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March 03, 2009
To the Editor:
In January, I wrote and announced my candidacy for re-election to the Village Board. In that letter I noted my opinion that the primary issues facing the Village Board were maintaining services, the budget, control of spending, debt reduction and the master plan. Clearly there are many issues that will face the Board, but these we may agree are near the top of the list.
I have read with interest the various letters and comments regarding debt reduction; the same was part of my short list. I would like to add some pertinent facts to the overall discussion. First, my premise is that paying down debt without spending restraint is an incomplete approach. I agree with prior comments that a portion of the debt reduction was on a fixed schedule, so I believe it would be disingenuous for me to take credit for scheduled payments being made on time.
In an effort to set the record straight as to when the trend to control spending and reduce debt began, I direct attention to early 2006 when I asked Trustee Bill Fogarty (who had recently re-joined the Board) to meet with me on a Saturday morning to review our “debt position”. With the assistance of Village Clerk Mahoney, we caused ourselves to become fully aware of the total debt the Village faced. Bill and I agreed at that point we could no longer support any further non-emergency borrowing, and shortly thereafter blocked a proposed equipment purchase (BAN), and began the trend to stop borrowing and pay down the BANs and RANs. The Board then undertook the pay down program Bill proposed and, thankfully, the trend has continued thru the current administration. I applaud Bill’s perseverance over the last three years.
Regarding this year’s very difficult budget deliberations, I am proud to have shown leadership as the catalyst to bring all the department heads together to meet with the entire Board, to work out a compromise that maintained spending restraint, but did not hamstring their ability to get the job done. Unilateral cuts, without discussion, are ill-advised.
As to the other critical issues, I ask for your support in the election on March 18th, and I promise to apply my knowledge and experience from 31 years as a municipal consultant toward a positive result in the other matters we will face over the next two years.
Mark J. Edsall, Trustee
Cornwall on Hudson
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