Author: John Kaufmann

The Skidmore survey on politics has been taken down.  Clicking on the link produces a message that the survey is no longer “active.”

There is more to this story that makes it all even worse.  Hope to blog on it by tomorrow night.

In a previous post I urged the readers of this blog to participate in a Skidmore student’s survey on politics. I regret that I did so prior to viewing the survey.  Having now looked at it I am quite troubled by what I found.

First of all, the questions have continually changed.  This is quite bizarre. 

Here are three screen shots of one of the questions on the site on different days. You will see that on each occasion the question morphed.

Example #1

The second question on this page is about the proposed new charter.  In this case it contains the sentence “In addition to this, supporters of charter reform argue it is a government that will bring fresh blood into politics and rid city hall of political cronies by imposing term limits.” 

Example #2

The first question on this page is again about the proposed new charter.  It does not have the business about cronyism and now ends with the question, “If Mayor Joanne Yepsen supports charter reform, would you support charter reform?”

Example #3

The third question on this page is about charter change but in this case it has neither the business about cronyism nor the question about the mayor’s support.

So, having established that the survey lacks the kind of consistency that is required to tally answers, let’s scrutinize the design of the questions themselves.

Let’s take one of the versions of the question related to the charter:

“Every 10 years the mayor of Saratoga Springs appoints a charter review commission in accordance with the city charter. This commission has revised the charter that will result in a more effective, less polarized, and a more/modern [sic] and professional system of government. If Mayor Joanne Yepsen supports charter reform, would you support charter reform?”

This question violates the very basics of what is considered good polling.  To begin with it has as its assumption that the charter as currently proposed “will result in a more effective, less polarized, and more modern and professional system of government.”  Who, one might ask, would be opposed to such an improvement in our city government if it is as described?  But the question is not even whether you approve or oppose the charter itself because it is qualified by the final sentence which asks, “If Mayor Yepsen supports charter reform, would you support charter reform?”  So even if you support the proposed charter reform, the survey wants to find out whether you would change your mind if you learned (in the most unlikely of circumstances) that the mayor opposed it or if you oppose charter reform whether you would change your mind if you learned that the mayor supported it.

One has to ask, what is the purpose of this question?  Is it to find out how much influence the Mayor has over voters?  If that were the purpose then why not simply ask whether the person taking the survey will decide on their vote on charter reform based on what the Mayor advocates?

In fact this question has the unpleasant characteristics of a push poll.  This is a commonly used political strategy where people are asked (usually by phone) their position on an issue which is presented in an extremely slanted way meant to spin the person taking the poll in a particular direction. The results are then used to claim support for a particular position on an issue. After all the question of whether to change the current form of government is quite controversial.  People of good faith are quite divided on the question.  There are those who would vigorously disagree that the proposed charter change would result in the benefits assumed by the way this question was worded but there is no way to register that opinion on this poll as constructed.

Complicating things further is that the charter has not even been completed yet so who knows what it may or may not do.

There are also two odd questions that appear to be related.  The person taking the survey is asked first to rate the city council: 

“On a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest 5 being the highest, rate the city council.”

Then they are asked to rate the mayor:

“On a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest 5 being the highest, rate the mayor.”

Now in the Commission form of government the mayor is a co-equal member of the city council.  Again, I would ask, what is the purpose of this question?  Is this an attempt to rate the mayor’s status among the voters?  Why not ask the person being surveyed to rate the other commissioners?

I am a supporter of the Sustainable Saratoga initiative on affordable housing. Nevertheless I am bothered by another question that appears to be a push poll:

“The Saratoga Springs Housing Task Force is working on an initiative that would create more workforce housing in Saratoga Springs. Proponents of the project argue that it will create more affordable housing for residents. Do you support this initiative?”

Who would be against the city having more affordable housing? What is the likelihood of people taking this poll clicking on the “oppose”  button?  In fact, while I disagree with them, there are a number of interest groups that have expressed opposition to the proposed ordinance who say that they are in favor of affordable housing but oppose this particular method of achieving it but they have no way of registering that opinion in this poll. There is no button to push that says  “I support initiatives for affordable housing but not this initiative.”  Is the goal of the survey to assess support for affordable housing initiatives in Saratoga Springs or to assess support for this particular initiative?

