The NOT Fully Developed Plan

Mayor Sottile has gone to the paper to announce that he has a plan to combine the Department of Public Works and the Department of Parks and Recreation to make things more efficient. He says the merger would save money and create a wider pool of workers to maintain city parks.

CSEA Unit Vice President Troy Ashdown has said that the proposal will neither save money nor make the parks any cleaner and that there are still questions that need to be answered in regard to the Mayors proposal.

“It is just change for change’s sake,” Ashdown said. “The Mayor is just playing musical chairs.”

Ashdown told Hudson Valley Labor Report that he absolutely agrees that the city should be run as efficiently as possible but the devil is in the details.

To Ashdowns credit, the Mayor admitted to the Daily Freeman that specific plans have not been fully developed, he did say however, that he plans to shift at least five recreation department laborers to public works.

The job of a municipal labor leader is to ensure that the taxpayers get the best production in return for their tax dollars and that, at the same time, workers rights are respected within any "plan" that may be proposed.

Judging from the past track record of this Mayor, the welfare of the workers is not too high on his list of priorities, so Ashdown is 100% correct to make sure he gets involved and questions a plan that is - from the Mayors own words - NOT fully developed.

HVLR has a suggestion for the Mayor. Why not involve the union and develop the entire plan as a team?

“My number one responsibility is to the taxpayers of this community, not the CSEA,” Sottile said. Good soundbite but there are tons of examples of his office costing those same taxpayers money for stupid reasons.

.....and, just last week he involved himself in the CSEA election. This week, he doesn't care.

That seems to be part of an ongoing problem with this Democratic Mayor - he seems to have a few different personalities and a problem working UPFRONT and well with others....and his union issues transcend just the CSEA.

The Mayor told the Freeman he is perplexed by Ashdown’s comments, saying that “behind closed doors,” union officials appeared to back the plan.

How do you back a plan that even the Mayor admits is "not fully developed"?

“It is unfortunate that the vice president criticizes me for trying to save jobs,” Sottile said. Another good soundbite.

Recent history shows that this Mayor does not have a record of saving jobs. Just rewind to the budget he proposed for proof. He didn't give a damn about saving jobs or the people in those jobs.

The best part is that Alderman Charles Landi, D-Ward 3, who chairs the Common Council’s Finance/Economic Development Committee, defended the mayor’s plan, and unfairly bad mouthed the union while doing it.

What could Charlie mean? He backs the unfinished, not fully developed plan?? Good ole dependable free thinking Charlie.

Looks like Charlie is just taking shots here or maybe just doing shots - one or the other. Either way - you're too much Charlie.

Here is a simple solution Mayor- meet with the union and work out a REAL finished plan before going to the paper half cocked and starting a dispute over one that isn't even "fully developed".

Maybe it is time, as some commenters on this blog have said, to take a look at electing a few more Republicans and ousting a few these do nothing, anti-union Democratic blowhards we have in office now in Kingston and in Ulster County as a whole.

It's a good bet that the Republicans would love a few new friends these days and they can't possibly be any worse than some of these "allstars" we have in office now.