Month: November 2019

Here is a link to the channel ten story.

[JK:

The decline of local newspapers seems to be the result of a perfect storm. There is the rise of the internet where people get information for “free.” Newspapers have struggled to find a business model that provides a sufficient stream of income in this new environment. Then there is the shift of economic power from the industrial sector to finance. Traditionally the industrial/agricultural sectors represented the largest areas of wealth. Now it is banks and hedge funds. Our own local paper is part of a bundle of papers owned by a hedge fund. Journalism is the last thing on these new owners’ minds. Finally there is the atomization of the public square. People now seek their news from a source that will parrot their own thinking. Facebook friends are regrettably more and more the most trusted source of information. Whatever tribe you belong to there is a cable channel or website or blog that will reinforce your view of the world. There is less and less room for a community resource like a newspaper.

Chris Mathiesen sent a follow up comment to his earlier observations. It appears below.]

——————————————————

How did it get to the point where I was paying $273.50 for 13 weeks of the Saratogian (not including a gratuity for the very reliable delivery person)? It was partly out of habit. I was reading the Saratogian since I was a kid. It used be a good source of information about our community, especially during the Fred Eaton/Gannett days. There used to be a staff of locally based reporters and editors who understood Saratoga Springs. I relied on other papers for coverage of regional, state, national and international stories but I was confident that the Saratogian provided reliable local news.

On Friday, November 22, 1963, John. Kennedy was assassinated. His death was announced at 2:00 PM EST. The Saratogian, which was an afternoon newspaper in those days, had their front page hitting the streets by 3:00 PMthat day with a short story in bold letters announcing the president’s death. Compare that with today’s paper which is printed in Colonie and includes fewer local stories on topics that took place days earlier.

There was a time when most Saratogians read the Saratogian. I know because I used to help my friend with his paper route when I was a kid and I used to have to take over my son’s paper route for six weeks every summer during the nineties so that he could attend an academic program. Nearly every house received the paper. Reading that paper was a community experience. That’s no longer the case and that’s a shame.

Many communities across the country have lost their local paper. We haven’t actually lost ours yet but the Saratogian no longer provides the coverage of our community that it used to do. This ‘local news desert’ has terrible ramifications. Without news, how do residents stay informed about local government and other important community issues? How do citizens stay informed so that they can make responsible decisions when they go to the polls? How do you find individuals willing to make the commitments necessary to become involved in their community or run for office?

Albany and Schenectady both have good sources of local news with the Times Union and the Daily Gazette respectively. But, as Rex Smith said recently, the TU staff is not large enough to adequately cover Saratoga Springs. We live in a City which is one of the most successful in the entire northeast with one glaring deficiency-local media coverage.

Chris Mathiesen

[Chris Mathiesen sent me this note]

John,

You might want to mention in your blog the sad state of our local daily newspaper. While the paper itself has shrunk over the years and is now providing fewer local stories, the cost of subscribing to the hard copy has increased drastically. They are now charging me over one thousand dollars per year for seven day home delivery. However, according to their website, a new subscriber can get the same service for $372 a year ‘until they cancel’. Due to the outrageous amount that I was being charged, I converted today to the digital version only which will cost only $12.00 per month.

Chris Mathiesen

City of Saratoga Springs

Office of the Commissioner of Finance

Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance

City Hall

474 Broadway

Saratoga Springs, New York 12866

518-587-3550

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Commissioner of Finance, Michele Madigan

Telephone:  (518) 587-3550 ext 2577; (518) 526-9377

Email:  Michele.Madigan@Saratoga-Springs.org

2020 CITY BUDGET PASSES UNANIMOUSLY – CITY TAXES TO DECREASE
Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan called for a vote on the 2020 Budget at the November 19, 2019 City Council.  It passed unanimously, and will decrease taxes in 2020.

“Once again, the City of Saratoga Springs comes out the winner,” states Madigan.  “Services are intact, initiatives are funded, and the taxpayer receives stable tax rates for my eighth of service to this City.

The priorities presented on  October 1st with the first draft of the 2020 budget included capital projects for City Hall, the East Side Fire & EMS, and Loughberrry Lake Dam, as well as operating initiatives for cybersecurity, recreation and trails, public safety service improvements, and Code Blue/homeless solutions.  The budget passed during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting remains true to these priorities.

