Hard questions at tense Glens Falls budget meeting

By Zander Frost, Chronicle Staff Writer

Multiple Common Council members raised objections to the City of Glens Falls’ new budget from different angles at a workshop meeting Tuesday night.

Ward 3’s Diana Palmer said her attempts to discuss the way departments were set up and benchmarked were delayed, delayed, delayed, and now budget time is here and she’s being asked to okay the plan with no information.

“I’m bringing it up in this budget discussion because my attempts to bring it up all year didn’t lead to any discussions. This is my first opportunity to take a critical look at how we’re spending our money, and I feel obligated to do that.

“I want to have the discussion. And I want to make it clear that we need to open this up next term. I’m not comfortable this year, because I don’t feel we’ve really vetted this.”

She said, “I feel the same way with the communication director position. And again, none of this has anything to do with the specific people in these positions. I have respect for all of them.

“I didn’t feel that was a full time position. And I made that very clear. There was no discussion that we had as a group about that. And it just happened. I understand we approved it in the budget last year, but then that position was vacated in part because the person who was here felt they didn’t have anything to do.”

Dr. Palmer, while trying to emphasize due diligence and proper procedure, faced the gaze of the person who was hired for the communication job, Tim Drawbridge.

Ward 4’s Ben Lapham raised many ideas — pushing for studies and evaluations and, like Dr. Palmer, due diligence.
One idea he raised was studying the possibility of Glens Falls Police working with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
He said he knows it’s been studied but said it hasn’t been studied by him.

Ward 2’s Bob Landry said that if he ran a business and sought money, he’d need a business plan. He said Glens Falls had no plan.

“We sat down and put a deal together with [Sonny] Bonacio to do a development on South Street, and we were represented…with individuals with no experience in negotiating a development deal with developers…Did they put together a bad deal? We’re not going to know whether we put together a bad deal or not until it happens.”

Ward 5’s Mary Gooden said non-profits need to share the tax burden.

“I think that they should have to pay something….I just do not think it’s fair that they don’t pay anything.

“I’ve heard this from many constituents — and especially after taking the field, and that great big building [presumably the Hudson Headwaters building under construction on LaRose Street].

“People were irate, because it’s such a huge property, and there’s no taxes being generated.”

Near the end, Mr. Landry gave a shoutout praising Mr. Drawbridge for positive TV coverage of Glens Falls’ work on buildings & codes. Dr. Palmer asked if the city had released a statement about that.

Mr. Drawbridge said that predated him, and then he spoke for four minutes about all of the good things he does.

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