Moving Forward

I've been reflecting a bit about Thanksgivings past and how Thanksgiving originated as a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. 

Over time, Thanksgiving Day has morphed into the unofficial start of the Holiday Season and again into a time where individuals and retailers pray for a bountiful harvest, at least in terms of Black Friday sales and savings. 

Yes, I've been out with the masses in the early hours of Black Friday hoping to score my desired bounty in years past.  There are great savings to be had by getting up early and venturing out.

I think back with treasured memories of Thanksgivings at my Grandmother's in New Jersey with uncles, aunts, cousins and Grandma's friends.  Most came in time for Thanksgiving Dinner, but folks were coming and going throughout the day, as well.  Thanksgiving began with 7:00AM Mass at Grandma's church.  Giving thanks for what we had, remembering those who were no longer among us and asking help for those who had little. 

I also think back to a later time when I worked in retail and the store was actually closed to the public on the day after Thanksgiving (for the annual inventory).  There was no such thing as Black Friday back then. 

I remember working a split-shift for the phone company and, as the rest of the family had gone to Grandma's, dining alone.  Not one of my favorite Thanksgivings!!!  Nevertheless, I had plenty to give thanks for and did so before feasting on a Swanson's Turkey Dinner (or two) and a slice of Mom's pumpkin pie.

It's critical to not lose sight of giving thanks for a bountiful harvest not just on Thanksgiving Day but every day.  The bountiful harvest being the loving and caring family, friends, neighbors we have and even the strangers we may encounter.  Will Rogers said that “A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet.”  

I've met a good number of people since I began attending the Town Board meetings … people on "both sides of the aisle" and those aligned with neither "party".  They are all good people trying to do good for the Town.  We may not agree on the issues but there's hopefully a mutual respect or at least a tacit agreement to disagree.  The end goals may be the same but the means may be different, which is fine.  The goals may be different as well.  That's also fine - life would be extremely boring if we all thought the same. 

East Greenbush has been my home for the past 26 years and I am thankful and proud to be here.  No city, town or village is perfect.  No city, town or village is without problems.  Mistakes have been made in the past and mistakes will likely be made in the future.  Hopefully, any future mistakes will be minor and different ones.

Winston Churchill said "Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."  On the other hand, Satchel Paige said "Don't look back—something might be gaining on you."

I much prefer to follow Churchill's advice rather than Paige's, at least concerning our Town.  Let's learn from the past, but not dwell upon it.  Let's hope that people channel their energy into things constructive rather than destructive.

There are many bright, talented, motivated and dedicated people living in East Greenbush.  People who have, can, want to and will make a constructive difference in our Town. 

If we want East Greenbush to move forward, we can make it happen.  Things will move quicker if we work together rather than apart.  We're all in the same boat called the Town of East Greenbush and we'll move further much more quickly by rowing in unison rather than by each doing their own thing. 

Eldridge Cleaver said "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem." 

I want to be part of the solution … which do you want to be?

Pete Stenson

Happy Thanksgiving !

 Wishing  all a  peaceful and  relaxing  Thanksgiving .

 Hope family  takes  precedence over all else and  everyone can take a moment to reflect on what we have  rather than what we  want.

Business 101

Lets  begin with  basic  accounting  101.    Balancing  your  check book.   If you don't  show that a  check was  cashed or  deposited on your account,  wouldn't you  contact the  person to whom the  check was  written and  inquire?    No -apparently  not  in the  Mike Cristo book entitled :  "How to completely mis-manage your business acount" and his other   memoirs soon to be  released in paperback only !
Are you  kidding  me?!?   When he  was originally  asked about the  check for the  vehicle he  sold - he  should have had that issue resolved in 48hrs. or less , but like everything else he  touches - he  even managed  to turn that into a  political  debacle !  Mike  now  blames the  Town for  just about  everything including  losing  a  check  that he  can't remember  who he  gave it to, but he  gave it  to someone-( allegedly) !   What a  complete  fabrication of  facts !  Oh and  btw -  the  Town  now  must  request  that he  re-issue  this  check -  for  christs sake  -  balance your  damn books - cut the  damn check and put the  issue  to bed !
Ya know -  just  like election night  when he walked into the  Democrat gathering , instead of simply  doing the  honorable  thing , make your  congratulations  and  LEAVE ,  no  Mike  tried to  "work the  room"  like  nothing ever happened and  all was  forgiven !     Again-  are you  KIDDING  ME!?!    He then dares to write that he was met with  hostility -  NO SH*T !!
What the hell did you  expect !?!   You are a  complete  moron if you  thought  for one  fleeting moment that anyone in that room was  going to accept you back with open arms -  were you  drunk ?
 Heed your  own advice Mike - stay away  from politics  for  awhile - the  Town needs a break from your  silliness and  constant negative conjecture .
 And as far as the  Fed-Ex project - all you  reformers  can stop the  B-S -  the  Board  will make the  correct  decision whether you agree with it  or  not. 

