Often, during the beginning of the new year, people make resolutions of goals or behaviors to better themselves for the upcoming year. Whether it’s to get into shape, to read more, to break a bad habit or to enjoy life more, all of these resolutions are set to improve the lives of the people who create them.
If this idea of improvement applies to people, there’s no reason it shouldn’t apply to municipal entities like towns and villages.
So we asked the municipal leaders in the Eagle Bulletin coverage area what they had to say about the goals of their respective areas for the upcoming year. Here are their responses:
Town of Manlius, Supervisor Ed Theobald
As I have stated in past new year resolutions for the town of Manlius, they are more along the line of goals that I set, than resolutions. These goals mirror issues that I run on during each election cycle as well.
Much like my own personal annual goals/resolutions, I take these very seriously by staying focused on steps needed each day to meet these goals. My main goal for the town is that each of our departments continue to provide the best possible service to our customers, who are our taxpayers. I must state that each of our departments do continue to meet the high standard of service which our community expects us to provide.
As well, I cannot stress enough the value of our own town of Manlius police department and the professionalism and quality of their work that they bring to our residents on a daily basis.
We can point to both their state and national accreditation status that they achieve on a regular basis providing accountability of their work which is an important factor in the accreditation process. Let us not forget our highway department which continues to keep our roads safe, especially this time of year which is well maintained guided by strong leadership.
Another annual goal/resolution is to continue to have important communication with our three village mayors of Manlius, Fayetteville and Minoa. That we work together for a common goal to keep our taxes under control as much as possible, in spite of the unfunded mandates and decreased annual revenues. It is a mighty task, but through shared services and open discussions we all meet this challenge each year.
Lastly, I hope that everyone reaches their new or renewed goals and that all have a happy and successful new year in 2015.
Village of Manlius, Mayor Paul Whorall
I’m not sure you could call these resolutions, therefore these are my goals:
—To always enjoy what I do and continue to do what’s best for the community.
—To continue to work closely with our tremendous village boards and staff.
—Work with the department of transportation to resolve some of the traffic issues.
—Most of all, continue to make Manlius a village to be proud of.
Village of Fayetteville, Mayor Mark Olson
As 2014 comes to a close, let me thank everyone in Fayetteville for making this such a great year. We are so fortunate to have a dedicated group of employees and volunteers working for the betterment of us all.
This dedicated group of people make Fayetteville one of the best communities in our area to live in and to raise a family. We have been busy all year working on projects that have added character, added new businesses and continue a tradition of a quality of life that we all can be proud of. In today’s society, it is very hard to achieve a good balance of residences and businesses that are both vibrant and work together. With a lot of hard work and compromise, we continue to thrive and expand during these challenging times.
Village of Fayetteville residents should be proud that we continue to thrive. The village board should be commended for keeping the tax rate at the same level it was 10 years ago while maintaining and enhancing the services we offer. We have been able to do this due to the efforts of our employees, our vendors and everyone who helps the village meet its mission of providing quality services and quality of life for all residents. We are finishing projects in our infrastructure as well as continuing to work on grants that continue to put resources and projects into our village that will help maintain our plan on sustained and responsible growth.
Projects like the Canal Landing Project phase 4, the Gateway Project, the comprehensive update, the Climate Smart Project, the EAB Project, the Signal Hill sewer project, the Brookside Slip lining project and DPW garage renovations are all examples of projects we have completed or started this year. These are only some of the reasons I am thankful for all the hard work that our folks put into making the village a special place.
Sometimes dwelling on the negatives of our state and federal governments is the easy thing to do. To this I say, please look at how much can be done when residents, employees and elected officials come together for one common goal, making the village of Fayetteville the best village in Upstate New York.
On behalf of the village of Fayetteville, thank you for all you do and please have a happy, safe and prosperous new year.
Village of Minoa, Mayor Richard Donovan
2015 is going to be another challenging year for local government. My 2015 vision for the village of Minoa is to maintain our current level of service without raising taxes. To do that, we have to continue our sharing of services with our town, neighboring villages, the East Syracuse Minoa School District and the county while continuing our internal efforts to be as efficient as possible.
For example: working with an incentive program through National Grid, we’re just completing an up-grade of our outside lighting at all our facilities to LED lighting which will provide substantial long-term savings. We are currently working on an innovative project funded by a grant from Environmental Facilities Corporation in our sewer plant that hopefully by this time next year we will have reached 50 percent of our goal of being totally sustainable in that department. We’ve become a Climate Smart Community, which is part of a continued effort to not only be more efficient, but do so in a way that is helpful to our environment which includes alternative fuels and the potential of using solar to reduce our energy cost.
Lastly, as immediate past president of the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM), I will continue to address the real cost drivers of local government; collectively we will work to remind Governor Cuomo that he promised mandate relief once he had a tax cap to work with. He has not kept that promise.
The governor’s only relief has been Tier Six, which will provide some long-term relief on the pension side, but does nothing in the short term to relieve our pension costs. I will also work with NYCOM in a statewide effort to convince the governor and the state legislature that local governments desperately need a substantial infusion of money dedicated to our infrastructure, (roads, bridges, sewer, water and stormwater). If jobs are a state priority, infrastructure projects bring good paying jobs, modern efficient infrastructure brings businesses, manufacturing and tourism, which equates to lower taxes and a vibrant economy.
Happy new year to one and all.
Village of East Syracuse, Mayor Robert Tackman
Here are my goals for 2015:
—Continue to expend our community events to give our residents more opportunities to get together.
—Continue working on controlling the budget to ensure the tax rate continues to decrease.
—Look for different ways to get more information out to the residents and hold more open houses for residents to have a chance to learn on how they can get involved.
—To help ensure a smooth transition of village trustees that may occur during the March village elections.
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