The 2020 Budget now also includes staff funding for the high-in-demand City building and planning departments, increases for local non-profits, a full time hire to address ever-growing threats to cybersecurity, a newly established department for required and much needed trail maintenance, and, in honor of our beautifully green-scaped City and the 1,000 Trees initiatives, doubled amounts for tree purchases.  The Public Safety Department is preparing for the new EMS/Fire station and Command Center, as well as for two new police hires pursuant to an assignment that I put into place in September.  More hires will be considered throughout the 2020 fiscal year. 

Expense increases are offset by the use of healthy reserve funds that have been built during my tenure, strong sales tax and mortgage tax revenue, and the wise distribution of fund balance excess throughout my budget years. 

The total 2020 operating budget is $48,715,918, with a tax levy of $16,136,984.  This is well within the New York State 2% tax cap, and results in a combined tax rate of $6.0709 for the inside district, $6.0088 for the outside district, and an average decrease in taxes from 2019 of 0.05%.  

The City held the required 2 public hearings, as well as 3 budget workshops and 7 City Council meeting public comment periods.  I have been available for telephone calls, emails, meetings, and much face-to-face interaction regarding budget suggestions, as have all Council members.  The Council expressed support for all recommended changes, as well as a very positive reception and consensus for the 2020 Budget.

The 2020 Budget as now amended is uploaded with the 11/19/19 agenda materials, and is be available for review on the City website. 

Commissioner Madigan states:  “I believe this is an excellent budget for the City and taxpayers, with a stable tax rate and sufficient appropriations to face the 2020 budget year, and the future, feeling protected as well as enthusiastic!  I would like to thank the Council for its work, and I am proud to deliver to the taxpayers an eighth outstanding budget with no tax increase.”
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[JK: Lew Benton sent this as a comment, but it is so well done I am putting it up as a guest post]

A Quick Look at Recent Parking and Parking Related Studies and RFPs

Twenty-Five Years of Parking Studies

Since 1994 there have been no less than seven (7) downtown parking “studies.” 

Some of these “studies” were ad hoc, others comprehensive. Two, with assistance from CDTC, employed consultants, others were conducted by special committees such as the 2002 “Mayor’s City Center Task Force,” the 2003 “Blue Ribbon Parking Committee” and the 2003 “Special Assessment District Parking Committee.”

Some were relatively simple and unsophisticated, others, such as the 2006 “Downtown Transportation Plan,” were complex and rooted in a planning process designed to balance downtown development patterns and their impacts on the transportation system. Some were clinical, others more value-laden.

But taken together they represent a significant contribution on how best to meet downtown parking needs, particularly in advance of the presumed added parking demand of an expanded City Center. 

And while not all came to the same findings, their conclusions and recommendations made were more congruent than not. 

Ultimately they all were rejected or simply ignored by City Councils unable to make public policy decisions or, as in the failure to pursue some of the recommendations in 2006 Downtown Transportation Plan, the advent of a new administration hostile to planning and lacking experience or interest in addressing complex issues.

That particular Plan was by the far the most sophisticated and comprehensive and was financed by the Capital District Transportation Committee, a federally funded metropolitan planning organization. It still has merit and deserves to be reviewed as part on any new initiative.

I hope that all these previous studies will at least become references as the new efforts begin.

Parking and Related RFPs

Added to these initiatives were several City Council released Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to develop existing City owned off street parking lots including the High Rock Avenue property, the Woodlawn Avenue lot and the so-called “Lillian’s” Broadway parking facility. 

In April 2007 the City solicited RFPs seeking private sector construction of at least 300 parking spaces on Woodlawn Avenue. The Woodlawn Avenue site was also, at that time, one of the two preferred sites to host the then proposed Public Safety Facility. 

In June of 2007 a response to the RFP was received. The proposal included construction of a 52,000 square foot Public Safety/Court Facility and a 500 space-parking garage which would have been transferred the City as part of a lease — buy back concept. The Council never responded.

On November 19, 2008, three proposals were received to develop a parking garage, a public safety facility and other uses including a cinema, “workforce” housing, retail and other commercial uses on the City’s High Rock Avenue property. 

These proposals also offered an opportunity to provide essential additional off street parking to support an expanded City Center (a need considered essential by the City Center Task Force.)

Some of the studies and responses to the referenced RFPs called for “paid parking” to finance additional parking structures, maintain existing parking facilities and construct a public safety facility. One response to the 2008 RFP included a one time upfront payment to the City of $4.5 million.

The then City Councils – having solicited those proposals — chose, as had been their custom, to essentially ignore them. 

Of course now a parking garage to be integrated with the City Center is under construction and the Lillian’s lot has appropriately redeveloped.

