Residents had lots of questions for New Paltz Town Supervisor Tim Rogers on Thursday night, ranging from how the proposed consolidation of the village and town will impact the employment of village workers, village workers’ union contract, and how a tax credit from the state for consolidation would be distributed.
After consolidation, the village would no longer be a separate government, but merge into the town’s government. And the village would be no more. Rogers said the main reason for consolidation would be to manage expenses and tax revenue more efficiently.
But residents like Gigi Frïs, who is part of the Hudson Valley Tenants Union, were worried that consolidation would lead to unwanted development in the village. She said the village is largely made up of student residents from SUNY New Paltz and their income is much lower than the town’s.
"I think it's for McMansions and torn down orchards like we've seen in other areas like in Sullivan County. So, I don't want that happening. I'm voting no,” Frïs said.
Village Mayor Alexandria Wojcik said she understands residents’ fears about development and thinks losing the village could take away a “protective layer” of government.
“The village, it's like an umbrella, right? It's the smallest umbrella government. And then the towns around us, then we've got county, and then the state, and all that jazz. Each of those serves as checks and balances on each other. And you know, I think the concerns about development are definitely on point for that reason,” Wojcik said.
Town Board Member Sean O’Sullivan supports consolidation and said many town bodies — like the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA)— would benefit from consolidation since more people would apply and compete for those positions.
“When I went into the ZBA for the first time, I had 30 seconds to figure it out. They said, 'you're on the ZBA, now you vote'. That is not how we should be doing it. You should be forced to be an alternate for a year or two. Figure things out. But we can't do that because every board is empty. Every board has people missing from it.”
Supervisor Rogers, who was the mayor of the village for over 10 years before becoming town supervisor this year, said no one — village or town workers — would lose their jobs under consolidation. He said after the consolidation everyone would go into work the next day just like normal.
“I think what's interesting is I've heard, you know, different folks making public comments saying, ‘protect our village’, ‘save our village’. And I was like, ‘I don't think they understand that the goal is to do exactly that’.”
Lots of questions also centered around a New York State tax credit of $1 million dollars for municipalities that successfully reorganize.
Kitty Brown, the lone Town Board member against consolidation, said many residents were upset property owners with higher assessed value would receive a larger dollar benefit because they pay a larger share of the levy. The supervisor agreed but said that’s how tax levy’s work.
Village resident, Kim Squillace had a lot of questions about the village worker' union contract and how it compared to the town’s contract.
“You're saying your union contract is the same as theirs with their medical benefits and their retirement benefits? They're identically the same? Is that what you saying?” Squillace asked the Supervisor.
Rogers said the town union’s contract, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA), was better than the village’s contract.
“I negotiated the village's contracts. And I've negotiated a new contract with the town membership. So, the new town CBA is better than the current village's CBA,” Rogers said.
The village workers union, CSEA, said in a statement they do not support consolidation.
After the meeting, Town Highway Superintendent Chris Marx, said his mind is not totally made up.
“I think it was half for [and] half against [consolidation]," Marx said. "And I think a lot of people left with more questions. It's a very complex thing. Most people don't understand local government, the infrastructure, the different finances. It's very difficult. It took me ten years to get a handle on it, and I've been here fifteen years actually running the money."
