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SARATOGA
OPINION
LEGACY Chad Beatty Publisher On my way into work today I had a life and death revelation that shed light on my very existence. Although the event that caused it was nothing other than ordinary, the insight garnered from it was extraordinary. In a nutshell, here it is: I am driving down 29 doing about 50 mph on my way into work. Daydreaming my morning away I notice a tractor trailer heading in the opposite direction. The driver of the big rig is assumedly doing the same
thing as me and traveling at about the same speed. As our lives crossed paths for that split second in time, I felt nothing more than the breeze created by the power of the steel behemoth. At that second I realized that every day we come feet from certain death. The mere flinch of a muscle or mechanical failure could have sent us colliding into each other leaving a pile of twisted steel and carnage. My next series of thoughts centered on the meaning of my life and the legacy I would leave behind if I had just passed from this world into the next. Some of the simple yet important questions that I pondered were: • Was I kind to people yesterday? • How will my son remember me? • Do I do enough to positively influence people's lives? • Did I use my God-given
Friday, February 18, 2011
TODAY
Letter to the Editor talents to their fullest? • Have I done anything over the past week to help anyone? • Do I 'walk the walk' or just 'talk the talk?' Although I don't plan to share my specific answers with the entire world, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised in some instances and realized that I had much work to do in other areas. The result of this self analysis… I have decided to attempt, on a daily basis, to think about at least one of these questions and put it into action. I realize that it is much easier to write about this subject than it is to actually put it into action, but perhaps if I can take more positive actions each week, even if just a little, I will make someone's life just a little better. Now imagine what our community would be like if we all did this. I am asking all of you to do something. I want to hear the positive stories out there of good people doing good work. Send them in to us and we will publish them on the 'Letters to the Editor' page. Your submission doesn't have to be long, it doesn't have to be well written, and you don't have to mention names if you choose not to. Let's get the ball rolling and see where this goes. Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you.
February 9, 2011 To Saratoga Today: Recently I read Judge Nolan’s decision on the Saratoga Citizen’s charter petition and I concluded that the city council was poorly served by the law firm which represented it in this case. The law firm’s arguments for the city were all ruled invalid. In ruling in favor of Saratoga Citizen, Inc. Judge Nolan rejected all three of the city’s main contentions. First, Judge Nolan stated that, contrary to the city clerk’s contention, the petitions were not securely fastened. The judge said the fastening of the 87 sheets of petitions was not “fatal to a petition absent evidence of fraud,” Saratoga Citizen was able to convince the court that there was no fraud. Furthermore, the judge pointed out that the city clerk’s office had not given the Saratoga Citizen, Inc. notice of non-compliance so that they might comply with the binding requirements. By this omission the city had effectively waived its right to invalidate the petitions on the grounds that they were not “securely fastened.” Second, Judge Nolan rejected by the city’s contention that the petitions were out of compliance with the statute. (Municipal Home Rule Law section 37, subsection 11) because the petitioners did not include a fiscal note. The Judge pointed out that a referendum on a local law advocating a reorganization of government funding by the normal budgeting process, does not require a fiscal note. Arguments
over the costs can and should be raised in the electoral process but the lack of a fiscal note is not a reason to keep the proposal from going to a referendum of the voters. Why the law firm failed to warn the city that the fiscal note argument was not consistent with the statute is surprising to me. I am not a lawyer but I read the Municipal Law section and understood that that a fiscal note was not required. Finally, Judge Nolan upheld the Saratoga Citizen, Inc.’s case and ruled that there were 1227 valid signatures on the petitions submitted to the city. The city sought to disqualify signatures on eleven petition sheets. Upon examination by the court, the petition carriers were able to satisfy the court that there was no fraud and that the 167 signatures on the eleven sheets were signatures of duly registered voters of the city, and that 43 more disputed signatures were residents listed in the 2009 city voter registration records. In all, the court found that there were more than enough valid signatures to satisfy the statute. Now that the Saratoga Citizen, Inc has prevailed in its case, it is time for the city to seek the help of the Office of Local Government in the New York State Department of State. This office has the expertise to help the city council determine the appropriate time to place the charter proposal on the ballot at no additional cost to the city taxpayers. I urge the city to work with the Department of State’s Office of Local Government to arrange for a referendum on the Saratoga Citizen, Inc.’s petitions. Over twelve hundred Saratoga Springs citizens asked the council to do this last August. Sincerely, Margie H Van Meter 175 Washington Saratoga Springs, N Y 12866 (518) 587-1545