Fishkill Dunking the Clowns
By Michael Boyajian
Fishkill Town Supervisor Joan Pagones sat in the dunk the clown seat at a recent Fishkill street fair. You know the deal hit the bull’s eye and the seat drops the politician into a tub of cold water. Pagones went into the drink quite a few times that night.
But voters may have another dunking in mind for the embattled Town Supervisor next November only it will not be water they drop her into but an overdue retirement after the release of a State Audit of the Town’s finances showing improprieties and a ballooning $4.9 million deficit which is sure to infuriate local elements of the Tea Party which up till now has had close ties with the Supervisor.
The Town Board held a meeting August 21 and the audit was not on the publically announced agenda. However, once the meeting opened the topic was quickly added to the agenda without public notification. Concerned citizen Ozzy Albra was threatened with arrest at the meeting after he challenged the legality of the maneuver.
The Town has been known of late to arrest opponents like environmentalist Marty Byster who was charged with Criminal Trespass after reporting illegal dumping in the Town to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. After his arrest a Town Board member publically proclaimed, “We have finally gotten Byster.”
Another Town meeting has been scheduled for August 30 and a large contingent of disgruntled residents is expected to turn out to vent their frustration with the Town’s financial shenanigans.
The Town will release a 5 year plan promised to dig the municipality out of this deep hole but voters are unsure it will work considering that services are already cut to the bone with essentials like snow removal taking a hit with lower than normal volumes of salt and sand in reserve for the upcoming winter.
Borrowing out of the deficit may not be possible with Moody’s lowering the Town’s bond rating to just above junk bond status. The audit may force Moody’s to downgrade the Town’s rating to actual junk bond status.
The Town has been spending itself into dire straits burning through millions of dollars for a new and questionable police station and recreation center leaving voters in a state of unease about future tax increases and the placing of a debt burden on future generations. Voter fury is expected to carry over from this Election Day into next year because of these financial woes with a large political dunking forecasted for local politicians.
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