I spent some time reviewing the $405,000 comprehensive plan contract that the Town Board wants me to sign. I am currently reviewing the terms of the contract and have some initial concerns. The big concern: wasting taxpayer dollars unnecessarily.
The contract includes initial costs that could be done in house – not by expensive, outside consultants. In the coming months taxpayers will be asked to pay for a survey, survey analysis plan, mailing lists, survey tabulations, analysis and presentation, outreach. These costs are expensive: $19,500 for community meetings, public participation, issue formulation and communication: $35,000; data collection: $34,410; data analysis: $61,440.
I am convinced that each of the above outreach initiatives could be done by our capable town staff, at significant savings to the taxpayers. We don’t need to hire a consultant to help us determine what people are thinking. If we are going to hire a consultant we should use the consultant to help us with technical matters—work town staff cannot do in house.
We have a difficult budget coming up – with a significant tax hike. This is the time to prioritize spending. I hope that the Town Board will reconsider their decision to hire a consultant to complete a comprehensive plan and suggest that the contract be reviewed, modified and that the costs of the proposed plan be decreased.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
JOIN THE DISCUSSION...EXPRESS YOUR THOUGHTS...VISIT PAUL FEINER'S BLOG: WWW.PFEINER.BLOGSPOT.COM
VISIT OUR NEW BLOG SPOT ABOUT EAST HARTSDALE AVE: WWW.EHARTSDALE.BLOGSPOT.COM