4th Ward Supervisor Blog

U.S. Debt, Who is at fault? Where do we go from here?

2011-07-31T21:55:00.000-04:00

First, let’s talk about under the Bush administration how the rules for short selling was deregulated. Note: "Wikipedia", During hearings on the bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers and bailout of AIG before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, former Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld said a host of factors including a crisis of confidence and naked short-selling attacks followed by false rumors contributed to both the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers

Secondly, the lack of regulating the derivative market allowed billionaire’s to rape the stock market and investors. Note: "Wikipedia", 2000 December:Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (based on a report by Summers, Greenspan, Levitt, & Rainer) declares credit default swaps (and other derivatives) to be unregulated, banning the SEC, Fed, CTFC, state insurance companies, and others from meaningful oversight. CDS eventually destroy AIG & others.

• Third, it was under the Bush administration that the mortgage industry was deregulated. Don’t we all remember when then, President Bush stood on the White house lawn and said we are going to make home ownership affordable to millions of Americans? Deregulating the mortgage market is one of the biggest factors in causing the sub-prime mortgage market collapse. Note: "Wikipedia", subprime mortgages. 2002 June 17:Bush unveils his "Blueprint for the American Dream". He sets a goal of increasing minority home owners by at least 5.5 million by 2010 through billions of dollars in tax credits, subsidies and a Fannie Mae commitment of $440 billion to establish NeighborWorks America with faith based organizations. 2003-2007: U.S. subprime mortgages increased 292%, from $332 billion to $1.3 trillion, due primarily to the private sector entering the mortgage bond market, once an almost exclusive domain of government sponsored enterprises like Freddie Mac.

o The Federal Reserve fails to use its supervisory and regulatory authority over banks, mortgage underwriters and other lenders, who abandoned loan standards (employment history, income, down payments, credit rating, assets, property loan-to-value ratio and debt-servicing ability), emphasizing instead lender's ability to securitize and repackage subprime loans. 2007 Home sales continue to fall. The plunge in existing-home sales is the steepest since 1989. In Q1/2007, S&P/Case-Shiller house price index records first year-over-year decline in nationwide house prices since 1991. The subprime mortgage industry collapses, and a surge of foreclosure activity (twice as bad as 2006) and rising interest rates threaten to depress prices further as problems in the subprime markets spread to the near-prime and prime mortgage markets. April 3: According to CNN Money, business sources report lenders made $640 billion in subprime loans in 2006, nearly twice the level 3 years earlier; subprime loans amounted to about 20 percent of the nation's mortgage lending and about 17 percent of home purchases; financial firms and hedge funds likely own more than $1 trillion in securities backed by subprime mortgage; about 13 percent of subprime loans are now delinquent, more than five times the delinquency rate for home loans to borrowers with top credit; more than 2 percent of subprime loans had foreclosure proceedings start in the fourth quarter The monoline insurance companies (AMBAC, MBIA, ACA, &c) have written vast quantities of insurance against the failure of CDO tranches. Those tranches now begin to fail by the hundreds. The credit ratings agencies downgrade the monolines from AAA, but the monolines have a unique business model. If they don't have a AAA rating, then their main line of business (bond insurance) becomes impossible for them to perform. By 2009, the monolines have all crashed. 2008 October 1: The U.S. Senate passes HR1424, their version of the $700 billion bailout bill.

o October 1: The financial crisis spreads to Europe.

• October 3: President George W. Bush signs the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, creating a $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program to purchase failing bank assets. It contains easing of the accounting rules that forced companies to collapse because of the existence of toxic mortgage-related investments. Also key to winning GOP support was a decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease mark-to-market accounting rules that require financial institutions to show the deflated value of assets on their balance sheets."

o October 6–10: Worst week for the stock market in 75 years. The Dow Jones loses 22.1 percent, its worst week on record, down 40.3 percent since reaching a record high of 14,164.53 October 9, 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500 index loses 18.2 percent, its worst week since 1933, down 42.5 percent in since its own high October 9, 2007.

o October 6: Fed announces that it will provide $900 billion in short-term cash loans to banks.

o October 7: Fed makes emergency move to lend around $1.3 trillion directly to companies outside the financial sector.

o October 7: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relaxes rules on US corporations repatriating money held oversees in an attempt to inject liquidity into the US financial market. The new ruling allows the companies to receive loans from their foreign subsidiaries for longer periods and more times a year without triggering the 35% corporate income tax.

o October 8: Central banks in USA (Fed), England, China, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the European Central Bank cut rates in a coordinated effort to aid world economy.

o October 8: Fed also reduces its emergency lending rate to banks by half a percentage point, to 1.75 percent.

o October 8: White House considers taking ownership stakes in private banks as a part of the bailout bill. Warren Buffett and George Soros criticized the original approach of the bailout bill.

o October 11: The Dow Jones Industrial Average caps its worst week ever with its highest volatility day ever recorded in its 112 year history. Over the last eight trading days, the DJIA has dropped 22% amid worries of worsening credit crisis and global recession. Paper losses now on US stocks now total $8.4 trillion from the market highs last year.[87]

o October 11: The G7, a group of central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading economies, meet in Washington and agree to urgent and exceptional coordinated action to prevent the credit crisis from throwing the world into depression. The G7 did not agree on the concrete plan that was hoped for.

o October 14: The US taps into the $700 billion available from the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and announces the injection of $250 billion of public money into the US banking system. The form of the rescue will include the US government taking an equity position in banks that choose to participate in the program in exchange for certain restrictions such as executive compensation. Nine banks agreed to participate in the program and will receive half of the total funds: 1) Bank of America, 2) JPMorgan Chase, 3) Wells Fargo, 4) Citigroup, 5) Merrill Lynch, 6) Goldman Sachs, 7) Morgan Stanley, 8) Bank of New York Mellon and 9) State Street. Other US financial institutions eligible for the plan have until November 14 to agree to the terms.

October 21: The US Federal Reserve announces that it will spend $540 billion to purchase short-term debt from money market mutual funds. The large amount of redemption requests during the credit crisis have caused the money market funds to scale back lending to banks contributing to the credit freeze on interbank lending markets. This government is hoping the injection will help unfreeze the credit markets making it easier for businesses and banks to obtain loans. The structure of the plan involves the Fed setting up four special purpose vehicles that will purchase the assets. 2011 The U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported its findings in January 2011. It concluded that "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages; Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk; An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis; Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw; and systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels.

