City of Kingston Minority Leader’s Report March 1, 2011

We Are All In This Together

I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. It is so important to

have open lines of communication between our City’s government and the
people we serve. President Noble, my fellow members of the Common
Council and to everyone here tonight, I respectfully submit this year’s
Minority Report:

It seems like yesterday I was here before you giving last year’s report
talking about many of the same issues. Looking back I spoke with the
optimism of a fresh Alderman thinking wheels of government would spin,
and change would happen overnight. Now I know things happen slower
here than in the public sector, yet my optimism and faith in our great City
has not dissipated one bit.

The news of late causes deep concern with budget mandates,

dwindling jobs and rising taxes. Alleged overtime discrepancies and
questionable actions from one of our most respected public servants has
eroded the public trust. These are very difficult times indeed. Let’s look at
our roadmap and see where we’ve been, then let’s look ahead to how we
can work together to rebuild that trust and begin to turn our city around.

The same topics rise to the surface; loss of jobs, unsustainable pensions &
labor agreements, uneven assessments and an unbalanced tax rate scaring
away new business. We continue to confront crime and gangs in our streets
and inefficient spending at City Hall. The list goes on. Last year we spoke
of efficiency and planning, this year we are talking about survival. Since
2007 we have seen our City’s fund balance drop from more than $15 million
dollars to less than $4 million in 2009, jeopardizing our financial footing.
Uneven assessments resulted in high legal fees and grievance settlements,
combined with falling home values this further increases the burden on a
property owner. In this year’s budget, for the first time ever, these
grievance settlements were bonded, adding to our City’s long term debt.
Now is the time for a new way of thinking and doing business. We have
successfully combined our Fire Dispatch with the County beginning the
process of sharing services and resources which is a step forward. As union
contracts expire later this year it is essential the discussions are open, fair,
and agreeable for all. If we can achieve sustainable labor agreements we
can restore services and make needed repairs to our Parks and
Infrastructure. The future of our City depends on it.

In the Mayor’s address he spoke of the wonderful things that have

taken place on Kingston’s Waterfront. Where all of this is a wonderful asset
to our City, we have 2 other business districts that seem to constantly fall
by the wayside. The Uptown shopping district is one of Kingston’s Crown
Jewels, yet business owner’s cries for help are swept under the mat, or in
this case, the Canopy. Our midtown corridor continues to struggle, yet we
ignore chronic violators whose storefronts repeatedly break design and code
regulations. Let me remind you that one has to drive down Broadway to get
to the Waterfront. More visitors arrive by car than by boat 12 months out of
the year and we MUST work to empower these areas. Whether we do it
through the creation of Business Improvement Districts or other incentives,
when we do it, new jobs will follow. We all have hopes that the Kings Inn
property will bring an opportunity to reinvent the neighborhood and create
a welcome and much needed place for visitors and residents alike. With
community groups engaging in the re-birth of Kingston we can achieve
great things. We have some of the most dedicated people who call
Kingston home, and they are on the front lines of moving us forward.
Members from our community dedicate their time keeping kids out of
harm’s way. Take a look at the Hodge Center, the Boys & Girls Club and
our own Rec Programs and you’ll see why it is so important to engage our
youth before crime and gangs find them. We have a Neighborhood Watch
that has helped garner attention to how we as citizens can be pro-active
against crime and work with law enforcement to keep our streets safe. We
are all in this together.

A key component of our success stems on jobs and job creation. We

need to look at all levels of opportunity which includes small business,
health care, creative arts, education, history and tourism among them.
Until we embrace business by working to equalize the homestead/non-
homestead tax model we can’t compete with neighboring communities.
The City of Kingston also needs to hold the line on social services and the
cottage industry it has become. The amount of parcels off our tax rolls
continue to overburden the rest of the community and we must strike a
balance between the two by taking a hard look at our zoning laws which
permits this to happen and then address it. I am pleased to say that my
suggestion of creating a special Laws & Rules Committee meeting each
month focusing on our zoning regulations will begin in March and we will
work to bring these codes up to date. Doing so will help protect our
heritage and historic neighborhoods while working to streamline the process
for new development. It will be an ongoing effort that will embrace the
expertise of Planning and Building & Safety, combined with community and
business leaders working together to move us forward with a strategy for
success. This is the first step for a Comprehensive Plan that is so
desperately needed which can be done affordably. Making sure that all
departments communicate with each other is part of this process. I often
witness how the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing which is
inefficient and costly.

As we look ahead we must embrace change. Using digital media and

social networking is an easy way to keep the public informed and is cost
effective as well. For example during a snow emergency our DPW can alert
the community with up to the minute information. In today’s world of
instant media we must be part of the revolution. Another component to
Kingston’s future should include the inception of a Strategic Plan Committee
in order to chart a course over the next 15-20 years to insure future
generations of a vibrant and healthy City. We will soon have a new
neighborhood with Hudson Landing. It was a long process and we have to
acknowledge the commitment of the community and developers who
listened to find a common balance.

As outlined here tonight, we have much to look forward to but we have

a lot of work to do. This spring our leadership will be defending their actions
in a Sexual Harassment Lawsuit, we will continue to fight the County to
change the practice of Safety Net funding, and we will wait for the outcome
of federal and state investigations in our Police Department. With the
opportunity for a change in leadership for Kingston this fall we must insist
that these and other issues take a front seat in order to put us on the right
track. It is vital that we repair public disconnect and regain the trust of our
people. We must hold the line on property & school taxes which are
causing homeowners and business owners alike to pick up and leave. And
we must have a strong voice at the state level to fight unsustainable and
unfunded mandates. Improving the quality of life for our residents along
with having honesty and integrity in our leaders, and a transparent and
efficient government will move us in the right direction. Once you fix the
foundation, the rest of the house can be re-built.

Before I close tonight, I want to be sure to thank those who give their
dedication and commitment to the City of Kingston. To our police
department who does an outstanding job in fighting crime which is no easy
task right now, our firefighters who are there for us within minutes of a 911
call, and to the DPW members who have gotten us through a very difficult
winter even through staff cuts and layoffs. Our City would not run without
them. I ask that the public continue to be engaged and informed of what is
going on. We are all in this together. We love our City and know in our
hearts this is the best place on earth to call home. Thank you.

Respectfully Submitted,

Andi Turco-Levin

City Of Kingston Common Council Minority Leader 2011