Here is another question from the poll:

“Saratoga schools are now going to implement iReady, an online program that pinpoints where students need to improve to pass state-educational tests was[sic] passed despite a current budget deficit. Do you support this addition to the budget?”

First of all the wording of this question is exceedingly awkward to say the least. More importantly, though,  I would expect that most people who participate in this survey are like me in that they have little idea of the actual merits/effectiveness of the iReady program.  Again, the question asserts that it “pinpoints where students need to improve…”  Does it actually effectively “pinpoint where students need to improve”?  We have only the assertion of the person who crafted this survey that it does.  And how expensive is it? How much does it contribute to the deficit? This question is flawed  because it assumes a level of knowledge of survey participants which is probably unrealistic thus results will be unreliable.

Finally, there is the basic problem that this is a self-selecting survey.  That is to say that rather than do a random sample that would be demographically representative of the community, this survey is being filled out by people who simply are interested in responding for whatever reason. They may or may not be representative of the broader community. I again ask, what is the purpose of such a study? What will the results tell us?

I am sorry to be so critical of this survey because I regret that my blog might embarrass the student who is conducting this survey.  My criticism is really directed to whomever the faculty members are who are overseeing the student’s work.

Yup, your well meaning blogger managed multiple mistakes in one post.  I think this is a new record.

Rockabilly Song was by Tom Denny and Russ Pittinger.  The other song was written and performed by Tom Denny.  My deepest apologies to Mr. Denny who is also the manager of the tree program.  Go Tom Denny!

Also, Rick Fenton was a forester and not an arborist.

From the website “Under the Oak Tree”

Forester vs Arborist – What’s the Difference?

[JK:I received the following email from Bob Turner]

Hi, 

One of our Political Science students is doing a short survey about Saratoga Springs politics.  I am trying to help her get as large and representative sample as possible.  It is for a statistics class assignment.  Would you be willing to post this message and link on your blog?   Happy to have her share the results.

 Thanks

Bob

 Survey on Saratoga Springs Political Issues

 Please take just a few minutes to complete a short survey about Saratoga Springs politics. Your participation will provide important insights about current issues in Saratoga Springs. Your participation is voluntary and all responses are anonymous. Click on the link below to take the survey. Thank you in advance for your time.

 Sarina Musallam

 lick on the link below to take the survey.

https://skidmore.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0HsJAwOzEgxbArP

Bob Turner

Associate Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies and Sciences

Director, Environmental Studies and Sciences Program

Director, Faculty Student Summer Research Program

Skidmore College

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

This is a fun video on how to plant an urban tree.  Words by Rick Fenton and music and performance by Russ Pittinger.  Mr. Fenton was an arborist in a previous life.

April 29th, 9:30-noon

Sign up now to help with this event. We will need:

• Tree Hosts (get a free tree)
• Tree Planters (April 29)
• Tree Waterers & Whisperers (Summer 2017)
• Day of Event Team (April 29)
• UFP Tree Team (ongoing, year-round)

Sign up below!

NOTE: If you are on a mobile device, you must rotate your screen to landscape in order to fill out the sign-up form. If unable to use the form, please email us

This is an excellent interview with Tom Denny that I highly recommend that gives a great background on the history and strategy of the tree planting program:

http://wamc.org/post/tree-planting-day-planned-saratoga-springs

The Skidmore Student Environmental Action Committee organized a march from Congress Park to the City Center in defense of science as part of Earth Day on Saturday April 22.  What a bizarre sign of our times.

It was quite a turnout of a diverse crowd that I estimated at three to four hundred.

In a remarkable act of generosity a number of major players in the development business here in our city have come together to help provide emergency shelter for the homeless.