Not to be lost in all of this is the easing of “mark to market” (Mark-to-market or fair value accounting refers to accounting for the fair value of an asset or liability based on the current market price of the asset or liability, or for similar assets and liabilities, or based on another objectively assessed "fair" value.) on bank balance sheets, asked for by the “GOP” Republicans. This in itself is a legal way for banks to not tell us the truth of how much they are really worth, what happened to transparency?

These events not only collapsed financial markets in the U.S. but around the world. As a result the U.S. economy was sent into a tailspin that we are still in today.

I will admit, we have to get our spending under control, but the question needs to be asked, were do we start? We are spending billions in fighting two wars and now, one conflict overseas, should spending be cut there first? During this whole bank crisis, some banks took the bailout money reinvested and made billions on the back of taxpayers, should we demand that money back, plus that which they borrowed.

Yet, we hear talk about cutting entitlement programs, since when has social security, medicaid or medicare been entitlement programs? Most who receive these programs paid for them through payroll deductions. Social security is a promise made by the federal government, pay into it while you are working, if you become disabled or reach retirement age you will receive “payment”, sort of an american investment. Social security an “entitlement program”, here is what President Bush had to say about the program: “SentinelSource.com”, President George W. Bush made a shocking assertion back in 2005 when he was pushing to privatize Social Security. “A lot of people in America think there is a trust,” he said, “that we take your money in payroll taxes and then we hold it for you and then when you retire, we give it back to you. But that’s not the way it works. There is no trust fund — just IOUs ….”

Actually, working Americans have paid so much in Social Security payroll taxes during the past three decades that they have built up a $2.6 trillion surplus in the account. That money should make the system strong enough to cover the current level of benefits for the next 26 years. In the interim, a prudent government could restructure the program for the rest of the century, perhaps by means-testing benefits and rejiggering contributions.

But, unfortunately, Bush was right. In 1983, Congress and the Reagan administration adjusted Social Security taxes and benefits to put the program on an even keel that began to build up a huge surplus for investment. But Congress decided to “borrow” the surplus instead of investing. They’ve been using it to help pay for things that have nothing to do with Social Security, things the political establishment and tax-averse Americans wanted but didn’t want to pay for: invasions, education, highway repairs and so on. And, without giving any thought to paying the surplus money back, the federal government has been trading it for special Treasury bonds that politicians used to assure us were safe in a lockbox.

Just IOUs. In a lockbox.

Here are some programs I would call entitlement programs: Welfare programs such as: food stamps, shelter rent, homeless housing and WIC. As a people we have to ask ourselves if we want to help those who are less fortunate? Making the claim that we need to cut social programs to balance the budget vs. creating a millionaire’s tax is creating class warfare.

Where do we draw the line, the future of our great nation depends on how the majority of the people in this Country answers that question. One thing is for sure, social programs are not the sole blame for the financial crisis of the U.S., as a matter of fact one could argue the majority of the blame falls with the millionaire’s and billionaire’s on Wall St. and the politicians who robbed the social security fund.

TO CUT OR NOT TO CUT, THAT IS THE QUESTION!

YOU THE VOTER CAN FORCE POLITICIANS TO DECIDED

Design build vs. Design bid build, how much will the WalMart project cost you?

2011-05-15T14:27:00.002-04:00

At the recent financial committee meeting this issue was front and center. Chairman Brown convened a sub-committee to research several areas of concern regarding a new home for DSS. 1. Should the County or CRC build the new DSS home? 2. Should the project be a design build or design bid build, also known as a (municipal build)? 3. Who can finance the project cheaper, County or CRC?

First. let's discuss the proposed Walmart project and how we got here. The County realizing their lease on the current home of DSS at 25 railroad ave was coming to an end decided it no longer wanted to stay in it's current location for many reasons, space and financial being the overriding issues. A search started for a new location, with the BOS, (board of supervisors) tentatively deciding to purchase Ockawamick, an old school building in Clavarack to create a County campus including a new home for DSS. The old school was purchased for $1.5 million and turned out to be a public opinion disaster, costing several County Supervisors their bid for re-election. A decision was made that the County would abandon the Ockawamick idea and move on. Move on is what should be focused on, fellow Supervisors were being told, "we" the County have a clause to extend the lease in the current DSS location if we would like to stay there. The clause was true, but what the County leadership failed to tell most Supervisors is, if we wanted to extend the lease on the current DSS home at 25 railroad ave. we hand to notify the owner 180 days prior to the lease expiring. Well, that never happened, so come August, technically the County is out of options to stay at 25 railroad ave, without another location to move to. The saving grace from what could be a major embarrassment for the County of having it's DSS dept. homeless come August is, the owner of the DSS location is willing to lease the building to the County until the end of the year. Because of this, there is a mad dash to come up with some kind of solution that would find DSS a new home before the end of the year. The problem with that is, little planning has been done, little financial study has been done and little communication has been offered to the public. Ken Flood, Chairman of the CRC offered to take the lead on the WalMart project, but had the rug pulled from under him when he came before the BOS asking for $78,000 to do a space needs assessment regarding County agencies. This decision put finding a new home for DSS even further behind and sent County leadership scrambling, desperate for an idea that could bail them out of what has been in my opinion a series of missteps made over the past couple of years.

This brings us to the current WalMart idea. The next time we as Supervisors hear of a new proposed WalMart proposal was when a resolution came before the DPW committee asking for $500,000 to be awarded to an engineer for architecture work on the project. The resolution was passed and sent to the finance committee for final approval to be sent to the full board for a vote . At the finance committee it was argued by a couple of Supervisors that it is improper to hand out this kind of money, $500,000 without first putting the contract out for bid. Commission of DPW, Dave Robinson and Chairman of the Board, Roy Brown argued that this is a professional contract and does not need to be bid out, which is true, but the question is, do we want to spend this kind of taxpayers money without making sure we are getting the best price for the work we need done? Because of the mad dash to get this project done, Chairman Brown and Commissioner Robinson argued that time is an issue, if we RFP this contract it could take more time than "we" the County have. This argument went back and forth, with a decision made for an expedited RFP process to be done, the process has not been laid out as of yet! This brings me to the financial issue being raised. The sub-committee convened by Chairman Brown has concluded that it would be cheaper for the County to finance the WalMart project rather than having the CRC finance it. We have been told, if the County were to finance the project it would save up to $2 million dollars over the life of the project because the County can borrow funds at a cheaper rate than the CRC can.

