Jonathan, these are all fair points. Your experience in this area would be a great benefit to the Village. I would be happy to sit down with you and discuss this further to help a create a better communications Over the course of the last two years that myself and Cara we have made some progress but limited staff and limited bandwidth are real issues. I would be happy to discuss and get your help in this area. -Nora
Nora, thank you for the reply. I hope it came across that I’m not accusing leadership of bad faith, I just think the intense backlash would have been mitigated if some of the things I point out had been addressed. Oftentimes, factions agree on more things than they think, they’re just talking (yelling) past each other. I’d be happy to help if I can, though I’m new to the Village and don’t have much context or knowledge around this or other current issues.
I have advocated that the mayor and trustees should hold occasional Town Halls where villagers can ask them questions and get responses, rather than just be limited to five minute comments at meetings which the Board is not obligated to respond to unless then want to. Even during the election campaign none of that happened (neither side seemed very interested in it, even after the Chronicle editorialized that there should be at least one debate.) All of this is possible but studiously avoided by our leaders.
Point blank: we desperately need a major change in leadership. Many people the village feel this way. I have a feeling no matter what happens, we will be seeing and hearing more from The Voice of Croton in the future in our village. Stay tuned.
I would like to add that the mayor and trustees are now strongly considering truncating public comments or public comments time, during village trustee meetings. How is this going to help build trust, transparency, and better understanding and communication between residents and the trustees? It certainly WILL NOT help governing or the democratic processes of decisions in our village for residents.
They are not trying to limit intelligent and interested Village residents on matters that affect them they are trying to stop some of the gibberish that has nothing to do with the meeting itself. I watch every meeting and it goes on so long I lose interest and just go to bed.
You are free to get bored and go to bed. In terms of government, it’s not always exciting but when you hold public office you need to listen to the public that makes the effort to come to the public meetings and speak. You can’t limit public discussion because you find it boring. It’s definitely not like going to a KISS concert but the results from these meetings and public comments impact how we all live. No one paying rent or taxes to live here should be shut out of the governing process.
I only get bored with NONSENSE talk. I have lived here for 54 years and I want to hear all sides of the issues from all Dems or Republicans and Independents. Anyone who takes the time as I would if I were physically able as I did for many years and attend the meetings are a credit to Croton whether they agree all the time or not. This is not a debate and I respect your opinion.
This starts at the top, and by top, that means Mayor Brian Pugh. He is a poor communicator and combined with him running unopposed for two terms results in the poor communication regarding these major developments you’ve described in your editorial. He has his vision for Croton and anyone who opposes it is attacked by his supporters. There are a great deal of Croton residents who are extremely unhappy with the current administration’s plans and in particular, the mayor himself. The mayor and all the trustees are registered Democrats, and they use this fact to strike fear in anyone who opposes their plans. Residents literally whisper when expressing their dissatisfaction. How is this a healthy environment for discussion or debate?
There is not a fair minded person in this Village who has not waited for years to have a member of the other party run a candidate for the Board. It is a hard job with many obligations to the Village outside of the pubic meetings. It is not the fault of the Board members if no one runs against them. So everyone step up and sign up to run if you feel this one party board is unfair. I agree that decisions made all together are the fairest for all the residents
I'll settle for a fellow Democrat who has competing ideas. The issue isn't the party; it's getting elected unopposed (or being appointed) and then behaving as though they have a mandate from voters. In my view the board has been operating on negative political capital for some time now.
Jonathan, these are all fair points. Your experience in this area would be a great benefit to the Village. I would be happy to sit down with you and discuss this further to help a create a better communications Over the course of the last two years that myself and Cara we have made some progress but limited staff and limited bandwidth are real issues. I would be happy to discuss and get your help in this area. -Nora
Thank you for engaging, Nora. Your efforts aren't going unnoticed by Croton residents. I appreciate your independent voice on the board.
Nora, thank you for the reply. I hope it came across that I’m not accusing leadership of bad faith, I just think the intense backlash would have been mitigated if some of the things I point out had been addressed. Oftentimes, factions agree on more things than they think, they’re just talking (yelling) past each other. I’d be happy to help if I can, though I’m new to the Village and don’t have much context or knowledge around this or other current issues.
The village should develop a means to sound out the community and to communicate with it.
I have advocated that the mayor and trustees should hold occasional Town Halls where villagers can ask them questions and get responses, rather than just be limited to five minute comments at meetings which the Board is not obligated to respond to unless then want to. Even during the election campaign none of that happened (neither side seemed very interested in it, even after the Chronicle editorialized that there should be at least one debate.) All of this is possible but studiously avoided by our leaders.
Point blank: we desperately need a major change in leadership. Many people the village feel this way. I have a feeling no matter what happens, we will be seeing and hearing more from The Voice of Croton in the future in our village. Stay tuned.
I would like to add that the mayor and trustees are now strongly considering truncating public comments or public comments time, during village trustee meetings. How is this going to help build trust, transparency, and better understanding and communication between residents and the trustees? It certainly WILL NOT help governing or the democratic processes of decisions in our village for residents.
They are not trying to limit intelligent and interested Village residents on matters that affect them they are trying to stop some of the gibberish that has nothing to do with the meeting itself. I watch every meeting and it goes on so long I lose interest and just go to bed.
You are free to get bored and go to bed. In terms of government, it’s not always exciting but when you hold public office you need to listen to the public that makes the effort to come to the public meetings and speak. You can’t limit public discussion because you find it boring. It’s definitely not like going to a KISS concert but the results from these meetings and public comments impact how we all live. No one paying rent or taxes to live here should be shut out of the governing process.
I only get bored with NONSENSE talk. I have lived here for 54 years and I want to hear all sides of the issues from all Dems or Republicans and Independents. Anyone who takes the time as I would if I were physically able as I did for many years and attend the meetings are a credit to Croton whether they agree all the time or not. This is not a debate and I respect your opinion.
Thank you. I respect and agree with your opinion too. Thank you for sharing. I appreciate it.
A very good editorial! Thank you for having this. Excellent points here.
This starts at the top, and by top, that means Mayor Brian Pugh. He is a poor communicator and combined with him running unopposed for two terms results in the poor communication regarding these major developments you’ve described in your editorial. He has his vision for Croton and anyone who opposes it is attacked by his supporters. There are a great deal of Croton residents who are extremely unhappy with the current administration’s plans and in particular, the mayor himself. The mayor and all the trustees are registered Democrats, and they use this fact to strike fear in anyone who opposes their plans. Residents literally whisper when expressing their dissatisfaction. How is this a healthy environment for discussion or debate?
There is not a fair minded person in this Village who has not waited for years to have a member of the other party run a candidate for the Board. It is a hard job with many obligations to the Village outside of the pubic meetings. It is not the fault of the Board members if no one runs against them. So everyone step up and sign up to run if you feel this one party board is unfair. I agree that decisions made all together are the fairest for all the residents
I'll settle for a fellow Democrat who has competing ideas. The issue isn't the party; it's getting elected unopposed (or being appointed) and then behaving as though they have a mandate from voters. In my view the board has been operating on negative political capital for some time now.