Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
When I became homeless the first time, I chose family.
The second time, I chose friends.
Left alone the third time, I had no one else but myself.
I decided to choose the version of me that would be a hero to the younger me.
A brave transgender woman fighting for justice, speaking truth to power, and bravely taking the knocks for it.
Because the important decision in that was to fight for others, not just for myself, but as a reflection of where we are, fight for what my younger self needed, what I needed, what I still need, and do so by striking for others. String and deep, strike at the heart of the issues.
That decision has been ever-unfilding since then, and before then when similar decisions were made. But it has forever changed my life to give it to others. Because when all else fails, choosing yourself means choosing the humanity that you share with others.
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PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Yes you read the tile correctly. Viking Hatchet Hurling, Inc. is coming to the city of Port Jervis. At least it hopes to make Jersey Avenue its home.
The proposed B.Y.O.B. event venue is planning to make the former Port Jervis Marketplace its home. The vacant old Save-a-Lot by Family Dollar is in a mainly residential area, but optimistically diagonally across from the Venture Inn.
Sounds like an adventure waiting to happen. We’ll see how the new Open Container law in progress fits with this plan as well as the new promenade by the Fox N Hare Brewery.
You’ll notice that this isn’t marked under news but blog. I almost didn’t write this article at all. In fact, today was almost my last day in the career track of journalism.
After this post, I’m switching focuses. I’ll still attend meetings and write about anything that intrigues me, correct the record and all that, but I’m staying away from the city that I grew up in.
It’s two-faced.
Janus will say that he hates the local political games, hate-bating and pandering and that he wants to change things. As soon as you walk away however, the Port Jervis god will only spit profanities and vitriol on your journey home.
Liars. Or are they? Where exactly is the truth in what people say? There has to be some somewhere.
That’s one thing I may stay in town for though it doesn’t come close to the higher purpose of rending the newsworthy facts that citizens need in order to live, learn and grow.
It may be interesting to know how much of a statement is true or honest when people say marvelous things. I’d rather learn how we can all create a common ground, but that doesn’t seem to be the place people like me. I’ll just keep smiling silently then.
It’s not easy being the one to tell others that more communication is necessary, because if they don’t communicate already, they don’t believe that they need to. Omitting the truth is just as much a lie, no?
Here’s the story:
I was hot on the trail of a risk assessment — a “pre-audit” — in the city, performed by State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office.
The glance at documentation tediously gathered by the city clerk’s office is a determining moment before deciding whether there were next steps for the city to take or even a full state audit to be conducted.
The state risk assessment began Jan. 23.
Mayor Kelly Decker replied this morning that there was no such necessitation according to what the state had concluded that day.
However, that doesn’t end the journey of auditing.
The city performs its own annual internal audit as well. This is when the firm Bonaddio comes in and does a thorough search through the city’s documentation. This organization has been used for years according to City Clerk RobinWaizenegger.
—
“…closer to 4%.”
Kristin Trovei
Even with the consistent auditing the city’s fund balance has fallen in the past decade to more than “unhealthy” lows.
In an article in the Times Herald-Record, responding to the village of Walden’s status, Brian Burry, spokesman for the state comptroller’s office, stated that having a fund balance of ten percent of total municipal expenses was a “healthy” goal.
Waizenegger sallied that fifteen percent, or just under a sixth of the city’s expenses, was a more appropriately called “healthy” fund balance.
That’s the process that the city goes through every year. To be clear, that’s enough for me. If there was to be more done, that would have been fine too.
This brings us back to my rant at the beginning.
Most people use Facebook these days. According to Pew Research Center, only eleven percent of people in the U.S. don’t use social media. Of the other eighty-nine percent that do, more than half use Facebook, and more than half of that half, use it everyday, multiple times a day, to read, take in news, and catch up with friends and family.
For that reason, I’ve been taking my calls for sources and comments from Twitter to Facebook.
Most recently I called attention to feelings about budgeting, finance, spending and city revenues following this pre-audit.
—
“…negative posts…”
It got the usual respondents, those that may have something negative to say. Those that still don’t feel that their representative government is taking the right actions in allaying these worries. Yet, there are also those that are more optimistic.
My question was plain, and any more middle of the rode it would have been flying high up next to the pie-in-the-sky.
The difficulty in remaining, and being seen as impartial, was turned on blast when politics stepped in on the post: a blanket shaming that served to discredit the question and any comments anyone had in the thread.
Even though replies were asked to be made as a “DM” or direct message to me, rather than comments.
The most heartbreaking part was the source of the political reaction. Someone that I had interviewed several times and was starting to feel friendly towards.
Perhaps there’s something to be learned in the old saying, “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — On a chilly Monday evening, as cold wind found scarce passage through the council chamber’s windows, the meeting began.