What hasn't been thoroughly researched is, if a design build is cheaper than a design bid build. At the finance committee meeting, members of the finance committee read some notes from the State Comptroller's office stating that municipalities were using agencies like the CRC to get around tax and labor issues. This is a difficult issues which the State Legislature and the State Comptroller currently stand at odds over. Yet, some Supervisors state that a design build is not an option because of the State Comptrollers issue with the program. This couldn't be further from the truth, the law as written right now, clearly allows municipalities to do design builds through agencies like the CRC.

To this point is where I have a problem with the whole project. Not that I'm a 100% behind the WalMart idea, a decision I'm convinced will take place whether I support it or not. My position is, to make sure whatever direction the County goes, we do it in the smartest most economical way possible. That means giving serious consideration to design build vs. municipal build. For County leadership to form an opinion on design build without having talked to developers who do construction work for a living is, shall I say, shortsighted! By declaring "we" the County is going to do the project, YES, takes the option of design build off the table, because it is true, the County itself cannot do a design build, it has to be done by an agency like the CRC or the developer of the building itself.

County leadership has already stated, by the County financing the project it may save $2 million over the life of the project. What is not said is, doing a design build may save even more, possibly $3 - $4 million on the project, no one knows because know one has asked. All I hear is, a design build produces an inferior building, but Saratoga County and Albany County have recently built beautiful buildings using the design build process.

As the general public, you need to pay close attention to this project as it moves forward, you could be paying much more than need be. Also, ask your Town Supervisor, how much in capital project funding does the County plan to bond for? My guess would be, in the neighborhood of $25 - $30 million. Then ask your Supervisor, can we as a County afford such an expense at a time when County unemployment is approaching 10% and 25% of the County is receiving social services?

PAY ATTENTION OR YOU THE TAXPAYER WILL PAY!

U.S. Census, What it means to us

2011-03-26T00:18:00.000-04:00

Through out census season, as some of us call it, we endure a constant bombardment of information, speeches, phone calls and the last step, someone knocking on our door. Why is all of this so important?

The Census is a gathering of information that outlines the population through out the U.S. It tells us how fast various ethnic groups are growing in the U.S., where people are migrating to through out the U.S., how fast the population is growing or shrinking in the U.S. along with other population issues. One important fact that needs to be articulated is, everyone is to be counted, whether you are black, white, Hispanic or other, whether you are in the U.S. legally or not. People should know and be told that information gathered by the U.S. Census cannot be used against you for any reason. The belief is, some don't get counted because they don't want people to know where they live or don't want the government to know they are here illegally. This is wrong, we need to count everyone here in the U.S., because if you live here you are part of the system which requires tax dollars to provide you as well as others with services.

How does this affect us and why should we stand and be counted. One big reason, the Census is used to determine the number of Congressmen a State should have. For example, having a Congressman representing a specific area gives you a real voice in Washington. A Congressman is suppose to be a direct connect to Washington, reflecting the views of their constituents. Once a Congressional district gets to big this tends not to happen. With the Census number of 2010, New York State lost 3 Congressmen. Now some may think this isn't a big deal, but this gives us less influence in Washington when it comes to federal funding. A lot of Federal and State programs are structured to use population as a benchmark for qualification. If a specific area has a dramatic change in population, whether up or down funding also mimics the movement of the population up or down.

Although Columbia County basically remained static, when in 2000 the population was 63,094, now in 2010 the County's population has been determined to be 63,096, a growth of 2 people over the last 10 years.

Hudson's fate isn't so positive, Hudson had a population of 7,524 in 2000, in 2010 it has been determined that Hudson's new population is now 6,713 a decrease of 813 or 10.8%, the largest population decrease in Columbia County NY.

Although, this appears to be a small drop in Hudson's population, the affects of a drop like this will be felt City wide. Hudson stands to lose Federal, State and County funding if the current numbers hold up. This means, the taxpayers of Hudson will have to pay more for the same services we currently receive if we are to lose funding because of shrinkage in population. One would think, that if the population is shrinking less service is needed, but it doesn't seem that way currently. As someone who represents the 4th Ward in the City of Hudson, it seems our needs are getting greater not less. It's because of all the issues and worries I have outlined above Mayor Rick Scalera, Council President Don Moore and I are reviewing the 2010 census information to determine what the next move for Hudson should be regarding the census results. Residents of Hudson, all residents of Hudson need to stand and be counted, Hudson's financial future depends on it.

The Battle Of Education

2011-03-02T22:25:00.001-05:00

As we have all seen, we are all going to have to share in the pain of getting NYS back to fiscal stability.

At the core of some cuts being proposed by Governor Cuomo is aid to our schools. What that means for most school districts, is layoffs or at minimum program cuts. As someone who believes layoffs should be of last resort, I fear most school districts may be unable to avoid them. Understanding this, I took sometime to watch the documentary by Geoffrey Canada called “waiting for superman”. Waiting for Superman, is a documentary showing how families who have little means struggle to get their kids a quality education. It goes into the school district and identifies what Geoffrey Canada believes is part of the problem why we have under performing schools, the tenure system.

Geoffrey Canada points out that after 3 years on the job teachers are granted tenure status. At the college level, in order to receive tenure, one would have to go before a board of peers and be evaluated on performance along with other qualifications and measures. In this process only about 1/3 of college professors ever get tenure.

Today, Governor Cuomo proposed a bill that would end LIFO, (last in, first out), which relies exclusively on seniority. Some are arguing that this would disrupt the stability to the teaching profession. As it stands right now, in order to fire a teacher that is underperforming other teachers, that teacher would have to basically commit a crime. Very few jobs have the same kind of job security as teachers, one that comes to mind is police officers. One of the problems that has come with teachers who reach tenure is, some, not all, once they get tenure tend to relax on their responsibilities as a teacher. Most of us, without naming any specific teacher, has had a teacher who would put the daily assignment on the chalkboard and then you wouldn’t see them until the bell rang to signify the end of class. In the private world, like working for Goldman Sachs, Microsoft or even Walmart, if you are amongst the bottom performing employees in the company your employment status would be tenuous at best. Thus driving home that work performance and measures are the standard, essentially making companies more efficient and effective.

