Letter to the Editor: "Let the People Decide" on a DPW

• Editor's Note: Thanks to Fred Gulitz for submitting the Letter to the Editor. If you'd like to submit your letter to the editor, email plamena@patch.com.

I have written this letter so that I and others like me can voice our opinions and perhaps, offer a compromise. Of course I am speaking about whether Yorktown should have a (DPW).

Sometime ago I was informed that having a DPW would mean consolidation of departments, doing away with the elected position of Highway Superintendent and the appointment of a person to serve as the head of DPW. I was told that by having a DPW the town would save thousands of dollars, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of dollars. A committee consisting of well known Yorktowners, including former town supervisors and attorneys . They are a formidable group of people on. They are also an exclusionary group of people. Those chosen to join this group and prepare a petition for a referendum for a DPW were focused on the one goal of doing away with the elected superintendent of highways position.

I may be wrong but that is the message I have taken from this. Their message was that the best way to do this would be to form a DPW. On the other side of the issue is the Town Board. They too consist of formidable people. Unlike the DPW committee they are elected individuals. They worked hard to get elected. They were elected by a majority of the voters, having been chosen by ordinary people, like myself.

The town board consists of the town supervisor, who also happens to be an attorney and four other elected gentlemen. The four other gentlemen are restaurateurs, a chiropractor, a former Yonkers police officer and a retired IBM scientist. Their homogeneous mix has impressed me with the work they have done since they took office.

One the one side, the DPW committee has presented their argument to have a referendum vote for a DPW. On the other side the town board and the highway superintendent have stated their reasons for not having a DPW. The town board has said that they would allow the DPW committee a chance to present their reasons for having a DPW at an upcoming town board meeting. To me it seems like an immovable object has faced off with an unstoppable force.

My dilemma is this. I do not believe that as a voter I will be given a chance to vote in a general election for or against a DPW. I believe that both sides will make their arguments and that the town board will decide against allowing the citizens to vote for or against a DPW in the next general election. I believe they will do this by stating that they represent the Yorktown taxpayers. I believe that they believe they will have done this in the best interest of all the voters. I would like to offer a compromise.

Since it is such an important topic, let’s get it on the ballot and have debates by both sides. Let’s bring in administrators from towns where a DPW has worked and where it hasn’t. Let’s focus on the issue of a DPW; what is right with it and what is wrong with it. Let’s make this a real issue and not a beauty contest. Let’s see and hear about the blemishes, warts and all. Let’s take personality issues out of the equation.

I live in Yorktown and want to be able to continue to live in this town. I want to save money like the rest of the voters. I want to see that our tax dollars are spent wisely. I want what is best for all of us. The town board represents all the voters, not just those that helped put them into office. The DPW committee should represent all of us as well, not just those that make the most noise.  

Put the referendum on the ballot and let the people decide. That’s what this country is about… Let the people decide!

Fred Gulitz

Yorktown resident