The City's Public Safety building, set into the bottom of City Hall, is
over 100 years old. Its physical plant is decaying to the extent that
one candidate for office, Democrat Peter Connolly, recently described
it as "an accident waiting to happen." A new, modern police facility
has been a dominant issue in the 2009 electoral campaign.
There is little dispute among the candidates regarding the need; in the election on Tuesday, November 3 for Saratoga Springs' Mayor, it is all about the speed.
All of the candidates have been on the record as being in favor of constructing such a facility, but because of the factors surrounding the current economy and the City's budget deficit, there is a disparity of positions regarding its priority in the context of the many financial issues the City faces in several areas.
Currently, the proposed 2010 budget put forth by the City's Finance Department calls for a combination of a 7.81 percent property tax increase, the institution of a paid parking scenario, and layoffs stretching throughout all City Departments to close an estimated 6.5 million dollar budget gap.
Yet the state of the current Saratoga Springs Police Station at 5 Lake Avenue is so dire that in one recent court case the City was found liable by The New York State Division of Human Rights in a suit filed by female officers in 2003 protesting inadequate locker and bathroom areas, and was ordered to pay $80,000 in damages. Additionally, the City has fielded numerous complaints from crime victims who were unable to give their testimony in a setting which provided them rudimentary privacy, instead forcing them to sit on a bench in a hallway open to the public.
The Public Safety facility issue should therefore prove to be a dominant deciding issue in Tuesday's Mayoral election.
The incumbent Mayor Scott Johnson has been on record as being on favor of Public Safety facility construction, and has made that part of his campaign for both his initial term and during the current re-election period. His priority has been to emphasize fiscal prudence during this period of economic downturn, however, and while the desirability of a new building cannot be disputed, Mayor Johnson prioritizes the ability to pay for it. In the meantime, he favors spending what is needed to make the current Police area as functional and serviceable as possible, and blames the recent lawsuit's result on the mismanagement at Public Safety in not taking steps to rectify problems in the building before legal action was necessitated.
"We have to place priority first on the budget, and the key element here is the control of labor costs, particularly overtime, to lower the tax burden on our citizens" Mayor Johnson said "when that is done, and we get the overall budget in order, certainly what savings we derive can be applied to a capital project such as a Public Safety Building."
"We also need to get a realistic cost figure on a project like this. We've been examining estimates that vary from 9 to 30 million dollars, so we need to focus in on and firm up just what is in the project and what we really need."
In contrast Ronald Kim, the current Public Safety commissioner and Mayoral Candidate, has regarded the construction of a new Public Safety building as his highest campaign priority and during his term in office. His position is that the delay to build one is the root cause of the lawsuit, and his campaign has emphasized what he characterized as "responsible priorities" of which construction of a new Public Safety facility would top the list.
"We need a budget that doesn't put the Public's Safety at risk" Kim said "a new building can emerge from new sources of revenue. We have already had at least one proposal that will do this."
In recent years, various scenarios have been presented to the City Council for consideration. One which is currently being examined would involve a multi-use project in the High Rock Parking Lot. This project would increase paid parking around the City Center, construct a new Public Safety facility and perhaps other amenities such as a cinema. One developer has proposed a one-time payment to the city for $4.5 million dollars for the development rights to the parcel. While this has been purported by some as a potentially partial 2010 budget gap fix, it is unclear whether the money will be made available in time as the parcel would have to go through design review and subdivision before those funds are made available.
All of the candidates have been on the record as being in favor of constructing such a facility, but because of the factors surrounding the current economy and the City's budget deficit, there is a disparity of positions regarding its priority in the context of the many financial issues the City faces in several areas.
Currently, the proposed 2010 budget put forth by the City's Finance Department calls for a combination of a 7.81 percent property tax increase, the institution of a paid parking scenario, and layoffs stretching throughout all City Departments to close an estimated 6.5 million dollar budget gap.
Yet the state of the current Saratoga Springs Police Station at 5 Lake Avenue is so dire that in one recent court case the City was found liable by The New York State Division of Human Rights in a suit filed by female officers in 2003 protesting inadequate locker and bathroom areas, and was ordered to pay $80,000 in damages. Additionally, the City has fielded numerous complaints from crime victims who were unable to give their testimony in a setting which provided them rudimentary privacy, instead forcing them to sit on a bench in a hallway open to the public.
The Public Safety facility issue should therefore prove to be a dominant deciding issue in Tuesday's Mayoral election.
The incumbent Mayor Scott Johnson has been on record as being on favor of Public Safety facility construction, and has made that part of his campaign for both his initial term and during the current re-election period. His priority has been to emphasize fiscal prudence during this period of economic downturn, however, and while the desirability of a new building cannot be disputed, Mayor Johnson prioritizes the ability to pay for it. In the meantime, he favors spending what is needed to make the current Police area as functional and serviceable as possible, and blames the recent lawsuit's result on the mismanagement at Public Safety in not taking steps to rectify problems in the building before legal action was necessitated.
"We have to place priority first on the budget, and the key element here is the control of labor costs, particularly overtime, to lower the tax burden on our citizens" Mayor Johnson said "when that is done, and we get the overall budget in order, certainly what savings we derive can be applied to a capital project such as a Public Safety Building."
"We also need to get a realistic cost figure on a project like this. We've been examining estimates that vary from 9 to 30 million dollars, so we need to focus in on and firm up just what is in the project and what we really need."
In contrast Ronald Kim, the current Public Safety commissioner and Mayoral Candidate, has regarded the construction of a new Public Safety building as his highest campaign priority and during his term in office. His position is that the delay to build one is the root cause of the lawsuit, and his campaign has emphasized what he characterized as "responsible priorities" of which construction of a new Public Safety facility would top the list.
"We need a budget that doesn't put the Public's Safety at risk" Kim said "a new building can emerge from new sources of revenue. We have already had at least one proposal that will do this."
In recent years, various scenarios have been presented to the City Council for consideration. One which is currently being examined would involve a multi-use project in the High Rock Parking Lot. This project would increase paid parking around the City Center, construct a new Public Safety facility and perhaps other amenities such as a cinema. One developer has proposed a one-time payment to the city for $4.5 million dollars for the development rights to the parcel. While this has been purported by some as a potentially partial 2010 budget gap fix, it is unclear whether the money will be made available in time as the parcel would have to go through design review and subdivision before those funds are made available.
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