This begs the question, why shouldn’t teacher’s employment status be based on performance measures, which is the standard most who work in the U.S. follow?

Also at issue is the bureaucracy of the school system. The pay of school superintendants is being questioned along with how many school districts are actually needed in any given area. These issues are going be an ongoing battle that may end with the consolidation of school districts to lower cost.

School budgets are amongst some of the most pressing issues facing our communities today. Questions like, how should our school budgets be funded? should a cap be put on our school budgets? should smaller school districts be forced to consolidate?

One thing is clear, as taxes rise and employment opportunities continue to shrink people are going to scrutinize where every penny of their tax dollars are being spent. At the rate we are going, using the State of Wisconsin as an example, battles are going to be fought over pension obligations, healthcare obligations and how school budgets are funded.

I for one believe a start would be to extend the millionaire’s tax. I would be willing to compermize increasing the minimum threshold level to a salary of maybe something like $500,000 or more, but that is a debate point, getting rid of the tax should not be a option. Also, the current method of funding school budgets through property tax is broken and it needs to be addressed in the very near future. I think regarding this issue, everything should be on the table, from a grocery tax to an income tax. However it is decided to address this problem, it needs to be modeled to include a greater portion of the population instead of putting the heft of the financial burden on homeowners.

Our schools and the quality of education for our children is a battle that will not end anytime soon. In order to keep pace with emerging countries, we need to do more with less.

Tax, Tax, Tax, What are we to do in NYS?

2010-11-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

In the midst of budget season, what are we who govern in NYS to do? NYS is one of the highest taxed States in the Country, with little relief in sight. Taxing citizens to pay for services has become contagious, even at the local government level in NYS. Often local governments tax and tax with little thought put on the citizen who is barely hanging on to his or her home. We have entered a new economy, one that most of my generation has never seen in their life time. As elected officials I believe it is our duty to get the message to citizens, the more we need to spend on services the more we need to raise by way of taxes. We also need to become more creative on how and what we tax. No matter what some say, tax is a necessary evil, sort of speak, if we want to continue to have services like public schools. The question that needs to be asked is, is it fair to tax property owners to fund school budgets? School tax is just one form of tax that has some citizens at odds with one another. Although there has been many discussions on how to fund schools, there has yet been a successful alternative presented to property tax as a way to fund schools.

As far as local taxes needed to fund government budgets go, the solution to lowering these taxes is to cut spending. Obviously, that is easier said than done, but I believe it can be managed to a minimum. Again, this will take fresh new ideas and thinking outside the box, no longer can we tax and serve, tax and serve, a line has to be drawn in the sand, where to draw the line is the question?

When it comes to taxes in NY I have heard ideas like funding school budgets through a payroll tax, which many think is a much better idea than taxing property owners to fund school budgets. I have also heard, we should create a "so called" millionaire tax, which is a tax that would be posed on those who make a million dollars or more a year. These are some out of the box ideas, ones that I think needs to be explored further.

For myself, I have a couple of ideas that would tax discretionary income of individuals in NY, sort of like the bottle or gas tax.

First, when it comes to funding our school budgets in NYS, I think there needs to be an investigation into the lottery system. When NYS lottery was first introduced it was sold to us as a way to help fund NYS schools. I think it is about time we find out just how much of lottery funds go toward our schools.

The two tax ideas I have are, 1. We should put a 1 cent tax on every stock traded on the (NYSE) New York Stock Exchange. There are literally billions of stocks traded everyday on the NYSE and a penny becomes real money when it's being traded billions of times, I don't think it would be severely felt across the financial markets, but it could be a real revenue stream for NY to offset property tax. Plus, I would rather we initiated this kind of tax before we started taxing millionaires, which I believe needs more research before it happens. 2. I believe we should put anywhere from a 1 cent to a 5 cent tax on all forms of lottery gambling tickets sold. Yes, I know lottery is a form of tax, sort of speak, and that NYS collects additional tax on all winning tickets sold in NY. I also see people who I believe don't have the extra money to spend on such exploits come into a lottery provider and spend a $100 a day. This kind of spending can be described as nothing other than discretionary spending. Understanding that we cannot tax a tax or that we should tax a tax, we can call it a processing fee. Whatever you want to call it, if that many people have that much discretionary money to gamble with, than maybe they should pay a little more to help pay for the services required to serve the needs of the citizens in NYS.

Out of the box? Absolutely, but a person has a choice to pay this tax or not, if you don't want to pay a 5 cent processing lottery fee, than don't play the lottery, it's that simple. I want to make it clear, I'm not encouraging people to gamble, the opposite, I would prefer to see some of those who play the lottery put their money in the stock market. It's nice to have a dollar and a dream, which is the lottery slogan, but that dollar should be one that is totally discretionary, not funds needed to feed your kids.

Many may disagree with me, but it's a way to bring in more revenue to help lower property tax without imposing new taxes to NYS residence. I also would like to make it clear, that every penny raised through such a tax should go directly toward offsetting NYS property tax, PERIOD.

We cannot continue to raise taxes in this State or as has been experienced already, people will flee NYS for a more tax friendly State like North Carolina.

Post Election Blues on the eve of County budget

2010-11-03T21:11:00.004-04:00

Waking up to post election blues I watched as Democrats got their clocks cleaned nation wide. In NY State, we Democrats were able to celebrate the election of our next Governor, Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Scheiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. We also watched as Democratic stalwarts Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand got elected to the U.S. Senate representing New York, but on many local levels we took a real drumming. In Columbia County, the candidate I was really pulling for Didi Barrett a State Senate candidate running in the 41st District against long time incumbent Steve Saland got beat handily. I was feeling really good about Didi Barrett's chances against Senator Saland, unfortunately I was severely wrong in my assessment.

Observing with eager anticipation I watched as a clear message was sent by the electorate, "we the people of NY" are tired of the dysfunction in Albany, we need jobs and loweer taxes. As an elected official I'm sure this message isn't only for those on the Federal and State levels, it applies to those of us on the local levels as well.