Parking Fees as an Operating Budget Revenue

While some of the referenced studies and essentially all of the responses to Council issued RFPs suggested some form of “paid” parking, none of the revenue would have been earmarked for operating expenses. Rather, parking generated revenue would go to capital projects and parking facility maintenance. 

It will be recalled that in 2009 the City budget officer included an anticipated “paid parking” revenue in the 2010 Operating Budget. That should never have been budgeted. It was a non-existent revenue source that was never endorsed by the City Council and was known to lack broad community support. 

Under the direction of the then commissioner of finance, a RFP was prepared and released in January. Less than two (2) pages of the 19 page RFP actually addressed the request’s Intent, Specifications, and Deliverables. The entire SCOPE OF WORK AND SPECIFICATIONS were presented in only one paragraph. 

The RFP failed to even incorporate by reference the parking studies that had previously been prepared or note the City’s current parking enforcement program, its costs and the revenues it generates. 

The essence of the request was this: “The City is expecting $1.3 million in 2010 paid parking revenue …” Little wonder that some potential respondents elected to ignore the RFP. The RFP was poorly constructed and lacked the specificity and references to fully acquaint potential vendors with existing dynamics. 

Of course nothing ever came from it except a built in $1.3 million revenue deficit..

But that was nearly ten years ago. The current City Council seems much more adept in defining policy and able to design, fund and install needed program and capital improvements.

Paid parking as a potential Operating Budget revenue should be rejected. If some form of paid parking is deemed to have merit, the revenue must be used — as past studies and recommendations have suggested — to install and maintain needed additional parking facilities and other essential infrastructure. 

Lew Benton
02/27/2010, 11/21/2019

It may not be the sexist of stories, but given the critical role the Hospital plays in our community the news release below indicating that its financial condition is very strong is excellent news.

N E W S   R E L E A S E

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 12, 2019

S&P Affirms Saratoga Hospital’s ‘A’ Rating

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., November 12, 2019—For the second year in a row, Saratoga Hospital has earned an ‘A’ rating from S&P Global Ratings, which noted the hospital’s strong, consistent operating performance, solid unrestricted reserves, growing admissions and leading market share.

S&P also cited Saratoga Hospital’s “favorable affiliation” with Albany Med. The S&P outlook for Saratoga Hospital remains “stable.”

The hospital continues to be one of the highest rated in New York state.

“The ‘A’ rating affirms the financial strength of our hospital and results in significant benefits to our community,” said Gary Foster, Saratoga Hospital vice president and chief financial officer. “We continue to be well-positioned to add the technology, talent and programs that are essential to the long-term health of the Saratoga region.”

Because A-rated bonds are more attractive to banks and other investors, Saratoga Hospital can finance capital improvements at lower interest rates. That frees more resources to invest in patient care.

The S&P report described Saratoga Hospital’s financial profile as “very strong” and pointed to its “multiyear history of producing stable financial margins and cash flow” as well as its “prudent expense management and revenue growth initiatives.” The report also noted supply-chain, purchasing and other efficiencies made possible by the hospital’s affiliation with Albany Med and Columbia Memorial Health and resulting in millions of dollars in annual savings. 

Saratoga Hospital sought its first S&P rating in 2003 when issuing bonds to help finance construction of Saratoga Surgery Center on the Wilton campus. The hospital’s rating has been upgraded from ‘BBB+’ in 2003 to ‘A-’ in 2012 to ‘A’ in 2018.

***

About Saratoga Hospital: Saratoga Hospital is the Saratoga region’s leading healthcare provider and the only acute-care facility in Saratoga County. The hospital’s multispecialty practice, Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, provides care at more than 20 locations, ensuring easy access to programs and services that can have the greatest impact on individual and community health. Saratoga Hospital has maintained Magnet designation for nursing excellence since 2004. Through its affiliation with Columbia Memorial Health and Albany Med, Saratoga Hospital is part of the largest locally governed health system in the region. For more information: www.saratogahospital.org or www.facebook.com/SaratogaHospital.

# # #

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Hopper

Director, Marketing and Communications

518.583.8679

phopper@saratogahospital.org

The Gazette reports that the Department of Public Safety will hold a public meeting on Thursday, November 21, at 6:30PM at the City Center to gather public input as the city prepares to seek proposals from outside consulting firms that specialize in municipal parking issues.

The article points out that the city’s success as a tourist destination means that although the city has about 2,300 public and private parking spaces in or near downtown and three parking garages, nearly all those spots are often taken even on weekdays.

