4
Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Trump taps Walden native as Chief Naval Officer
Continued from page 1
Congress during the confirmation
process.”
Navy officials, in a Navy Times
article published Friday, praised
Moran’s leadership and supported
his nomination. As the Navy’s
top personnel officer from 2013 to
2016, he initiated many reforms,
including the “Sailor 2025” program
which sought to modernize the
Navy’s entire personnel system and
training process and also change the
culture of the sea service to embrace
flexibility, reward merit and scrap
broad purges of sailors like the
despised Enlisted Retention Board.
He also fought to increase career
sea pay and successfully
lobbied
the
Armed
Services Committee for an
increase in spending for
aircraft and shipbuilding
procurement and more
funding for maintenance.
Retired Adm. William
“Shortney” Gortney told
Navy Times he’s happy
to see another flyer in the
Navy’s top spot but insists
Moran is really just the
best candidate for the gig.
“I don’t want to spoil it,
but I will predict he will
be one of the great CNOs
as well,” Gortney said.
Town of Montgomery Police
Bill Moran’s 1977 yearbook photo.
Maybrook’s proposed 9% tax hike sparks concerns
Continued from page 1
The village board took $100,000 out of the fund balance
last year to keep taxes low and thought the village would
encumber the money over the year. However, the village
did not encumber the balance.
Now, board members said the village must build up the
fund balance again.
“Nine percent will help us get our fund balance back,”
board member Jim Barnett said.
Mayor Dennis Leahy said the board has been taking
money out of the fund balance for several years to keep
taxes low and hoped future economic development would
offset the low tax base. At the same time, the village has
been working on infrastructure repairs.
“I had a meeting with the state comptroller and she
said you’re getting a lot of things accomplished but
you’re under taxing your residents,” Leahy said. “That’s
the problem.”
Several residents questioned the village board’s
practice of using fund balance in the hopes that economic
development would bring in more tax ratables. Residents
also asked whether taxpayer money was spent to prepare
for development projects, including the Galaxy project.
“You can’t do a budget based on what you hope is going
to happen,” Maybrook resident Linda Amodio said.
Deputy Mayor Robert Pritchard said no taxpayer
money has been spent preparing for Galaxy Limited,
LLC, a potential industrial park on 80 acres of rail side
property with up to 850,000 square feet of industrial
and commercial space, light industrial pad-ready sites,
a Main Street extension over the tracks and a two-mile
road and hike/bike path with access to Stewart State
Forest.
“We’re not spending taxpayer dollars on hopes and
dreams,” Pritchard said. “Our engineer, our attorney,
all of these board members have been sitting down with
these people to try to get them to invest, not your tax
dollars, but $6 million of their own money to bring a road
two miles long. They have a lot of people that are very
interested in coming and building with rail connections.”
P olice B lotter
Pritchard explained the village did spend $17,000 on
engineering and legal work to rezone downtown for
shovel-ready projects, which is the other side of the
railroad tracks from Galaxy.
Leahy said discussions with Galaxy have been
very encouraging. Galaxy is currently completing
environmental reviews under SEQRA.
Galaxy recently received a $600,000 Empire State
Development grant for the first phase of the project,
which includes preparation of several site pads and the
two-mile access road.
While he does anticipate Galaxy will come to the
village, Leahy said it’s difficult to predict when that
might happen.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Leahy said. “And all I can
do is hope for it, and hope it happens.”
Several residents pitched ideas to save money, such as
closing the George C Bullis Community Center due to
low use.
Another resident suggested trash pickup once a week
instead of twice a week.
“Sometimes you have to give up something to have
more,” Maybrook resident Meg Cusumano said.
Another resident suggested consolidation of
the Maybrook Police Department with the Town of
Montgomery Police Department.
The board cautioned against consolidation, stating it
would lead to longer response times. If the village changed
its mind after the police departments consolidated,
Maybrook would never get its department back.
The board said while it will take into consideration
every suggestion that residents pitch, many of the
suggestions given that night were rather extreme. Leahy
said the situation might not be as dire as some residents
might think.
“It’s not doomsday,” Leahy said. “The fund balance is
low, and we are going to watch the budget going forward
and try to encumber and build up the fund balance.”
The public hearing for local law number one of 2019:
law to override the tax cap, will be at the next board
meeting at village hall on April 22 at 7 p.m.
Kerbi Walsh, 29, was arrested on March 2 on a
bench warrant.
Joseph Horton, 31, was arrested on March 5 for
unlawful possession of marijuana.
Jessica Dercole, 27, was arrested on March 6
for unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal
possession of a controlled substance 7th.
Kelly Smith, 21, was arrested March 8 on a bench
warrant.
Brittney Dayton, 21, was arrested March 9 for
unlawful possession of marijuana and parking
violations.
Kayla Lynn Brundage, 24, was arrested on
March 9 for unlawful possession of marijuana and
a speeding violation.
Neftali Negron, 32, was arrested on March 11 for
aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd and operating
a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver.
Tyler Miller, 20, was arrested on March 12 for
menacing 2nd.
Miles Austin Meade, 22, was arrested on March
12 on a bench warrant.
Miguel Angel Figueroaocasio was arrested
on March 13 for failure to stop at a stop sign,
operating a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver
and aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd.
Wayne Fakler, 53, charged March 15 with
aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd, failure to stop
at a right turn on red and aggravated unlicensed
operation 3rd.
Lindsay Decandio, 23, was charged March 19
with aggravated unlicensed operation 3rdt.
Adam Kingsley, 33, was arrested on March 20 on
a bench warrant.
Sean Harold Scott, 33, was arrested on March 23
for criminal contempt, aggravated harassment 2nd
and aggravated family offense.
Cristofer Matos Jimenez, 19, was arrested
on March 25 for criminal possession of a forged
instrument, operating a motor vehicle without
financial security, operating an unregistered motor
vehicle on the highway and operating a motor
vehicle without an inspection certificate.
India Scott, 23, was arrested on March 29 for
unlawful possession of marijuana.
Sean McNair, 36, was arrested on April 1 for
criminal contempt.
Joshua Sagastume, 19, was charged April 2 with
assault 3rd and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jeffrey Silvestro, 56, was arrested on April 9 for
ability impaired by drugs, DWAI combined drugs
and resisting arrest.
Ronald Depaula, 38, was arrested on April 10 for
ability impaired by drugs, DWAI combined drugs
and moving from lane unsafely.
Peter Mullen, 40, was arrested on April 11 for
aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd, speeding, and
operating a motor vehicle without financial security.
Brian James Conklin, 25, was arrested on April
12 for aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd.
Steven Thompson, 20, was arrested on April
13 for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended
registration.