In Columbia County the Board of Supervisors are proposing a modest taxes increase for this year's budget. I for one am taking the stance, that the taxpayers of Columbia County need a break, we cannot ask for tax increases this year. Unemployment is up, home foreclosures are up, residents are barely holding on to homes they have lived in most of their lives. This is not the type of government I want to represent. When people show "we" elected officials they need relief, we need to take notice and do what is best, not only for County government but for the taxpayer's of the County.

Over the last three years Columbia County government has grown exponentially, while the average County citizen has lost their jobs at record rates. We have also been pondering projects that would give County departments fresh new digs by way of renovating Ockawamick. This has been a controversial project from the start and remains so today. Although "we" the Board of Supervisors agreed to purchase Ockawamick for future County expansion, this is not the time for such an endeavor, the taxpayer's of this County simple cannot pay for this.

As Supervisor of the 4th Ward in the City of Hudson, I have stated and will continue to state, the taxpayer's in Columbia County need a break from tax increases. In order for us to do that we as the Columbia County Board of Supervisors need to make some hard choices, but I guess that is why we got elected by the people, to make hard choices. We need to cut spending, shrink the size of our government and halt all unnecessary projects at this time. Doing all of this we may be able to present a 2011 budget with zero % tax increase for County taxpayers, I don't believe I can support anything less.

To my fellow County Supervisors, the people of Columbia County cannot afford a tax increase no matter how modest the tax proposal. I ask you to stand with me by demanding that we hold the line on a 2011 budget of a zero % tax increase. We can do this, we just need to prioritize our needs and wants.

For those of you who live in Columbia County, call your Supervisor and tell them "NO NEW TAXES".

County Administrator

2010-10-09T02:00:00.000-04:00

Now that the County has begun the process of creating the position of County Administrator, I think I should clarify my stance on the position. During my last campaign for County Supervisor I stated then that we needed to change the way County government is run. At that time, I stated we should take a serious look at going to a County legislature with a County Executive. One of the reasons I was leaning toward this form of government is, this would give us a chance to reduce the amount of Supervisors we current have in the County, starting with changing the number of Supervisors representing the City of Hudson from 5 to no more than 2.

Along with the change in the number of County Supervisors, I was in favor of creating the position of County Administrator or Executive. With that change, I was looking to make the position an elected position so that the people of the County would have some say about the person who would be running part of County functions.

Now, Chairman Brown has formed a sub-committee to explore the possibility of creating the position of County Administrator. Chairman Brown, came before the County government committee and made a power point presentation on why he believes we need a County Administrator. During that meeting I asked many questions, the first of which was, why are we not considering an elected position instead of an appointed position? Chairman Brown, along with most of the members of the County government committee was in favor of going with an appointed position instead of an elected one, I disagreed. I also asked, how long is the proposed term for the new position going to be? Chairman Brown, responded by saying County Attorney Rob Fitzsimmons is looking into whether the County Board of Supervisors can appoint someone to the position of County Administrator for 5 years. I immediately said 5 years is to long, given most County Supervisors have to run for re-election every 2 years, I felt it would not be fair to the new incoming Supervisors to have someone who was appointed by the previous Board of Supervisors without having any input to whether that is the person they choose to work with.

Just from the two answers I got from Chairman Brown, the position would be appointed not elected and the person would be appointed to a 5 years term, I was seriously considering voting NO, once the position came to the full board for a vote. I'm now a little more comfortable knowing there are laws that do not allow someone to be appointed for a 5 year term.

This doesn't mean that I am going to vote YES, if and when this is brought to the full board for a vote. Many questions still remain as to why we need a County Administrator. As I stated before, I was in favor of creating an elected position of County Administrator or Executive. That was before we created the position of County Controller. Many of the scenarios that have been outlined regarding the lag time in the ability to purchase is something that can easily be handled by the County Controller. Why do we need to create the position of County Administrator, which I feel will be doing a lot of duties that can easily be handed over to the County Controller? With this in mind, the question begs to be answered, do we need to have a County Controller and County Administrator to run our government?

As and elected official and a taxpayer, I believe we can do more with less, that means consolidating positions not creating them. I believe now that we have a County Controller a hard look needs to be taken at whether we indeed need the position of County Controller and County Administrator? One thing is clear, adding these two positions to the County payroll is going to cost the taxpayer's of Columbia County over $200,000 a year.

Attached is the newspaper article of the first sub-committee meeting to discuss the position of County Administrator.

Register Star Article:

Creation of admin faces hurdles

By Francesca Olsen

Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

Published:

Friday, October 8, 2010 2:13 AM EDT

It’s likely that a local law providing for a county administrator won’t be passed until 2011 — not by the end of this year as Board of Supervisors Chairman, Roy Brown, R-Germantown, had hoped.

“It will be December before we get into the meat and potatoes,” he said, “But that’s OK.”

The subcommittee dedicated to researching the new position’s implementation met for the first time Thursday evening to discuss some preliminary concerns.

First on the agenda, County Attorney Robert Fitzsimmons explained that unless the entire Board of Supervisors moved to uniform, four-year terms, it probably wouldn’t be legally possible for a county administrator to have an appointed term over two years.

There is “a term limit provision in the Common Law ... that says a current board can’t bind a future board to somebody” like a county administrator, Fitzsimmons said.

And in order to shift the board to all four-year terms, each of the twelve towns that set two-year terms for their supervisors would have to pass a local law changing the term limits, and hold a mandatory referendum, leaving the decision in the hands of town residents.

If every referendum passed, the change wouldn’t come until the next election — at least two years from the time of the referendum. “That’s unfortunately the process,” Fitzsimmons said.

Ancram Supervisor Art Bassin (D) said he wished he had known this earlier, since he recently “strongly opposed” a supervisor term limit extension in his town.

“It’s not easy to get (the referendum) through, even if you do do it,” said Supervisor Valerie Bertram, R-Stuyvesant.

The subcommittee also discussed the current government structure and how it could reasonably be minimized while still leaving the final deciding power to the BOS.

A county administrator could quickly approve new employees for budgeted positions (rightusually takes at least a month to get approval, leaving departments in a lurch) and simple requests for equipment.