The building’s heating, whether being either not up-to-date or simply with a thermostat in the wrong person’s office, did little to make it any better.
Kristin Trovei, one of the Third Ward’s councilpeople, pulled a coat over her arms, “a Maria [Mann].”
This, the public was informed, is the room now slated to be the polling location for the Second Ward. The, perhaps only, upside to this is that because Port Jervis will not be able to recycle sooner than hoped, continued global warming could make November, hopefully a small fraction closer to melting people all over the ballot.
Since the last Common Council meeting Mayor Kelly Decker received a single piece of correspondence from the office of the governor of the state of New York, Andrew Cuomo.
The high school teacher and former police officer, following Regis Foster’s report on last month’s Police Department statistics, spoke very grimly of the policy’s effect on the drug war at home, combating Representative Sean Patrick Maloney’s opioid epidemic.
Well, of course, the wooden cars used to go “thirty miles an hour” down Sussex Street!
The grade of the hill at Church Street with other changes They’re down to 24-5 miles an our with a hill which has a gradient of only
Port
Home of the World’s Largest Soap Box Derby.
Jervis
Coincidentally, the separate entity presented plans.
The vision for the future of the Derby was read to the council and public by mother and Derby-er, Tanya Addy, whose proposal included a summary of a new schedule and the expectations of a welcoming community on Church Street rather than its home, for the past eighteen years, on Sussex Street’s hill.
The new hill is designed to cut costs, make the event easier for everyone and help busy families in a fun way.
Stanley Siegel, Fourth Ward’s Councilperson commented that the adjacent hill, Seward Street, was a mid-50’s “sleigh riding” joy created by community.
Councilperson for the Third Ward and Recreation Committee liaison to the Common Council, Gina Fitzpatrick, stated that the presentation was not initially made to the Recreation Committee for any sort of city assistance although the Derby will be aided by DPW, the Department of Public Works. Vehicles included to be made clear.
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Less than a week after his hopeful State of the City Address for a Port Jervis “that still needs nurturing to succeed,” Mayor Kelly Decker has, as many in the city would characterize, came out of his face.
Monday, in a letter-made-public-rebuttal on his Facebook Page, to a Sunday piece by the Times Herald-Record under the editorial tagline “Our Opinion,” entitled “A methadone clinic is not a crime scene,” Decker not only calls out the Record’s editor, Barry Lewis but also calls the newspaper in.
While plausible arguments are made by the Port Jervis Mayor, he goes on to completely flout arguments such as this one:
—
“Numbers, percentages, and statistics can be skewed in many different ways depending on the presenter’s angle.”
Mayor Kelly Decker
By leading with this aside before what should be the meat and potatoes staple of his argument, Decker builds up a strawman, an easy target to set ablaze. A simple reframing to make the dominoes fall easier, per se.
Nonetheless, those dominoes fall in both directions.
As Decker goes on to “assert that [Lewis’s] math is wrong” he has already given readers contrary to his viewpoint an out. Whatever math he cited, became all methed up, when he cast doubt upon mathematics as a whole prior to playing the Texas sharpshooter. He lost those that he needed on his side as he attacked the publication.
Yes, the letter was “a response” to the editor of the Times Herald-Record, Lewis, regardless, here a few factors that make this more of a political attack:
It was an opinion piece, and as such, didn’t necessarily merit such an official response as taking to the Elected Official Page that his Facebook is. Perhaps simply a letter-made-public-rebuttal on his personal page would have sufficed.
Decker’s political, elected official position put him at a disadvantage for a fair fight against the editor of a counterbalance of government.
Decker’s logical argumentation in his letter is riddled with fallacies.
Lewis, the editor of the Times Herald-Record deals in a world of changing opinions and changing headlines. It’ll be perceived as a political attack from the Mayor’s office not only because of these three factorss but most of all because of public opinion.
One: Opinion
In the end, shouldn’t matter to the Mayor, as many who read opinion pieces have already made up their minds, they’ve already voiced their own opinions and they have already signed their positions’ petitions.
—
“Once formed,” the researchers observed dryly, “impressions are remarkably perseverant.”
Now the inseparable quality of their positions immediately puts Decker at a disadvantage: Mayor of Port Jervis versus Editor of the Times Herald-Record. Not a pretty fight. Nor a fair fight.
Though it didn’t have to be a bout.
The majority of Port Jervis constituents would likely agree, that Donald J. Trump as President could teach mayoral successors a thing or two about responding to the media:
When put into a defensive position, don’t show it: Deny, deny, deny.
When refuting statements, as there’s no option for denial: use keywords that fire up your base and monosyllabic words and arguments that are guaranteed to win public opinion.
Don’t do as Decker did. But don’t do any of the above either. The media is wise to it all. Readers, listeners, and viewers, too.