Solutions proposed in the past such as charging for public parking have been dropped after being met with resistance. While the new City Center garage will be one answer to the problem, in the short term it will contribute to the problem temporarily taking away spaces in the High Rock Avenue lot during construction.

Here’s a link to the full article:

https://dailygazette.com/article/2019/11/16/saratoga-springs-looking-for-new-parking-solutions

In the October 22, 2019, edition of the Times Union, Wendy Liberatore reported the following allegation made by Dillon Moran, who at the time was the Democratic candidate for Saratoga Springs Public Works Commissioner running against the incumbent Commissioner, Skip Scirocco:

He [Dillon Moran] also said that Scirocco’s son, Mark Scirocco, continues to require a driver to work for the city’s DPW, something that Moran finds disconcerting.

The problem was that this was not true, and Ms. Liberatore must have known it to be untrue when she reported it. She had reported months ago that Mark Scirocco’s drivers license had been suspended for ninety days. Since it was well after the 90 days, it should have, at a minimum, prompted her to both question Mr. Moran’s assertion and check on the status of the suspension. She could also have checked with the city’s Human Resources Office regarding Scirocco’s status before printing Moran’s statement.

Bad as that is, it does not match the response by Casey Seiler to whom Ms. Liberatore reports. As the correspondence below documents, Mr. Seiler asserts that since the accusation was made by a candidate for public office, the policy of the Times Union, according to Mr. Seiler, was to seek a response from the opponent in order to address the issue. Mr. Seiler then observes that Ms. Liberatore was unable to secure a response from Commissioner Scirocco.

He then goes on to ask Mark Scirocco to address a series of questions that are at best only indirectly related to the issue of whether the newspaper had printed a patently false statement. For example, Seiler asks “Are you still a meter reader or have you taken on another set of tasks?”

Nevertheless, Mark Scirocco responds to all of Mr. Seiler’s questions.

In spite of this, Mr. Seiler still maintains that Commissioner Scirocco needs to respond before the paper will print a correction.

File This Under The Category That “Life’s Not Fair”

So there was a time when there were editors at newspapers who would have felt driven to correct any inaccuracy that appeared in the newspaper with all speed possible. They would have considered it a blot on their reputation to leave an untruth remain in print especially one that sullied someone’s reputation.

This unfortunately is not the case with the Times Union in general and Mr. Seiler in particular. Why should the unwillingness of Commissioner Scirocco to talk to the Times Union be a reason to refuse to correct an error in the newspaper for which there is ample documentation proving that the statement is false?

The reality is that Commissioner Scirocco is just one of a number of elected officials who refuse to take Ms. Liberatore’s calls. This story is a vivid example of why so many are reluctant to engage with the Times Union.

It is particularly troubling that Ms. Liberatore and Mr. Seiler would abuse their power by using the correction of an untrue statement about Commissioner Scirocco’s son as leverage to get the Commissioner to talk to them.

Below is the exchange between Mark Scirocco and Casey Seiler that is really worth a read. The TU never did publish a correction.

____________________________________________

From: mark scirocco <roc345@msn.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 19, 2019 5:07 PM
To: Smith, Rex <RSmith@TimesUnion.com>
Subject: Request for correction

Hi, Mr. Smith.

My name is Mark Scirocco, Skip Scirocco’s son. I read the article today 

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Water-issues-central-Public-Works-race-14546073.php

and it contains a blatant lie. Mrs. Libertore put in her article that I, ” continue to require a driver to work for the city’s DPW.” This is something that is totally untrue and I would Kindly request that it be removed and a correction be applied to the article. I have retained representation because Mrs. Libertore has also made claims in other articles about me that are also untrue, mainly claiming that I was assigned a driver, when the truth of the matter is that I have always worked and driven around with my supervisor and continue to do so to this day. She also implied that I received special treatment when she knows this is false as well, as she had foiled the records of other DPW employees who were treated the same as I was, she knows that claim to be false as well. While I am a great supporter of the press and their duty to hold public officials accountable, there should also be some standards in regards of truthfulness and not repeating false and salacious statements against private citizens. 

Thank You,

Mark Scirocco

____________________________________________

From: Rex Smith <RSmith@TimesUnion.com>
Date: Sunday, October 20, 2019 at 9:47 PM
To: mark scirocco <roc345@msn.com>
Cc: Casey Seiler <cseiler@timesunion.com>
Subject: RE: Request for correction

To Mark Scirocco:

Thank you for your note. I apologize for not responding more quickly.

