BY JIM AUSTIN
THE COOPERSTOWN CRIER

Candidates for village mayor and trustee fielded questions from residents during a League of Women Voters Candidates’ Night in the Otsego County Courthouse Monday night.

This year’s election features a full slate of hopefuls from each party and includes the village’s first contested mayoral race in well over a decade. The race is drawn not only along party lines, but is also split between native sons and newcomers to the village. On the Democratic side are Jeff Katz for mayor and Lynne Mebust and Sally Eldred for trustee. The Republicans _ all native sons _ are represented by Joe Booan, Jr. for mayor and Doug Walker and Alton Dunn III for trustee.

The first question of the evening came from Dan Naughton who asked what candidates will do keep down taxes.

Dunn compared the financial health of the village with an overweight middle-aged person. To regain financial health, ``we need to streamline spending. New revenue is not the only answer. We need to address key expenses and get better control of spending. When spending is under control, we can look for new revenues,’’ he said. Eldred said she fully supports new sources of revenue to help keep taxes in check.

``Paid parking has made infrastructure repairs possible,’’ she said, adding that the new licensing plan for Doubleday Field was ``absolutely brilliant.’’

``I fully support any new sources of revenue,’’ Eldred said. Mebust, who is completing her first term on the board and the only incumbent running for trustee, said keeping taxes under control falls between watching costs and finding new sources of revenue.

``It’s easy to say we have to keep costs down,’’ she said.

Mebust said this year and last, the board carefully examined all spending in the process of formulating the budget.

``We go line by line through every expenditure. Every expenditure is looked at,’’ she said. ``We know the pressure is on us.’’

``As a businessman, I always look to make money by looking where I can cut,’’ said Doug Walker.

The village board, he said, has to be mindful of the fact there are a number of senior citizens living in the village and pledged to work hard to control spending.

``I’m here to tell you we have a spending problem,’’ said Booan. ``We’re spending too much. My central idea is to deliver services at a lower cost. We have to get control of our spending habits.’’

Katz pointed to the additional revenue generated by new sources. The village, he said, needs to continue to develop new revenue to help keep up with rising costs like employee healthcare and state retirement system payments.

Pine Boulevard resident Sam Wilcox asked the candidates about gas drilling and the hydro-fracturing that accompanies it.

Walker, who currently serves on the village’s Water Board said it is an issue that has to be looked at very carefully. There should be strict controls placed on any drilling, said Dunn. ``We need to be concerned about the Otsego Lake watershed. It’s not going to go away or solve itself.’’

Mebust is personally opposed to the extraction of gas. She pointed out that the board recently adopted the Watershed Supervisory Committee’s watershed policy statement and believes the village water supply should receive the same consideration and protections that may be afforded to larger municipalities.

Katz, who chairs the water board, also pointed to the watershed policy as a step in the right direction. He added that he hopes the towns around Otsego Lake will join the village in supporting that policy.

``I share everyone’s concerns about what could happen,’’ said Booan. ``We need to be very careful.’’

Bill Waller, the husband of current Mayor Carol Waller, asked the mayoral candidates if they favored generating revenue or cutting the budget to keep taxes under control. Booan repeated that his central theme is to provide services at lower costs. He said public safety issues are not negotiable and reminded people he made the motion to restore 24/7 police coverage to the village. Booan had initially voted against motions to restore full funding to the police department budget, but after a closed-door session of the board in the fall, made the motion to return to full coverage until January.

Full coverage after January was made possible by a grant the department received that could be applied to salaries.

He said that the village can do a better job with both the revenue and expenditure sides of the budget. He cautioned that new revenue ``is sometimes code words for higher taxes’’ and that increased taxes prohibit growth.

``I believe grants are the really big game changers,’’ he said.

Katz responded to the question saying the revenue from paid parking is a way to keep taxes from going up.

``Paid parking is a way for the village to control it own destiny,’’ he added.

Mayor Waller, who is ending her tenure after 16 years as a trustee and mayor, said she knows the time commitment the office requires and asked Booan how he would balance his full-time job as an administrator at the BOCES Occupational Center in Milford and the duties of the mayor.

``I’ve heard it said if you want a job done, give it to the busiest person in the room,’’ Booan replied, adding that he has good time management skills. ``I think the bigger question is how do we tap into the vast expertise in the community?’’

Booan also suggested that meetings could be held at times that do not conflict with the normal workday.

Katz commented that the village had already merged some committees and boards and that Mebust, the chair of the police and streets and buildings committees had rearranged meeting times ``so Joe could make it.’’

``People who are elected should understand what they’re getting into,’’ he said. In response to another question about the demands of his job, Booan said he had been promoted and his new position offered him more flexibility.

``I’m always available by phone. If there is an emergency, I would stop what I was doing and be present,’’ he said. Booan said his boss supports his service to the community. Stephanie Bauer asked the candidates what resources are at their disposal in the decision making process?

Eldred said she often finds the Google search engine to be a good way to research issues and would also look to state government and other municipalities for examples of how they had handled similar issues.

``You need to do a lot of research,’’ she said.

``I usually start with the department managers. They usually have the answer for you. The key thing is to ask the right questions,’’ Mebust said.

Other municipalities and NYCOM _ the New York Conference of Mayors _ are good resources, she added.

Walker said he would seek out other board members and department heads.

``Common sense goes a long way to solving problems,’’ Dunn said.

He said with his background in science he takes an analytical approach and does his research, analyzes the data and reaches conclusions.

Katz said when it comes to government, common sense and legalities are not always the same thing and that it is important to understand where the resources are and follow through.

Booan said he would turn to his wife for advice, but that it depended on the issue.

``The most important resource is the residents and I would look to that resource,’’ he said.

He said he would also look to other board members, county board members, legislators, the village attorney and the village clerk.

Attorney Mike Trosset asked the candidates why the village is so different now than it was in 1985 when he was in high school.

``I’m a native son,’’ said Dunn, ``that’s not any particular qualification for running for office. I’ve seen things change over the years, but a lot of it is still the same.’’

``Because no town is,’’ said Eldred. ``We grow and change. We have to be open and accept new ideas. Every single little town has changed.’’

``A lot of things have changed since 1985,’’ Mebust said. She said she believes some of the partisanship witnessed in Albany and Washington may have trickled down to smaller communities.

``I graduated in 1963 and it was a very different village then. It was the old America,’’ Walker said. ``Things that have changed America have changed in the village also.

Times have changed. There will always be different opinions.’’ Katz said times have changed and it has challenged the idea of ``business as usual.’’

``When things weren’t addressed, it was easier to get along. Now things are being addressed,’’ he said.

I’m proud to be a fourth generation Cooperstown resident,’’ Booan said. ``I feel it is important to work together to create a vision of what we want the community to be.’’

In brief closing statements Dunn reiterated that he is proud of his heritage and Eldred commented that she believes with open dialogue and cooperation there will be more opportunities on the horizon.

``There are several projects I would love to have the opportunity to continue to work on,’’ Mebust told the audience.

Walker assured people he would be a good team player and Booan, who said he understands what it means to grow up in Cooperstown, said he ``was not running against someone; he was running for something’’ and that his central theme was to deliver services at a lower cost.

``I choose to be in Cooperstown and it has exceeded my wildest dream and that is why I want to be your next mayor,’’ Katz said.