Ed and Lisa Mitzen who are the owners of Fingerpaint Marketing (http://fingerpaintmarketing.com/) have committed to the financing of a building for Shelters of Saratoga.   The shelter facility will provide emergency housing for Code Blue Alerts. 

Sonny Bonacio has agreed to build the facility at cost.

The LA Group is handling the application process as the project will require very significant variances in light of its size and purpose given the zoning for the area.  They are pretty much donating their services for the project.  In an email I received from Mike Ingersoll who appeared at the ZBA meeting on Shelters behalf, he wrote, “Happy to assist for what we feel is a much needed and worthy cause.”

The project is anticipated to be a two story building of approximately 6,400 square feet to provide temporary shelter for 61 persons.

The Code Blue facility is to be constructed on land owned by Shelters of Saratoga and will be an approximately  6,400 square foot structure created to allow up to 61 individuals to have a place to sleep with associated uses for bathroom, shower facilities, dining facilities, laundry facilities, offices for volunteers and staff working solely on the Code Blue Program and interactive space for the volunteers, staff, and participants in the Code Blue Program to be utilized during the Code Blue operational periods.

Locating a project to serve the homeless in a city like Saratoga Springs has the potential for considerable conflict.  In this case the Masie Center working with the principals of the project were able to come to an agreement prior to the application for variances to the ZBA.  The gist of it is that the facility will only be used for cold weather emergencies known as Code Blue Alerts.

A Code Blue alert is triggered when the wind chill temperature drops below 32 degrees.  In order to address logistical issues the alert can be started twenty-four hours prior to the anticipated threshold and end twenty-four hours afterward.

There are a variety of items they agreed upon to minimize the impact of the facility on the neighborhood which I list below.  The most significant factor is that it will only be operational during brief periods during the winter.

Zoning Board Member Finally Finds A Variance He Can Oppose

Gary Hasbrouck who is a member of the ZBA is a realtor and operates a trailer park in Wilton.  Mr. Hasbrouck may have opposed a variance in the past but not at any of the meetings that I have ever attended.  He is a man who has shown a remarkable indifference to the value of zoning restrictions.  If a property owner wants something, even if the neighborhood is united in its opposition, Mr. Hasbrouck has never shown any fear in overriding the zoning.  One thing I feel reasonably sure of, up until this vote to grant variances for this homeless project, he has never been the sole dissenter on granting a variance.  There is no doubt that the project involved some very substantial relief.  Its scale and its placement on the lots are major.  Still, even William Moore and Adam McNeill, who have pretty much voted with him as a block supported the project. 

I find it particularly interesting that he was unmoved by the fact that Sonny Bonacio will be the builder. 

One of the factors in deciding on variances is the value to the community of a project.  In this case, he told his fellow board members that he could not live with lowering the standard for even something as well meaning as this shelter. 

Some Particulars On The Restrictions Agreed To For The Project

Code Blue staff are required to monitor and be responsible for an area within a perimeter within 250 feet of the Code Blue Center.

A six foot “solid” fence shall be erected along the eastern and northern perimeters of the property with a gate that will be remain closed “other than (1) as required by state and local fire and safety codes, or (2) to allow the access to the parking areas on Shelters’ land; or (3) to allow access to trash receptacles outside of the herein described fence.  It is understood that the vehicle gate through the fence on the east side of Tax Parcel … may be opened for maintenance, emergency services/or mobile outreach vehicles but shall remain securely closed when not in immediate use.  It is the Parties’ intention that the primary public access for vehicles onto the drive way/parking lot area of the real property of Shelters shall be from Walworth Street.”

Shelters will see that a light pole is added to Marvin Alley and that another two headed light is erected on the Southeast corner of the project.

The issue of whether or not there should be a full time mayor in the new government proposed by the Charter Review Commission has become more complicated. 

