police and fire services?
Kitson: Any workable opportunity to share services should be considered. Police may not be a good candidate, because Wallkill may not have the same level of coverage. Parks would also likely be out, because Middletown has a lot of parks.
DeStefano: Middletown shared some services years ago with Wallkill, Mount Hope, and there were discussions years ago, when Howard Mills was Wallkill supervisor, of merging the municipalities.
“Combining departments at this point, I don’t see as beneficial to the City of Middletown.” There are some services, such as snow clearing, where some cooperation is in place.

Question 2: On the one hand, we hear about new programs and technology at the police department. On the other hand, we heard about crimes. How will you work with law enforcement to keep the city safe?
DeStefano: “We have limited resources, like every community.” But look at the City of Newburgh: They spent themselves into a hole, and are now looking at layoffs and a huge tax hike.
DeStefano singled out police spending, such as the tactical team, when the city cam use the sheriff’s office or state police for that service; and the crime analyst. “Anyone in Middletown can tell you where the crime occurred,” he said.  “If we don’t have patrol, everything else falls apart. Rather than have someone map where the crime occurred, have a police officer in a car in that neighborhood.”
Kitson: The police department’s new technology was mostly funded by grants. The tactical team can respond faster than state police of sheriff’s deputies, and that time can make a difference.  “It provides an extra level of safety for the city.” He supports the police initiatives, but is willing to scrutinize them.

Question 3: What services is the city willing to provide – or not – to the disenfranchised “street people?”
Kitson: Employ as many existing county agencies as possible, such as Emergency Housing, to assist them. Batter code enforcement will create  a better, safer environment for them and others in the community. He suggested a forum in the city to address the concerns and needs.
DeStefano: “You don’t need to hold a forum to not invite people into your community without background checks.”
Warming center decision was a bad one; the city allowed it to operate without a license, and in violation of downtown zoning. Suggested a daytime warming center, to take the burden off the library and other places where homeless people sometimes congregate on cold days.

Question 4: A revenue-generating idea: If campaign signs are still up 48 hours after the election, city workers should collect them – and bill the candidates. (This question was pretty tongue-in-cheek)
Kitson: “We’ll be up at 6 o’clock the next morning.”
DeStefano: “What do you do if one of your opponent’s friends has a sign, and puts it out for you?”

Question 5: Many plans and visions for the grounds of the former Middletown Psychiatric Hospital. What do you say?
(Note: There are hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes on the privately owned parcels. One section is owned by The Other Group, including Rick Mandel; the other by a holding company called Fox y Garcia.)
DeStefano: Spoke with Mr. Mandel a week ago; Mandel says he hasn’t had a conversation with the city in months; his calls are not returned.
City wouldn’t allow subdivision of property; but one developer isn’t going to come in to develop the whole thing.
The proposal floated by Saccardi & Schiff, the firm preparing the city’s new master plan, would have too much housing and overburden the school district.  City needs more control over what’s happening, but without owning the property.
Kitson: wasn’t on the council when it voted to go forward with the master plan. “Housing is definitely out” for the site. Council is fed pieces of information; need to go after details. Does not want the property to come back into the city’s hands.

Question 6: Any sign of Middletown doing a reval of properties? Hasn’t been done since 1974, and the equalization rate is down to 12 percent.
Kitson: Assessment values have come down; believes valuations will go down anyway as people challenge their assessments.
DeStefano: Opposes reval for years; it just shifts tax burdens from one homeowner to another; and it would cost the city over $1 million.

Question 7: What do you think of the proposal for the Horton Hospital property once Orange Regional Medical leaves? The plan includes a med-tech and nursing school, a nursing home, VA clinic and student housing in the hospital building and some newly built housing on current parking lots.
DeStefano: Kitson has been silent on this. The housing component is too heavy; scares everyone in the city. “Middletown doesn’t need more housing, Middletown needs more jobs.”
“That project is dangerous for the city. There needs to be someone speaking out against it.”
Kitson: has spoken out against the housing proposal _ it’s in his neighborhood – and talked to the developer. “I don’t want multiple housing, any kind of housing in those parking lots.”

Question 8: Why do proposals, development move so slowly?
Kitson: Council gets bits and pieces of information. They get increasingly frustrated as projects stall and sit.
DeStefano: It takes a commitment and an advocate to move projects along. “Someone on the council has to be a catalyst.” You have to advocate for the city; and if you aren’t getting the information, demand it publicly.

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City budget fun, 2010 edition

By Heather Yakin | Published: October 8, 2009 | 0 Comments

MIDDLETOWN — Middletown’s preliminary budget proposal for 2010 is looking very scary for taxpayers.

Right now, with only rudimentary cuts made to department-head requests, the mayor’s proposed budget shows a 23 percent spending increase over this year.

“It’s only the very beginning,” Mayor Marlinda Duncanson said, and as the Board of Estimates and then the Common Council work on the document, that percentage will drop. “They come in high, so you work on it to get it cut down.”

The city – like other municipalities – is struggling with a tight economy and soaring costs for insurance, retirement and health benefits. Duncanson said public safety – fire and police services – will not be cut.

Alderman Miguel Rodrigues, who heads the council’s finance committee called the mayor’s proposal “essentially passing the buck” to others to make painful cuts. The city needs to cut things like the take-home cars for some city employees, he said.

Last year, the initial budget proposal came in high, but was cut down to produce about a 5 percent tax increase.

Former Mayor Joe DeStefano, who is seeking to reclaim his seat, said the city has blown money on consultants and given in too easily to department lobbying under Duncanson – and if it doesn’t stop, Middletown will run into a major cash flow problem and be in the same boat as the City of Newburgh.

“It’s foolish,” DeStefano said. “Everything is not rosy.”

Mayoral candidate Jim Kitson, and alderman in the Fourth Ward, said much of the 23 percent increase came from rises in pension and Worker’s Compensation costs and the new MTA tax. No one wants to make drastic budget cuts, he said – but they might be necessary.

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A call for party unity

By Heather Yakin | Published: September 18, 2009 | 0 Comments

Having won a rather decisive victory in the Democratic mayoral primary, Joe DeStefano is calling for unity in the party.

The current mayor, Marlinda Duncanson, remains on the general election ballot on the Working Families line, so it’ll still be a three-way race with Republican Jim Kitson come Nov. 3.

“I think the number of voters in the primary (over 1,000) indicate that Democrats in the city are very engaged,” DeStefano said Thursday. “Now that the primary is over, it is important that we unite as a Party to ensure the core values of Democrats are represented in the City of Middletown.”

DeStefano has been campaigning door-to-door with alderman-at-large candidate Miguel Rodrigues, who defeated Jerry Kleiner in the primary by a wide margin. Rodrigues said Kleiner has already reached out to discuss his concerns about the city, in “a great sign of party unity.”

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