In a virtual town hall meeting in April, Mayor Kamal Johnson said he had asked all department heads to submit plans for reducing their budgets by 5 percent and 10 percent. There is no indication if these plans have been implemented. In his executive order on police reform, issued on June 15, Johnson declared that the budget for the Hudson Police Department would be reduced by 10 percent. Is that the same 10 percent requested earlier? At the last Finance Committee meeting on June 16, Common Council president Tom DePietro, who now chairs the Finance Committee, said the obvious: "Most of the 10 percent will just cover the budget shortfall for this year"--that is, budget shortfall only for that department.
Some observers of Hudson city government are starting to worry that the City's precarious fiscal situation is not being adequately addressed by our elected officials. Early this morning, Johnson posted this letter on his Facebook page, with the request "Please share and tag Members of Congress and Senate."
Kamal Johnson
Mayor of The City Hudson
520 Warren St.
Hudson, New York 12534
Dear Members of the Assembly, Congress, and Senate,
Thank you for your leadership during this time of uncertainty for local governments. I am grateful that the CARES Act provided funding to protect public health and the county's most vulnerable households and small businesses. This is new territory for us all and no easy task of rebuilding and keeping safe our nation. Unfortunately to date, the federal government has provided absolutely no relief to local governments for our lost revenues resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic, which account for the vast majority of Covid-caused budgetary harm in the city of Hudson budget.
This should not be a debatable issue between parties. This is of extreme importance to the survival of the regions that citizens put faith in you to oversee. We appreciate the masks and sanitizer but what we need is real relief. Many of the local Mayors and leaders have been on the front lines in dealing with the public on Covid and civil unrest. Although this is what we signed up for, added leadership from our higher elected officials is very much needed. With the fear of that could happen with the virus in the coming fall, we can no longer afford to wait around.
As discussions in Washington progress in developing a fourth emergency response package to help safely reopen and restore our local economies, any package that does not include direct federal funding to all local governments will be a failure. I encourage our elected officials to place people over party. I encourage you to strongly support the following:
- $500 billion over two years of federal aid for local governments.
- Equal funding for both municipal governments and county governments.
- Maximum flexibility for the eligible use of funds to address the budget consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially lost revenues.
- Fair and direct funding allocations to each and every local government with NO EXCLUSIONS based one population.
Sincerely,
Kamal Johnson Mayor of the City of Hudson, New York
In a ZOOM conversation with Johnson on May 20, Congressmember Antonio Delgado said that if the HEROES Act were to be passed by the U.S. Senate, the City of Hudson would be getting $2 million in federal assistance. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on May 12 and passed by the House on May 15. On May 20, it was received in the Senate, where it remains. The progress of the legislation can be followed here.
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Just out of curiosity, mind you, has the topic of the council members foregoing their salaries been broached? Given the fact that the Council members can't read a balance sheet (with the exception of perhaps 3 members) maybe the best thing this Council can do is at least not be a continuing drain on the treasury.
ReplyDelete...since most everyone on the common council is just a puppet of the mayor's shifty aide why not just let him run the city and make all decisions - in effect that is what is going on anyway. So much for democracy.
DeleteTo answer your question, John Friedman: early on, Dominic Merante volunteered to forgo his Council salary, hoping others would follow suit. When asked about it, Council president Tom DePietro called it a purely symbolic gesture, since aldermen don't make that much, and then added that he donated his salary as Council president to charity.
DeleteThat's precisely the mindset that those who've never been responsible for a P&L have when it comes to corporate turnarounds (such as, in this instance, saving the City of Hudson from insolvency): "why cut that -- it's only a small sum." So, let's see . . . 10 @ 5k + 1 @ 15k = $65k in salaries; add 40% (very conservative) for the cost of carrying an employee = $26k so $91k just in Council member salaries. That's 3/4 of a point on a $12m annual City budget. By foregoing their own salaries, the Council could set an example. By insisting it's so small it's not important they still an example -- albeit not the one a polity needs. Esp. not this polity.
DeleteHas anything changed at DPW to save money? They are currently cleaning up/maintaining all the public trash cans on Warren, one by one. Is that necessary right now; are they in horrible condition? Streets are swept much too often by a ridiculously expensive machine. Recycling crew still picks up recycling all over town for 2 days, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, even though the DPW website says recycling is picked up all over town on one day - Thursdays. 3 crew members, including driver, in a truck that gets about 4 mpg on diesel fuel following the same route two consecutive days for recycling. This kind of wastefulness and inefficiency can't be justified any more. From all appearances, it seems that nothing has changed at DPW and elsewhere. And Kamal has not come out and told us where the difficult cuts are going to be made to keep the city afloat. It's so odd and disturbing. Don't rely on others to save us -- start getting more efficient NOW and make some cuts or we are truly screwed.
ReplyDeleteB HUSTON
The assured failure of the HEROES Act will be an exciting moment to blame the other side, but that is all.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the arguments for or against, Hudson will not be getting that $2 million so it's best to forget about it.
In fairness, some elements of the act may pass, and assistance for rural communities may be part of the package. But if we make it through this mess, it will be because Congress had to step in, not because of any leadership shown by City Hall.
DeleteWhy in the world has the mayor, his feckless aide, the common council president, and the common council not presented a stream lined budget- knowing there could be a $1.8 million dollar short fall? This is totally irresponsible. Betting Hudson's future on the HEROES Act is terrifying and misguided. I guess we can expect another increase in property taxes soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks John. We have about as much leadership here in Hudson as we have coming out of D.C.
DeleteWe are governed by amateurs, as has always been the case at City Hall, indeed most all city halls. But the present issues and problems have become beyond the scope of amateurs. We can only hope that the amateurs don't make things WORSE by doing nothing or making poor choices. B HUSTON
DeleteI don’t know seems like the Mayor is showing leadership by letting the big wigs know we will need assistance. I’m actually happy he is speaking up.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with that unless you allow the “big wigs” to set you up for disappointment. In that regard, Congressman Delgado is no different than every other politician in history.
DeleteIt’s in the reelection interest of either party to let constituents be disappointed as long as it can be blamed on the other side. Disappointment is its own reward depending on how it's used.
But that’s all beside the point, which is that we’re just not getting that money. There will be no relief and only disappointment.
Just the same, Mayor Johnson must pursue the promise of it, which he has.
John Friedman submitted this comment by email:
DeleteGood Grief, writing a letter is leadership? Anyone can write a letter. Look at you, you managed to write the above post. Is that leadership? (Hint: it’s not.). Leadership would be bringing in folks with actual experience in both government and business, finance and municipal law, and begin the actual work of putting the City back on a fiscally sound footing. What you characterize as leadership is nothing more than a beggar asking for handouts. Good grief that’s pathetic. Like an anonymous handle on a community comment board. Pathetic.