 At the March public forum held by the Charter Review Commission the presentation by Bob Turner indicated that the commission envisioned a full time mayor.  When a member of the audience asked him about the salary for this position, Mr. Turner offered that he thought it should be in the $60,000.00 to $70,000.00 range. While Mr. Turner went on to describe activities they envisioned a mayor would engage in such as “consensus building” and “going out into the community and listening” none of this is referenced in the charter draft and indeed it is difficult to imagine how these ideas could be translated into language for the charter. The actual duties they have come up with are  listed in section 2.04 of their draft . They basically include presiding over meetings of the city council, appointing boards and committees, giving an annual state of the city address, and representing the city.

 The new thinking as reflected by the April 6 Charter Revision Commission meeting minutes is that the charter will not address the issue of whether the mayor should be full or part time.  In an email to me, Mr. Turner pointed out that the charter for any of the elected position does not address how many hours the positions require. 

In his note to me he offered:

 “The amount of time a mayor will spend on the job is a function of who the individual is.  It was pointed out to us that there has been a significant difference in the time the last 5 mayors have spent on their duties.  There is no language in any local, state or national charter or constitution about the amount of time a legislator or executive can or should spend doing their duties…”

So the city council we will elect this November would set the salaries and benefits for the future elected officials including how much a future mayor should be paid including if he/she  should have a staff should the charter pass.  There is no requirement in the charter that the mayor ‘s salary match council salaries so in effect, they would decide if there should be a salary for the mayor that is consistent with a full time position.  Nothing would require a mayor under this system, though, to actually work full time.  It is true that in the past most (not all) mayors have in fact put in what most people would consider to be a full week on the job.  It is important to remember, however, that with a city manager, many of the duties that these past mayors have had to handle would now be done by a city manager.

So a hot issue in the next election would be how much the candidates would be willing to pay the future mayor in the event they win and the charter passes. Of course nothing would hold them to this.

 There was quite a bit of push back at the public forum on having a full time mayor.  This new approach may reflect this.  At the risk of appearing snarky, I have a feeling that a majority of the charter commission would like to see a full time mayor but were afraid that if it was incorporated in the language of the charter, it might result in the referendum failing.

Salaries And Staggered Terms

I cannot remember the last time the mayor and city council’s salaries were raised.  Given the current atmosphere, I would doubt an action on this is in our immediate future under the current charter.

The staggered terms for council members the charter commission  is proposing could complicate the process in the future, though,  should their charter proposal pass.  State law requires that a seated council cannot raise their own salaries. They can only  raise the salaries for the next elected council.  So it’s hard to figure out how this would work with staggered terms since at any given time only a portion of the council would be eligible to vote for a raise.  There may be a simpler answer for all of this but it would appear on its face that a council would have to propose raising the salaries not following the next election but following the election after that so that none of the seated council members voted for their own salaries, a delay of perhaps four years. Or would this happen in a year when four were up for election and the other three abstained? Or would some get the raise and others have to wait for the next election cycle?

[JK:I received this release from the Pitney Meadows Community Farm]

PLEASE VOTE TO HELP A COMMUNITY FARM IN SARATOGA!

Pitney Meadows Community Farm, a 166-acre historic farm, is being brought alive again and turned into a community farm for the whole community to enjoy, learn about agriculture, and be a part of. They would appreciate your support and votes, and ask for 30 seconds per day for a short time.

The Pitney team recently applied for the Seeds of Change Grant, entering the Children’s Greenhouse & Gardens Project for PMCF into the community division in hopes to win $25,000.

To move onto the next round, they have to be voted as one of the TOP 50 farms in the community division in the country. Voting has just opened and remains opened until Wednesday, April 19th, 2017. Each individual is allowed one vote per day, and family can use different devices to vote on the same day.

 The direct link is:   https://www.seedsofchangegrant.com/GalleryDetail.aspx?id=3966

If you want more information on Seeds of Change and the program you can use this link (as well as vote):

https://www.seedsofchangegrant.com/TheGallery.aspx  (search “Pitney” to find us.) Please forward this note to all your friends and family to help us out, and like our Facebook Page and share it!  It only takes 30 seconds each day to vote for us… Thanks!   The rendering of this exciting project is below that we hope to build in May!

Sandy Arnold, President, PMCF