In about an hour, at 6:00 p.m., the Common Council holds a special meeting to vote on the proposed budget for 2026, which is balanced by taking money from the fund balance and raising property taxes by the maximum allowed. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
Related to the budget, it will be remembered that a couple of weeks ago in a Board of Estimate and Apportionment workshop, City Treasurer Heather Campbell predicted the City would not make its revenue numbers in 2025. Despite that, City Hall announced today that parking in Hudson will be free during the month of December, at meters on the street and in municipal parking lots--everywhere but in the Amtrak lot.
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One wonders who made the decision to stick with free parking next month. At this month's informal meeting, the acting Chief of Police stated he was against it, as did two council members, including Margaret Morris.
ReplyDeleteKamal seems determined to enter the record books for fiscal folly.
ReplyDeleteNo resident or tourist will change their plans to visit Warren Street based on a 50c parking fee change. Kamal wrote in his message
"Happy Holidays from the City of Hudson!!!!!!!"
Kamal, the Christmas and holiday gift we want is for you to balance the budget, and manage a professional transition with the incoming mayor. I.e. Just do your job.
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After squandering large sums of taxpayer money on failed Comprehensive Plans, letting six figures of parking fines go uncollected, parking kiosks we cannot use, and appointing a Planning Board that has cost the city tens of millions of tax dollars in real opportunities lost, he then casually announces on his personal Facebook page that the city will not collect money it is owed for parking in December.
Did he bother to sync up with HPD who will likely still be paying the parking staff walking around in the cold?
If he had waived parking fees from 8:00 to 12:00 on Mondays to Wednesdays, when residents are mostly coming and going for work, and communicated that like an adult through official city channels, it might have been defensible, or at least consistent.
After all, residents pay taxes. The fact that we still do not have resident parking permits is its own miscarriage of common sense.
Instead Kamal's decisions remain arbitrary, unserious, and useless.
No surprise that much of the support that once backed him has melted away.
This level of unprofessionalism is so disrespectful to taxpayers and especially to the Common Council (who he now blames for not passing his flawed deficit budget).
To think not too long ago he was floating hot air balloons to test his viability for Didi's Assembly seat.
The next mayor can win re-election simply by being consistent and professional.
Common Sense is correct, and it is truly unbelievable: in years' past while parking was free in December, two parking enforcers 6 days a week were still walking up and down Warren Street looking for cars not to ticket. Or sneaking a smoke on 8th street. And wondering the entire day what the fuck they were doing. But getting paid! Great way to bankrupt a city and with no one to blame but everyone. Don't we have a CFO?
ReplyDeleteKamal is at least consistent. He sucked as mayor from day 1. He continues to suck in the position as his tenure finally, mercifully comes to its pitiable end.
ReplyDeleteJoe Ferris would be well advised to make requesting a full state audit of the City’s finances an early priority of his incoming administration.
Agreed, John. It is imperative that Joe make that effort.
DeleteSeveral months ago, before the budget troubles arose, I called the Comptroller's office to suggest they come do an audit of Hudson, telling them that there was something amiss here. The person on the line told me that years ago an audit of Hudson got us a warning: IMPROVE YOUR SYSTEMS OF HANDLING CASH. One wonders what led them to that warning.
The parking enforcers, employed by HPD, still use a 5-gallon plastic bucket without a lid to collect hundreds of dollars in quarters at least once a week. How much is the typical handful of quarters worth? How about two handfuls? Do I hear six? Until earlier this year, the collection of quarters and other parking related tasks was done using enforcers' personal vehicles. An email to our city attorneys seems to have put an end to that unwise, suspicious, unnecessary and legally risky practice. Now the enforcers, all who appear to me to not live in Hudson, drive around in a city issued vehicle, still collecting and transporting city revenue in a lidless plastic bucket on its way to the bank.
Every year I comment how moronic this policy is. Tourists and visitors are not swayed by a few quarters. The spaces just get hogged by residents and employees who’d usually park on residential side streets. If anything, this limits availability for people here to shop and dine. Do it in January and February when business is slow, not during peak demand. Also, how can the mayor unilaterally decree this when the Council has the power to set fees in Hudson? I’m sure if the council were to override this the mayor would post on Facebook a poorly designed meme, likely built in the boomer app PicCollage, depicting his least favorite council members as the grinch. He’ll get 200 comments from all of his high school buddies, who now live in Greenport or Florida, as well as their MAGA parents. Lamenting how back in the good ol days they’d park free all December to shop at the Town Fair and get a slice at the Pizza Pit. This Thanksgiving I’m thankful that very few of those 200 commenters were actual voters.
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