March 30, 2007

No Debate. No Oversight. Is Rush a Democracy?

Lisa Sluberski (Town Council Democrat) won election in 2005 by a sizable majority. This happened because voters from both parties decided an all-Republican Town Board and Supervisor was not in the Town’s best interests and that Lisa was the voice we needed. The Rush Democratic Committee believes a multi-party town government best serves people in Rush.

WHY IS RUSH SELLING OFF TOWN LAND?
The Nereau and Ryan families donated 8.7 acres to the town for long-term recreational purposes, and paid $3,900 in closing fees from their own pockets. The Hart’s Field parcel is 19 acres. Baseball teams and residents use the fields. Do we really need to sell this land whereas other towns are buying land back?
Lisa voted to protect our fields.

DO WE NEED 100’s OF NEW HOMES IN RUSH?
The reality of massive influxes of new families is that town services and taxes go up dramatically. What will happen when 400–600 extra kids show up at Leary and the highway department hires more personnel and equipment? We don’t even know how many parcels are currently open to residential development.
Where is the Rush Master Plan?

DID YOU KNOW RUSH NO LONGER HAS ITS OWN FIRE MARSHAL?
For a slight financial savings Rush now is dependent on the over burdened Henrietta department. The long- term benefits are questionable. Lisa voted to keep our Fire Marshal.

Please visit www.rushdemocrats.org for information. You will find facts and figures, town board minutes, concerns, pictures and videos of town events. Enjoy the sense of Community!

IS THERE A BALANCE OF POWER ON THE RUSH TOWN BOARD?

REPUBLICANS: 4 voting members
DEMOCRAT: 1 voting member

Registered Rush Voters:
Republican/Conservative: 1,144 (45.6%)
Democrat/Others: 1,321 (52.6%)

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR INTERESTS ARE BEING CONSIDERED?

The Rush Democratic committee is energetic, but we need to grow. This fall, the Supervisor, two Town Board seats, Town Clerk, Highway Supervisor and one Judge are all up for election. Republicans presently hold all of these positions. The Democratic Committee is currently accepting applications for anyone interested in running for these positions. It is not healthy for our town government to be 90% republican and leaves Lisa as a 1 in 5 minority without anyone to second a motion. We need to adjust the balance of power. We know the time constraints of everyone’s daily lives are huge but participation does make a difference in our future. Please visit our web site (www.rushdemocrats.org) for job descriptions of the above-mentioned positions, and future events. If you would like to be informed of upcoming events or breaking news that affects our town, please fill out our online form or call us, 585-533-1840.

November 05 proved that it is possible to elect a democrat in Rush. Lisa Sluberski won with an overwhelming majority. Lisa won because of her drive and commitment. She also had supporters who worked very hard. Running for office is demanding and time consuming. A candidate and committee need support. The political process and activism takes money. Yard signs, printing literature, advertising, and web design costs add up very quickly but are very necessary in order to compete and challenge the status quo.

The Republican Party at the County, State and National level has run from responsibility. The waste, corruption and arrogance are out of control. Look what happened with the Monroe County Water Authority?

We have a chance to improve the balance at the local level. We need to be vigilant and work together. In order to do this we need resources for this to happen. We ask for your help. This is the most important election year for Rush.

Sincerely,
The Rush Democratic Committee

David Sluberski / Gerald McIntyre / Mary Mulligan / Helen Mulligan / Joan Starkweather / Marilyn Enos

Rush Democratic Committee Meetings are held the 2nd Monday each month at 7:00pm at the Rush Library

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Please click here to download the entire PDF of this document complete with the form pledging assistance to the future of Rush, NY and the Democratic Party.

Would you consider becoming a candidate for the 2007 Rush election?
Attend the Rush Democratic Committee meetings.
Lawn signs promote! Can you host a lawn sign? Sign up by filling out the form available here.

Posted by gmadore at 1:06 AM

March 28, 2007

Rush Town Elected Job Descriptions: APPLICATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED

Contact David Sluberski 585-533-1840 ASAP for information
Attend the Rush Democratic Committee meeting:
4/9/07 at the Rush Library 6:30-8:00pm

Town Supervisor part time 30 hours: $27,828.00
The Town Supervisor is the chief executive office of the town who is elected by the public to oversee all departments within the town, preside over town council meetings, and recommend appointments to other town boards. The supervisor, working with the chief financial officer of the town, prepares a town budget and presents that budget to the town council. Election 07

Town Council: $6,615.00
The Town Council is the governing body of the town, which meets either monthly, or BI-monthly to pass local Legislation discusses town business in a public forum, approve or deny the town’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The Town Council can also approve appointments to other town boards. Election 07 (2 needed)

Town Justice: $12,103.00
The Town Justice can hear small Claims Cases, Civil Cases, Appeals, Landlord Tenants cases, Criminal Jurisdiction, Traffic Cases and can preside over wedding ceremonies. Election 07

Town Clerk full time: $44,869.00
Takes Town Board Minutes; maintains Freedom of Information Act Law Requests (FOIL). Also handles Marriage, dogs, peddlers and conservation licenses (Hunting & Fishing), and issues handicapped permits. The Town Clerk is also the Tax Receiver, that individual is responsible for collecting taxes (Town & County and also School District taxes). Election 07

Town Highway Superintendent: full time $63,573.00:
Part of the duties includes making sure town roads are salted and plowed during winter weather. The Highway Superintendent manages personnel and the town’s largest budget. Operation of heavy equipment not mandatory. Some Highway Superintendents are elected, others are appointed by the Town Supervisor and Council. Election 07

Posted by gmadore at 1:59 AM | Comments (1)

January 9, 2007

Don't Gamble with Our Money

Fellow Rush residents,

We have a big problem. Due to years of extremely bad management the County executive is gambling with our money. This latest example is called “The Intercept Plan” and this is how it works. The County Executive wants to keep a larger portion of sales tax revenue that the county currently shares with towns, villages, school districts and the City of Rochester; plus raise Monroe County’s sales tax to 8.75%. How would that impact you personally? The amount is approximately $850.00 per household in the town of Rush. If the Rochester economy gets better, the new agreement will actually make things worse in the long term. What could happen? Schools will layoff teachers and administrators. Towns will reduce services and increase local taxes in order to make up for lost revenue.