Not responding at all, would have been the denial. Yet, Decker chose to tear off his suit, snap his Port Pride singlet and dive headstrong into the muddied ring for a political King-of-the-Hill match.
Three: Logic
Although the location has already been ruled out, there were, and still are, three positions available in the methadone clinic debate. As a reporter, here not discussing either of the former, being of the latter position: for the clinic, against the clinic, and neither for nor against the clinic.
This writer puts aside the journalist hat now and dons the hat that she studied in college: philosophy and linguistics. Mostly philosophy as logic is delved into here past the Texas Sharpshooter data cherrypicker argument. This is the writer’s playground, and those in politics could learn from this and avoid unnecessary future debate and compunction.
Editor of the Times Herald-Record, Barry Lewis: making positions for the cure of addiction, for the clinic.
Mayor of Port Jervis, Kelly Decker, coming from a position of the war on drugs: on record, against the clinic.
While most readers opposite to Decker’s view may stop at his first paragraph, they’re surprisingly not alone. Even those that agree that a methadone clinic is unnecessary in the city stop at the argument that he presents. It’s a no true Scotsmanargument that precedes a genetic argument.
Paragraph-by-paragraph
A genetic argument is one that means most of the following logic relies upon the first clause. That first clause here is an argument similar to an ad hominem, or an attack on one’s character rather than their argument: it’s a no true Scotsman argument. It’s an argument that focuses on the purity of one’s position, which sounds a lot like Nikki Minaj.
That’s not even including the child-human shield appeal to emotion argument ending the tu quoque “Let’s begin with this question” paragraph where the critique is turned 180 from Decker to Lewis.
—
“What do you know about Port Jervis? Clearly, you hardly know nothing about us at all! Except for one public forum about the opioid epidemic in our community, you have been non-existent in this community for at least the last 4 years. You didn’t even have the decency to respond to an email that I sent to you back on June 12, 2017 that said how dismayed I was with your paper and their lack of coverage for our Soap Box Derby. This is a kid-friendly event that brings thousands of people to our city each year and there was not one mention of it in your paper. However, now you feel compelled to write about a free or reduced pay clinic that wants come to our city? Your priorities are clearly miscued.”
Mayor Kelly Decker
To the point within the no true Scotsman argumentation by Decker, I have to insert my agreement. Indeed, the newspaper requires more coverage of the “city that is on the move.” If it’s of any solace to either party in this regard, I offer my services as a freelance writer and reporter.
Paragraph Two
Again, Nikki Minaj. Since she’s so relevant here, enjoy a video:
The following paragraph is the foremost example of the Texas Sharpshooter logical fallacy. The one referenced above is a muddled example to heat up the conversation about logic. Decker would have been better off simplifying this letter down to, or at least, leading with this second sentence in his fifth paragraph:
—
“I have never said ‘No.’ I said put it in a medical facility, especially one with detox and mental health.”
Mayor Kelly Decker
Decker may have also done very well leading with the knowledge that he personally has. Rather than trying to chop up the data that was served against him. For instance, without condescension:
—
“… your [claim] that I am making the situation more dangerous. […] it’s called Mens Rea, or the guilty mind of criminal intent, and then acting on that criminal intent is Actus Reus. The majority of Cornerstone’s clientele are heroin attacks. Heroin is illegal. [….] Therefore, these patients not only have Mens Rea but also Actus Reus and those are the people I don’t want invited to our city […]”
Mayor Kelly Decker
The next few paragraphs are called a bandwagonargument. It’s not that critical and really only acts as a public support rallying cry. Trump is great at using this, however, Decker should steer clear of it, and stick to the simplest of facts. He doesn’t need to reassert his position as an elected official in this way, especially not so deep into an already messy argument, but perhaps could have opened with some of his own facts rather than refuting those offered by Lewis.
Before his closing paragraph, he sets up a nice strawman argument against the Editor. The alcohol and criminality strawman. If the Mayor had used alcohol and criminality statistics, along with his own facts, in a second paragraph, he would have solidified a solid logical argument.
In closing, Decker uses another purity, or, no true Scotsman argument. He follows it with my favorite logical fallacy: the loaded question. This writer is going to do him a service, free of charge: reorganize and rescue what can be in a whole new letter:
Letter to the Editor: re: “A methadone clinic is not a crime scene.”
For starters, “I have never said ‘No.’ I said put [the methadone clinic] in a medical facility, especially one with detox and mental health.”
“Your [claim] that I am making the situation more dangerous [is unfounded…] It’s called Mens Rea, or the guilty mind of criminal intent, and [to then act] on that criminal intent is Actus Reus. The majority of Cornerstone’s clientele are heroin [addicts]. Heroin is illegal. [….] Therefore, these patients not only have Mens Rea but also Actus Reus[,] and those are the people I don’t want [to be] invited to our city[.]”
