To the Editor:
This is a reply to Tom Berry’s Letter to the Editor entitled “Petersburgh/Berlin Transfer Station Agreement Unfair.”
If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound? If a person doesn’t attend the public budget workshops meetings in the Town of Petersburgh does that mean they can accuse the Town Board of not being accountable? That is what Tom Berry did! He didn’t attend the budget workshop hearings last year. It’s possible he didn’t attend any in past years either. Therefore he did not hear the Supervisor and former Town Board openly discussing the costs to the town for the Transfer Station. Many of us did hear. Since Mr. Berry was not present he felt it necessary to form the opinion that the Town officials are not informing the citizens.
Over the past few weeks one question comes to mind. Is aggressively accusing your Town government by Mr. Berry and others a helpful way to move in the right direction? To use Mr. Berry’s words, is that a “healthy well-functioning democracy?” I suppose that is for the public to decide. I do see a silver lining. Mr. Berry’s questionable statements may get more residents to take an interest in the Town government and attend Board meetings. It would certainly be beneficial for more Petersburgh people to get involved in the Town. It would be even better if folks attended Board meetings throughout the entire year. If you don’t wish to attend, we would like to hear from you in other ways (emails, letters, phone calls). We welcome your concerns and questions. We need to know what all of you are thinking, not just a handful of people. Please speak up! We are your town government. We represent ALL of you!
I do agree with some of the points Mr. Berry brought up in regard to Petersburgh’s cost to use Berlin’s transfer station. However, things cannot happen overnight. The cost for Petersburgh to use the Berlin Transfer station has been close to or the same for the past 15 years. Recently, the Town Supervisor and the Board as well as other Town officials have begun working toward a solution that is best for our town. That doesn’t mean we are leaving the Berlin Transfer station out of the picture. Also, it doesn’t imply we shouldn’t try to reduce costs when possible. However, let’s not jump to something we’ll be sorry for later. Let us carefully weigh all our options. The Supervisor and the Town Board will continue to speak to vendors and other towns in our area to see what refuse programs they have and how successful they are. We will keep trying to convince Berlin to come to the negotiation table as well. You can help too. Please come to the Board meeting with, or send in, your ideas for garbage and refuse collection.
With that in mind, Mr. Berry is correct to say the payment to Berlin is substantially more than the revenue in. However, he is wrong to label it as a “deficit.” In reality this is an expense for a service. Other municipalities consider the cost of garbage collection a service for their residents. I believe that past Petersburgh Supervisors as well as past Town Boards considered this expense a necessity in order to provide a service to the Petersburgh residents. Going forward, Supervisor Krahforst, along with the new board, is taking a different approach on many issues including the Transfer Station. When we feel it’s necessary, we will rethink what has been done in the past.
We know full well the struggle Petersburgh faces with this year’s bleak economic condition. If we are dealing with uproar and bullying how can the Town officials focus on what needs to be done in an efficient and sensible way?
Yes, the previous Board had to raise taxes. No one was happy about that. Budgets in most Town departments were cut to the point of bare bones. The brand new Town Board has just begun. I can say sincerely the new Town Board will do its best to make improvements across the board, even in spite of the minimal resources we have. I am confident we will work hard and make decisions that are best for the Town. One step at a time. It will get better. Together we can make good things happen for Petersburgh.
Denise Jacon Church
Petersburgh Town Council Member