By Stephanie Petrellese

Residents and the Garden City Board of Trustees turned their attention away from this year's bitter budget process to focus on a sweet farewell to Mayor Peter A. Bee and two trustees at the Board's March 19th meeting.

"I hope that there are places in Garden City that are a little brighter for my having been here, and if not brighter, at least less damaged than they might otherwise have been," Mayor Bee said. The Mayor joked that he was not going to list his successes and failures, in the event that some residents believe a few items on his list should be reversed.

Bee, who has served on the Board of Trustees since 1993, offered some advice to the current and incoming trustees. "It is not such a bad idea to maintain a degree of civility, a presumption of goodwill and to remember that reasonable minds can differ.... I think discourse and debate can take place without rancor and personal animosity, and I urge the Board to get back to that kind of discourse."

Mayor Bee also spent time during his last official meeting to reflect on Village government. "The Community Agreement has its flaws," he said. "But like democracy, it may be terrible but it is the best thing we've got compared to anything else. So I defy anyone to point to another Village on Long Island better run, better maintained or with a better political system. I don't think it's there."

Several trustees, department heads and residents praised Mayor Bee's ability to remain calm and level-headed. His ability to explain issues clearly, and briefly, was also heralded.

Trustees Gerard Lundquist and Thomas Lamberti will also be stepping down. Lundquist served on the Board since 1999, and was mayor from 2005-07. Lamberti has been on the Board since 2005. Laurence Quinn (West) and Andrew Cavanaugh (Central) were recently elected to fill their seats. Dennis Donnelly will fill the trustee position from the East. Robert Rothschild, who will represent the Estates section along with Trustee John Mauk, will serve as the new mayor for two years.

"I did enjoy my time on the Board," Lundquist said. "There were some trying times, but overall what I achieved to do was do what was right for the Village, not necessarily one property owners' association or one resident, but what was good for the Village as a whole, and I believe I achieved that."

Lamberti used his last opportunity to speak as a trustee to enumerate some of the Village's problems. He said the budget process needs to be reformed and staff should follow a recommendation originally proposed by incoming Trustee Andrew Cavanaugh to make an additional two percent cut in their department budgets during the next year. He also said the Board of Trustees should not micromanage each item in the budget.

He said it was a disgrace that the Citizens' Budget Review Committee was not allowed to meet with the Board to go over their list of recommendations. He said they have contributed greatly to the process, but have not received appropriate recognition.

Lamberti once again called upon the Board to ask unions for wage increase deferrals and other concessions given the current economic situation. He recommended that they consider replacing public employees with private contractors to save money, particularly in the areas of sanitation and parks. He also suggested trustees consider hiring civilians to take over some of the duties currently being performed by police officers.

"The time is now," he said. "And some of the words which I have heard over the past three or four years, I want to change. I have heard, 'We have to follow this Village, we have to follow that Village.' I want to change the word 'follow' to 'lead.' I want this Village to lead the other Villages, and this is the opportunity. In crises, opportunities exist. If you pass that opportunity, then you can't change."

Lamberti, a labor attorney, said he has been very successful in arbitration. "I want to change the words, 'I'm afraid to go to arbitration.'" He said arbitrators have become mindful of the current economic situation and the Village should be more open to the process.

"Today is tomorrow," he said. "And you have that opportunity, and you should seize it because the difficulty of the next budget will be much worse than this budget. Unless you reign in employee costs, you will find yourself behind the eight ball."

The Board's last vote was five to one in favor of hiring the engineering and construction services firm Greenman-Pederson, Inc., for an hourly rate not to exceed $35,000, to coordinate the preparation of an environmental impact statement for the possible demolition of the Historic Main Building at St. Paul's. Trustee Donald Brudie voted against the contract and Trustee John Watras was absent.