Truth Seeping Out of Pine Bush Landfill


By DIA, Section News
Posted on Fri Jul 07, 2006 at 04:48:57 AM EST

Remember this quote from Mayor Jennings
"We only have a few years," Jennings said. "Without a landfill, you would have a financial control board in this city within two years. You would either be laying off a third of the workers at the department of general services or raising taxes 28, 38 percent. "If we don't get the landfill, no one will want this job."
So, 13 years into his career as Mayor and the Mayor has brought the city to the brink of financial ruin. If we can't keep getting other cities to pay us to take their garbage...being Mayor of Albany will be about as attractive a job as running for Senator in New York on the Republican ticket. Well, I'm sure that we offer such a good deal at the Jerry Jennings Landfill that as long as we expand the landfill into protected Pine Bush land we will all be ok, right? Well, apparently in 13 years the Mayor didn't look into that either. (scroll down for story) I'm sure you are surprised, right?
When Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings turned recently to the communities that send garbage to his Rapp Road landfill for support in expanding the dump into the Pine Bush Preserve, he got a few cold shoulders.
But, I thought these people depended on us? The Mayor said that it would be far too expensive for these communities to ship their garbage elsewhere.
The mayor has been warning that without the expansion, Albany and the dozen communities that make up the ANSWERS trash consortium will pay big bucks to ship garbage to out-of-town dumps, but Guilderland Supervisor Ken Runion told "Inside Politics" he thinks that dire scenario is over-blown.
Is Ken Runion calling Mayor Jennings a liar? What is he, some kind of blogger? The Mayor wouldn't lie to good honest tax payers like us would he?
Already, the town is looking at shipping its trash elsewhere, Runion said, noting that the town can drop out of ANSWERS after giving proper notice. The price to go elsewhere "is comparable," he said.

Runion also questioned the city's commitment to the environmentally sensitive Pine Bush, saying Jennings is more focused on getting new dump space so the city can continue collecting millions in dumping fees.
Hmmm. I guess Jennings was lying. Give me a moment while I feign surprise....Now, someone find out if Runion has any family members working in Albany and let's see if we can get them fired.

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Truth Seeping Out of Pine Bush Landfill | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)
Runion (none / 0) (#1)
by kateb on Fri Jul 07, 2006 at 10:58:00 AM EST
Growing up there, with deep roots there now (so much kin, friends, classmates....), it does not surprise me Runion would feel compelled to be heard.   That area of Albany is closer to Guilderland than it is to Albany's mainland.  In Westmere, in the old days, we'd chase after the "spontaneous" fires in the bush, deal with the tumbleweeds and pricklers on the sand hills, and have a great time.....And it's Albany's dump these days.  What does that tell you?

I have a friend, an Albany lawyer who got me involved in campaigning for the mayor, who lives out there, in the Albany section..... "The Dunes", I think.  We had an energetic exchange one day.  There was controversy over where a big utility outpost/some ugly control center should be.  It made no sense, he said, for it to be "near the houses"......  Are you kidding me I thought?  I told him his chosen spot is where the horse farm used to be, and the pig farm, and now open space.    It's the houses that need the utilities.  Put it with the houses.  Duh.

DIA, I don't know -- but you must know more than I do -- that our Mayor brought us to the brink of financial ruin.  I think all this is a political calculation, and those things tend to work out.

the financial picture (none / 0) (#2)
by DIA on Fri Jul 07, 2006 at 11:42:27 AM EST
I'd say laying off 1/3 of the city employees would have to qualify for financial ruin/disaster.   Jerry says that is what we are facing if we lose the dump money.   Here is my take.

Albany annual budget estimate (not including lots of fuzzy math to make it seem likes its balanced while we are going further into debt):  Approximately $130-$140 million

Money that the dump brings in:  $13 million a year.  (althouth some years there are expenses for new machinery, lawsuits with contractors, etc so we don't always get our $13 million).

So, one tenth of our cities revenue comes from the dump (biggest source other than taxes).   13 years ago some astute person figured this out and realized we might need a new dump at some point.  Jerry then bought some land in Coeymans for this dump.  He wrote the contract so that the sellers got paid for the land over time and keep getting paid.  So far we have paid around $5 million in tax dollars for this land.  Of course jerry never bothered to proceed with getting the land ready for a dump and didn't bother to note that 1/3 of it was protected wetlands.  But his pals who sold it to us get to keep the $5 million (and counting).  

