There are three candidates for two seats on the Philipstown Town Board. Judith Farrell and Robert Flaherty are running for re-election, while Neal Tomann, a member of the Philipstown Planning Board, is challenging. Their responses, below, were provided by email and have been edited for brevity and clarity. Tomann did not respond.
What are the one or two most significant challenges facing Philipstown and what should the Town Board in the near future do to resolve them?
Farrell: The most significant challenges are finding alternative revenue sources to fund town programs and resolving the Garrison’s Landing water district problem. Mortgage tax revenue has been declining because there have been more cash transactions and fewer mortgages, and program fees generated through the Recreation Department are down while costs have risen. We have managed for a long time to keep our taxes below the state cap. Other towns don’t have our extraordinary history of preserving open space and Climate Smart initiatives.
We pay Putnam County for some of the senior services that are provided on this side of the county, but we don’t get any grants from the state Office for the Aging, so perhaps we could explore that. There is also the record $80 million in sales tax revenue that Putnam received this year; almost 10 cents of every dollar spent in Philipstown goes to the county. That needs to change.
The Garrison’s Landing water district has been a challenge since I joined the board five years ago. We have been optimistic about drilling only to find that the wells are dry. We have identified a well but we need to connect it.
Although it is not an issue the town has direct control over, I have heard many people discussing the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail. We need to ask that community concerns, whether about traffic, concrete pilings or costs and funding, be addressed on an ongoing basis. I am in support of a Fjord “trail” since it was in the town’s comprehensive plan. But there have been changes and we need to ensure that changes meet the community’s needs.
Flaherty: The two priorities are the Garrison’s Landing water district and the discussion of dirt versus paved roads. The town is obligated to supply water to residents on Lower Station Road and the homes on the west side of the tracks, and for the last few years we have been purchasing water.
We are the process of connecting a well to the water treatment plant; once completed, we will no longer need to purchase water. With the roads, there are more than 30 miles of dirt roads in Philipstown. They are awfully expensive to maintain. We are in the process of evaluating areas that makes sense to pave, such as steep slopes and areas that continue to wash out.
Do you support a comprehensive revaluation of all Philipstown property values in the near future?
Farrell: Despite the headlines, we have not had an outpouring of concern from residents. I appreciate the research that has been done. The issue has been discussed in the past by the Town Board; we need to identify sources of funding to carry out a reevaluation and do a cost-benefit analysis. As a long-term issue of equity and fairness, we should work toward a plan that includes hiring a consultant to do a reevaluation funded through a bond or funding from the county.
It is interesting to me, as a town board member and a resident, that the headlines are never about the extraordinary $80 million sales tax surplus that Putnam does not share with municipalities. Why is there not investigative reporting about this issue of the Putnam sales tax, which could easily fund a multitude of much-needed initiatives?
Flaherty: I do not support a revaluation, although in the future that may change. It is expensive and we don’t have the money in the budget. It also is my understanding that last revaluation, done many years ago, didn’t change much. I encourage anyone who believes that their assessment is not accurate to go through the grieving process, which is open to everyone once a year in May.
