POUGHKEEPSIE – A proposal by Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison for the city to purchase the Italian Center directly behind City Hall to develop permanent facilities for DPW and other departments has come under fire by Common Council Chairperson Sarah Salem and other members of the common council.
The mayor wants authority to spend $2.2 million in bonded funds for the purchase and renovations.
Salem said the proposal “demonstrates a lack of fiscal restraint, a lack of respect to our taxpayers, and is a misuse of city resources at a time when the city is faced with a dire financial outlook as we enter what is predicted to be the worst economic downturn in our history.”
Salem said the city is “facing the largest recession in a generation, a $5.5 million budget shortfall, an impending housing crisis, an ongoing public health crisis, and recommending layoffs of city workers.”
Council Vice Chairwoman Sarah Brannen concurred with Salem characterizing the proposal as “a misuse of public funds and a failure without having completed any assessment of the property.”
Finance committee member Evan Menist reviewed the proposal and said, “the numbers just do not add up.” He said the proposal “isn’t just an impulse buy, its bad math.”
Council Majority Leader Lorraine Johnson expressed outrage at the idea of spending million on the purchase at a time that the city is contemplating layoffs. She called it “inconceivable.”
NEWS STORY PROVIDED BY: Mid Hudson News -www.midhudsonnews.com