& Albany County Post - The Altamont Enterprise

10 The Altamont Enterprise – Thursday, May 17, 2012Out of 103 write-in candidates,Hubbard, Centi, and Morriseysecure Guilderland library postsBy Melissa Hale-SpencerGUILDERLAND — The publiclibrary’s $3.4 million budgetpassed with two-thirds of thevote — 2,103 to 1,072.“We’re happy that the communitycontinues to support us,”said the library’s director, BarbaraNichols Randall, yesterday.The library has never suffered abudget defeat.No candidates submittedpetitions forthe three openings onthe library’s 11-memberboard of unpaidtrustees. Therefore,the posts will be filledwith write-in candidates.Altogether, 103candidates were writtenin for the posts,according to NeilSanders, the schooldistrict’s assistantsuperintendent forbusiness, who oversawthe tallying ofvotes on Wednesday.The top three votegetterswere PeterHubbard, who got 34votes; Daniel Centiwith 33, and DouglasMorrisey with 27.H u b b a r d r a nunsuccessfully forGuilderland TownBoard in 2011 onthe Republican line.A Guilderland andUniversity at Albany graduate,he works in the financial industryand also owns Sam Wilson’sIce Cream in Troy.“Matt Nelligan was supportinghim,” said Nichols Randall of therecent write-in campaign. Nelliganis chairman of the GuilderlandRepublican Committee.Centi, a lawyer specializingin business and estate litigation,says he’s a frequent libraryuser. He said that, on Tuesdaymorning, Election Day, “Someoneasked if I’d be willing to serve.”Centi, whose wife is the townclerk, agreed he would and toldfriends who he surmised musthave told other friends. Centisounded surprised yesterday“It’s a timewhen peopleshould getinvolved inall publicinstitutions.”evening to learn he had won aseat with 33 votes.“In the next few years, thepublic institutions will have atremendous struggle because ofthe economic climate,” he said.“It’s happening in Californianow….It’s a time when peopleshould get involved in all publicinstitutions.”Douglas Morriseyis currently the presidentof the libraryboard and initiallywasn’t planning torun for re-election,said Nichols Randall,but changed hismind.Morrissey wasappointed to theboard in 2007 whena trustee resignedand then was electedto the post thatMay. At that time,he was the directorof school counselingat CanajoharieHigh School, andhad lived in Guilderlandfor threeyears. He has twoyoung daughters,Nichols Randall saidearlier.Hubbard and Morriseycould not bereached for comment.At its June meeting,the board willdiscuss perhaps changing thefive-year term for trustee, tothree years, which would involvechanging the library’s charter.“With how busy we all are, it’svery hard to get someone for fiveyears,” said Nichols Randall.The board has previously discussedreducing the 11-memberboard to fewer members, shesaid. “But,” she said, “the trusteesfelt, with the possibility of expansion,if that happens they’ll needas many hands as possible.”The board is planning a $13million expansion that wouldnearly double the size of thecrowded library. A public vote ona bond issue to pay for the expansionis scheduled for June 26.The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-SpencerScrutinizing the numbers: School board members huddle as Judy Slack, left, points to unofficial votingresults from the Altamont Elementary School polling place while board President Colleen O’Connell,center, and Emilio Genzano look on. Genzano was defeated in his bid for re-election.The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-SpencerBeaming leadership team: Guilderland’s top administrators stand together and smile broadly onelection night after voters passed next year’s $89 million budget with over 70 percent voting “yes.” Fromleft are Superintendent Marie Wiles and the three assistant superintendents — Demian Singleton forinstruction, Lin Severance for human resources, and Neil Sanders for business.At GCSD…Budget passes in surprise landslidefer Charron, a businesswomanalso making her first run, wasthird with 1,574 votes, just 24votes ahead of incumbent EmilioGenzano who garnered1,550.These numbers wereobtained Wednesdayevening from AssistantSuperintendent forBusiness Neil Sanderswho had spent the daywith staff members,tallying results. Therewere a massive numberof write-in ballots,largely because manyvoters were unfamiliarwith the electronicallyscanned paper ballots.(See related story.)The budget vote reportedWednesday was 2,258 to 954.“I’ll be interestedto look at the exit surveyto see if people thinkwe should challengethe levy limit next yearin order to preserve programs.”Guilderland’s budget passagewas part of a statewide trend asvoters approved over 96 percentof school-district budgets, accordingto the New York StateSchool Boards Association; theaverage passage rate since 1969is 84 percent.This was the first year thatdistricts had to deal with a taxlevycap, widely publicized as 2percent, but actually adjustedaccording to an eight-step formula.Ninety-three percent of thestate’s 765 budgets were belowthe state-set cap, according toNYSSBA, and, of those districts,99 percent passed budgets onTuesday.The average levy increaseacross New York for next year’sbudgets is 2.3 percent, more thana full percentage point below theaverage for this year, accordingto NYSSBA.Forty-eight districts, or 7 percent,this year had budgets thatwent over the tax-levy limit,requiring a supermajority — or60 percent — of the vote to pass;of those, 60 percent passed theirbudgets, according to NYSSBA.One of them was the neighboringdistrict of Bethlehem.Unofficial figures released by thedistrict yesterday show that the$88 million budget passed 4,035to 2,405, with over 62 percent ofthe vote. Bethlehem cut morethan 57 jobs to bridge a $7.7million gap; the tax levy willincrease by 3.99 percent.Guilderland’s $89,259,860budget passed handily at all fivepolling places. It was adoptedafter months of public discussionthat involved “CommunityConversations” on how to bestclose a $2.6 million gap.To meet a state-set tax-levycap, the plan cut roughly 29 jobs;this followed the 100 jobs thathad been cut in the two previousyears.The $89 millionbudget for next yearrepresents a .34-percentincrease over thisyear’s spending plan.It will raise tax rates2.2 percent, meaningGuilderland residentswill pay an estimated$21.14 per $1,000 ofassessed valuation inschool taxes, so someonewith a $100,000 homewould pay $2,114.“We worked reallyhard to strike a balanceof respect for our taxpayers andwhat’s best for kids,” said WilesTuesday night when asked towhat she attributed the landsidevictory. “It shows we struck agood balance and used a responsibleand respectful approach.”District leaders and boardmembers decided not to propose abudget that went over the statesetlevy cap, which would haverequired a supermajority to pass.Guilderland hadn’t surpassed60 percent since the recessionstarted.Asked Tuesday night if she hadany regrets, given the 70-percentpassing rate, about not goingover the limit, Wiles said, “Nonewhatsoever…We tried very hardto match resources to needs…Ithink we did a pretty good jobwith that. We’re reshaping butnot eliminating programs so thatstudents walking through theschool doors next year will stillbe getting the sort of educationGuilderland parents expect.”Similarly, school board PresidentColleen O’Connell said, “Idon’t regret that we took thispath. I think challenging the taxlevylimit in the first year wouldnot be respectful of the spirit ofthe legislation.”O’Connell went on to referencean exit poll in which voters wereasked how they voted and why.“I’ll be interested to look at theexit survey to see if people thinkwe should challenge the levy limitnext year in order to preserveprograms,” said O’Connell.She also said she was gratifiedwith the results and appreciatedthe community’s support.