Councilman Phil Malone Asks for Your Support
As Election Day quickly approaches I look back on all the Town board has accomplished in the last year and what I want to accomplish in the coming years.
After last year’s election victory, Sue Mangold and I took office within 8 days. Having already reviewed the 2011 tentative budget we were able to trim it from a 2.9% increase to 2.5% our first week in office. That same month we voted as a majority board to approve the 75 million dollar Fed-Ex project, bringing an end to the languishing project and allowing the town to realize millions of dollars in revenue and future job growth.
Not only has the town been attracting more business over the last year but, established employers have been expanding operations. With multi-million dollar projects ongoing at Regeneron off Columbia Turnpike and at NYISO off Third Ave extension the tax base is expanding. Such projects demonstrate that East Greenbush is business friendly and such investments in our community prove that.
We have begun to take a serious look at long term energy costs in town. Our current town board received a grant to upgrade our Department of Public Works electrical infrastructure by installing solar power at the town garage.
We have also approved a similar project at the waste water treatment plant. Such improvements allow our community
to determine the price of electricity now and for decades to come and remove the uncertainty of the energy prices
determined by foreign governments and local energy providers. As a council member I vow to keep energy costs down and make our energy infrastructure state of the art.
As I knock on our neighbors’ doors this fall I consistently hear residents ask about our parks. I have lived in the town
for more than 30 years and the parks have never looked so good but, we can do so much more. Under the current
administration we have established a town beautification fund to address such concerns. I want our residents to
have a place they feel safe bringing their family and friends and a park system they are proud of.
We need to do more for our senior citizens. I will implement more programs to keep our growing senior population involved with the community and I seek their input as to how we can accomplish that. We have such a diverse population in East Greenbush and the senior community is a large part of our town and we can learn so much from their experiences.
East Greenbush for far too long has gotten the short end of the stick in terms of sales tax revenue. Our town is the largest contributor of sales tax revenue in Rensselaer County. However, we do not receive a proportional amount of that revenue when the county redistributes it back to the towns in the county. My number one goal if reelected is to get
that formula changed that determines what percentage of this sales tax revenue the town receives.
If I am fortunate enough to be reelected, my priorities over the next four years will be to improve our parks, increase senior programs and increase our share of sales tax revenue from the Rensselaer County. I believe all my goals are attainable and with your vote I know we can realize these goals together as a community.
I would appreciate your vote on Election Day Tuesday, November 8 from 6am-9pm. I’ve been endorsed by the
Democratic, Independent and Working Families Parties and also by our local Council 82 and CSEA. If you have any
questions on Election Day contact the Board of Elections at 270-2990.
