Heading 6
A house built on a weak foundation will not stand. (Continued)
The majority of the 23 ‘Whereas’ statements which are meant explain the reasoning of those who wrote the Joint Consolidation Agreement lack any factual substantiation.
For example, the third Whereas statement reads: “WHEREAS, the Village Board of Trustees of the Village of New Paltz and the Town Board of the Town of New Paltz have determined it desirable and in the public interest to consolidate the Town and Village governments;” No factual evidence is provided to support this statement.
The sixth Whereas states that “... consolidation will provide greater administrative and operational efficiency by streamlining operations; and such efficiencies can be leveraged to create savings and/or to address existing service gaps, expand services, and build capacity;” No substantiation or specific examples are provided in the text or the exhibits section of the 64 page Joint Consolidation Agreement.
The seventh Whereas statement suffers from the same weaknesses. No specific examples of how, “... the proposed unification addresses concerns about workload and adequate representation of Village residents.”
There has been no substantive discussion between and amongst the Village and Town officials relating to the accuracy and appropriateness of each of the 23 ‘Whereas’ statements.