“[I invite you to hire more reporters for our growing city to see that there’s more than only an] opioid epidemic in our community[. For instance, there could be more coverage of city revenue-driving events, such as] our Soap Box Derby. This is a kid-friendly event that brings thousands of people to our city each year[.]”
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Of words disyllabic and greater used in repetition at the Monday, Jan. 22, Common Council meeting, petition was the word on the mouths of many.
The meeting started off to a great start with a reflection on the last meeting when the first local law of the year was passed.
The wrong local law.
The Trade Shops Law while requiring no remaining work in committee was originally preceded by a Sandwich Boards law. The latter still required committee attention. Therefore, it was a happy mistake remedied with a vote to pass the same first local law.
This followed quickly with a Public Comment period of five minutes per person. A line had surely formed in the minds of those residents that were speaking. There were many present with something to present, namely petitions.
As many residents and councilpeople had expected, the methadone clinic debate was taken to the podium. However, before sides were presented, Kurt Daniels asked for more information regarding what the Mayor knew about the impending clinic. From there Denise Conklin Billman presented her case for it and then William Mann and another, against it.
[Article on the subject, forthcoming.]
After the methadone clinic section of the Public Comment line, Jill Lindner delivered her experience of canvassing the Fourth Ward in support of her idea for a community garden. Her petition garnered 52 signatures and volunteers. After she had finished it was back to business as usual without comments from the Council regarding the community garden plan.
A “pre-audit” will be underway starting January 23.
The Tri-State Bridge project is almost completely funded, with only another $7-8 million needed to be raised.
County Shared Services update will be this next Common Council meeting.
15 Second Street, similar to the firehouse had to be demolished and have asbestos removed.
A Resolution for funding of travel costs Incurred by the City Assessor as they commute for education
There was a Longevity Calculation error in the Police Benevolence Association (PBA) contracts.
A Resolution to sell surplus firehouse equipment was passed.
Approved the Waiving of Education Fees to certify a Department of Public Works employee.
Approved the removal of trees along Main Street in accordance with the New York State Department of Transportation Roadways Expansion program.
Christmas Trees will cease to be picked up by Department of Public Works after this week.
Mayor Kelly Decker made quite a few appointments to committees, the full list will be updated in a separate article and linked here, after appointments are approved.
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Monday evening, former 2017 Fourth Ward candidate and activist Jill Lindner delivered her results to the Common Council and the public regarding a petition that she had started earlier this month.
The petition, signed by 52 people, began after news broke that the firehouse property at 15 Seward Ave. was expected to be sold by the city to the Salvation Army next door as had been done with 17 Seward Ave. not long before.
Lindner, with her concept, hopes to not only beautify the neighborhood but inspire, educate and enrich the lives of her neighbors in the Fourth Ward.
That’s the simple reason.
There is a more pervasive problem of the property pertinent to those who pay taxes in the City of Port Jervis.
In 2011, the city sold the property for $57,500, turning an immediate profit on the property of 17 Seward Ave. after having spent $35,500 to clear the property. Therein lies the problem however: the city, therefore the taxpayers, foot the bill to see their taxes raised ever more slightly by the rescinding of the property from the tax rolls.
—
“Gardens = Quality of life, making property worth more.”
Jill Lindner
So when in 2017 the city spent $101,752 to demolish the old firehouse at 15 Seward Ave. and test for asbestos, concerned neighbors spoke up and Lindner listened.
If it was to be of detriment to the situation of taxpayers, Lindner saw no reason why it couldn’t be, more positively, a tax-free project that served the community directly. Owned by the Ward for the next hundred years.
For the neighborhood, by the neighborhood.
When the idea was first raised by Lindner to a closed meeting with Mayor Kelly Decker, there was supposed to be two Fourth Ward representatives present to hear the notion. Yet, only Lisa Randazzo was present
According to Lindner, when she asked Stanley Siegel why he was a no-show, the councilman with a dozen years under his belt responded that he had not been called.
Though the shortcoming in communication, Lindner later says that not only did she get support at the meeting, but she was introduced to ways and means of financial support for the project.
Although Lindner has found volunteers “already rolling up their sleeves,” there has been “negative spin” from those with a voice that’s well-heard.
For instance, at the first Common Council meeting of the new year, in response to her open letter calling for public support, Siegel had the following to say:
—
“Not sure that site would be in the best interest of anybody.”
Stanley Siegel
Jill Lindner, as an environmental activist and artist, wishes to create and inspire a healthier, greener planet. Believing in “starting where you are” she ran for councilwoman to the Fourth Ward in 2017 after years of demonstrating and getting closer to the Earth. Now, beginning with this garden project, she is finding new ways of doing whatever she can to make a positive impact on the world around her.
That’s why it wouldn’t be a surprise to any that have spoken to her if she saw this project through to completion and set a precedent for creating positive, organic change.
