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Patch Comments: 'Like Heck It's a Good ... Budget'

The county budget, same-sex marriage, and an actor arrested for not filing NY State taxes are just some of the topics that got Hudson Valley Patch users talking on the comments board last week.

Astorino Signs County Budget After Dems' Schism Erupts

"Like heck '.. it's a good responsible budget.' Any budget that borrows money to pay operating expenses (pension fund contributions in this case) is IRRESPONSIBLE. You don't borrow money to pay your mortgage, your insurance, your electricity, etc. Why? Because if you did, you'd likely never catch up. Just because Gubernator Cuomo decided to let counties borrow money, doesn't mean they should." -- Bob Zahm

... and ...

"What's good? It's another Astorino budget to keep the tax increase at zero. What's wrong with that? I don't think I'm going to notice any cuts/reductions at all." -- Billy

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Same-Sex Marriage Case

"Good, it is time to legalize gay marriage. DOMA is just legalized bigotry." -- Issy

Actor Stephen Baldwin Arrested for Failing to Pay Income Taxes

"Sorry, Mr. Pants. Taxes are a legit element of a governed society. Now we can argue all day long about the level and use of taxation, but there's never been a single, successful society without the ability to levy taxes. Fairness is the issue. And fairness goes both ways. The governed have a responsibility to pay for the legitimate goals of government ... and the government has the responsibility to use those monies in the wisest of fashions. To argue otherwise is silly." -- Aidan

... and ...

"I agree Aidan but the point is that taxation at the point where it is clearly a confiscation of wealth. One of the so-called "rich" making $250,000 a year is paying well in excess of 60% combined federal income, state income, city, school, sales, transfer etc etc etc tax and Obama care to boot! Memo to Bruce - this government under the democrats is becoming Iran and Syria." -- smellypants

Pearl River Rotary's Share Christmas & The Holidays

"The Rockland Community Foundation salutes the Pearl River Rotary on its wonderful and thoughtful event! Groups such as yours show how wonderful the holidays can be." -- rockland community foundation

"'Do you feel tighter gun control rules could have played a role in preventing this tragedy?' No. And stop imbuing inanimate objects with a will of their own. Where was the call for steak knife regulations after Simpson carved up his wife? It's a silly exercise in connect the dots. Assault weapons and para-military gear and stuff? That sort of stuff needs to be re-evaluated. Then we're all in another grey area." -- Aidan

"Seriously B comparing guns to cars seems quite ignorant to me. What percent of car accidents that have fatalities or serious injuries are intentional? Hence the word accident. Guns misfire and can kill their operators or someone nearby even if they are not being misused, but again that doesn't happen all that often. Kinda like intentional car accidents. Ridiculous comparisons like this only make me wonder about the mindset of gun owners. Yes the right to bear arms is part of what makes our country great but making it so easy to bear arms has become an enormous problem. Thanks to Mr. Heinemann for addressing this issue, its sad that guns have to be even remotely involved in a story about a sport like football that is embraced and loved by so many Americans. KDC" -- KDC

Harry One December 9, 2012 at 08:01 pm
Will Stephen Baldwin be next sec of tresury

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Lisa Buchman (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 10:14 am
I loved all the music - the band belting out 'Sweet Caroline' was great!
Lisa Buchman (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 10:12 am
Heather, thanks! I saw you in the crowd! These are awesome. It was a perfect night for it! I'll addRead More a link to your post from mine.
Josephine Ziegler presented the school board with the petition at the May 9 meeting.
John Craig June 3, 2013 at 11:50 am
Regarding paragraph 5 -- the retirement incentive. I haven't read anything to suggest that theRead More retirement incentive and the insurance switch are related or that that KLDTA asked for one to get the other. When I read the initial release from the board, I saw them as 2 different cost savings initiatives. ---The district indicated that each retirement saves a net of $32,500 per year. Early Retirement Incentive Plans (ERIPs) are fairly common stuff among downsizing private organizations. I think it makes sense to use them here to accelerate cost savings. ---The original petition was well written. Now that we have addressed point #3, I think it's time to make further progress on point #2 -- a financially sustainable contract. ---And, experience suggests that if you really want to move forward in a collaborative way, you have to let go of the past. Continuing to harp on past mistakes undermines point #5.
Sara Weale June 3, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Thanks for your comment. I agree that we all need to move forward -- but in my opinion, althoughRead More this side agreement made a long-overdue change in health care carriers (while maintaining a high level of health care benefits/access to teachers, retirees and their dependents), the KLDTA again asked for retirement incentives in return - just as they did for the December 2010 MOA that extended the terms of their contract for two years and avoided going to Triborough. Under the 2010 MOA, KLDTA requested a $10,000 retirement incentive and 21 teachers took the offer (including the current leader of KLDTA) -- resulting in an outlay of $210,000 by the district. Although some savings might have been realized for "early" retirements, it is difficult to calculate the exact amount because the district has no way of knowing when a teacher would have retired without the incentive. If 20 additional teachers take the new retirement incentive which was increased to $17,500 for some reason -- that is a total cost to the district of $350,000. Don't forget that regardless of the incentive, teachers retire with full pension and retiree health care benefits. Yes - the district will realize some savings from the incentives -- but we likely would have realized similar savings without incentives and natural attrition/retirement of our teaching staff. What I think we need to pay attention to as a community is that it seems the only way that KLDTA leadership will agree to changes in the status quo is if they get something in return. The last two agreements with the KLDTA will likely result in approximately $500,000 spent by the district in retirement incentives over a five year period -- money in my opinion, better kept in the district system during these difficult economic times and in the tax-cap environment. In my opinion, finally switching health care carriers did not merit financial rewards for teachers likely retiring in the next three years anyway.
Katonah19 June 6, 2013 at 08:08 am
For more insight, take a look at BOE Member Charles Day's statement on retirement incentives inRead More exchange for KLSDTA's agreement to changes in Health Care here: http://bedford.patch.com/groups/opinion/p/days-statement-on-kl-union-contract-changes