Woodbury has a problem; it’s time for a solution

The campaign to establish the Village of Woodbury — nearly 20 years ago —featured a common refrain from the strongest backers: the new village would only cost taxpayers $1. While I supported the creation of the village as a means of protecting zoning in the community, most voters — from teenagers at the time like me to longtime residents — knew this claim was likely false.

Decades later, your tax bills speak for themselves: two government offices, two sets of salaries for elected officials, two attorneys, two engineers, two clerks, two treasurers/controllers, two beautification committees, two websites, two insurance policies, and more. Needless to say, this duplication, while admittedly not millions of dollars, far exceeds the $1 that was promised — and you’re paying for it.

Furthermore, any elected official who speaks with the average Woodbury resident knows full well the constant confusion that exists when dealing with the village or town. Someone has a water bill question — “do I call the village or town?” Someone has a pothole — “do we have a town highway department or village department of public works?”

Last but certainly not least, spanning multiple supervisors and mayors since day one, the town and village have been in constant conflict. There have been fights over virtually every issue imaginable to the point where, just several years ago, the town and village were in court over a property dispute — taxpayers were absurdly paying taxes for one of their local governments to sue the other to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even today, the village is now trying to take over control of the town’s police department and animal shelter — against the town’s will. It would not surprise me if this, too, winds up in court, all at the expense of local taxpayers.

This dynamic is outrageous, expensive, confusing, and no longer tenable. Any town or village elected official that defends current circumstances is putting their own self-interest above our community’s.

To put an end to the anti-taxpayer madness, I am proposing a solution: special legislation to provide unique authorization for a single governing board to manage both the town and village. The current boundaries of both the town and village would not change and, due to the fact the village would still exist, the zoning protection that most Woodbury residents voted for two decades ago would remain in place.

I am committed to sponsoring and putting the full force of my office behind passing this special legislation, but there is a catch: under state law, majorities on both the town and village boards must pass a resolution supporting this special legislation otherwise the State Senate and Assembly cannot bring it up for a vote.

For nearly two decades, almost all village and town elected officials — of both parties — have supported a responsible merging of the two boards. Once the legislation is finalized in the coming days, I will be formally requesting both boards pass the required resolution and, at that point, we will know who is truly willing to put our community ahead of political self-interest. I will be calling out each and every local elected official who refuses to partner on this commonsense solution.

Some so-called leaders will, no doubt, try to lie about this proposal or fearmonger but, make no mistake, any attempts to do so will be thinly veiled efforts to preserve political power and a taxpayer-funded salary. The current mayor ran on a “Woodbury First” ballot line last year. It is time he and all of our elected officials put Woodbury first. It is time to finally end the madness.

James Skoufis, NYS Senator (D-42)

Cornwall