OCTOBER 1, 2006: As I noted on the front page, Supervisor Howard Philips and the school district are lying about Haverstraw's tax problems, and the Mirant case. Mr. Philips and James Johnston (from the school district) are trying to make people believe that their huge tax increases are related to Mirant, and that Stony Point (and me in particular) are the culprits. Here is the explanation for my comment that they are lying:
1. Mirant caused taxes to go up in Haverstraw about 33%. Many people are getting tax bills that have increased 100% and more. Anything above a roughly 33% increase is a direct result of the revaluation (reassessment) Haverstraw just completed. It is the first time they have reassessed in over 42 years. Mr. Philips was hoping to hide the effects of the revaluation with the illegal "trust" he was attempting to put in place as part of the Mirant settlement. When that failed, rather than settling Mirant without the trust, for political reasons, and to the detriment of ALL North Rockland residents, he killed the entire settlement so he could try to blame the Court, me and Stony Point for his outrageous tax problems. What he should have done was settle Mirant without the illegal trust, and phased in the reassessment over a period of time, rather than slam taxpayers like he did, and simply try to hide it.
2. The Court decision is much better than the settlement was with the illegal trust. However, the settlement would have been better if it was done without the trust. Stony Point and Mirant agreed to proceed without the trust. However, again for political reasons to the detriment of taxpayers, on June 19, in Federal Court, Howard Philips and the school district killed the entire settlement rather than proceed without the trust. This cost taxpayers MILLIONS. When Mr. Philips and the school district deny this, bring to their attention pages 14 and 15 of the transcript of the Federal Court hearing, which you can access here: http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/June_19_Transcript.pdf .
That wasn't the end, either. After that June 19 Federal Court hearing, Brian Monahan and Asst. Superintendent LeFever agreed to meet with me and Councilman O'Neill. After an hour long meeting, Superintendent Monahan stated that he agreed that the settlement should proceed without the trust, because of the $130 million in fees and interest the trust would have cost the taxpayers. He stood up, and shook my and O'Neill's hands in agreement. We advised our attorney's to modify the settlement documents and that the District and Mirant agreed to proceed without the trust. About Mirant days later, Mr. Philips returned from vacation, and shortly thereafter, the agreement we had with Brian Monahan was dead! The reason? Since Supervisor Philips would no longer be able to hide the staggering results of the reassessment with the illegal trust funds, his only recourse was to kill the overall settlement, and try to blame the Court, Mirant, me and Stony Point for his tax woes. Why Superintendent Monahan allowed Supervisor Philips to push him around like that is beyond me. Politics at its worst. STEVE
AUGUST 28, 2006: The decision in the Mirant case as relting to the Lovett plant is in. Click on "Mirant Q&A" for the decision and a brief analysis.
AUGUST 24, 2006: The school board had their "special meeting" tonight to set the tax rate for the 2006/2007 school year. What they actually did was hard to determine from the meeting - as usual, getting any real information about our tax dollars from Assistant Superintendent of Finance James Johnston is like pulling teeth. At this point, here are a few of the apparent items which can be gleaned from the typically nebulous meeting:
a. The tax rates do NOT reflect and changes resulting from the Mirant case (decision or settlement), so everything they are doing is as if Mirant was still paying taxes, and doing so based on their old valuations;
b. School taxes will be going up 18% for Stony Point residents, and 33% for Haverstraw residents - no explanation was given why there is any increase at all, no less such a large increase, since this does NOT include Mirant;
c. The Board is raising about $25 million MORE in taxes than they raised last year, yet again, this does NOT include Mirant, and seems to violate the law relating to the austerity budget;
d. It APPEARS the budget is still around $185 million ($16 million more than allowed by law), but it is really hard to tell - I will post the actual number as soon as I can obtain it.
