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Thread: Thougts on Supervisor Piortowski's budget cuts

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    Thougts on Supervisor Piortowski's budget cuts

    As far as the budge goes, I feel that the buck stops with the Supervisor. He is the full-time Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for the Town. The Councilmembers are part-time servants who attend meetings as assigned and attend to residents’ concerns. Now that there are only two Councilmembers, the available resource is further diluted and I am sure that the two Councilmembers are working more than 15-20 hours/week just doing what they can for the residents. It is unfair to indicate that the two Councilmembers should also be responsible for oversight of budgets and departments – that is the Supervisor’s full-time job.

    Kevin Gaughan rolled into Town four years ago and convinced Wally Piotrowski and some residents that staff is not needed to run the Town - trim staff and cut costs. This has been Wally’s mission for the past four years – focusing on cutting staff and budgets. Unfortunately, Kevin Gaughan has not been around to see the fruits of his labor. Fruit dead on the vine.

    I feel that the departmental and staffing cuts were far too deep, leaving the Town in a vulnerable position. Vulnerable as in not being able to properly support the Town’s 44,711 residents – not to mention the businesses trying to make a go of here.

    While I am all for cutting waste in government, I feel that these deep departmental cuts exhibit an unbalanced approach to Town management. It is my opinion that there should be more of a focus on growing the commercial base in Town. Increased commercial growth will help balance the budget. This is by far the harder thing to do, and most likely why it hasn't been done.

    Right now we have many areas of blight in Town – mostly adjacent to the Buffalo City line at Seneca Street and in the Seneca/Ridge Road corridor. In addition to the many empty storefronts, we are beginning to see some vacant houses in Town. This is a bad sign for us as we will soon see increased crime in those areas. Unfortunately, the Walmart project seems to be dead, but there is still plenty of opportunity along the Slade Ave. and Seneca/Ridge Rd. corridor.

    Supervisor Piotrowski has dismissed the Comprehensive Plan out of hand and has done nothing to address the obsolete zoning maps and code in the Town. Without such a guideline or a Town Planner, we are continuing to put ourselves in a position to constantly have to react to developers’ grand schemes as opposed to presenting a thoughtful plan with realistic goals for growth that can be achieved over time.

    Sorry to say, but developers are opportunists – and the Town is ripe for the picking with our weak zoning code currently in place. For far too long, people like Bryan Young and the dreaded Ralph Lorigo have been able to take full advantage of our zoning shortcomings by promoting projects that benefit them and their clients, but not the Townspeople, and there’s not a damned thing we can do about it.

    The Town Board recently took a giant step in the right direction by moving toward the proper staffing of the Code Enforcement Office which is responsible for assisting in the permitting process for residents and business owners who wish to improve their property. The Code Enforcement office is also charged with addressing the Town’s trashy look. It will take a while to achieve, but they are working toward that goal.

    Unfortunately, Supervisor Piotrowski is critical of Ms. Meegan and Mr. Clarke’s efforts to improve the Town as he evidently feels that the increased staffing of the Code Enforcement Office is a waste of taxpayer money. I ask this – what is the value of a piece of property which is adjacent to a vacant, run-down lot? What does that do for your tax base? I say we try to improve the look of the Town and increase our tax base, not destroy it through nickel and dime tactics and poorly conceived cuts.
    Last edited by WS Mom; September 7th, 2011 at 05:44 PM. Reason: Started off badly - Thoughts on Piotrowski's...

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    Member TheLegendKiller's Avatar
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    At the risk of being called a Wally sycophant one more time, one of the, if not the biggest impediments to business development in NYS is the taxes. One of the major reasons for high taxes is too many layers of government which has lead to high amounts of pensions for a huge number of government workers. The Supervisor was not against proper staffing of the Code Enforcement office, rather, pushed for an efficient staffing of the office by hiring a part time, rather than a full time, assistant. As it is, there will now be another employee receiving full time benefits and eventually vest in a pension. The Supervisor was attempting to avoid this thus decreasing the tax burden. The same with the Building and Plumbing inspector.

    In addition to this, Meegan and Clarke also hire additional employees in sanitation and buildings and grounds, which we have discussed here. As I have stated, I believe these hires had more to do with pandering to town employees, securing the democratic endorsements, as many employees are committeman, and encouraging their support for the election. This is not good goverment practice and when they can simply out vote the Supervisor, it is unfair to say the buck stops with him. If he is considered the chief operating and finance officer, the other council members should be following his lead, listening to and considering his recommendations rather than use his proposals as opporunities to shamelessly grandstand as they have done.

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    I have lived in West Seneca all my life and it is unheard of to hire more staff then the union contract calls for. I know that the highway department has guaranteed numbers, but to go over that set number is something that has NEVER been done before. I don't think this is good government thinking at all. I applaud Wally for holding the line on spending, because this is what the residents of West Seneca voted for him to do. If this is the way Clarke and Meegan would run the town if elected, then we need to look elsewhere.

