Fleming's 1st Priorities: End Non-Essential Spending, Patronage

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Maureen Fleming is challenging incumbent County Executive MaryEllen Odell to represent the people of Putnam. Fleming is the Kent Town Supervisor.

She said she ran first for public office in 2013 out of frustration with the town’s mismanagement and unchecked spending. Now in her third term, she said some of the highlights were holding townwide taxes at 0 percent for five years straight and reducing Kent's debt service by one-third.

She has a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a law degree from Antioch School of Law, now UDC. Experienced at identifying and administratively prosecuting malfeasance, she investigated fraud and corruption at the New York City Departments of Health and headed the inmate disciplinary system at Rikers Island and other city jails. A career-switcher, she then became a teacher. Her three children went through the Carmel schools.

Patch sent the same questions to all candidates asking them to respond.

PATCH: What are the biggest issues facing the Hudson River and Hudson Valley that affect your communities?

FLEMING: Affordability is a challenge all across the Hudson Valley. Here in Putnam, county taxes, and the current level of borrowing and spending are heavy burdens for residents and business owners. Taxes make it a struggle for everyone—but especially for young families and our seniors—to stay in Putnam; many are forced to leave. The county budget is full of fat—unchecked spending at Tilly Foster Farm, the Putnam County Golf Course and on the senior center project at the Butterfield site; lavish county events; high salaries and benefits for patronage jobs; leases and contracts handed to campaign donors. I will review the budget line by line and eliminate the wasteful spending. When we spend wisely, as we have done in the Town of Kent, there is more money available to do good things like improving and expanding services and keeping taxes flat. I haven’t raised taxes in Kent for 5 years. County taxes have been raised 7 years in a row—cumulatively 10.94%. My opponent likes to say that she’s kept her tax increases under the New York State tax cap every year. I say that staying below the tax cap isn’t enough—finding ways not to raise taxes is what we need to aim for so that people can stay and thrive in Putnam County.

The biggest issue facing our river is the storm surge barriers proposed for the Hudson by the US Army Corps of Engineers. While intended to protect New York Harbor from temporary sea level rises during coastal storms, the barriers threaten the overall ecosystem of the Hudson. They would restrict tidal flow and limit the natural movement of sediments and fish populations. The deprivation of the river’s ability to “breathe” through tide changes would do irreversible damage to the river, its plants and animals, and the overall health and beauty of the Hudson. The Hudson is one of Putnam’s greatest resources and biggest draws for tourism and recreation. The impacts of the storm surge barriers would ripple into our local economy; Putnam County’s desirability as a place homeowners want to invest would decrease, as would our draw as a destination for travelers to visit and spend. The storm surge barrier concept seems to fly in the face of everything we understand about the health and sustainability of our river. As we forecast a local environment with more intense storms and rising river levels, we should instead be working together to plan and build a more prepared, resilient Hudson shoreline, including our Putnam riverfront.

PATCH: How would you apply the adage ‘think globally, act locally’?

FLEMING: Our public discourse at all levels has degenerated into anger, coarseness and disrespect. When leaders are constantly seeking the next “gotcha” opportunity against opponents rather than focusing on getting the people’s work done, we all suffer. A cult of personality can build up around leaders and they forget their purpose—serving the public. When I am County Executive, I will do as I do now as Town of Kent Supervisor—I will serve with humility and gratitude, and I will lead by example. I will listen to my colleagues and the public, even when we disagree. We can’t problem solve when we’re not listening to each other. I will return a culture of respect and service to County government, and my administration will be accountable to the public and the public alone.

PATCH: Property taxes are an issue for all our communities. What’s your position on the Shared Services projects? How would you bring school districts into that discussion?

FLEMING: The sharing of services among the towns and the county can bring critical savings and efficiencies to taxpayers. I’ve worked alongside the Supervisors of Putnam’s five other towns on a plan to do more sharing. We’ve identified some straightforward ways to share obvious services like joint purchasing, property tax assessment and highway and public works. We need to get to bigger items like health insurance cooperatives and centralized records management before we see real gains in efficiency. But in order for towns to agree to share and cooperate, they need to know that they can trust the leadership of their county partners. I will bring that trust and respect back to county government. I will work with our towns to break log-jams so we can work better and smarter together. Trust is critical to all of my goals. Trust is built when government is accessible to the public and open for scrutiny. I value public participation and the direct exchange of ideas with taxpayers. I’m always ready to learn from the people I serve. I will give our towns and the public a voice in county government again.

The county and school districts are already engaged in a significant service sharing in the form of our School Resource Officer Program, run by our Sheriff’s Department. The SRO program gives officers a strong community presence, deep knowledge of local issues, and an opportunity to gain trust among students. The schools benefit from safety education and preparedness for health and safety issues that might arise while school is in session. There may be other ways for schools to enter intermunicipal agreements for things like purchasing and maintenance. The question deserves deeper inquiry, and it’s a conversation I’m willing to have. We would have to work collaboratively with local districts and the State Department of Education to identify feasible options.

PATCH: What would your first priorities be if elected?

FLEMING:

1. Freeze non-essential spending
2. Ban patronage hiring and nepotism, and ensure that only qualified candidates fill county jobs.
3. Stop the massive bonding for overpriced real estate projects that neither provide essential services nor provide reasonable return on public investment.

PATCH: It’s a divisive election season - how would you serve all your constituents?

I am the only Democrat on the Town of Kent Board, serving alongside four Republicans. I have twice been endorsed by Kent’s Conservative Party. I am a collaborative leader, and I know when people of varying viewpoints and skillsets work together, the outcomes are always better. At the local level, we’ve got basic management issues to deal with—infrastructure maintenance and improvement; public health education and services; safety for our schools and communities. There isn’t time for the kind of partisanship that paralyzes the state and federal levels. We’ve got constituents of all demographics, interests, and political persuasions to serve here and now, and I will do just that. Again, trust is critical. Trust is built when government is accessible to the public and open for scrutiny. I will do for the County what I have done for Kent—I will give the public a voice again. I value public participation and the direct exchange of ideas with taxpayers. I’m always ready to learn from the people I serve—no matter their party. And I do see the Office of County Executive as one of service. I work for the public. Kent residents will tell you that I never view a visit or a conversation as a bother or an interruption. It’s my job as Town Supervisor to listen. I will have the same open door policy when I am County Executive. I will work for you. I know we all want the same basic thing—to live decently in this place we all love.

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