Homeless In Troy

Congratulations to Chet Hardin of Metroland for writing a thought provoking in depth article on the conflict which exists between some interests and the many homeless people of downtown Troy. "You Can't Come Here Any More" in the November 29^th edition is a must read. As a Times Union and Troy Record subscriber, I would encourage these papers to take a hard look at their reporting compared to the content within this free publication, most of which I consider superior.

The current administration has conducted a systematic assault on many of the agencies and programs which deal with homelessness in Troy. In fact, the Mayor had to be forced by the threat of loosing federal money before he would agree to sign a required housing assistance plan which included funds for homeless programs. He and his administration have opposed new home projects by Habitat for Humanity and Joseph's House and he has refused to fund the grant writing efforts of the Homeless Collaborative which was successful in raising millions of dollars in homeless program funds. Only during re-election time did the Mayor embrace Habitat for Humanity, for a photo op.

This is illustrative of the "head in the sand" approach of this administration to the complex issue of homelessness in this community. You will not reduce homelessness by ignoring it or by reducing the programs which meet their special and complex circumstances. Some of these circumstances are:

A recent report identified that many veterans are, or will become, homeless.
Most homeless people are women and children.
Many homeless require medical and/or mental health treatment as well as housing.
Many homeless have jobs.

I believe the city administration should rethink its opposition to the Joseph's House proposal for permanent housing on Fourth Street and it should agree to fund the Homeless Collaborative's efforts to find more money for homeless programs and services. People of Troy, even those homeless among us, deserve better.

Where is Troy's Money??

Published reports today showed awards of millions of dollars in environmental grants to Capital District communities for everything from fixing the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to installing park equipment. Where was the City of Troy? If we didn't submit applications; why not? If we did, what were the projects and how could we not receive an award with all the muscle available to this administration from the State Senate?

I could think of a number of worthy projects - Ingalls Ave. park at the former Jack's Junkyard, the Troy Biketrail, New boat launch and park at 111^th Street or improvements to the Troy Marina just to name a few.

The City Council should insist that the administration provide answers on why Troy was excluded from this funding opportunity. We deserve better.

At the risk of sounding like an "I told you so"

I find reports of several actions recently proposed by the Tutunjian Administration to be the height of arrogance.

First - the raising of the Mayor's salary and the salaries of his staff two weeks after the election.

These raises if planned for next year should have been included in the Mayor's proposed budget. The City Charter requires that raises be included in the budget. I didn't see them there did anyone else? The Mayor is required to swear by oath that the budget he prepared and submitted to the City Council is complete and accurate.

Section C-70 D (15). Budgetary procedure requires the Mayor to submit the following:
A certification, under oath, by the Mayor and the Budget Director that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, the budget recommendation reflects all known or anticipated expenditures and accurately reflects all known or anticipated revenues, and is in balance between total expenditure and total revenues.

It seems as though it was his intention all along to tie his salary to the raises awarded to the Civil Service Employee Union in order to set up a 3.5% annual pay raise for himself and his lieutenants. As a result, the Mayor will be making over $97,000 by the time his lame duck term is over.

Tutunjian was often quoted during the election as saying the race was one of "trust". However, with some races not even finalized yet, this trusted elected official has decided to take the same path as the Republican County Legislature did when they voted themselves an 11th hour raise a couple of years ago.

Not only that, he proposes the absurd requirement that future City Councils need a unanimous vote to change any of these raises. This requirement violates the operation procedures of the City Council, the City Charter and state law and Robert’s Rules of Order. Where is the "open" and "trustworthy" administration this candidate campaigned on!

Second – Didn't the Mayor learn anything from the proposed sale of City Hall?

The proposed sale of two acres of parkland at Kennedy Towers and the proposed sale of the Uncle Sam Parking garage require the same public process required for the sale of City Hall.

The sale of the Kennedy Towers site will require approval by the state legislature and require the City to replace the loss of 2 acres of parkland somewhere else. In addition, the Mayor must go through the same open solicitation for bids for each of these public facilities. Short cutting the process is not an option, even if the proposed projects are good ones - and I believe each could be good.

Both projects also require a competent appraisal of the value of each property in order to evaluate the sales price for each. These steps do not have to be onerous and may not impact the final outcome of the projects but they must be followed. To do less is to violate the Charter and the "trust" of the people.

Thank You!

I just want to extend a personal thanks to each and every voter who chose to vote for me in the recent election for Mayor.

I also want to express my deepest thanks to the many people who gave of their time, energy and money to help me wage an aggressive campaign against a well know, well financed incumbent.

Believe me I would have preferred to win; but, I am very gratified by the fact that our efforts helped support a strong win for the Democratic City Council candidates. For that we can all be proud and thankful.

Please join me in wishing the successful candidates - all of them - congratulations. I hope they will work together to move the City of Troy forward. "We can do better" if we work together.

Best regards,

Jim Conroy