Trustee Candidate talks about bonding

Dear Editor,

I am deeply concerned about the statement made in both ads and editorials by the current administration regarding bonding. The current board has made purchases for various departments for over a million dollars. How did the present administration manage to keep the fact that the treasurer had 1.5 million dollars in a bank account from the citizens and still raise taxes 5 percent. How did they do this? Smoke and mirrors or is the truth being misrepresented?

As for the riverwalk, I have no problem with the riverwalk itself. Someone noted in the readers’ column that the money came from the state, but I thought it came from the federal government. That’s still not the issue I have. The issue I have is that the present administration paid over a hundred thousand dollars to the land owners for land along the river so the village could stabilize their buildings. The building owners got the benefits from the stabilization of the banks behind their buildings, they should have sold the land to the village for one dollar.

As for the tax increase, a party called into the pennysaver about the 20 percent increase, stating that it was misleading and that in three years it was 5 percent to three percent to 14 percent. When I went to school, before there were calculators, this amount totaled 22 percent. And as usual, the previous administration is always the blame.

On another note,the letter from the present trustee who’s term is expiring states a few facts that are mis-leading. He insinuates that the citizens party, if elected, would terminate the code enforcement officer. There is no need to fire him, he is doing a great job.

In the mayor's letter to the editor he made a statement, "The Owego fire department does not and has never bonded for vehicles." The trustee writes, "having finished paying for the fire department's ladder truck." He goes on and says that we brought in over two million dollars from outside sources and that most of that money went to the river walk. He also says we have high tech jobs moving in the village. If it is the one the mayor was talking about it will bring in about three jobs, none for ordinary working people.

As for the violence in the workplace, he says that in a private sector we’ve had to take it every year for some time now. I have been in business for 37 years and neither I nor my employees have ever been notified that we had to take this class. I have also been a volunteer for New York State and have never been told to take this class.

This trustee missed a lot more board meetings than he attended.

Please get out and vote on March 16. I ask for your support to serve the village as do the rest of the candidates of the Citizens party. Please vote row B.

Sincerely,

Jim Legursky

Citizens Party Candidate for Trustee

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