From the Desk of Jack Conway - East Greenbush Town Supervisor

Supervisor’s Report – July 24, 2018

Yesterday we received the electrifying good news that Moody’s Investor Services had upgraded our bond rating to investment grade Aa3!! The Town’s finances have been a controversial topic for many years but we can now lay the controversy to rest and move on to a prosperous and productive future.The Town Board was instrumental in this effort, particularly Deputy Supervisor Tina Tierney who helped frame the agenda for my administration and has worked tirelessly to implement the changes we envisioned.Thanks are also due to former Board members Tom Grant, Debbi DiMartino and Mary Ann Matters, all of whom made seminal contributions to this effort. Our Town Comptroller George Phillips has done yeoman work to organize our financial records, and has brought a new sophistication to our ability to understand and improve our financial profile.George has been instrumental in our efforts to refinance a service agreement with Rensselaer County. We envision that this refinancing will save the taxpayers more than $3 million over the next 30 years.

For me, the most important part of yesterday’s news was that it was achieved during a time when we have been extremely productive.The new building in the Town Park is now complete and is currently being used to great effect by our Summer Camp.The funding for this building came from mitigation fees contributed by developers, not from the tax levy.In a similar vein, we just ordered two new police vehicles, bringing to five the number of cars bought by the proceeds of asset forfeiture.It’s nice to know that in East Greenbush drug dealers are paying for new police cars.This also brings to mind the late Dan Keegan, an East Greenbush detective who was instrumental in many of the arrests that led to the capture of these funds.His memory is honored every time one of these cars leaves the station to help ensure the safety of Town residents.

In August we anticipate beginning the installation of meters in Hampton Manor.Residents will soon be receiving a notification in the mail of a meeting to explain the process we will use to schedule and install meters in every home in the Manor.We’ll also discuss the timetable for switching over to Troy water.