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Yesterday, Saturday, Jan. 20, over 200 individuals came in respects to sister marches happening across the state, and around the nation, in solidarity with disempowered women and especially those most at-risk with the current Presidential Administration.
At the St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Port Jervis an estimated 250 individuals gathered for the first anniversary of the March. Last year, in sheer protest of President Trump’s inauguration, 800 demonstrators, according to organizer Patty Baughsman, packed the streets for the 1.5-mile march through Port Jervis. This year, in respect to those less able to make the hike, the March route was cut short to a tenth of a mile, with handfuls staying behind at the Church.
Here you’ll find the top five greatest signs at Port’s Women’s March.
First organized, last year, as the brain-baby of her friend, Gaye Hartwig, the March was pulled together by Baughman a week before the event.
In addition to suggesting the work of Sojourners, a faith and political organization in Washington, D.C., when asked what Hartwig would hope people took away from what she had to say Saturday, she answered that it could be summed up by verse:
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40, New International Version
A half-dozen women spoke across several topics all including the importance of getting involved, supporting those that are marginalized, and of course, getting out the vote. Pastor Aaron Baughman closed the preceding speeches before the event-goers moved to the street to demonstrate and protest.
The women who spoke ranged from members of the Church and the community to local activists and politicians. After Patty Baughman opened the floor this was the lineup:
Gaye Hartwig
Aileen Gunther — New York Assemblywoman D-Forestburgh (keynote speaker)
Melissa Martin — full-time mother and community activist
Pramilla Malick — Protect Orange County Chair, and a recent candidate for office
Julika von Stackelberg — Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County, Parenting and Family Life Educator
Michele McKeon — RECAP, Chief Operating Officer
Audio samples, so that you can be there without being there, and transcriptions, for continued discussion, forthcoming.
An Ending Note here:
It was interesting to see many women, children, and men (sadly no doggos tho) wearing pink, eared hats. The Pussyhat (like “pussycat”) as a number of ralliers had relayed, including member of the local activist group DemBones, Linda Louise, that the hat was a response to “grab them by the pussy,” a statement made by Donald Trump as “locker room talk” prior to the 2016 Presidential race. However, this topic was avoided in the recent Times Herald-Record article about the event, avoiding the controversy of the word. Louise commented that the hat is to fight back against the misogyny of Trump, and not to perpetuate transmisogyny as someone she follows on Twitter, Tamela J Gordon, believes.
This post is in addition to Silence and Strategy, the Weekly Photo Challenge by the Daily Post, as well as their Daily Prompt, respectively.
PORT JERVIS, N.Y.— Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall at 20 Hammond St, regular Common Council meeting hours began again for the new year.
A familiar face returned: Dominick Santini IV. The Port Jervis Republican who ran in 2017 for the First Ward replaced the city’s resigned predecessor, Sarah Hendry whose comments on leaving can be found here.
—
“I too would like to welcome my new partner in crime.”
Regis Foster
—
Save-a-Lot and nail salon are both coming
to the strip mall by Burger King and Rite Aid,
by Mar. 31 of this year.
Kelly Decker
After the youth report, a short discussion about dog parks in the city, the “Great American” building’s progress report and the Christkindlmarket discourse between Mayor Kelly Decker and a resident, public comment concluded with a reading of a seven-minute open letter to the city, elected officials, and most of all, the Fourth Ward.
2017 Fourth Ward candidate for Common Council and local activist Jill Lindner read the letter during her time at the podium for public comment. In her piece, she outlined the benefits and importance of a community-owned garden that not only revitalizes the aesthetic of a neighborhood but would educate and feed neighbors, making an area taken off the tax rolls worthwhile in doing so. You can read the full letter here, courtesy of Ms. Lindner and BriennaParsons.com.
What can’t be read in Lindner’s letter, yet she spoke of at the meeting, was that residents of the Fourth Ward who she had spoken to about the idea, were in support of not allowing the Salvation Army to simply purchase the plot and remove it from the tax rolls. Lindner also said that the North Street community garden in the Fourth Ward, that Siegel had suggested later in the meeting was slated for clearing, to make room for the Waterpark Project, and that the garden idea had been receiving a negative spin from the representative since her meeting with Decker and Lisa Randazzo, urging her to consider the Front and Seward cross street corner property which is planned to be demolished.
—
“Not sure that site would be in the best interest of anybody.”
Stanley Siegel
Following the outset of the meeting with public comment, minutes were approved and the council jumped right into committee reports. Beginning with Siegel and following to pay the bills ($296,913.29) with the Third Ward’s very own Finance and Insurance Liaison, Kristin Trovei concluding with numerous. resolutions of gov housekeeping.
Designating Officers
Newspapers, Radio & Television— The Times Herald-Record is where official documents will be publicly published.