 To all :  did you notice that I didn't  use the  word  "inure"  once ?!?! 

What is transparency anyway ???

 We really didn't  want to get into this  topic,   but  it really sheds light on the  nasty under-belly-(pun intended) of these  so-called  reform party standouts, and  they have  not  ceased their  attack on McCabe so one  good  turn deserves  another !. 
  Two of us  had to go to Motor Vehicle this past Monday and while we were in Town Hall  we overheard a conversation between  two or three  Town Hall workers regarding the amount of time  spent  each day   answering the  never-ending  foil  requests of   Sean K. Mulvey and  Ray Mooney.
  While   trying not to make it  appear like we were  listening ,  couldn't help  hear about the  tremendous amount of time  wasted  each and everyday gathering  or  attempting to gather the  stats that these two  GADFLIES  require -  and  for  WHAT?
  As has been reported on this  blog , Sean K. Mulvey is a   STIPEND  receiver  from the  Hudson School District -  YES  he  received a  STIPEND  from  his  employer  in 2009.   Stipends are a  normal part of  business in the  real world and are  recognized as being  an accepted  business practice.
 **  Note to  Don Johnson ;  drop it -  you'll  lose  this  one  too ! **
 Ray Mooney has lived  in East  Greenbush for  3 or  4 years  only.  He has  annoited himself  as the  "savior of the  taxpayer".
 I find  both of them to be  deplorable examples of  individuals who purport themselves as being  good  citizens who care about our  Town  when in fact the  reality of the  situation is that they only  want  to embarass current  elected officials  because their  chosen  candidates were  exposed as  FRAUDS and  were shown the door  on November 2nd by the  good  people of East Greenbush - people who saw thru the  never ending  slander and twisted rhetoric of the  Cristo/Taylor camp.
  They like to think they  actually  got  49% of the  vote - reality is that many  people  simply  vote  party lines regardless of who is on it  and I'd be  willing to bet that if we could have polled the  electorate - 51% of their  49%  didn't have a  clue  who Taylor  or  Cristo  were !
  The  downright nasty campaign  platform endorsed by  Republican Chairman  Tom DeJulio failed  as it should have -  however they still persist !
  Mike Cristo tried to make something out of nothing  with his intentional taking of the  oath for County Legislature.  When you read  the  judges  decision, it  very  clearly stated  that once they took their oath of office for  Rensselaer County ,they automatically  vacate the lower seat.  It was a  concious decision by each of them to walk away from their  Town seat and  move to the  County seat.  The  gamesmanship   that occured the next few months was  truley a  spectacle of what could only be  described as a  canival type  atmosphere  as  Cristo put on the  "poor me"  persona  and  Taylor  stood by his  side and  screamed and yelled to anyone who would  listen.
   Lets get right  down to it here -  they lost - ( Thank God)  and  hopefully  after they've been shown the  exit  twice  each now  by the  voters in East Greenbush - they can stop the fooling  around - The  audit  shows  nothing  criminal and  a  forensic  audit  is  simply a  waste of taxpayer dollars.
  The  poorly timed post about the  Police  K-9  unit  -  which was nothing more than a  ploy for  Police  support  after they both made serious threatening public  statements about  closing the  Town Police  operations  down.
    The  never-ending  attack on Toni Murphy was  obscene and  pathetic. To write about  someones  grandchildren was the  single most  despicable  act in this  entire  mudslinging  campaign by the so-called  reformers.
 The vomit that came  out of the mouths of their  supporters and I do mean  VOMIT-was  reprehensible.   People  from the  Cristo camp like to call this the  Bile blog -  feel free !   We  Love it ! 
 There is more  opposition to your  tom-foolery  than you'll ever  know.
  We are proud of the  fact that  after  less than a  month in existence - this  blog  got  the  opposing point of  view out and  fired up  our  side of the  consituency to get out there and  vote  AGAINST  the  Reform party  platform, a  platform that would most  certaintly paralyze  the  Town again for another  year under the  "no tax increase" moniker  voiced by Cristo and his  "numbers lady" partner. - By the  way -  did anyone  ever   really  crunch the numbers  she  spews  anyway?   Taylor was  apparently terminated  from two  of her  "numbers"  jobs - does that mean she  too is incompetent?   Once again -  keep it  clean  - feel free to  let your  feelings be heard - ( they do )   and  write  away !
 -Transparency -  catch -phrase  uttered by reform party people -  the  true  definition lost in political rhetoric and  intentional misguidance by political hopefuls !
** Note to  Don Johnson -  don't  bother  trying to post here -  it's  gone  with the  stroke of the   "delete"  key ***