According to tonight's meeting, taxes are going way up, an additional amount of $25 million in tax dollars is being collected, and Mirant is allegedly NOT the cause. No explanation has been provided. I can't tell if James Johnston is lying, hiding something, or just doesn't get it. But I do know that none of us should be walking around like this scratching our heads wondering what the hell is going on - THIS IS OUR MONEY, and OUR DISTRICT. We don't NEED answers, we DEMAND AND DESERVE ANSWERS, AND WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO FIGHT SO HARD EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
After tonight's debacle, among other things I am immediately calling upon the School Board to do the following:
1. Tell us in plain language what our school budget is;
2. If it is more than 4% higher than last year (the austerity cap), tell us why;
3. Explain where the extra $25 million in tax dollars is going - is it another slush fund; and
4. Explain why taxes are going up so much if it does not include Mirant.
Finally, at this point, it is time to DEMAND THE RESIGNATION OR TERMINATION OF JAMES JOHNSTON - he is the hand picked progeny of Dodge Watkins, ignores our questions, and refuses to disclose even the basic numbers and facts in a clear and concise manner, even though he is getting paid a HUGE salary by US to do so.. Folks - it is time to make some changes, and this is a good first step. We have to get rid of this guy, and we have to do so WITHOUT allowing the Board to give him the huge "early retirement" package he is scheduled to receive in a few months, after just six years with the district.
I will provide additional information if and when I can squeeze it out of this gang. STEVE
AUGUST 1, 2006: A lot of folks asked some good questions at tonights School Board meeting. My statement and questions can be reviewed here at http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Rally-Demands.doc.
JULY 26, 2006 UPDATE: The planned rally/protest next Tuesday, August 1, at the High School, at 6:00 pm, just prior to the School Board meeting that night, is going as planned. The flyer is out, and can be viewed here:
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/ProtestNotice.doc
I hope as many folks as possible can make it, as I think it is important to show the School Board that we are serious about our long term commitment to putting a stop to all of the waste and abuse of our tax dollars, and the need to take a serious look at the budget, and how the District is run. My initial thoughts are we should DEMAND the School Board begin by taking the following actions:
1. REVERSE the recent change in the benefit package gifted to Asst. Superintendent James Johnston, which gratuitously reduced his required years of service to 6 years in order to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in "early retirement" bonuses;
2. ABANDON the plan to borrow an EXTRA $96 million for an illegal "trust" relating to the Mirant matter, which will otherwise cost the taxpayers over $127 million in fees and interest; and
3. REVERSE the gift of hundreds of free sick days given to various superintendents, administrators and managers; and
4. HALT the malicious acts attempting to penalize taxpayers for rejected the proposed budget, including the threatened firing of 2 parochial school nurses.
I intend to make these demands at the School Board meeting immediately following our planned rally, and hope everyone can attend to show the Board we mean business. Thanks STEVE
JULY 13, 2006 UPDATE: At the July 5th School Board meeting, a number of actions were taken which again seem to defy explanation (and we're not allowed to ask). I thought the following "transfers" of funds were interesting:
1. $200,000 was taken from the budget account for school building repairs and transferred iin to an account to pay for additional gasoline - rather ironic in that I have been told Dodge Watkins was regularly filling his car, and those of two of his family members, at the school district gas pumps, while I was being called "petty" for complaining about gasoline useage! In my opinion, $200,000 in tax dollars is far from petty. James Johnston is also reportedly a "regular" at the pumps.
2. A total of $109,000 was taken OUT of the account for teacher's salaries, of which $25,000 was put in a "professional services" line, and $84,000 placed in a "Special Aid Fund" account. However, when we complain about the budget, we are told "it's because of the salaries" - yet we see hundreds of thousands being moved OUT of those very same salary lines time after time..
JULY 6, 2006 UPDATE: At last night's school board meeting, many of those citizens and taxpayers attending reported that despite the absence of Dodge Watkins, his legacy lives on - the members of the board and James Johnston continued with their arrogant, condescending, rude attitudes, ignored most concerns and questions posed to them, and flew through the agenda with their typical rubber stamp, high spending speed. It is becoming more and more clear that the members of this school board have either no ability to, or no desire to, think independently or act in the best interests of anyone other than each other and the administration. I wonder when the last time it was that they actually had a split vote? Or better yet, engaged in a rational, intelligent discussion and expressed opposing views on an issue?
These people MUST BE STOPPED. Who the heck do they think they are? When did they forget the basics, like: WE ARE THE TAXPAYERS; THIS IS OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT; THESE ARE OUR TAX DOLLARS; THEY ARE OUR REPRESENTATIVES; THEY WORK FOR AND ANSWER TO US; and that THIS IS AMERICA, A DEMOCRACY RUN BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE! WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!