Banking and Depositories
Standard Workday and Reporting for Retirement Benefits
Dual Signature Requirement for Disbursements
Community Development Agency Shared Service
Full resolution documents or details
should be made available through the city website.
Of notable news, Christmas tree pickup is continuing, parking is still blocked from streets until Apr. 1, as well as the Department of Public Works pickup calendar — should similarly be made available through the city website. Additionally approved during the report by George Belcher, councilman for the Second Ward, were the project resolutions for the bridge over the Neversink River and roadway to the city line. A multi-million-dollar cross-funded project to re-engineer the highly trafficked street.
Regis Foster, a councilman for the First Ward, reported for the Police Committee and rattled off several impressive policing statistics.
Mayor Decker moreover updated the council on an upcoming Deerpark-Port Jervis Annexation meeting. “The old Dick’s Concrete” location is to be annexed by the city. This meeting will certainly be covered by this journalist.
The State of the City Address
is set to be held
in the Council Chambers,
January 24
Afterword a section called old business was held, in it, many condolences were expressed to Councilman-at-Large, David Bavoso. His family is in a period of bereavement. Many “well wishes” came from roughly everyone.
—
Port Jervis is “a community
and there’s always something to rally around.”
David Bavoso
Besides in old business, Fourth Ward Common Council representative Stanley Siegel, regarding the award ceremony for the Patriot Pen, Voice of Democracy contest at the VFW Naval Ship said that it was “really great,” with youth speaking about democracy, “to listen to their vision of America.” Port Jervis not only has been hosting the event since 1970 but the venue is the only one like it in the country confirmed by Decker and Siegel.
Siegel ended his OB segment with a note on local activism. On Saturday, “two dozen” people met to protest for an accessible train station, with Siegel calling on Senator Chuck Schumer directly to no avail. He also had a note an upcoming taxpayer’s group with details coming in the following days, and an update on the warming station which needs volunteers and supplies.
— This journalist is also a recognized Voice of Democracy, receiving commemoration for her Patriot Pen January 17, 2010.
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — In a vote Wed., Dec. 27 the Port Jervis Common Council approved a final budget for the fiscal year 2018.
Possible Next Steps:
Conducting an audit
Maintaining maximum budget transparency throughout the year
Releasing a budget proposal prior to elections
Repealing Local Law #9 of 2017 that created the Contingency Budget
Passing, 6 to 3, at 8.13%, no additional compromises were made. Not even the agreeable across-the-board two percent pay increase cap, mentioned in this previous article. Rendering the last meeting of the seven workshops, moot.
Maria Mann in a short speech, prior to voting, summed up the situation thus far::
“I am still voting no because no changes or compromises were made. I explained my reasoning at length at the last vote. I’ve offered some suggestions on ways to reduce the budget and they were not incorporated into this plan. Not one change has been made since our last vote. I’ve only met resistance that fell upon deaf ears. I am not voting no to support an 11 percent increase. I am voting no because I feel there is room in this budget to be crunched regardless of even if it is a fraction of a percent.”
Mann was not the only councilperson that felt that they were not heard. Stanley Siegel expressed a very similar statement before his vote. While having “no additional comment” at the vote, Gina Fitzpatrick, commenting the next day, said this to YourPortJervisIsShowing:
“I felt my decision would not have changed the outcome. Maria & my voices were not heard anyway. I wish I stuck with my no and didn’t give in. No one was willing to work at changing things except Lisa [Randazzo]. Everyone had their mind made up, the first vote. Also, I didn’t want it to go to the contingency budget of 11%. I was disappointed and left there ASAP because of it. I hope things change in 2018.”
In making her position clear before her “yes” vote, Kristin Trovei had this to say at the end of her comment about shaving off decimals from the budget, having had missed the previous meeting’s agreeable cap:
“In order to reduce the budget we’d have to do layoffs or we’d have to eliminate some type of program or service that the city currently offers.”
No programs or services were ended. No cuts were made to pay increases for non-contractual, hourly city employees. And no jobs were cut either.
Mayor Kelly Decker noted that had a budget been passed with layoffs, he would have vetoed it stating that he would rather see positions cut through “attrition (retirement)” or “lateral moves” such as moving employees to other staff vacancies. Therefore without cuts this year, the city moves along with the Mayor’s maverick Five-Year Strategic Plan that has increased the city’s taxes nearly 30 percent and is highly anticipated in revitalizing the municipality.
The meeting ended after goodbyes as Sarah Hendry announced that she would no longer be on the Council. Her “no” vote having been maintained, when asked why she was resigning as Councilperson, Hendry said that government wasn’t for her. Her city contemporaries nevertheless lauded her abilities as an investigative representative who even to the end stuck by what was best for her constituents.