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    If the people of West Seneca want someone to follow Wally's lead and be his and Lorigo's puppet then your right,vote for Hart. Just what West Seneca needs. Three lawyers running the town, Lorigo,Piotrowski and Paul

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    Member dtwarren's Avatar
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    Part-time civil servants vest in the pension system as well and since the pension is based on the average of the top three continuous years of earnings, and eventually according to your thinking their promotions to full time should be based merely on years in rather than performance, will not result in any savings in pension costs long-term.

    What will reduce pension-costs would be to reduce out-of-title pay, overtime, and provisional appointments.
    “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” ― Thomas Jefferson

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    Member TheLegendKiller's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SOMETHING SMELLS View Post
    If the people of West Seneca want someone to follow Wally's lead and be his and Lorigo's puppet then your right,vote for Hart. Just what West Seneca needs. Three lawyers running the town, Lorigo,Piotrowski and Paul
    Whose right? Who said anything about voting for Hart? Stop putting words in people's mouths and spreading the BS that Lorigo is running the show. You criticize us for standing up for the Supervisor (when all we are doing is adding truth to your ill-conceived posts) and going after Clarke, but you don't seem to realize that all you do is go after Piotrowski and defend Dale and Sheila. If Dale didn't do anything wrong, we'd have nothing to criticize. If you all weren't on here lying about Piotrowski, we'd have nothing to refute. Just saying...

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    Sirkin also wrote that Supervisor Wallace Piotrowski's conduct "constitutes a failure by the Supervisor to administer and supervise day to day Town operations and finances

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    Quote Originally Posted by dtwarren View Post
    What will reduce pension-costs would be to reduce out-of-title pay, overtime, and provisional appointments.
    Or getting rid of them...
    "I know you guys enjoy reading my stuff because it all makes sense. "

    Dumbest post ever! Thanks for the laugh PO!

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheLegendKiller View Post
    ...and spreading the BS that Lorigo is running the show.
    You don't believe for one second that ralphie isn't pulling Wally's strings, so why pretend otherwise? Whose voice do you think it was telling Wally what to say in that epic Buffalo News interview audio?

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    Quote Originally Posted by FisherRd View Post
    You don't believe for one second that ralphie isn't pulling Wally's strings, so why pretend otherwise? Whose voice do you think it was telling Wally what to say in that epic Buffalo News interview audio?
    Saying Ralph Lorigo is running the show, is like saying Chris Walsh is running the town which I don't believe either to be the truth.

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    Member dtwarren's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wnyfuture View Post
    Saying Ralph Lorigo is running the show, is like saying Chris Walsh is running the town which I don't believe either to be the truth.
    Didn't Piotrowski state that “I can’t do that, I’m with Joey, the Lorigo family.”
    “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” ― Thomas Jefferson

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    Member dtwarren's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dtwarren View Post
    Part-time civil servants vest in the pension system as well and since the pension is based on the average of the top three continuous years of earnings, and eventually according to your thinking their promotions to full time should be based merely on years in rather than performance, will not result in any savings in pension costs long-term.

    What will reduce pension-costs would be to reduce out-of-title pay, overtime, and provisional appointments.
    Is it true that the Secretary to the Supevisor is getting out-of-title pay? If so how where was this authorized by the Town Board?
    “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” ― Thomas Jefferson

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    I have said this a thousand times on here. Department heads authorize out of title pay, not the Town Council. When a Department Head goes on vacation or takes a leave and someone is appointed to take over for them, the Town Council approves this because there is not a set salary for them.

    According to the 2010 budget report, she just got a straight salary, no overtime or anything. I am sure a freedom of information request could be sent to find out.

    I am suprised you would ask this. You spearheaded the effort against Kauderer, now you ask if someone else knows? There is a board meeting on Monday night, you could always get up and ask.

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    Member dtwarren's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheLegendKiller View Post
    I have said this a thousand times on here. Department heads authorize out of title pay, not the Town Council. When a Department Head goes on vacation or takes a leave and someone is appointed to take over for them, the Town Council approves this because there is not a set salary for them.

    According to the 2010 budget report, she just got a straight salary, no overtime or anything. I am sure a freedom of information request could be sent to find out.

    I am suprised you would ask this. You spearheaded the effort against Kauderer, now you ask if someone else knows? There is a board meeting on Monday night, you could always get up and ask.
    The Town Board in the Town of West Seneca is the sole appointing authority. NY Civil Service Law § 61(2) provides:
    Prohibition against out-of-title work. No person shall be appointed, promoted or employed under any title not appropriate to the duties to be performed and, except upon assignment by proper authority during the continuance of a temporary emergency situation, no person shall be assigned to perform the duties of any position unless he has been duly appointed, promoted, transferred or reinstated to such position in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules prescribed thereunder. No credit shall be granted in a promotion examination for out-of-title work.
    So what you describe is unlawful because:

    1) it is authorized by someone other than the proper authority;
    2) it is not a temporary emergency situation;
    “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” ― Thomas Jefferson

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    Shine the light and the cockroach disappears...Where'd you go, LogicKiller?

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