Unfortunately, I’m going to be traveling Monday, so I’m unable to look into this personally. I am copying Managing Editor Casey Seiler so that he can be aware of your complaint, and he and I will discuss the matter Tuesday. If there are errors in any article, we are pleased to correct them immediately. Meanwhile, we will look into your claims.

Sincerely yours,

Rex Smith

____________________________________________

From: Seiler, Casey <cseiler@timesunion.com>
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2019 9:44:51 AM
To: mark scirocco <roc345@msn.com>
Cc: Smith, Rex <RSmith@TimesUnion.com>; Liberatore, Wendy <wliberatore@timesunion.com>
Subject: Re: Request for correction

Mr. Scirocco:

I’ve discussed this with Wendy, and she’s correct in noting that she was quoting a claim from your father’s political opponent, which she then took to your father so he could offer a response, which was also included in the story. That’s standard journalistic practice when covering a factual dispute between two politicians.

A few questions that would help us gain clarity on this subject:

• What’s the current status of your driver’s license? Would it allow you to operate a city vehicle?
• Before your 2018 arrest, did you need a partner to perform your work?
• Are you still a meter reader, or have you taken on another set of tasks?
• If you are a meter reader, can you explain why that job requires two people, so we can take that description to other municipalities to determine if it squares with their practices?
• Are there other DPW meter readers who work with partners to the extent that you do?

I can be reached at 518-454-5619 to discuss these questions or any other issues you might have.

Best,

Casey

____________________________________________

From: mark scirocco <roc345@msn.com>
Date: Monday, October 21, 2019 at 12:30 PM
To: Casey Seiler <cseiler@timesunion.com>
Cc: Rex Smith <RSmith@TimesUnion.com>, “Liberatore, Wendy” <wliberatore@timesunion.com>, John Kaufmann <john.kaufmann21@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Request for correction

The statement is completely false  and the reporter knows it’s completely false as per her own reporting. She reported back in January, in your own paper, that there was a 90 day suspension.

While the suspension was far less then the 90 days, it would be safe to conclude that the 90 days had elapsed several months ago. Why you guys would be asking me now as to the status of my license is befuddling. She had also reported in the paper  That the only thing required to have the privileges reinstated is the license as again per her reporting, 

Unless you’re seriously suggesting that she still thinks it’s within the 90 day period, she knows his comment to be false and still decided to print it. Knowingly printing false information, regardless of the source, seems to me to be the antithesis of good or standard journalism as printing the comment lends it credence or validity, or at the very least portrays that there is still an argumentative point. 

I will also include information showing that Mr. Moran also knows it to be false. In a correspondence to me last year, he apologized to me for being raked over the coals and said “Skip did nothing wrong.”  

As for the other questions, they have been answered ad nauseam at this point.  Why Mrs. Liberatore decides to rely on poor sourcing choices is beyond me and up to you and the Times Union to figure out. 

•Ms. Liberatore  knows I have a license, as per her own reporting.

•Yes. I have worked with my supervisor Skip Colucci, for years now and still do.  He is the one, long before my arrest, that determined it was better for the two of us to work together. 

•I was never just a meter reader, I’ve worked with Mr. Colucci installing meters, since I was hired in 2013. It is just one of the many tasks we perform, which also  includes reading meters. 

•Not just a meter reader; but Mr. Colucci, my 76 year old supervisor, determines why the job requires two people. It’s essentially a job that deals with construction aspects and often times requires more then one set of hands to do the job. We also perform tasks faster, which means we are not holding up homeowners for greater periods of time. 

•Not just a meter reader; but the other two meter readers perform the task of just reading and not installing, comparing out job with theirs is not an accurate comparison. 

____________________________________________

From: Seiler, Casey <cseiler@timesunion.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2019 5:07 PM
To: mark scirocco <roc345@msn.com>
Subject: Re: Request for correction

That’s great, we still need to hear from your father. This should be easier.

C.

_________________________________

From: mark scirocco <roc345@msn.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2019 8:58 PM
To: Seiler, Casey <cseiler@timesunion.com>
Subject: Re: Request for correction

Yes, it should be easier. You should be contacting the individual who made the claim that is being questioned and ask him to provide you with the proof of his claim. In fact, this should’ve happened before you even reported it in the paper as a fact. The fact that you’re asking the injured party to disprove an allegation instead of asking the accuser to prove it is quite a different than what seems to be normal practice. 

_________________________________________

It is interesting how people voted in terms of third parties especially in light of the fact that Governor Cuomo and his New York State Campaign Financing Commission are trying to eliminate these independent parties.