Checks, Balances and the Role of the Board of Finance
The Board of Finance race in the upcoming election in Woodstock may be the most important in many years.
Reading George McCoy’s writings in the October 9th Villager and elsewhere strike me as interesting as he seems to be pandering to everyone rather than addressing the serious issues that face Woodstock, of which there are many.
Perhaps someone should explain to Mr. McCoy and a number of others, their charge as members of the Board of Finance.
As the financial guardians of the Town, it is their job to analyze and question proposed budgets. As we have made this easy for them and everyone else to understand in the documents and video posted throughout this site, it is very clear that they are more interested in being a club members along with the other “tax and spend" Democrats and Republicans on the BOF and other boards, rather than addressing the issues they are charged with. It is imperative for BOF members not only to scrutinize proposed budgets, but also to take into account when doing so, the adherence to prior budgets so as to understand the validity of spending patterns going forward. In this, he and other BOF members have failed miserably as evidenced by spending patterns such as the unexplained $490,483.00 against a budget of $55,620.00 that was spent on equipment by the BOE over the last 3 years without public knowledge and a plan in place. Despite what you may read, plans to deploy and utilize that equipment were never addressed by the BOE in open session or by its subcommittees; those plans are now just beginning well after the expenditures were made. This is not transparent management of the public’s business.
In addition, it has been revealed that clerical errors in the creation of the budgets presented to the voters over the last number of years have resulted in a discrepancy totaling ~$1.7 Million dollars - which is just the tip of the iceberg and cannot be characterized as thoughtful management of the public’s business.
After attending most BOF meetings and having watched Mr. McCoy’s performance in the last few budget cycles, it appears to me that this is a man who cannot (or more likely just won’t) understand what is going on in front of him- not once have I seen him ask a question regarding proposed budget presentations. This past year during BOF discussions regarding the impact of the national financial meltdown and its potential future effect on local finances in this and future years, his contribution was to say: “let’s worry about next year, next year”. This is not thoughtful financial leadership.
In other recent writings, he warns that “Pro-BOE forces must mobilize” otherwise “pro education BOF members (namely ME!)” will be unseated. Again, Mr. McCoy reveals his unwillingness to take the public’s business or his charge on the Board of Finance seriously. Continuing to elect candidates of the “club mentality” that permeates Woodstock serves no one. Considering the gravity of the issues, the fact that he and the Republicans fail to address them is not surprising.
In addition to my unopposed candidacy, the clear choices to restore the checks and balances to Woodstock finances on November 3rd are: Dave Richardson, Charles Super and Margaret Wholean (Alternate).
Craig R. Powers
Woodstock
Reading George McCoy’s writings in the October 9th Villager and elsewhere strike me as interesting as he seems to be pandering to everyone rather than addressing the serious issues that face Woodstock, of which there are many.
Perhaps someone should explain to Mr. McCoy and a number of others, their charge as members of the Board of Finance.
As the financial guardians of the Town, it is their job to analyze and question proposed budgets. As we have made this easy for them and everyone else to understand in the documents and video posted throughout this site, it is very clear that they are more interested in being a club members along with the other “tax and spend" Democrats and Republicans on the BOF and other boards, rather than addressing the issues they are charged with. It is imperative for BOF members not only to scrutinize proposed budgets, but also to take into account when doing so, the adherence to prior budgets so as to understand the validity of spending patterns going forward. In this, he and other BOF members have failed miserably as evidenced by spending patterns such as the unexplained $490,483.00 against a budget of $55,620.00 that was spent on equipment by the BOE over the last 3 years without public knowledge and a plan in place. Despite what you may read, plans to deploy and utilize that equipment were never addressed by the BOE in open session or by its subcommittees; those plans are now just beginning well after the expenditures were made. This is not transparent management of the public’s business.
In addition, it has been revealed that clerical errors in the creation of the budgets presented to the voters over the last number of years have resulted in a discrepancy totaling ~$1.7 Million dollars - which is just the tip of the iceberg and cannot be characterized as thoughtful management of the public’s business.
After attending most BOF meetings and having watched Mr. McCoy’s performance in the last few budget cycles, it appears to me that this is a man who cannot (or more likely just won’t) understand what is going on in front of him- not once have I seen him ask a question regarding proposed budget presentations. This past year during BOF discussions regarding the impact of the national financial meltdown and its potential future effect on local finances in this and future years, his contribution was to say: “let’s worry about next year, next year”. This is not thoughtful financial leadership.
In other recent writings, he warns that “Pro-BOE forces must mobilize” otherwise “pro education BOF members (namely ME!)” will be unseated. Again, Mr. McCoy reveals his unwillingness to take the public’s business or his charge on the Board of Finance seriously. Continuing to elect candidates of the “club mentality” that permeates Woodstock serves no one. Considering the gravity of the issues, the fact that he and the Republicans fail to address them is not surprising.
In addition to my unopposed candidacy, the clear choices to restore the checks and balances to Woodstock finances on November 3rd are: Dave Richardson, Charles Super and Margaret Wholean (Alternate).
Craig R. Powers
Woodstock
Can you tell us a little about Charles Super?
Working on it and it is coming soon.