Present for the vote was 2017 Fourth Ward candidate Jill Lindner. During public comment, she spoke out against the heavy increase, indicating common issues for residents of the Ward. Similarly, in a discussion online, financial analyst consulting at Morgan Stanley’s Global Financial Crimes Unit and 2017 candidate, Zoe Valdez in a conversation with Fourth Ward residents and councilperson Siegel, had this to say about the budget:
“Anyway, just so we’re all clear, every council member is accountable for the 2018 budget! Whether they voted “yes” or “no”!!! We literally have the same Council members we’ve had over the last 4 + years, they should have been fully aware of every issue with those numbers! Corrections and adjustments should have been proposed and made a while ago, not a few weeks before final approval. They need to represent us daily by being on top of things, not just only when it’s time to vote!”
More concisely, this is what came about in online discussion:
More transparency in the budget is needed throughout the year: not waiting until after elections to release a proposal
Conducting a full, perhaps forensic, audit must take place
Drafting a law to repeal the incendiary amendment to Section C4-7 of the Port Jervis City Charter: Local Law 9 of 2017, is on the table. The amendment added a clause for a Contingency Budget, which Wed. totaled 11.1 percent, and residents feel was used to
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Budget meetings continue in the Port Jervis City Hall, as the Common Council deliberates further cuts for the fiscal year 2018.
Three ways are clear in Port Jervis budget cuts:
Remove the request for a 19th police officer
Give out zero or two percent pay increase
Cut or Consolidate Programs and/or Personnel
Federally, the GOP Tax Plan has been passed by the bicameral Congress, a Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 has been signed into law as well as a Department of State Authorities Act for the Fiscal Year 2018. New York State has also been hard at work on its budget for 2018. Within this atmosphere, it was no surprise that Thursday, the Port Jervis Common Council tackled their on-the-fence 2018 budget for the umpteenth time.
The Port Jervis Common Council currently hung up on its tax bill and budget for the coming year is still at a present agreement of 8.13 percent, which must be passed before the Dec. 31 deadline, or default to a contingency plan that would hike taxes 11.1 percent.
At the onset of the Thursday budget workshop, many were in the general seating. However, after a short while, Finance & Insurance Chairperson and Councilperson Kristin Trovei had to leave for her family. In attendance though were Department of Public Works (DPW) Director, Jack Farr, and Police Chief, William Worden. Both spoke about where in the current budget, cuts could be made regarding their particular departments.
Starting out this year’s budget, Councilperson Lisa Randazzo reiterated often, that the council was aware prior to the budget discussion that the tax plan would begin with a baseline increase of seven percent.
That seven percent was due to a Serial Bond for construction projects, such as the Hudson Street Bridge, Tri-State Bridge, and Promenade projects. All voted for approval, and nearly completed earlier this year. All of the projects, Farr had mentioned during his time at the stand, as he defended the hard work of Port’s skilled laborers who had saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars – each project, by doing things “in-house;” a unique quality of the Port Jervis DPW.
Also included in that seven percent, however, was to be more contested by residents: contracts coming up for negotiation and therein, insurance programs. Regarding insurance for city employees, they already pay 20 percent of the full cost. Yet residents have called to make room where the room can be made, renegotiating the contracts as soon as possible. While, fulfilling previous promises, such as training and certification, of course.
Chief Worden sounded more than willing to forgo a 19th police officer for another year, saving the city about $40,000, if a partial amount of that, perhaps “$25,000,” were set aside as a contingency. The point he made was that the department is becoming stretched thin as it is with crime filling cells and the central arraignment courthouse making booking criminals a trip to Goshen, Middletown, or Newburgh, putting police “in the business of transportation.” Not to mention Raise the Age implementation looming on the horizon (maybe June 2018).
Finally, the stiff-aired meeting adjourned with no solid answers arrived at, and no vote made. Yet, there was a single thread which may prove useful to alleviating budget woes: Many hard-working city employees deserved raises, nonetheless reasonable two percent increases, and not extravagant 100% increases. A sort of nod to the state-mandated two percent tax cap.
Of those that voted “no” Monday, present were all but Sarah Hendry: Gina Fitzpatrick, Lisa Randazzo, Maria Mann and Stanley Siegel, were all in attendance. Hendry’s comments in regards to these questions are therefore absent.
They answered questions regarding their courageous votes for their constituents, here:
Lisa Randazzo, Monday, had voted “no,” due to the “lack of consensus,” not wishing to move forward on a budget that may still sit poorly with her compatriots. She appeared to agree with an “across the board two percent” in regards to employee raises. However, while she agreed that the process of budgeting needed to change, she did not agree with the tight “line-by-line” evaluation, not suggesting any cuts in particular and seemingly content with where the budget was after having earlier seen 9.98 percent and eleven before that.