This is an issue for all taxpayers. It doesn’t matter if you’re Democratic, Republican or Independent. Go ask an elected republican official about this. One of three things will happen.

1) They will dodge the issue.
2) They will blame the democrats
3) You’ll get an honest answer and your jaw will drop to the ground.

Republicans Running from Responsibility. These are the new 3 Rs.
The Monroe County waters authority scandal. COMIDA tax breaks. The County Legislature voted to allow the County Executive to submit her budget after the general election.

These are all current examples of bad government. Power breeds corruption and creates lack of good judgement, integrity and accountability.

At the local level our incumbent elected officials need to improve their communication with the community, employees and other town boards. You are elected by the citizens of Rush to act as stewards of the town. We face challenges daily. The town is losing its agricultural landscape at an alarming rate while the population of the county is declining. What if a Wal-Mart or a MegaMall was proposed in Rush? Could we work together and include everyone’s point of view with civility?

We need a professional organization with the communication skills to match. However, good government is a two way street. I ask all Rush residents to participate, pay attention and be proactive. We owe it to our kids and future generations.

Sincerely,

David Sluberski
Town Leader of the Rush
Democratic Committee.
www.rushdemocrats.org

Posted by gmadore at 5:35 PM

May 17, 2006

Rush Democratic Town Leader concerned about the future of Rush.

Dear Rush residents,

I am concerned about the Town of Rush. We presently have positive growth, which is good. At a recent Rush Town board meeting it was announced there was interest by a developer to build 4 – 6 hundred new homes in Rush. Others have been approached with similar offers. Look to Lima and the Walmart issue. We are at a critical stage; what will Rush look like in five years?

This leads to the question, do we have the will and ability to manage our future? So what do we do?

- Participate, pay attention and be proactive. Make a point to attend the various town meetings. Participatory democracy makes for stronger communities.

- I propose all voting and proposals for the School District be done during the May budget vote or fall general election which would maximize the potential turn out.

- It would benefit the residents of our town to have the Rush Town Website updated in a timely fashion with agenda’s, minutes, attendance and voting records for all town boards. For those without a computer, I encourage you to visit the town hall or the new Rush library to obtain information that impacts your community. This also means checking it regularly and discussing issues with friends and neighbors.

- The Rush Democratic Committee (rushdemocrats.org) purchased and donated the “American Farmland Trust Guide to Local Planning for Agriculture in New York” to the library. I encourage board members and Rush residents and farmers to review this guide. There is a wealth of information with tips for evaluating a town's attitude toward planning.

- Support the local farm and business owners in the town of Rush.

So how does this all tie together? It’s your money and your resolve.

Did you like your assessment? Do you know the issues? Let’s look at the money.

Your property assessment determines how much revenue is for the state. Are you aware that the local assessor works for the state but is hired by the town, yet the town has no control over the assessor’s numbers? Below are the tax numbers for a $150,000.00 home in Rush.

$3,043.00 (20.20%) school
$1,972.00 (13.15%) county
$637.00 (4.25%) town
$172.00 (1.15%) fire

What drives these numbers? One problem we have is COMIDA (County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency). Its stated goal is to level the playing field by offering tax breaks and incentives to encourage growth. On February 9th, 2006, Henrietta Town Supervisor James Breese was quoted in the Henrietta Post saying his constituents paid $504.00 extra in taxes from 2000-2004 to offset COMIDA. The organization Metro Justice claims that Monroe County schools forgave $11 million dollars in tax revenue and 593 jobs were not delivered. Small businesses are left high and dry while others get help at our expense. Why should COMIDA recipients not pay for education or deliver promises made?

Another factor is our participation. Last December only 5% of registered voters decided on a 20 million-dollar building renovation plan for the Rush-Henrietta schools. Whether you were for or against it, that’s a horrible turnout.

Development costs money. On average, developed property can cost a town in services needed $1.25 per dollar or more out of every tax dollar. Undeveloped can be as low as $.50 cents. These are realistic numbers from case studies all around Western New York.

An often-overlooked business is the working farm.

In 2004 New York State farms sold more than 3.6 billion dollars in farm products and spent nearly 2.8 billion on production expenses, much of which stayed in New York. I recently attended a public meeting in Lima featuring American Farmland Trust (farmland.org). Topics included Development rights, Agricultural districts, lot sizes as well as town strategies to manage all of this. This event attracted a large number of participants and the speaker discussed the facts and misconceptions about farming.

I believe all these issues interweave. Should we stop new construction? Should farm owners be penalized for selling land? These aren’t fair or practical measures. We do need to channel our energies into positive solutions to benefit the Rush I think most of us would like to see. Remember why we live and raise our families here and let’s enjoy the wonderful landscapes.

Thank you,
David Sluberski
Town Leader of the Rush Democratic Committee
dsluberski@rushdemocrats.org
http://www.rushdemocrats.org
(585) 533-1840

The Rush democratic committee always welcomes new participants.

Download .PDF version of this letter here.

Posted by gmadore at 11:36 AM