This might allow BOS’ committees to meet less, since they would mostly cover policy instead of personnel and budgetary requests, Bertram said.

“There has to be some authority the person has ... to be able to make things happen ... otherwise, why would you want to put another level of bureaucracy in place?” said county Human Resources Director John Rutkey Jr.

An administrator would also be able to direct policy in the face of BOS turnover — the county has no comprehensive plan or official long-term strategy, and an administrator could take input from supervisors to use for future planning, Brown said.

The BOS and county department heads will most likely be surveyed about what inadequacies they see in the current system, and in the case of the BOS, what powers they’d like to retain.

Bertram said the county would need to “make it known why we’re taking away what we’re taking away (from the BOS) and what we’re going to be doing instead.”

Plenty of other counties have explored the idea of a central figure like a county administrator, some successfully, and the resource of experience will have to be utilized in Columbia County, the subcommittee seemed to agree.

Several people with experience, including Greene County Interim Administrator Dan Frank, will be asked to speak to the subcommittee about their process, and the challenge of implementing such a major change.

The next subcommittee meeting will be held Nov. 4 at 6 p.m., directly after the BOS’ public safety committee, at 401 State St. in Hudson.

Register Star endorses William Hughes Jr.

2009-10-24T00:56:00.000-04:00

Hughes Endorsed for another term as 4th ward Supervisor

In the Fourth Ward race for supervisor, William Hughes, the incumbent, is being challenged by Samuel Santiago. Hughes first served the Fourth Ward as an alderman and is running for a second term as supervisor because he enjoys being an advocate for the people of Hudson. He is proud of being one of the most vocal opponents to the county’s plan to move DSS out of the city. Once Hughes gets involved in an issue, he doesn’t let go. He hopes to work with city and county officials to keep spending and taxes down. He also wants to work on redeveloping the lower half of Hudson.

Hughes’ opponent also did not bother to fill out a questionnaire, nor did he come to our office for an interview.

Hughes’ passion for the city and its residents is obvious to anyone that comes in contact with him. We see no reason why he should not be returned to office.

Remarks:

We’re disappointed that some candidates did not take the time to fill out our simple questionnaire or come in for an interview. We’re left with questions that go unanswered. But perhaps that’s what they wanted — to not be asked the tough questions. If so, they’ve only done themselves a disservice.

My words:

Being an elected official representing the citizens of the 4th ward is a privilege that should not to be taken for granted. For someone to seek office without giving people of the Ward a glimpse of what they stand for and a look at their background is unfortunate.

The fact still remains, as a politician you must be willing to answer the tough question when asked. I feel the people of the Ward, City and County deserves that.

Answers to Register-Star Candidate Profile Questionnaire

2009-09-28T22:08:00.002-04:00

Candidate Profile Questionnaire

Name: William Hughes Jr.

Age: 43

Place of residence: 307 State Street, Hudson NY 12534

How long you’ve lived in the county: 43 years

Office being sought: Supervisor 4th Ward Hudson

Incumbent? Yes

Party affiliation: Democrat

Endorsements received: Hudson City Democratic Committee, Working Families Party, Independence Party, Conservative Party.

Previous elected offices:

Supervisor 4th Ward 2007 - 2009, Alderman 4th Ward 2003 - 2007

Education: Hudson High School Graduate

Occupation: Retired/ Columbia Co. employee

Years in that occupation: 10

Ever been convicted of a crime? No

Family: Wife: Adebola (Deb) Hughes, Senior Strategy Consultant, IBM

Memberships/Affiliations

Current member:

Shiloh Baptist Church.
Columbia Co. Empire Zone Committee.
103AD Judicial Delegate.
City of Hudson/Columbia Co./NYS Democratic Committeeman.
Monthly payroll contributor to the United Way.

Past member:

Chairman, Columbia Co. Youth Advisory Board.
Hudson Youth Advisory Board.
Columbia Co. Minority Task Force.
Hudson Development Corp.
Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency.
Hudson Industrial Development Agency.
Board of Directors of the Boy’s and Girl’s Club.
Award: 2005 NAACP’s community service person of the year award

What do you think are the top three issues facing Hudson?

Taxes: Continue to work with City and County officials to lower City and County taxes by keeping spending down. Increase Hudson’s taxable property/housing stock, by helping private developers build new housing. Work with Mayor Scalera and other elected officials to make Hudson more attractive for capital investment. Work with and encourage municipal cooperation from other towns and villages that would save taxpayers money.

Housing: Hudson has a great deal of boarded up homes not on the tax rolls. I will continue to work with Mayor Scalera, public and private developers to get these properties fixed up and back on the tax rolls. Continue to work toward redeveloping our low-income and affordable housing stock, by working with City, State and Federal officials to build new better quality homes.

Jobs: This is the biggest issue residents of Hudson are facing. If re-elected I will work hard over the next couple of years to redevelop the lower half of Hudson. Hudson is in need of capital investments that would revitalize its economy. Developing the Waterfront is a big part of that, but not the only part. The development of Club Helsinki, Opera House and Cannonball Factory in the 4th Ward is crucial to the revitalization of Hudson’s economy. Understanding this, I have been and will continue to work with Mayor Scalera and other elected officials to address the needs of these facilities. One of which is parking. I have been working hard to address this problem, by writing a congressional appropriation for the construction of a new parking garage, which will be crucial once these businesses are operating at full capacity. Developing a working Waterfront and a vibrant city will work toward all of the issues of importance I have outlined. It will increase the need for affordable housing, help lower taxes, create jobs and encourage future capital investments.

If you are the incumbent, what are you most proud of accomplishing?

The thing I am most proud of is, I redrafted the County’s Ethics Policy and had it pass the Board of Supervisors with a unanimous vote.

Fought alongside my fellow City, County and State elected officials to keep the Hudson Correctional Facility open.

I led the fight on the County level, for the City of Hudson to get additional sales tax revenue. As a result, the City of Hudson was able to get $75,000 additional dollars, above the additional $40,000 per quarter negotiated by Mayor Scalera several years ago. In 2008 Hudson received a total of $1.4 million in sales tax revenue, which was used to keep Hudson’s 2009 taxes from going up.