Gina Fitzpatrick’s vote was a “no” because of disparities between certain supervisors and their employees. Whereas a supervisor mentioned had made less than a supervisee, Fitzpatrick had wanted to see that balanced out. Contracts not included. Also, if possible in the days coming, she hopes for an “across-the-board” two percent increase cap for those asking for raises.
Maria Mann, having voted “no,” in favor of further cuts closer to seven percent if not the two percent state mandate, stuck close to her guns, Thursday. She continued, stating that with an “across-the-board” two percent increase cap and cuts such as trimming personnel and consolidating deeper, a 7.48 percent could be reached, at least, if not 6.95 percent, her goal. She stood her ground when questioned further about the 19th police officer, stating that she was strongly “against” removing the hire completely.
Stanley Siegel, longest-sitting “no” voting member of the council, to follow-up on the police officer, offered up the idea of per diem veteran hires. He had pointedly voted “no” Monday as his constituents, vastly stark in wealth compared to those in other wards were widely in disavowal of the 9.98 or even 8.13 percent increase. As he put it: “they are just hanging on by their nails.” The Fourth Ward is home to the largest part of elderly citizen homes where residents if they are lucky enough are on a fixed income and perhaps a small paying pension. His own pension, he detailed, from Veterans’ Affairs, accrues only about $1300 a month. He had visited numerous individuals and families and discussed in detail the budget with these same citizens again and again. He’s still steadfast in cutting it down as much as possible, hoping that maybe employees would take no increase at all, rather than even two percent.
Without a vote, we wait to see what the next budget workshop shakes out here in Port Jervis, NY.
“This disastrous spill from the first Keystone Pipeline makes clear why Keystone XL should never be built.” — Jared Margolis, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity in response to a leak of 210,000 gallons of oil Thursday morning.
— What a Zimbabwe to Go -—————————————
The Story
Were President Donald Trump to meet with Zimbabwe leaders right now, there would be more than one elephant in the room .
The first elephant is one that is receiving global outcry. The Trump Administration just reversed a 2015 Fish and Wildlife, Endangered Species Act addition that had banned elephant trophies out of African nations, such as Zimbabwe. The country’s focus however, is not on elephants, as it’s elsewhere.
Where else are Zimbabwe leaders focused?
Well, perhaps on what was being called a coup! After a trip to China, head of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), Gen. Constantino Guveya Chiwenga, isn’t making this look any less like a coup. The details certainly spell it out as such.
Who did the military oust?
The 93-year-old incumbent President of Zimbabwe (since 1987!), Robert Mugabe, was placed under house arrest in Harare, Wednesday. China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, claimed Chiwenga’s visit had been part of “a normal military exchange.” Mugabe is currently resisting military pressure to quit from his position and is in continued talks.
Strongman President to Tyrant President?
While the world’s oldest ruling head of state, Mugabe, has been described as a strongman president, the man that may be the next president of Zimbabwe is already being called a tyrant. After Mugabe fired his powerful vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, clearing the way for his wife, Grace, to succeed him as leader of Zimbabwe. Grace had accused 75-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former chief of intelligence, of being the “root cause of factionalism” in the ruling Zanu-PF party in the country, after which Mnangagwa reportedly fled to South Africa, when Chiwenga demanded the end to the clearing out of the party, which quickly became military intervention, or coup.
theBreez
It’s probably not a good time to go collect that ivory trophy you’ve been drooling about, but things aren’t looking good for Zimbabwe as political transition is stalled at the point of discussion between Mugabe and the military. This not only means travel to Zimbabwe shouldn’t be on your holiday itinerary but because of the snowball effect the country has, the southern part of the continent is not expected to see improvement until things settle in Zimbabwe.
— Caught in TheBreez ——————————————————————
Democrats and Republicans can finally agree on something…
By now, you’ve likely heard of the avalanche of accusations that have been flying after the initial snowdrop of #MeToo, during the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Now the snowfall thickens, as allegations come out against comedian-turned-Minnesota-Senator, Al Franken. But none of this type of thing is new to us, remember Bill Clinton?
Moore to love….
This one isn’t about the Former Alabama Chief Justice, Roy Moore. Let’s look at some good here. Earlier this week, Gal Gadot made an ultimatum, that Wonder Woman fans were losing their s#%$ over. We can all exhale now; the Justice League star, will be returning to the DC legend role as Brett Ratner will not be. Also, I guess that’s their “Wonder Woman 2” announcement.
At the St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Port Jervis an estimated 250 individuals gathered for the first anniversary of the March. Last year, in sheer protest of President Trump’s inauguration, 800 demonstrators, according to organizer Patty Baughsman, packed the streets for the 1.5-mile march through Port Jervis. This year, in respect to those less able to make the hike, the March route was cut short to a tenth of a mile, with handfuls staying behind at the Church.
Brienna Parsons 