Last night, the Board was asked three questions. As usual, their answers were short, non-responsive, and replete with pretentious arrogance. They were asked:
1. Why is the District still planning to borrow $200 million now that the Mirant matter has been delayed?
Their answer and “reason”: They are not borrowing $200 million, they are now going to borrow $230 million, because that is what their lawyer told them to do (Although allegedly presented by a “different” school district lawyer, almost all of these eccentric and obtuse ideas have been coming from Dodge Watkins’ longtime friend and attorney, John Nye of the Whiteman firm, and/or his sidekick Larry Farbstein);
2. Why is the budget still almost $22 million more than last year's, at $183.5 million, when the laws regarding austerity budgets limit the increase over last year to 4%,, which would be $168.5 million?
Their answer and “reason”: They are leaving the budget at $183.5 million, AND WILL BE TAXING US ON THAT AMOUNT THIS SEPTEMBER, because they “might” need the money in the future (sounds like another slush fund).
3. Why was an auditorium at Fieldstone renamed and dedicated to Dodge Watkins - did he donate back to the District any of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he left with?
Their answer and “reason”: No (That was their complete, entire answer and explanation).
No additional or follow up questions were "allowed". They obviously mistake "we the people" for their students, and treat us as such.
Well, Ladies and Gentlemen: 1) we tried voting; 2) we tried negotiating; 3) we tried attending meetings en masse and asked to be heard; 4) we wrote letters; 5) we asked for help from the media and attorneys; and 6) we contacted the appropriate local and State authorities: yet with all of this, Watkins, and now Johnston and the school board, continue to ignore us, and borrow, spend and tax us into bankruptcy. As I intimated in my initial April School Tax Crisis report, there is only one thing left to do:
IT IS TIME TO TAKE BACK OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. IT IS TIME TO REVOLT! I'LL BRING THE TEA!
WHO: ALL NORTH ROCKLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT RESIDENTS - everyone who cares about the education of our children, but are sick and tired of the waste, abuse, extravagance, overspending and misuse of hundreds of millions of our tax dollars, and the arrogant abuse of "WE THE PEOPLE";
WHAT: An informational picket/rally/protest, followed by attendance at OUR school board meeting;
WHEN: 6:00 pm Tuesday evening, August 1st, 2006, the night of the next regular School Board meeting;
WHERE: Parking lot of the North Rockland High School;
WHY: Our purpose will be to START showing the school board, James Johnston, and Brian Monahan once and for all that we are not peasant members of their kingdom, or mindless simpletons willing to blindly allow them to continue to abuse us and run us all out of our towns. Our intent is NOT to treat them as they have treated us – with rudeness, arrogance, and disrespect – however, we WILL SHOW THEM WHO PAYS THE BILLS – THEIR BILLS. And if it happens to disrupt their meeting, so be it – they’ve done a fine job disrupting our lives. I believe we should seek and demand (subject to change following all of your feedback):
1. The format of the school board meeting be changed to allow real public input, and to require actual and responsive answers to legitimate questions posed;
2. The immediate reversal of the "6 years and out" promise of hundreds of thousands of dollars to Dodge’s sidekick, James Johnston;
3. The immediate reversal of the gift of millions of dollars in sick days given to administrative and managerial employees; and
4. A halt to the planned borrowing of $230 million in “anticipation” of a decision in the Mirant case.
I will get a few hundred signs ordered. Any ideas for the signs will be greatly appreciated. I will also gladly accept any other ideas, recommendations and assistance anyone else may be able to provide. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. Thanks again. STEVE
JUNE 21, 2006 UPDATE: I posed the question below regarding the $200 million loan, and the extra $15 million above the legal limit for an austerity budget (which the board stated was due to the Mirant settlement, which of course is no longer at issue), to Brian Monahan, who will take over for Dodge Watkins on July 1. On the one hand, I must say he was pleasant in his emails, and did not try to avoid the question. However, the substance of his response surprised and confused me, and I have no idea how the actions he described are at all justifiable, or even legal. His response was as follows:
1. He WILL NOT be recommending any changes to the budget.
Comment: This means that the extra $15 million which Dodge Watkins, James Johnston and the board claimed was solely for the Mirant settlement is going to stay in the budget. He did NOT provide an explanation for this statement, nor did he indicate what will happen to that extra $15 million between now and October when the Mirant case is expected to be decided. I can only guess that they believe it is legitimate to "anticipate" a court decision.
a. He also stated that he believes my estimate for the austerity budget amount is incorrect.
Comment: I am not sure where the errors are, and he did not elaborate. I simply took last years reported budget amount, and added 4%. I obtained this formula, and the 4% allowable increase, directly form the school district's budget presentation. If anyone knows where I went wrong on this, please let me know.
