From the supervisor

I would like to send warm holiday wishes from Town hall. For me it means merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Someone wished me a happy Hanukkah this week and I was delighted that they shared their faith with me. Whatever your beliefs, I hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday season filled with friends, family, and good will towards others.
Our road crews have been active clearing the roads and keeping us safe. We must stay off the roads as much as possible during the storms to give them room to complete their tasks. This makes their job a little easier and helps to reduce the costs to taxpayers. Our crews are dedicated and always there for us at all hours of the day. For liability reasons they are instructed not to stop when people are in the ditch or disabled. Please understand our policy on this.
It appears that the final hurdles have been cleared to transfer ownership of Austin Park from the Village to the Town. This government consolidation initiative will help to reduce costs and make the park easier to manage. The park is open year round and we encourage residents to walk and cross country ski through the winter. Usage of the park continues to increase and we are trying to improve the park experience for residents. If you have any ideas for the park or the pavilion please forward them to the new Town Board.
The Nursery school has been a tremendous success in the old pavilion. They have been great tenants and the services that they provide to our community are numerous. Now that the final steps have been taken to transfer ownership of the park it is time for ideas on the pavilion’s future. If you have some ideas on future uses of the pavilion we are all ears.
Preservation of Skaneateles Lake remains a priority for the Town government. Many of the factors that lead to algal blooms are beyond our control, but we must address those factors that we do have some control over. The planning board will be taking a closer look at drainage for each individual project and the conversation has begun to possibly form drainage districts. We must all examine the impacts of our activities on the lake.
With the passage of the new income tax legislation and the limits to deductibility it is time to ask why NY residents pay so much more in taxes than the rest of the nation. What I found as Supervisor was that reducing taxes was as simple as having the political will to do so. It is easy to spend OPM (other people’s money.) Some residents may enjoy the good fortune of being able to pay higher taxes, but we must be mindful of those who have a difficult time raising the money.
During my term I was extremely tight with your tax dollars. I tried to make every decision as if there was a taxpayer in the room. There are services that residents expect and deserve. There are other services that are a luxury and we need to take a long hard look at those. I tried to upgrade our infrastructure and our parks. I tried to be respectful of others and their opinions. It has been a humbling journey and I enjoyed every moment of it.
I tried to focus on the environment and our impact on our mother (Earth.) We have some wonderful conservation areas and I hope we have adequately protected them. From planting trees to fighting invasive species, I have enjoyed being a good steward of our environment.