I am proud to have led the fight on the County Board of Supervisors and to be one of the loudest opponents against the movement of DSS out of the City of Hudson. I believe, this move would be a financial and social blow to the City of Hudson.

Was able to encourage several changes in the County’s youth employment program. Although each Supervisor gets one spot, I was able to work with my fellow County Supervisors to get seven youth from the City of Hudson hired into the program.

I’m proud of the fact, that because of the hard work I did during my first term as a County Supervisor, my fellow Democrats voted to appoint me Deputy Minority Leader of the Columbia Co. Board of Supervisors.

A New Vision of Affordable Housing

2009-09-28T20:53:00.001-04:00

News

A New Vision of Affordable Housing Here

Link to the original story in the Register-Star

Bliss Towers on Second Street between Columbia and State streets in Hudson.
By Jamie Larson Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Published: Saturday, September 26, 2009 1:16 AM CDT

City and Hudson Housing Authority officials met with residents of the Bliss Towers low-income housing complex Thursday night to discuss the future of affordable subsidized housing in Hudson. The plan involves creating numerous smaller housing units throughout areas of the city and eventually demolish the problem ridden high-rise and low-rise at the intersection of Columbia and Second streets.

Officials said the plan to create up-to-date, more comfortable and convenient housing will increase the quality of life for those living in the Housing Authority run apartments. Though the plan is in its infancy, officials wanted to meet with residents to lay out their intentions and alleviate any concerns that those living in the complex would be displaced. “This will be a benefit to Hudson, but most importantly it will be a benefit to all of you,” Supervisor William Hughes told residents at the meeting. “We want to eliminate the fear factor immediately.”

According to New York State Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) standards, officials said, any new housing project would have to provide at least the exact same number of units currently provided by the Hudson Housing Authority. Nearly every official who spoke at the gathering stressed repeatedly that not only would no resident be displaced, but their rent would not be increased beyond the Section 8 subsidy standard of one third of a resident’s monthly income.

At the outset of the meeting Hughes said that nothing about the project is set in stone and tenants are encouraged to get involved and give input on all aspects of the process. Housing Authority Executive Director Jeffrey First said everyone needs to have a clear understanding that it may take years just to find the funding for the project and perhaps a decade before it could be completed. “We went through this 10 years ago and it was very uncomfortable,”

First said, “because everyone thought the high-rise was coming down in two weeks.”First said that starting the process to plan for new housing now is imperative so that something can actually be accomplished in the future, whatever the final shape of the project may look like. First spoke bluntly to the residents, who he works with closely on a daily basis, calling Bliss Towers a “money pit.” He said the Housing Authority has spent $11 million in the last 10 to 15 years trying to maintain the building. The complex was built during the Urban Renewal project of the 1970s. First said the standards then just are not sufficient to meet the needs of residents today.

First said that past plans to create low-income housing had to be abandoned when revenue sources through HUD were pulled by the government during the administration of President George W. Bush. Now however, President Barrack Obama has shown renewed interest and support for improving the quality of subsidized housing. Much of the Housing Authority’s plan hinges on whether or not The U.S. Congress passes the Livable Communities Act. The legislation would bring back the type of HUD funding the Hudson project needs.

The Housing Authority has hired Omni Housing Development, LLC, to develop the city’s new housing plan. At Thursday’s public meeting Omni Chief Operating Officer Duncan Barrett broke down the few absolutes about what the project would entail if it moves forward, and tried to emphasize the importance of the notion that residents will be able to help sculpt the process. Barrett said that HUD looks for funding requests from projects that have a high level of community involvement, so the more that Bliss residents can do to make the plan a ground-up process the better.

“This (tower) has been lived-up beyond its useful life and is functionally obsolete,” Barrett said, adding, “these things take a long time. You shouldn’t expect immediate results here, but you should demand good results. And no one has to move until we have built you a new house, it’s as simple as that.”

Many of the questions involved the costs and amenities of the potential apartments. Barrett said those details are flexible and are the kinds of things his company will be looking to discuss with the community in the future.

Some of the proposed housing will be in the footprints of where the high-rise and low-rise now stand. The idea of seeding Section 8 housing throughout the city to create economic diversity was well-received by the crowd.

Barrett also said that, as opposed to the current system, senior and family unit would be separated in the new one to four unit structures. This way senior specific, and handicapped amenities can be provided to those who need them.

Hughes said that while this proposal should bring hope to Bliss residents everyone needs to be patient because the speed that the project will move forward will depend completely on acquiring funding. He said residents need to call the offices of their political representatives to show that they want this. Hughes says he has discussed beginning an advisory committee with Mayor Richard Scalera, Jeffrey First, city officials and Housing Authority residents to ensure the project doesn’t fall to the back burner.

The numerous other officials in the room, including the residents representation on the Common Council, Second Ward Aldermen Wanda Pertilla and Abdus Miah, said they are available to answer their constituents questions and concerns, and hope the community can come together to push the project forward as well as continue to spread the word that not one resident will be displaced.

My words:

As promised, this story substantiates the fact that I'm working hard to improve the housing conditions in the City of Hudson. Mayor Scalera and I along with other elected officials have embarked on an ambitious project that would redevelop the lower half of Hudson, including the Bliss Tower's area. It is our belief, that with the redevelopment of the lower half of Hudson, we will make the City of Hudson more marketable to capital investors, creating jobs as a result. Obviously, this will not happen overnight. Mayor Scalera and I have put a 3 - 5 year time-line in place to get the project off the ground. Getting funding for a project of this magnitude will take a lot of hard work and dedication from all involved. If we are successful with the development of the Waterfront, Bliss Tower's area and implementation of a County wide transportation system, the City of Hudson will be the benefactor. As a result, I believe, we will be able to lower taxes, create jobs, and make Hudson the place to be in Columbia County.

William Hughes Jr.

4th Ward Supervisor

City of Hudson

Col. Co. Bd. of Supervisors

" Let experience work for you"

Accomplishments and Goals

2009-08-31T19:06:00.001-04:00

Given my previous government experience, I was able to be effective during my first term as County Supervisor. I immediately hit the ground running, fighting for my constituents of the 4th Ward in the City of Hudson, as well as those who live throughout Columbia County.