So, the back up plan to protect the income stream from the dumping is actually no plan at all.  Which leaves us to the "lets dump more garbage in the pine bush" option.  However, it seems that some of our customers might have motivations other than pure greed and power.  So, if they find other places to take their garbage instead of dumping it in protected woodlands, all of a sudden we have a rather serious hole to fill in the city budget.  Now, you say these things tend to work out.  you are right.  jennings has greatly increase Albany's debt while in charge.  So, it could "work out" out by him continuing his fondness for deficit spending.  Or, perhaps, he could move up your tax assessments a year ahead of schedule and increase your taxes (you will notice he proposes the tax raising issue as an alternative to cutting city workforce).  That would "work out" just fine for Jennings.  He gets his money and continues on.  Financial crisis avoided.   Meanwhile your taxes take a big jump up.  If you've been paying attention (and I'm sure you have), taxes have been going up pretty steadily already.  A 30% jump at this point, even a 20% jump could cause quite a financial crisis for many city residents).  But Jerry can just say it wasn't his fault.  And then build his convention center with your tax dollars.   And just like our federal government, things will "work out".  But eventually someone will have to pay back all these loans.  Guess who that is gonna be?  

Or, they'll just dump it in the pine bush and we'll continue on raking in the $13 million a year and leaving an ever growing monument to the abilities of this adminstration.  But at least we'll have money to make sure the Albany golf course is always top notch with new carts.  

fore

[ Parent ]

Forgot to say (none / 0) (#3)
by kateb on Fri Jul 07, 2006 at 04:38:50 PM EST
I like hearing the Guilderland town supervisor questioning the mayor of Albany.   There are too many of us who have stories to tell about quality town people being dissed by the mayor, who thinks he owns the county and the judicial district, not only the city.  And Runion picked a good opportunity to raise questions.

I hear you, DIA, about how this will be worked out.  I was being a wee bit cynical about it working out, not thinking it would be painless.

By the way, yes my taxes are going up -- but not nearly as much as my family in, say, Guilderland!

[ Parent ]

PINE BUSH DESTRUCTION (none / 0) (#4)
by farney on Fri Jul 07, 2006 at 09:12:31 PM EST
Okay, so Jerry's suspiciously delayed last minute attempt to ram the land fill expansion through the legislature failed. The bill really didn't need to be passed first, as the city claimed, so McEneny killed it. If this was such an emergency, and it was so irresponsible for a legislator to actually research the issue, what,s the city doing about it right now?  Has the city begun those all important scoping sessions? Has DEC been publically asked to be lead sponsor of rhe SEQRA procedure? (Surely George Pataki wouln't turn down the Mayor on that one, would he?) When do we start sharing pertinant questions with the public ..e.g. Do we really want a smelly and environmentally dangerous landfill to continue in such a populated area? If Guilderland or another big user of the landfill dropped out of ANSWERS would we have more years of use, and hence less of a last minute panic. Just how much would alternative disposal solutions cost? Has anyone even approached Saratoga County regarding their DEC approved but never opened landfill? Is the Washington County burn plant as underutilized as it is rumoured? If we had to expand at the site, could we go east instead of west and away from the Preserve?.  What would that expense be, and could there be federal or state aid to offset the presumably higher cost? These are not answers;  they are questions which need to be asked by concerned citizens in an open public forum, and without he subliminal message that "the legislators and the governor have  aready approved one alternative so it can't be that bad". START PLANNING NOW Jerry, you've aready wasted too much time!
farney
Financial Control (none / 0) (#5)
by A Muse on Wed Jul 12, 2006 at 07:23:24 AM EST
Jennings is correct.  Unless something dramatic is done, a financial control board will be in the City within 2 years.  Just why would that be?  Because the City has serious financial problems that have not been conveyed to the voters, residents, and property owners.  We can't afford to wait two years for a change in the leadership required to turn the City around.  The financial problems of the City are not unique to Albany and the Mayor did not create them, however, in 12 years of absolute power enough has not been done to correct the problems.   When leadership comes from the State of NY it will be in terms of appointing a receiver.  

What would also help financially in a small way is that most events that the City of Albany sponsors are brought to us by "Mayor Jennings and the City of Albany".  I would like an accounting of Mr. Jennings donation to First Night, The Lobsterfest, Park Playhouse, and Fourth of July etc.  Since Mr. Jennings takes top billing I assume that he has kicked in the largest contribution.  I would be interested in seeing an accounting of those contributions.  When fundraisers are done, the largest contributors always get top billing.  How does he do it on his salary?  And thanks for your donation.  If for some reason Mr. Jennings has not personally kicked in the largest donation, the City will accept your check now.  

Truth Seeping Out of Pine Bush Landfill | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)
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