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The Daily Yorktown asked the candidates for town board and town supervisor the following five questions: Why are you running for your position? What are the biggest issues facing Yorktown? How do you propose to fix these issues? How are your solutions and approaches different than other candidates? What experience do you have to hold such a position?
Susan Siegel is the current Yorktown Supervisor and is a candidate in the Conservative and Republican parties for Supervisor.
1. Why are you running for your position?
To continue what Ive been doing for the past 20 months: cleaning up decades worth of inefficiencies and waste, from weak financial controls to millions of dollars in uncollected taxes. Since I took office, expenditures have been cut by over $800,000, the Town has generated over $800,000 in new non-tax revenue, and weve collected over $2 million in back taxes. I want to make sure that the reforms Ive implement and which have generated these savings remain in place.
2. What are the biggest issues facing Yorktown?
1) How to maintain our existing level of services and quality of life at a taxing level that our residents can afford. 2) The need for a Capital Plan that addresses our long ignored and crumbling infrastructure, including our roads, drainage and buildings. Were running out of bandaids. 3) Continuing to streamline and modernize our Town government.
3. How do you propose to fix these issues?
1) We can take some of the tax burden off the shoulders of our homeowners by continuing to encourage new, appropriately cited, commercial developments. The Town is currently processing seven major commercial developments: Costco, Crompond Crossing, State Land, Lake Mohegan Motors, the Field Home, Contractors Register and Croton Overlook.
2) We must prioritize our infrastructure needs first, and then develop a realistic Capital Plan based on our ability to fund capital projects. Our new Building Inspector will be assessing all our buildings and developing preventive maintenance plans for each one.
3) Plans are already under way to consolidate our building maintenance services and merge the Planning, Engineering and Building Departments. Additional consolidations of Town functions are being reviewed.
4. How are your solutions and approaches different than other candidates?
My opponents magic bullet is more commercial development and less regulation. He appears not to know that there are eight major commercial developments already in the approval pipeline and that many of the development related regulations he criticizes are city, county, state and federal regulations over which Yorktown has no control. I want developers to pay the legal bills related to approving a development application. My opponent thinks that the homeowners should pay the bills. My opponents solution to the Towns sewer problem was actually pronounced dead six years ago.
5. What experience do you have to hold such a position?
As Town Supervisor for the past 20 months, I have a proven record of Promises Made, Promises Kept. Ive proven that Im a hands-on, 24/7, no-nonsense Supervisor whos not afraid to say no to special interest groups or take on the entrenched status quo that has been stifling change for far too long in our town. My record speaks for itself.
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