2. He stated that he and the board will follow through with the plans to borrow for the Mirant situation.
Comment: I assume this refers to the $200 million loan Dodge wants. As most of you know, roughly the first $100 million was to be paid back to Mirant and the County, and the additional $100 million was to be placed in a bank account and withdrawn by the district in increments over the next 8 years to pay itself as "additional, non-tax (!!)" revenue. I believe such a plan is illegal, not to mention costly (it will cost $127.5 million in interest and fees to borrow that $100 million for 30 years, and when it is depleted in 8 years, we'll owe all of that money (totaling $227.5 million).
That was Brian Monahan's response. In essence, they are pretending the budget wasn't voted down, and the proposed settlement didn't collapse. Does anyone else out there want to SCREAM at the thought of borrowing $200 million based on the hair-brained scheme of Dodge Watkins which completely fell apart in Federal Court on Monday?? These people are continuing to take us down fast, despite our substantial protests to the contrary.
One final, personal comment from me on this issue: Why in the world are Dodge Watkins and James Johnston so hell bent on forcing our school district to borrow this HUGE amount of money, which is TWICE the amount that was actually needed under the collapsed settlement, and with Dodge leaving in a mere 9 days??
JUNE 20, 2006 UPDATE: I have an interesting question for Superintendent Watkins and the school board, and I believe we should demand a REASONABLE answer at the July 5 school board meeting:
1. Last year's school budget was $162,376,770;
2. We rejected this year's proposed $185.3 million budget;
3. The school board advised us they are limited to a 4% increase under an austerity budget;
4. They adopted a $183.5 million budget, claiming this is a 4% increase, PLUS THE MIRANT SETTLEMENT;
5. Now that the proposed Mirant settlement has been rejected, IS THE SCHOOL BOARD NOW GOING TO AMEND THE BUDGET, AS REQUIRED BY LAW, AND BRING IT BACK DOWN TO $168,871,841, WHICH IS LAST YEAR'S BUDGET PLUS THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE 4% INCREASE?
JUNE 7, 2006 UPDATE: I have posted additional information regarding the conflict of interest of the attorney's representing all of the parties in the Mirant case. Please click on the "Lawyer Conflict" tab on the left of this page to review those items.
JUNE 7, 2006 UPDATE: Tonight I learned even more disturbing information about the law firm representing all parties in the Mirant case, further exemplifying the urgent need for Stony Point to retain independent counsel as soon as possible prior to acting on the proposed Mirant settlement agreement. The following memo details this information, and includes copies of four of the cases and appeals filed by Dodge Watkins against his former employer, the Wappingers School District, subsequent to their suspending and ultimately terminating him as their superintendent. The four documents following the memo are copies of the appeals and decisions referred to in that memo.
Memo describing new information: http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Conflict.doc
U.S. District Court Decision: http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Watkins-1.doc
N.Y.S. Department of Education Decision #1: http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Watkins-2.doc
N.Y.S. Department of Education Decision #2: http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Watkins-3.doc
N.Y.S. Department of Education Decision #3: http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Watkins-4.doc
JUNE 5, 2006 UPDATE (School Board Meeting June 6, 2006)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/6-6-06-School-Board.doc
MAY 28, 2006 UPDATE (James Johnston Contract)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Johnston-contract.doc
MAY 26, 2006 UPDATE (Request for information to the School District)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Cover-5-26-06.doc
MAY 23, 2006 UPDATE (A question posed about decentralization)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/decentralize.doc
MAY 20, 2006 UPDATE (Some Interesting Facts)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/May20update1.doc
MAY 18, 2006 UPDATE (Update and "To Do" List)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/Todo5-18-06.doc
MAY 10, 2006 UPDATE (Flyer- "IT'S NOT 'JUST THAT SIMPLE' ")
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/NotSimple.doc
MAY 9, 2006 UPDATE (May 16, 2006 School District Vote Details)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/JNFlyer3.doc
MAY 5, 2006 UPDATE (3 Part Plan of Action)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/WHAT-YOU-CAN-DO-A-3-PART-PLAN.doc
MAY 4, 2006 UPDATE (Response to Dick Eggers' Letter)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/RESPONSE-TO-EGGERS.doc
APRIL 24, 2006 UPDATE (Voting Down the Budget is NOT ENOUGH!)
http://www.colehatchard.com/doc/VOTE-NO-AND-THEN-SOME.doc
