by David Flint
Roy McDonald characterizes the State budget battle as more of a geographic struggle – beleaguered upstate versus more populous, wealthy and powerful downstate – rather than a fight between political parties. Dubbed as a Special Rural Edition of “On The Road With Roy,” the State Senator, who represents Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties, came to town last Friday afternoon to sit down and talk with Berlin Town officials and Fire Department representatives. McDonald was accompanied by Pat Poleto, Deputy Supervisor for the Town of Brunswick.
McDonald expressed chagrin that in fact not much is being accomplished on working out the budget as State government continues to be bogged down with scandals and other embarrassing distractions. Will the budget be on time? He thought it possible but warned not to confuse on-time with good. McDonald listed a number of matters that need urgent attention that he felt were not being given high priority. There are 90 bridges in upstate New York deemed to be unsafe. Yet some want to transfer dedicated highway funds into the General Fund, and money for even standard maintenance of upstate roads is threatened. He said he would not cooperate with such measures even if it means stopping progress on the budget.
McDonald noted that while the Governor travels with a couple dozen State Troopers in tow, there is a proposal to cut State Troopers which could mean that Eastern Rensselaer County would lose night patrols. Help is urgently needed for upstate old urban and rural school systems, but downstate politicians are not interested. Aside from Saratoga County, the property tax in much of upstate New York has become the biggest problem, yet McDonald sees downstate enjoying benefits such as free transportation for students kindergarten to college and a Staten Island Ferry that charges nothing. The last three tuition increases for SUNY, he said, went into the General Fund, but there were no increases for CUNY. Then there was the $2.5 billion MTA bail-out for New York City that McDonald said he voted against because it failed to include funding for the state road and bridge account.
McDonald said he continues to be taken aback by the ignorance of many downstate politicians about parts of the state outside the New York City urban area. He believes they see the scenery, the streams, lakes and trees up here and they want to keep it “forever wild” but they don’t see the people. They want nature, he said, but have little regard for the farmer. “We are seeing geographic discrimination, not because they hate us but because they just are not aware of and have no understanding of upstate. It’s big city and rural, open upstate trying to coexist and share the same pot of money,” he said.
Responding to a question from Fire Chief Billy Osterhout about the possibility of providing incentives for volunteer firefighters and EMS staff, he seemed to think it unlikely because people in populous areas have paid emergency services and “They don’t give a damn” about volunteer fire departments. Osterhout said it has become a real problem to recruit new people who can be available to respond to emergencies, a problem aggravated by the much increased mandates for training, and he thought it may now be time to consider hiring an Advanced Life Support Paramedic unit. Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger said that would be cost prohibitive for Berlin alone. Osterhout agreed but thought it might be doable if Berlin, Stephentown and Petersburgh got together on it. McDonald affirmed that the emergency services problem demands attention. “People will have to recognize that there are some things they have to spend money on,” he said. He agreed that towns can’t provide paid services on their own but it could be done with a consortium or on a county-wide basis. He suggested that talks be started with County Legislators Stan Brownell and Lester Goodermote.
Jaeger said that Berlin desperately needs help with its 100-year old water system. He also complained that the Town had opted for a $50,000 culvert in Southeast Hollow instead of a half million dollar bridge but no stimulus money could be had because culverts are not considered eligible shovel-ready projects. McDonald was sympathetic but said he could only try to embarrass people who establish such requirements. He also noted that federal matching grants for upgrading water systems have been taken away.
Eastern Rensselaer County, McDonald said, is the poorest area in his district, and if the area were a county by itself, it would be the poorest county in the state. What is needed, he said, is a massive grant writing program, and he pledged to work with people here on that. He advised Town officials to file for any grant they might be eligible for. “Shoot anything that moves,” he said, but don’t go signing any vendor contracts before money is in hand because, with the way governments are delaying payments, it might take three years to get the money.
McDonald said it was important to recognize positive aspects in the community. Having just visited the Berlin Middle School in Cherry Plain, he reported that there was much to be proud of in the Berlin schools though, as with most rural school systems without a tax base, trying to provide sports, health care, music and art in the community as well as general education, it needs a lot of help. Just outside of the area he pointed to success stories such as the Rensselaer Technology Park where a lot of cutting edge technological progress is being made, much of it by local graduates of Hudson Valley Community College, the RPI incubator program that provides a valuable resource in Rensselaer County and the Luther Forest Technology Park where a $4.2 billion computer chip plant is currently under construction. McDonald said he would work with Rensselaer County to determine ways of benefitting from spin-offs from that development. He also sees the I-90 corridor as “a diamond in the rough,” and a potential rival to the development along the I-87 corridor north of Albany.
McDonald said he would continue to fight for his upstate constituents, especially when it comes to schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, safety and fire protection and employment. If we hear him sounding bellicose, he said, it’s because in the current environment, you have to be aggressive.