To the Editor:

I am writing today to offer my support for Trustee’s Nicholas Episcopia from the East and Trustee Brian Daughney from the Estates. I will be forthright and tell you that I sat on the Garden City East Nominating Committee that re nominated Trustee Episcopia after giving serious consideration to all candidates.

I offer this support because I have witnessed, firsthand at Village Board meetings, POA meetings, and other public Village committee meetings that they possess the desire and ability to take the time necessary to become informed on all Village issues so that they can discuss them with and seek input from Village residents. This allows them to make informed, fiscally responsible decisions as to issues that ultimately affect village residents.

These Trustees have managed to maintain the village services we expect while containing expenditures which in turn have kept our tax increases below the CPI. Trustee Episcopia was persistent and succeeded on requiring contributions to health benefits from Village Staff. Both Trustees continue to insist on healthcare contributions in the current collective bargaining negotiations with the CSEA, Police and Fire Units, not an easy task. In addition, and equally important, they fully recognize the need to look to the future to update and maintain Village infrastructure by planning and timing capital projects so as to minimize the impact of their amortization on taxes. Trustee Daughney insisted on and succeeded in the formation of a succession planning committee to review executive management positions, not only to be prepared for the future but to ensure the Village has the most efficient staff today at competitive salary levels.

In 2011, after the CSSP proposal related to St Paul’s was deemed inadequate by engineers, as stated in Appendix M of the FEIS, (on the Village Website) and not accepted by a vote of the Village Board of Trustees, Estates Trustee Daughney, initiated an open process, that is supported by Trustee Episcopia to seek resident input on a recreation center at the St Paul’s site.

To date this vision has been presented to three of the four POA’s. The process intends to systematically determine the wants and needs of residents via a formal survey to determine if a viable solution can be built at the site while understanding the “Complete Project Costs”, vetted by engineers. They are taking the first step, in a long time, to engage residents by having “Vision” to determine the needs of ALL Village residents as to if and how the St Paul’s site can be utilized in a economically acceptable way.

I hope you agree that the priorities of this village and its elected Trustees should not only be to maintain all that makes Garden City special, but to continually look to enhance the services and expectations that residents have today and would like in the future as these items translate to property values. Village officials need to do this while being fully aware of the costs involved and the impact those costs will have on ALL taxpayers. Trustee’s Episcopia and Daughney do this each and every day and this can be seen from prior approved budgets and in public when they discuss such matters at budget and board meetings. I urge you to attend these meetings to see for yourself. It’s one thing to receive glossy mailers with promises to get your vote, it’s another to stand behind what you have done, acknowledge that the you can always do better and when you ask to be re elected, actually be able to fulfill what you said you would do!

Trustees Episcopia and Daughney do that!

Walter McKenna