Accomplishments:

Fought along side Mayor Scalera, Fellow County Supervisors and others to keep the Hudson Correctional Facility open.
Rewrote Columbia County's Ethics Policy, adding the Employee Bill of Rights
Wrote recommendations for a County Labor Management Committee, a committee that has since been instituted.
Fought for Hudson to get a larger share of County sales tax distribution. Was able to get an additional $75,000, which brought Hudson's portion of sales tax monies to $1.4 million. These additional funds were used to keep Hudson's taxes level for the tax year of 2009.
Fought to keep the County from putting a homeless shelter in the middle of the City of Hudson's business district. Now sitting on the homeless shelter oversight committee, to make sure the program is properly installed in the properties offer to Columbia County, by the City of Hudson.
Wrote several Congressional appropriation proposals. One of which is a proposal for a parking garage on 4th and Columbia St. Adding a parking garage to this area would help promote several new businesses in Hudson, namely Club Helsinki and the newly renovated Opera House.
Took advantage of the County's new Youth Summer Employment Program. Personally helped 7 youth from through out the City of Hudson get hired.
Took the lead on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, fighting against the moving of DSS (Dept. of Social Services) out of the City of Hudson. This is a fight with the help of many others, we were able to win. I'm happy to say, "DSS is staying in the City of Hudson".
After my first year on the Board of Supervisors, I was named Deputy Minority Leader by my fellow Democratic Supervisors. I earned the respect of my fellow Supervisors by having a good understanding of the issues before us. Also by working hard to facilitate a manageable resolution to the problem.

I am proud that during my first term as County Supervisor, I have been part of changing the business as usual attitude in our County government.. I take my job as County Supervisor very serious, making sure I ask the tough questions when they need to be asked. Taking the time to fight for constituents on a personal basis. My model is "No problem is to small to investigate, no person is to insignificant to help".

Goals:
County Level

Work with my fellow County Supervisors, State and Federal Legislators to help streamline the DSS (Dept of Social Services) process, saving the County money and making the process easier for clients.
Working to make Columbia County more inviting to businesses that would provide crucially needed jobs.
Help Supervisor Doug McGivney, Chairman of the Legal Committee get a County alternative to incarceration program started.
Continue to look for ways to streamline County government, saving County taxpayer's money.
Make sure that clients who use County services get treated with kind, courteous services.

City Level

Work with Mayor Scalera to continue developing the waterfront.
Help create more affordable housing in the City of Hudson.
Work with Mayor Scalera, City Treasurer and City Alderman to lower taxes.
Help develop a plan to refurbish and get old homes back on the tax rolls.
Work on a 3 - 5 year plan to redevelop the lower half of the City of Hudson.

I'm currently working on the Bliss Tower project with Mayor Scalera, Congressman Murphy's office and other elected officials that would redevelop portions of the lower half of Hudson. This project would be the largest project to happen in the City of Hudson, since urban renewal in the early 70'. If this project was to come to fruition, the City of Hudson would become much more marketable, possibly creating jobs and lower taxes as well. Stay tuned in the coming months for more information on this project.

Let Experience Work for You

Re - Elect

4th Ward Supervisor

William Hughes Jr.

Qualifications

2009-08-23T22:03:00.001-04:00

Current Member:
Columbia County Board of Supervisors - Supervisor/Deputy Minority Leader
Member of the Empire Zoning Board
New York State Democratic Committeeman
Columbia County/City of Hudson Democratic Committeeman
103AD Judicial Delegate
Past President of the Columbia County Youth Advisory Board
Past member of the Columbia County Minority Task Force

Past Member:
City of Hudson's Common Council (4th Ward Alderman)
Youth Advisory Board
Industrial Development Corporation
Hudson Development Corporation
Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency

Past Award:
Recipient of the 2005 NAACP's community service person of the year award.

Over 14 years of volunteer community service in the City of Hudson.

Re - elect

4th Ward Supervisor

William Hughes Jr.

"Let Experience Work for You"

My wife, Deb Hughes and I

2009-08-23T18:32:00.000-04:00

Deb and I have been married for 6 years. We have no children as of yet, but we are planning on it.

I, William Hughes Jr. was an employee of Columbia County for 10 years, I retired in 2008. I also served on the City Council for 4 years as Alderman of the 4th Ward. I am now at the end of my first term as 4th Ward Supervisor. I have volunteered in my community for over 14 years, serving the youth and senior population.

My wife, Deb Hughes is, a graduate of Albany State University, with a Master degree in Information Science. Deb also has and MBA from the Lally School of Business, at RPI. Deb currently has the position of Senior Strategy Consultant with IBM.

Deb and I, are both a member of the Shiloh Baptist Church at 14 Warren St., Hudson, NY, where the Reverend Ronald Grant is the Pastor.

Together, my wife and I are a formidable team working toward making Hudson a better place to live for all.

Re - elect

4th Ward Supervisor

William Hughes Jr.

Hughes kicks off campaign

2009-08-22T21:08:00.000-04:00

Hudson’s own, 4th Ward Supervisor, William Hughes Jr. and his wife, Deb Hughes, stands with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, just before the start of President Obama’s inaugural ceremony.

As 4th Ward Supervisor, I worked hard to help Senator Gillibrand get re-elected. Senator Gillibrand is someone who has shown a great deal of passion and caring while fighting for the citizens of Columbia County on the Federal level.

It is that same kind of passion and caring that I display, while fighting for Hudson on the County level. I have lived in Hudson, specifically the 4th Ward for 35 years. The 4th Ward and the City of Hudson as a whole is near and dear to my heart.

During my childhood, I have watched Hudson flourish with jobs, while families lived in a close knit community setting. Now I watch as our community struggles with unemployment and the lack of quality, affordable housing. This is not the Hudson I remember and this is not the condition I intend to leave it.

As County Supervisor, representing the 4th Ward, I have fought and will continue to fight to keep taxes low, increase our affordable housing stock and once again help Hudson get back to being the economic engine it once was.

Hudson has a lot of issues it needs to tackle; infrastructure, employment, housing, taxes, and the redevelopment of the lower half of the City. I will continue to work closely with Mayor Rick Scalera, Congressman Scott Murphy and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to address current and future problems plaguing our beautiful City.

“It only takes one to change a community”

Re – elect
4th Ward Supervisor
William Hughes Jr

“Let Experience Work For You”