Guess what ?! The Sky isn't falling !!!

The Town has posted:

1. UHY's "Independent Auditor's Report on the Financial Statements of the General fund, Special Revenue Funds, and the Capital Projects Fund"; and   

2. NYS State Comptroller's "Town of East Greenbush Ambulance District Operations Report of Examination Period Covered: January 1, 2008 — October 1, 2009".

These reports can be found at (http://www.eastgreenbush.org/downloads/cat_view/43-comptroller):

The critical statement in UHY's "Independent Auditor's Report on the Financial Statements of the General fund, Special Revenue Funds, and the Capital Projects Fund" is the unqualified opinion … the highest level of opinion rendered.  This statement is as follows:

"In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above (general fund, special revenue funds, and capital projects fund) present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the general fund, special revenue funds and capital projects fund of the Town of East Greenbush, New York as of December 31, 2009, and the changes in financial position thereof and the respective budgetary comparison for the general fund and special revenue funds for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America."

Both reports identify, for lack of a better term, deficiencies. 

The UHY report on the Financial Statements identifies "material weaknesses" that appear to be based on the Town's use of a Microsoft Access Database accounting system, "which lacks access and modification controls and contributes to an increased risk for potential error or misstatement … (and) does not support the Town’s needs and long-term commitment to strong internal control."  This could be resolved by the purchase of new accounting software.

The UHY report also identifies (less severe) "significant deficiencies", some of which have already been addressed by the Town.  Some other deficiencies will be difficult, but not impossible, to rectify (Segregation of Duties, for instance, due to staffing levels).  Stricter adherence to the Town's Purchasing Policy is also recommended.

The OSC audit of the Ambulance District Operations identifies oversight weaknesses between the Town and the District and contracted Rescue Squad finances and Length Of Service Award Program (a retirement credit system for the volunteers).  The OSC report contains four recommendations to correct these oversight weaknesses and gives the Town 90 days to prepare and submit a corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations.

Earth shattering?  No.

Insurmountable?  No.

Forensic Audit?  No. 

We are confident that the Town Supervisor and the Town Board will address and correct the weaknesses promptly !

Sound advice

    The  "trash talk"   coming  from  both sides  must  cease  so that  the  distractions it  causes will end.  
 The new board  needs  our  encouragement and  support, not the  constant  bickering  and  back and forth debates  that have occured the past 45 days.
 This  blog  was  started  for a  variety of  reasons, the  least of  which   being that it  gave  supporters  of  Mangold and Malone, OBrien and McCabe a  place to  vent  their  feelings.   When the  other  blogs   continued to allow the  unending  slander to continue and  refused to post  conflicting opinions,  all the more  reason for this  blog to exist.
 We know  we've  reached  success, because their people   have  re-named this  the  Bile  Blog.   We'll take  that  moniker and  smile  when its mentioned in our  presence because  obviously the  few  people  who sought nothing but to  defame and slander people on the  Democratic  side of the  argument are  clearly in the minority.
 With all that  being  said - to  BOTH  sides :  enough is enough.  Your  opinions are  valueable to  you and your  "people"  but  may not  necessarily  meet  with approval  from all residents.  The cat-calling and  sniping between blogs  accomplishes  NOTHING  except  fueling  small fires  of  hatred and  disgust that merits no  recognition from any sitting  Town Board  member.
 The folks who think we were "up to something"  when we  erased  everything  prior to election  night,  well your  dead wrong!   It was the  request of  Sue Mangold and  Kim Halloran that we consider  starting  fresh without all the  negative  banter  that existed.  We   agreed and  deleted  all previous posts.  We received all kinds of  criticism from the  reform supporters  who thought  we were "up to something  dasterdly" ...wrong  again  people !
  SO -  we'll try  again....keep it  clean and it'll get posted -  Otherwise it see's the  recycle bin faster than you can say  :   Hogwarts !

Time to Move Forward

   Well,  enough of the back and forth !   
   Time to press on with the business of the  Town and  to accomplish  some of the  goals  that face  this new  Town Board !    While it  was fun to assist in another   campaign victory ,  it is now time to get to work .                                                                                                        
     The tentative Budget for  2011  was  presented this evening , and a fair amount of people attended. It      was  good to see the mix of  residents  in the  room.   Phil and Sue were present and seemed generally         excited about  being there !   I saw   Jack and  Nate , Pete , Ray and  several others  that  are now  present at most  Board  functions, and I must say , it really seems so much more  relaxed   !                              

As one of the many residents  that has a  personal interest in this new  Board,  I'm  giddy  with anticipation   about  the  possibilites that face  the  Town of East Greenbush.  I'm not  shy about my  enthusiasm for the    Fed-Ex  project.  I also am well aware of some of the concerns  of my  friend  Dwight and others.            
 I'm not  afraid of the  Route 4 traffic and  traffic circle  issues, in fact I'm weirdly intrigued by them ! 
  
 I drive Route 4 every single day and am well aware of the  traffic flow issues.   I have  confidence that  D.O.T.   design  engineers have a  full grasp on the problem and will be able to mitigate most   concerns.  

So , as we progress thru the  holidays  , I ask each of you  reading this  the  following :  if you  were allowed one  single  thought  for a  better  East Greenbush  - what would it  be?   
     Keep it  clean  and  comment  away                                                                                                                                                

PHIL AND SUE WIN!

Standing in the packed VFW last night, shoulder to shoulder, we watched the results being calculated and projected onto the wall.  The writing was on the wall both literally and figuratively. As results from each of the 12 districts came in, anticipation grew. It was very exciting, like watching the Super Bowl...except everyone in the room was rooting for the same team. When the last district was entered into the spreadsheet, the place erupted...Phil and Sue were victorious. Phil captured the most votes by far, then Sue. Taylor followed and Cristo was dead last. Party time...and what a party it was!

Sue gave a wonderful, genuine, thankful speech to her supporters with a message of hope and continued reference to her love of EG. Phil came out all business...having been elected just moments before, he talked fervently about all the work he was prepared to do. Both speeches were great and cemented my confidence that I had backed the right team. Why? For one, I'm not a democrat. Yesterday I voted across the board for Republicans with just three exceptions: I voted for Sue and Phil for EG Town Board, and I voted for the "The Rent is Too Damn High" guy. Really. We all know Cuomo was going to smoke Crazy Carl, so I thought I would use my vote for something more fun than backing a dead horse.

An analytical person, I like to dissect things and figure out "why". Why did Phil and Sue win? I honestly think the answer is that the tone, delivery, and attitudes of Cristo and Taylor make them just plain unlikeable. It's that simple. Look at what they had going for them. All these issues gave Cristo and Taylor the advantage and/or material to work with:

- $2.6 M in debt
- High taxes and another increase
- Junk bond status
- Stipends
- Conflicts of interest
- Scrapgate
- A dem candidate entering the race with only two months to go

With all this potentially on their side, the Republicans campaigned for a year, peppered The Advertiser ad nauseum, and went haywire on their blog pointing fingers at everyone Rick McCabe has ever met. In the end, though, their message seemed to be driven by a combination of arrogance and hate. It was "holier than thou" and very preachy. It's hard to run on the HATE platform and no one wants to be talked down to.

The results make me wonder what will become of Cristo and Taylor from a political standpoint. Will they be the only ones who don't see the writing on the wall and try to run yet again? Mike had the lowest votes, and Ann has lost both times she ran, so she's 0-2. In simple terms, the people of EG do not want them in office. The question is whether they will ever accept that. Personally, I think the EG Republican committee will make that decision for them and find two different horses for the next race.

But enough about that...the election is over. Congratulations Sue and Phil! I am confident you will both fight for a better EG. Please cast your board votes for what's good for EG in the long term. Please use your hearts and brains to make decisions, not just your loyalty to your party line. Do your best and make us proud.

Congrats.